The Electro-Harmonix Hell Melter takes distortion to its extremes in their take on the cult classic chainsaw distortion pedal with expanded controls and tonal capabilities. This distortion circuit originally designed as the ultimate in high-gain is now known for the death metal sounds of the likes of Sweden’s Entombed, and the shoegaze wash of My Bloody Valentine. Surprisingly, it’s even been at home in the rig of David Gilmour.
The EHX Hell Melter enhances on the original design with many modern updates and features. More overall output volume is available on tap than the original circuit. The active EQ expands the original single highs control, which controlled peaks in both the treble and upper-mids, into a HIGH control and parametric MIDS LVL control with adjustable MID FREQ ranging from the signature high-mids bark to a low-mids growl. The LOW control rounds out the powerful 3-band EQ. A mode toggle goes from NORM to the new BURN mode which opens up the sound of the pedal significantly by switching to more open clipping options and boosting the internal voltage for more headroom. Additional new features include a noise gate and DRY LVL control, which is useful when using a bass guitar or using an already dirty amplifier. A footswitchable BOOST section increases the overall gain and volume of the pedal. DISTORTION and LEVEL knobs control the overall gain and output volume of the pedal respectively.
The Hell Melter comes equipped with an EHX 9V power supply and buffered bypass. It features a USA street price of $176.66.
