The Airis Effects 51-Filthy is an Airis Effects preamp pedal, currently around $169. Close alternatives include the Suhr Riot Mini Black Edition and the Wampler Dracarys. It pairs well with the Keeley Red Dirt Overdrive and the Fulltone OCD.
Airis Effects 51-Filthy
Airis Effects · pedal
The Airis Effects 51-Filthy is a tight, articulate high-gain preamp pedal from the Ontario, Canada-based boutique builder founded by Richard Seidlitz in 2014, voiced somewhere between a block-letter EVH 5150 and a Diezel Hagen, delivering crunchy, saturated distortion without losing note definition even at aggressive gain settings. Handbuilt in small runs and backed by a two-year warranty, it represents Airis's focus on high-gain metal and hard rock tones within a boutique pedal format, aimed at players wanting studio-quality amp-in-a-box distortion rather than a simple fuzz or overdrive circuit.
- metal
- boutique
- tight
- distortion
- hard rock
- production
- preamp
- articulate
Price updated Aug 27, 2026
Genres the Airis Effects 51-Filthy is commonly used in
- Hard Rock
- Alternative Rock
- Metal
- Heavy Metal
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Djent
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Christian Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Pedals that stack with the Airis Effects 51-Filthy
Keeley Red Dirt Overdrive
Keeley
28% matchPush the 51-Filthy's tight, hard-rock distortion with the Red Dirt's thick, articulate midrange boost and the crunch stays focused instead of muddy.
Fulltone OCD
Fulltone
27% matchStack the OCD's firm, thick clipping ahead of the 51-Filthy's high-gain distortion for a tighter, more aggressive front end.
Wampler Cory Wong
Wampler
20% matchThe Cory Wong's punchy optical compression evens out pick attack before it hits the 51-Filthy's tight, high-gain distortion.
Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress
Electro-Harmonix
20% matchSend the Electric Mistress's lush flange sweep after the 51-Filthy's tight, high-gain distortion for psychedelic texture riding on top of the metal crunch.
Walrus Audio Fable
Walrus Audio
17% matchPut the Fable's granular reverb textures after the 51-Filthy's tight distortion so the glitchy decay doesn't get chewed up by the gain stage. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Mooer Ocean Machine 2 Devin Townsend Signature
Mooer
14% matchDevin Townsend's own ambient reverb pedal was built for high-gain metal tones like the 51-Filthy's, so run it after the distortion, not before. — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)
Friedman Buxom Boost
Friedman
tonal matchFriedman Buxom Boost is voiced for a high-gain amp's front end — Airis Effects 51-Filthy gives it exactly that
Spaceman Effects Atlas IV
Spaceman
tonal matchSpaceman Effects Atlas IV pushes a crunchy tone toward clean boost
Cheaper alternatives
Horizon Devices Precision Drive
Horizon Devices
70% similarityShared character: pedal, high_gain_settings, amp
Black Country Customs Monolith
Black Country Customs
70% similarityShared character: pedal, hard_rock, high_gain_settings
Mooer Micro PreAmp 001 (Diezel Hagen)
Mooer
69% similarityShared character: amp, hard_rock, pedal
Carl Martin Crush Zone
Carl Martin
96% similaritysimilar tone character
Mad Professor Stone Grey Distortion
Mad Professor
94% similaritysimilar tone character
Boutique & premium upgrades
Universal Audio UAFX Anti 1992 High Gain Amp
Universal Audio
72% similarityShared character: pedal, high_end, high_gain_settings
Diezel Zerrer 2-Channel Preamp
Diezel
70% similarityShared character: high_gain_settings, amp, preamp
EVH Modern High Gain
MXR
70% similarityShared character: hard_rock, pedal, high_gain_settings
Fortin Amplification Natas
Fortin Amplification
69% similarityShared character: pedal, high_gain_settings, distortion
ISP Technologies Michael Sweet Signature Empyrean
Isp Technologies
68% similarityShared character: hard_rock, pedal, high_gain_settings
Blackstar HT-Metal
Blackstar
94% similaritysimilar tone character
Similar charactersee all similar tone character →
Suhr Riot Mini Black Edition
Suhr
72% similarityShared character: hard_rock, high_gain_settings, distortion
Wampler Dracarys
Wampler
72% similarityShared character: high_end, high_gain_settings, amp
Airis Effects SPEC-Defier
Airis Effects
70% similarity“designed the SPEC-Defier as a follow-up to their well-received 51-Filthy preamp”
Revv Amplification G4-V2
Revv
69% similarityShared character: high_end, hard_rock, high_gain_settings
Wampler SLOstortion
Wampler
66% similarityShared character: hard_rock, distortion, s_build_quality
Keeley Filaments
Keeley
96% similaritysimilar tone character
See all alternatives to the Airis Effects 51-Filthy (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Airis Effects 51-Filthy?+
The closest matches in character are the Suhr Riot Mini Black Edition, the Wampler Dracarys, the Airis Effects SPEC-Defier. Budget picks: Horizon Devices Precision Drive, Black Country Customs Monolith, Mooer Micro PreAmp 001 (Diezel Hagen). Boutique upgrades: Universal Audio UAFX Anti 1992 High Gain Amp, Diezel Zerrer 2-Channel Preamp, EVH Modern High Gain.
What pairs well with the Airis Effects 51-Filthy?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Keeley Red Dirt Overdrive, Fulltone OCD, Wampler Cory Wong — Push the 51-Filthy's tight, hard-rock distortion with the Red Dirt's thick, articulate midrange boost and the crunch stays focused instead of muddy..
How much does the Airis Effects 51-Filthy cost?+
Around $169 (live listing price, updated Aug 27, 2026).