SONICAKE Black Hammer

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

Peavey VTM-120 pushes a high gain tone toward tight

Comes later in the signal chain

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

Peavey MiniMAX pushes a high gain tone toward tight

Comes later in the signal chain

Comes later in the signal chain

Feed a high gain signal into EBS Magni 502 2x10 bass combo and it comes out closer to tight

Comes later in the signal chain

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

Comes later in the signal chain

Feed a high gain signal into Gallien-Krueger Legacy 410 and it comes out closer to tight

Comes later in the signal chain

Stack Gallien-Krueger Legacy 210 Bass Combo on top and a high gain tone tightens toward tight

Comes later in the signal chain

Gallien-Krueger MB210-II pushes a high gain tone toward tight

Comes later in the signal chain

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

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

Stack Suhr Shiba Drive on top and a high gain tone tightens toward mid-forward

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

Feed a high gain signal into Keeley Red Dirt Overdrive and it comes out closer to mid-forward

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 → lush)

Put TC Electronic Corona Chorus after SONICAKE Black Hammer in the signal chain, clear of SONICAKE Black Hammer's own gain stage

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.

TC Electronic Triple Flashback Delay's tight voice goes after SONICAKE Black Hammer in the signal chain — it's not there to compete with SONICAKE Black Hammer'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 → lush)

Keep Meris Mercury7 Reverb after SONICAKE Black Hammer in the signal chain, clear of SONICAKE Black Hammer's own gain stage — goes in the amp's FX loop (or last, into a clean amp)

Comes later in the signal chain

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

SONICAKE Black Hammer leans toward high gain, and that's a real, usable character to pair with

Comes earlier in the signal chain

Comes earlier in the signal chain

MXR CAE Wah belongs in front of SONICAKE Black Hammer, since a wah tracks picking dynamics best on the raw signal