WILL IT CHUG? - TC ELECTRONIC DARK MATTER

Trying out the TC Electronic Dark Matter Distortion for WILL IT CHUG? Did It? Watch and find out!
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I'm Ola Englund and welcome to my channel. A channel dedicated to guitar related gear with a focus on metal. I also play in the metal bands The Haunted & Feared and run a guitar company www.solar-guit...
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[@OlaEnglund]

Will it Chug? YES? NO?

[@mabecka]

NO, not at all!

[@tasosboubas6356]

I have this pedal and it chugs really good with my Ltd sparrowhawk

[@Machinedmetal]

Nope!

[@Machinedmetal]

Dark matter is more like no matter.

[@Nikita_Kash93]

No, just like r'n'r pedal from 40's🤔🙄

[@azrionaz]

Will it chug? Fender Twin Reverb

[@globlogabgalab4278]

Or any fender amp

[@brunomonasterio1584]

@@globlogabgalab4278 fender mustang

[@fatdydnkn]

@@brunomonasterio1584 its chugging like hell, have mustang v2 at home

[@brunomonasterio1584]

@@fatdydnkn oh, didn't knew about that

[@globlogabgalab4278]

Bruno MONASTERIO i mean any thats not a modeling

[@guitarsimon1]

TC Electronic smacking their foreheads years later for giving an OCD/Plexi style pedal a really metal sounding name.

[@stanislavmigra]

yep

[@blizzbee]

TC = Team Confused ?

[@jimshorts6751]

Only the Marshall Overdrive pedal comes close to a real Plexi head. All the others sound good, but not Plexi. No $99 pedal should be compared to a $5000 Marshal amp, I have a pair in stereo YUGE sound !

[@theliberation9061]

This pedal's only flaw is that the name makes it sound more metal than it is. However, as you showed it works excellent for mid-gain tones or classic heavy metal, and you SHOULD try it into a distorted amp. It sounds absolutely monstrous and doomy as a boost when set up properly.

[@backlogbuddies]

Thanks I'll see if i can

[@phatnana2379]

I got and used a Dark Matter for the heavy stuff I play (stuff similar to Dragged Into Sunlight, Pig Destroyer, NAILS, Converge, etc) and was VERY disappointed at first! Like everyone is saying, the Dark Matter really just isn't as heavy as you'd expect from the name, but notes are clear af coming out of the DM! However, I started running a Fender Pugilist Distortion pedal alongside the Dark Matter, and it SLAMS! The boost from The Pugilist gave DM the balls it needed to chug properly and rumble! Also, using the DM for my tone is good because notes are still crystal clear! PS: a few months back I snagged a KMA Wurm... It's the most gruesome distortion ever!!

[@metallsnubben]

What IS set up properly? Cause I've tried this very thing and not gotten great results

[@phatnana2379]

@@metallsnubben are you replying to my comment? You're running it with a Pugilist?

[@metallsnubben]

@@phatnana2379 Nah the original, putting it as a boost before the amp's own distortion

[@jeffleecust]

Dude you did this all wrong. First of all the pedal needs to be upside down, remove the knobs, replace them with cheese cubes, you need to use a solid gold output cable and an actual live snake for the input cable. Should sound great.

[@jeffleecust]

Thanks for the “heart “ Ola, remember to choose your cheese knobs carefully. #tonecheese

[@tite93]

What sort of cheese do you usually use for the knobs? I go with cheddar, but I'm really open for any suggestions

[@jeffleecust]

ThornInTheEye cheddar is good for a sharp attack, I use provolone for a buttery balanced tone. Real metal heads use pepper jack, of course

[@theliberation9061]

No, but I guess if you observe "it sounds pleasant" but then decide it's not powerful enough for what you doing... that sounds to me that the pedal is fine, you're just using it wrong?

[@jeffleecust]

Prasanth Selvadurai a true classic.

[@joshritz7067]

Hmmm I'm not sure what their intent was when building that pedal. It sounds like maybe it's meant to work more like an OD, stacked on top of an amp's natural distortion.

[@JoseLuis-ph4iz]

This is exactly how I use it and it colors the existing distortion nicely.

[@suhr-t136]

Exactly! The name of the pedal makes no sense when it's clearly an overdrive, unless there is something wrong with just this one being tested.

[@joshritz7067]

I'm not sure but the difference between an OD and distortion may be in the circuit design. How it clips the signal

[@deltarider99]

Yep - this! Fails as a stand-alone distortion but is a nice alternative to a TS pedal.

