Airis Effects 51-Filthy Distortion Pedal

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What initially started as one of countless attempts to "improve" the Nemesis Preamp is now the pedal that has been the goal of Airis Effects since day one. A tight, crunchy, articulate, but still saturated and nasty high gain preamp. Something in the realm of a block letter 5150 crossed with a Diezel Hagen. With a classic and simple five control layout (Volume, Gain, Bass, Mids, Treble) there's no learning curve or time wasted fiddling with settings, so you can get straight to the chugs.


Volume: This is the most obvious. It makes the pedal louder. If you're using this pedal as a Preamp going into a dedicated power amp or effects return, its best to turn it all the way down the first time you use it, rather than have your neighbors three doors down surprisingly discover your power amp doesn't have a master volume.

Treble: The classic treble control. The higher you go, the brighter and more attack you'll find. Depending on your speaker and the other pedal settings, going too high can give you what's referred to as "fizz" but certain amounts of this are typically what you want to cut through in a mix. Start low and keep turning it up until you hear the sound you want.

Mid: This could also safely be called a "shape control" as it does the most serious shaping of the overall tone. Take things all the way from a totally scooped 90's solid state head, to the upper mid presence of a 5150, to the warmth of an old Marshall. There's no wrong setting. Just close your eyes and start turning!

Bass: We kept a fairly narrow range on this control to avoid what we would consider "bad" settings. This pedal isn't about huge booming low end, it's about angry high gain tones. If you're looking for more low end than you would ever need, then check out our Effigy Of The Distortion.

Gain: While you may picture this pedal as being a one-note-pony, it can actually be surprisingly versatile. On the lower end of the dial you will find a light crunchy breakup. A full-on crunch is typical around Noon and above that is where the saturation starts to happen. Going further up, you will get close to maximum saturation at about 3oclock, with the maximum being at maximum. Keep in mind that just like a tube amp, the highest settings will seriously saturate the signal and you will lose some of the apparent "tightness". It's also worth mentioning that these are starting points and not exactly where you will find the setting you're looking for, simply due to the huge variety in pickups, string gauge, playing style, etc.

Power: The 51-Filthy is designed to be run at 9volts.

Graphics by Remy Cooper of Headsplit Design.

• Volume/Gain/Treble/Mid/Bass Controls
• 3 Year Warranty
• True Bypass
• Powered by 2.1mm negative tip 9Volt DC adapter (Sold Separately)
• Current Draw 20-30mA
• Hand Built in Canada