Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

gain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (mid-forward → high gain)

Mesa Boogie Mark Five:25 1x12 Combo stacks high gain on top of the mid-forward already here

Comes later in the signal chain

gain stackingStacks two gain stages for more saturation than either produces alone. (mid-forward → high gain)

Peavey Invective 120 stacks high gain on top of the mid-forward already here

Comes later in the signal chain

Comes later in the signal chain

Put Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210 after Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

Comes later in the signal chain

Put Ampeg V-4 after Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

Comes later in the signal chain

Mesa Boogie Mark Five:25 Head layers high gain onto an already mid-forward signal

Comes later in the signal chain

Put Aguilar SL110 Fawn Limited after Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

Comes later in the signal chain

Ceriatone HRM 50 goes after Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion in the chain

Comes later in the signal chain

EBS Magni 502 2x10 bass combo pushes a high gain tone toward tight

pushes an already-dirty tonePushes an already-dirty tone harder and tightens it up. (high gain → tight)

Soldano SLO takes that high gain character and pushes it toward tight

Comes later in the signal chain

fills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (scooped → mid-forward)

Electro-Harmonix Green Russian Big Muff leans toward full, and that's a real, usable character to pair with

Comes later in the signal chain

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.

Valco Black Hole Vintage Phaser's smooth voice goes after Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion's own high gain character

Comes later in the signal chain

shapes the dynamic responseShapes how the tone responds to picking dynamics rather than its frequency or gain.

Tighten your pick attack with the Cory Wong's punchy optical compression before hitting the Dept. 10, and the distortion stays articulate note to note.

Comes earlier in the signal chain

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (high gain → slapback)

MXR Analog Delay's warm voice goes after Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion's own high gain character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

sits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor. (high gain → ambient)

TC Electronic Hall of Fame 2's spring voice goes after Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion's own high gain character — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

Comes later in the signal chain

Run the RetroVibe's lush, Leslie-style swirl after the Dual Distortion's tight, high-gain British voice and the modulation has real saturation to move through.

Comes earlier in the signal chain

MXR CAE Wah belongs in front of Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion, since a wah tracks picking dynamics best on the raw signal