[@acdclexu6296]

I think also so like a tube screamer. Full volume, no gain because the gain sounds pretty shitty 😂

[@danielnm156]

This is one of the best affordable distortions out there ! I love the sounds you get out of it. I do however totally agree with you that it isn’t for chugging. It is more on the grungier side of things than a distortion for playing Trash Metal or Death or any Megadeth riff. I think this is something that sounds more like something that Alice In Chains or Tool might like. Good review !!

[@jollyradtv9941]

nailed it. It's totally AIC or TOOL.

[@regulirobert]

I got this pedal for years, I only use it to boost my fender with it.... but it's not a metal pedal to be fair. It's pretty cool for punk rock tho.

[@Count_Impaler]

Also got this distortion, it's really not so metal until you use it with screamer. Ibanez ts7 in my case makes it sound much more angry but still clear

[@KevinsAddiction]

@@Count_Impaler I also push it with a sd1 for hard rock songs

[@regulirobert]

@@KevinsAddiction that's right.... you can stack them pretty well into an already slightly driven amp😉

[@chikinstories]

I like it for stoner rock/metal.

[@KevinsAddiction]

@@regulirobert I actually use my clean amp and push the dark matter with the boss sd1

[@goranmarinic2923]

that is a VERY GOOD sounding distortion pedal to my ears.

[@duaneanderson6393]

I like the Dark Matter. It may not chug like you. The distortion is good for me , not chug but groovy

[@mattwilson717]

I felt the same way. Not exactly a great metal tone, but definitely useable for various rock tones.

[@duaneanderson6393]

@@mattwilson717 I own Both the T.C.Electronic Dark Matter & Mojo-Mojo pedals and find then to work well With my Diditech GSP 1101preamp processor. Such a deal @ $49.99 each. Two very distintly different variations and flavors of dirt and grind They are in my experiece both BANG FOR THE BUCK pedals.

[@brookehartman2754]

Thank you for this review. I was just about to order it because a very respected guitar magazine recommended it but luckily your videos are more reliable than half of the magazines and “experts” these days. I ordered the metal zone mt-2 instead

[@el_kammeroni]

I had this, sold it immediately, got the Mojo Mojo and its much cooler! One of the best TC pedals! Superb OD for pushing amps!

[@glahome1]

Dude! Use whatever you want, anytime you want! It's your show and I'm just glad your doing it! Play on.......!!!!

[@jerod256]

I have a DM and I've found what it lacks in chug, it makes up for in value and versatility. It blends well with a distorted tube amp like an OD or a TS. It's also got great headroom and you can get very nice edge of break up cleans. It's volume output is also quite substantial and hits a tube preamp input pretty hard. For $50USD. Granted there are better pedals out there, but at 5 times the price.

[@peinmilan]

Just to put it into perspective: TC made three very similar pedals at that time (housing, knobs are the same for all three): SPARK (clean boost), MOJOMOJO (overdrive), DARK MATTER (distortion). But as I see it they are all kind of a Tube Screamer pedal with increasing levels of max gain. So basically you can (and you should) use them as a Tubescreamer but you get more flavors and more EQ options. It's not a distortion pedal for sure.

[@JoseLuis-ph4iz]

Agree. I own this and love using it as an OD pedal to push or color an already distorted sound.

[@givemeajackson]

really far off the mark, at least for the mojomojo and the spark. the mojo mojo is not suitable as a tubescreamer substitute! i almost bougth one cause it was cheap, but when i went to try it it did not do what i wanted it to do at all! it colours the sound a lot, on its own it sounds kinda vox-y, it doesn't have that much output, and it adds some fuzz in there too, even if used as a boost. not a bad sound, but not at all what i was looking for, and definitely the wrong pedal to try and clean up a muddy amp. paul gilbert apparently loves it to bits, but it didn't work for me at all. the spark on the other hand as a super powerful EQ, insane amounts of output (i mean, it's a booster, it better have insane amounts of output), and again a very different gain structure to a TS. if you want a tubescreamer there's hundreds of other options, but these don't fit the bill at all. imo the spark is way better than a TS at smacking a weak or muddy distorted tube amp to where you want it to be, it does less to the gain structure, but it has way more flexibility than a TS.

[@adamskold6395]

@@givemeajackson Agreed. I don't know about the Dark Matter, but I have owned both the mini and large Spark and they are definitely not tubescreamers. The Mojo Mojo is supposedly a Klone according to a few people, I haven't played one myself but it sort of makes sense from the videos I've seen on KZbin

[@givemeajackson]

@@adamskold6395 i don't think it's very Klon-y either. i played a j rockett archer, never a real klon, but imo the mojo mojo is actually it's own thing. the best description i can come up with it's that it does vox AC series things. it's fun with a strat and a tube amp on the edge of power amp breakup, but not something i'd personally use

[@rowlandstraylight]

This is nothing like a tubescreamer, and doesn't really work how you'd use a tubescreamer, unless you're trying to use a tubescreamer as a distortion and pushing it with other pedals, it's a really dynamic pedal and feels a lot like a really cranked 70s amp.

