Fender: Pugilist Distortion

Diving deeper into the new Fender effects pedal line, today we're checking out the Fender Pugilist Distortion! The Pugilist has not one, but two distortions, which you can A/B, stack, or even blend. Like a pushed Fender amp, the distortion is well defined, but you can absolutely get gnarly when you start to stack the distortions. In case you were curious "Pugilist" means "boxer", and this pedal is a knockout!

Photo credit: Fender

Like the Santa Ana overdrive, and the Marine Layer reverb, the enclosure is sleek and uniform. Brushed aluminium finish, magnetic battery compartment, and did we mention that the knobs light up? Something so simple and small is a game changer for all those fogged up stages, and we love it. 

The Pugilist is pretty straight forward in that for each distortion theres a gain and a tone knob. The tone knob is the secret weapon, unlike most distortions the tone knob when rolled off, darkens the tone, but not in a way where its like rolling off the tone knob on your instrument. The tone knob(s) on the Pugilist allow you to roll off the harsh frequencies while still retaining clarity and definition in the distortion. There are a lot of subtleties and intricacies with the Pugilist and that's what makes it a cut above other distortion pedals. 

This new line of Fender effects pedals have been an absolute joy to dive into. We rep Fender and we rep these pedals hard, if you find yourself in your local Guitar Center, Sam Ash or wherever effects pedals are sold, definitely check these out. Tell them Pedals and Effects sent you! 

-Juan