The Blackstar Distx is a Blackstar distortion pedal. Close alternatives include the Blackstar HT-Metal and the Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion. It pairs well with the Mesa Boogie Mark I and the Roland Cube Street.

Blackstar Distx

Blackstar · pedal

The Blackstar HT DistX is a high-voltage valve distortion pedal using dual cascaded ECC83 triode stages to deliver ultra-high-gain distortion tones. The patented ISF (Infinite Shape Feature) control shifts the entire tonal character from tight, scooped American voicing to mid-rich, smooth British voicing in a single sweep. Includes Gain, Level, Bass, Middle, Treble controls plus an emulated speaker output for direct recording. Reviewed by Premier Guitar. Suited to hard rock, metal, and doom genres.

What stands out

  • “Strengths: Genuine ECC83 valve circuitry produces authentic high-gain sag and warmth”

    — from the reviews

  • “Includes Gain, Level, Bass, Middle, Treble controls plus an emulated speaker output for direct recording”

    — from the listing

  • “The HT DistX delivers authentic valve-driven high-gain tones with a genuine warmth and sag that solid-state distortions cannot replicate”

    — from the community notes

  • “the blackstar ht distx is a high-voltage valve distortion pedal using dual cascaded ecc83 triode stages to deliver ultra-high-gain distortion tones”

    — from the listing

  • “Suited to hard rock, metal, and doom genres”

    — from the listing

  • high gain
  • direct recording
  • distortion
  • valve
  • hard rock
  • sag
  • solid state
  • british

Genres the Blackstar Distx is commonly used in

  • Hard Rock
  • Rock
  • Metal
  • Alternative
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Christian Rock
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
  • Heavy Metal
    citedInferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.

Amps that pair well with the Blackstar Distx

Mesa Boogie Mark I

Mesa Boogie

23% match
$1466.92via Reverb

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

Mesa Boogie Mark I pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward

Comes later in the signal chain

Roland Cube Street

Roland

23% match
$199.99via Reverb

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

Feed a high gain signal into Roland Cube Street and it comes out closer to mid-forward

Comes later in the signal chain

Ceriatone HRM 50

Ceriatone

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Feed a high gain signal into Ceriatone HRM 50 and it comes out closer to mid-forward

Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210

Gallien Krueger

tonal match
$1849via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Gallien-Krueger Fusion 210 takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward

Gallien-Krueger GK Legacy 4x10 Bass Combo Amp

Gallien Krueger

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Gallien-Krueger GK Legacy 4x10 Bass Combo Amp takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward

Phil Jones BG-400 Suitcase Compact Bass Combo

Phil Jones

tonal match
$930.21via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Phil Jones BG-400 Suitcase Compact Bass Combo pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward

Ceriatone Overtone Special HRM Bluesmaster 50

Ceriatone

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Stack Ceriatone Overtone Special HRM Bluesmaster 50 on top and a high gain tone tightens toward mid-forward

Aguilar SL110 Fawn Limited

Aguilar

tonal match

Comes later in the signal chain

Stack Aguilar SL110 Fawn Limited on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight

Pedals that stack with the Blackstar Distx

Browne Amplification Gritador

Browne Amplification

21% match
$219via Reverb

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

Browne Amplification Gritador takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Cusack Music Screamer

Cusack Music

20% match

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

Cusack Music Screamer takes that high gain character and pushes it toward mid-forward

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress

Electro-Harmonix

17% match
$200.09via Reverb

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 → shimmer)

Keep Blackstar Distx's high gain voice out front: Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress goes after Blackstar Distx in the signal chain so its shimmer voice doesn't muddy it

Comes later in the signal chain

Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Micro

Pigtronix

16% match
$119via Reverb

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

What Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Micro brings here leans toward mid-forward — that's worth building a pairing around

Comes earlier in the signal chain

MXR Analog Delay

MXR

14% match

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)

Put MXR Analog Delay after Blackstar Distx in the signal chain, clear of Blackstar Distx's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

Hungry Robot Moby Dick V2

Hungry Robot

13% match
$118via Reverb

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 → lush)

Run Hungry Robot Moby Dick V2 after Blackstar Distx in the signal chain, clear of Blackstar Distx's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

MXR CAE Wah

MXR

tonal match
$120.88via Reverb

Comes earlier in the signal chain

MXR CAE Wah belongs in front of Blackstar Distx, since a wah tracks picking dynamics best on the raw signal

JAM Pedals RetroVibe Mk.4

Jam Pedals

tonal match
$449via Reverb

Comes later in the signal chain

Feed a high gain signal into JAM Pedals RetroVibe Mk.4 and it comes out closer to mid-forward

Alternativessee all similar tone character →

Blackstar HT-Metal

Blackstar

55% similarity
$257.42via Reverb

Shared character: solid state, metal, hard rock

Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion

Blackstar

51% similarity
$206.77via Reverb

Shared character: solid state, metal, hard rock

Maxon OD808

Maxon

51% similarity
$134.12via Reverb

Shared character: metal, hard rock, middle

Colorsound Power Boost

Colorsound

50% similarity

Shared character: treble, middle, warm

Wampler Dracarys

Wampler

49% similarity
$199via Reverb

Shared character: wide range, metal, bass

Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster

Dallas

49% similarity

Shared character: metal, treble, hard rock

Laney Billy Corgan signature Amp

Laney

49% similarity
$629.99via Reverb

Shared character: distortion

MXL MXR Randy Rhoads Concorde Distortion

Mxl

48% similarity

Shared character: metal, hard rock, distortion

Friedman BE-OD

Friedman

48% similarity
$169.99via Reverb

Shared character: premier guitar, metal, hard rock

Black Country Customs Monolith

Black Country Customs

48% similarity
$119via Reverb

Shared character: metal, hard rock, middle

Maxon TOD-9

Maxon

48% similarity
$209.56via Reverb

Shared character: sag, solid state, warm

Catalinbread SFT: Sapphire

Catalinbread

47% similarity

Shared character: warm, bass

See all alternatives to the Blackstar Distx (cheaper + boutique) →

Questions people ask

What are good alternatives to the Blackstar Distx?+

The closest matches in character are the Blackstar HT-Metal, the Blackstar Dept. 10 Dual Distortion, the Maxon OD808.

What pairs well with the Blackstar Distx?+

Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Mesa Boogie Mark I, Roland Cube Street, Ceriatone HRM 50 — Mesa Boogie Mark I pushes a high gain tone toward mid-forward.

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