[@southofheaven4321]

call a pedal "dark matter" and it doesnt even chug. bad times.

[@visualdarkness]

To me the name sounds more "cosmic" than metal.

[@theirishpotato6588]

@@visualdarkness I agree.

[@SuffyANX]

I think it's supposed to be because dark matter is invisible, and the pedal is supposed to be a transparent sounding drive, so it's kind of a clever name except that most people looking for guitar pedals aren't going to make the connection from "black distortion pedal" to "astrophysics". I actually have one and I quite like it, but I use it more for gain stacking to make really nasty doom metal or grindcore sort of tones, and for blending on bass. Good for punk, too, but definitely not intended to be a chunky death metal pedal

[@dddd717]

Get the fangs for chugging

[@EduSymmetry]

When you read "Dark Matter" you think "holy shit! I'm gona die because of this chug!!"... Aaaaaaand, no way... Just to play rock n roll or stuff like this... but, it sound fine, just not for chugging 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Longjocks]

I used this pedal for my main distortion sound for the first couple of years I played in a local classic Aussie rock band. It was perfect. When I first saw the name I thought it was aimed at a metal audience. The reviews informed me otherwise. Either way, no regrets. It's still in my collection.

[@guylikesguitar]

Use it as a boost!

[@vincenzoerriquenz2356]

Hello Ola, as you said in the end of the video the T C Electronic Dark Matter Distortion is not meant for metal, in the intentions of the T C Electronic It would be a sort of vintage stack amp in a box, not so compressed and not extreme, more dynamic than chunky, I personally like it anyway for Classic rock and hard rock styles.

[@kayleb1109]

Kind of reminds me of Alice in Chains-Them Bones when Ola chugs with this pedal

[@soundzero6695]

I own this pedal. This is not really for chugging but for dynamic distortion playing. I stack this with Tube Screamer to make it chug. If you want to chug straightup, go with Fangs!

[@goatsurgeon]

On the other hand, the TC Dark Magus overdrive should chug if you push it all the way- it’s like the Cinders which is supposed to be like a TS9 or OD808, but has more bite added to it. It’s a rock/metal sound

[@benoitguenette988]

Hey Ola! I'm a teacher and one of my student, cuz he know that I play guitar, asked me what is the best distortion pedal for death metal. I told him he could watch your channel and see which one you've tested fits the most for what he's looking for. The only thing, he does not have a big amp. (Like a lot of young players). Could you test some of your favorite distortion pedals with a small cheap amp? Thx!!

[@JoeBaermann]

Best would be for him to go to a music store, find a guitar and amp like he owns and try different kinds of dirt pedals with it. He probably also has a limited budget?

[@JoeBaermann]

@D Zuke If you buy this on amazon for $100 ..... the Dark Matter is a $40-50 pedal when you get it from a proper music store, and it's not good for metal even when thrown in front of a good tube/valve amp, but that how it was intended to be, shame on the music stores that to put it up as a distortion for metal, didn't even found it good as a boost for a metal sounds, I just don't like it's tonal range. I agree, DS-1 would work, but still depends on the kind of metal tone he wants, even BOSS MZ, MC or EH Metal Muff Nano works when finetuned, heck if the amp has enough oomph but just misses the tiny bit extra even a clean boost or even a TS can work out pretty well.

[@gingataff]

The Dark Matter works really well with a clean boost in front.

[@Mr316niles]

TC Electronic's Spark Booster could be a good fit to go together for a better sound

[@gingataff]

David Niles Jr yes, that’s what I use but didn’t want to sound like an advert for TC😉

[@vincentrandles8105]

So glad to hear that you took back your original assessment, and came to the same conclusion as I did....it most definitely does NOT CHUG!!! Thank-You very much! Especially the; This is an Engel; and this is a bad pedal which just happens to have that name attached to it! WTF, right? V⚡

[@gabewilliams7462]

DUDE!! You gotta do the Ibanez SM7!!

[@Steveisnothereanymore]

It's a fantastic overdrive-distortion pedal. I used to set it to a medium crunch sound and boost it with a klon style pedal. Got some fantastic sound out of it that way. The pedal feels very natural to me, and I'll never sell it

[@hinjurock70]

Sounds more 70's hard rock than 80's or 90's metal.

