Black Country Customs Monolith vs MXR Distortion+
The Black Country Customs Monolith and the MXR Distortion+ are both pedals. The Black Country Customs Monolith leans tight and saturated. The MXR Distortion+ leans gritty and full. Current prices: $119 vs $169.99.
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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.50% — moderately similar
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Metal
- Hard Rock
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$119via Reverb
$169.99via 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 Distortion Plus is a classic, simple two-knob dirt box first released in the late 1970s, built around germanium diode clipping with only Output and Distortion controls. It produces an old-school, gritty distortion with juicy, tube-like compression and a raw, dirty character that defined many 1970s and 1980s hard rock and punk tones, famously associated with Randy Rhoads and Dave Murray. It ranges from light, gritty overdrive to a thick, saturated distortion that is not overly piercing, with a treble lift that helps it cut. As gain rises it tightens by rolling off some low end. Beloved for its raw simplicity and vintage warmth, it suits players who want an aggressive, no-frills classic distortion rather than a flexible, EQ-laden modern one.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Country
- Classic Rock
- Rock
- Punk
- tight
- saturated
- warm
- mid-forward
- high gain
- crunchy
- gritty
- full