Black Country Customs Monolith vs Dunlop MXR M104 Distortion+
The Black Country Customs Monolith and the Dunlop MXR M104 Distortion+ are both pedals sharing mid-forward, sustaining. The Black Country Customs Monolith leans tight and saturated. The Dunlop MXR M104 Distortion+ leans fuzzy. Current prices: $119 vs $97.11.
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Blended from circuit-archetype lineage, dynamic feel, tone-signal overlap and tone-vector distance — the tone vector itself is derived from editorial description text, not a measured acoustic signal, so this reflects how similarly the catalog copy describes the two, not a lab measurement. Shown only within a gear class, and only where there's enough evidence to be meaningful.54% — moderately similar
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Metal
- Hard Rock
- Classic Rock
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Derived from overlapping tonal signals across both listings.- mid-forward
- sustaining
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$119via Reverb
$97.11via Reverb
The Black Country Customs Monolith is a three-mode boutique distortion pedal handmade in the UK by Laney Amplification under its BCC sub-brand. Three modes -- Overdrive, Distortion 1, and Distortion 2 -- span tubescreamer-style overdrive through British plexi crunch to high-gain heavy distortion in a single enclosure. A Range control cuts low-end content before the gain stages, enabling tight metal tones or warm vintage saturation. Four controls total: Distortion, Range, Volume, and Tone. Covers classic rock through heavy British distortion without digital processing.
The MXR M104 Distortion+ is a classic, simple distortion pedal first introduced in the 1970s, famous for its warm, slightly fuzzy hard clipping distortion and just two controls, Output and Distortion. It produces a smooth, compressed, vintage distortion that ranges from gritty overdrive at lower settings to a singing, saturated lead tone when cranked. Closely associated with players like Randy Rhoads and Dave Murray, it helped define late 1970s and early 1980s hard rock and metal lead tones. Its straightforward, mid friendly voice and easy sustain make it a go to for classic rock, hard rock and players who want a no frills, characterful vintage distortion that pushes an amp into singing leads.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Country
- Rock
- tight
- saturated
- warm
- high gain
- crunchy
- transparent
- fuzzy