MXR Super Badass Distortion vs ProCo Sterling Vermin
The MXR Super Badass Distortion and the ProCo Sterling Vermin are both pedals. The MXR Super Badass Distortion leans crunchy and tight. The ProCo Sterling Vermin leans aggressive and full. Current prices: $99 vs $349.99.
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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.45% — somewhat different
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Genres both listings are associated with.- Rock
- Punk
MXR Super Badass Distortion
MXR · pedal
ProCo Sterling Vermin
Proco · pedal
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Citation/mention fame — how often this gear is cited across artist rigs and gear discussion.$99via Reverb
$349.99via Reverb
The MXR Super Badass Distortion is a versatile analog distortion with a three-band active EQ and a wide gain range, designed to cover decades of dirt from one box. With the distortion low it produces a bold, beefy clean boost and light crunch, and as gain increases it moves through classic-rock midrange grind into harmonically rich, saturated, scooped-mid metal roar. The Bass, Mid, and Treble controls reshape the voice dramatically, going from thick and beefy to bright and aggressive while staying tight rather than flabby. Notes remain clear and dynamic, responding to picking. Suited to rock, blues, punk, and metal, it is praised as a do-it-all distortion with warm, sustaining tone. Its only real coloration is a trace of modern distortion character across its range.
The ProCo Sterling Vermin is a boutique take on the classic Rat circuit built around an LM741 op-amp with selectable clipping diodes, letting players flip between the classic silicon-diode RAT grind and a smoother, more articulate voice using BAT41 diodes. Its Distortion and Filter knobs set around 2 o'clock hit a sweet spot that's thick, heavy, and spongy, while backing off the Distortion knob shifts it toward a soft-clipping, nuanced, amp-like overdrive rather than full fuzz-edged distortion. It preserves the RAT's familiar shaggy distortion-and-fuzz blend on the silicon setting while sounding tighter and more defined even when pushed toward fuzzier textures. It suits players wanting the classic RAT voice with real added tonal versatility from its filter and diode-selection options.
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Genres this gear is documented as being used in.- Classic Rock
- Blues
- Metal
- crunchy
- tight
- warm
- dynamic
- transparent
- aggressive
- full
- fuzzy