[@steelman774]

More expressive

[@bmwilson79]

First video by Mr Englund I have ever seen and it shan’t be the last. This is the perfect introductory video to this dude.

[@pneumothoraxguitar2816]

Putting an OD before it helps get more out of it. On its own it’s a bit meh.

[@zerosoma33]

I’d rather have a tonally superior distortion with nuance and clarity that barely chugs than a mess of fizz and mush that does. This pedal is honest and fair.

[@alexskibicki2262]

Cool demo, ola. This pedal sounds really nice. By itself, it sounds suitable for hard rock. But with a distorted amp, it sounds killer for metal. \m/

[@duaneanderson6393]

T.C.Electronic Dark Matter & Mojo-Mojo pedals and find then to work well With my Diditech GSP 1101preamp processor. Such a deal @ $49.99 each. Two very distintly different variations and flavors of dirt and grind They are in my experiece both BANG FOR THE BUCK pedals. Your WILL IT CHUG SERIES has been very helpful in assisting me in selecting gear for my manicured noise mania. Thank you very much. Your comparison Between the BehringerHM300 Boss HM-2 Heavy metal pedals was spot on. I now own a Behringer Clone of the King Of Swedish Death Metal pedal . I really admire your skills and razor sharp acumen .

[@JonLucPritchard]

"that was a quick little let-down" that is what she said

[@Pablo-nc6qu]

I think I've met her

[@markt8262]

So glad you made this video. I was tempted to buy it, but not anymore. Chugging is a must.

[@CallMeSmigl]

I could see this pedal have an agenda in my doom metal rig stacked with a Muff maybe. But overall and especially on it's own it's actually kinda boring.

[@SuffyANX]

I use mine by running it into a Throne Torcher HM2 clone, and on bass I do the same with a Darkglass B7k and it makes some awesome sounds. Definitely fun to use for that sort of thing, and you can make some disgusting doomy-yet-grindy sort of tones with it. I've used it for some pushed cleans too, to good effect, but I don't think anybody's buying a pedal for pushed cleans.

[@chikinstories]

I was given one of these and I use it for stoner rock/metal riffing

[@mopartony7953]

Finally a video without a Solar guitar. Nice to see a little variety return to this channel.

[@chassegardee7694]

It's a nice Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock" sound

[@sergiojaviergallardocorado2350]

As Ola said "Maybe this distorsion wasn´t designed for me", I think, It depends on how you use it. I play Slamming Brutal Death Metal with it, and believe me, it chugs as hell, the bass knob it´s amazing.

[@DominicAirola]

I have this, it’s a good pedal as an overdrive. On its own it’s good for like 80s hair metal tones. Meant to be combined with the Mojo Mojo for chugs.

[@samsoniteeee]

Deliberately held off buying this pedal. Now I’m kinda glad.

[@fatdydnkn]

colleague recommended this to me, was just about to buy this crap thanks for the review Ola

[@Golem29]

Depends what you want it for i guess but I'd be very disappointed if I was after a high gain chug.

[@fatdydnkn]

@@Golem29 for chugging of course!

[@ProCoRat]

Yeah, the name sounds super heavy, but the pedal is more or less a hotter tubescreamer style overdrive circuit. That's why I think the name is unfortunate because people buy it expecting like a metal distortion or something.

[@horrifyinggelatinousblob]

It's actually a good mid gain pedal with something like a Plumes driving it, but for straight up metal it's no bueno.

[@anthonyperkins5856]

I use your videos to look at the different distortion pedals I want to by. Your channel is an honest view of the pedals in questions, thanks.

[@anthonycurreri1543]

Sounds awesome! Great overdrive to distortion without too much fuzz. Which is prefect for guitar and even better for bass players too.

[@LukeCannotSkate]

This pedal as a boost can work for 90s style metal sounds, if a Tubescreamer or clean boost sounds too clean for you. Try gain 0, volume at least 7, bass 3, treble 7 and put it in front of a fairly distorted amp. It gives it that nice hard clipping saturation. Put an overdrive or clean boost in front of the Dark Matter and it gets super tight.

[@goatsurgeon]

“That was a quick little letdown” hahaha

[@d1l4te43]

Maybe it's not chugging, but it's got some grit to it. I love it

[@claudevieaul1465]

"I'm using the Engl Savage because the clean channel is really really awesome" - Ola E. 😲🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@chalocesped]

Man I love that strat

[@gergelyboros8138]

Chug Norris doesnt need a distortion to play

[@ChiAeNima]

Hi Ola. The problem with the TC Dark Matter is the "evil" name and the black colour. It's not a Metal distortion. It's made more like a Hard Rock, Alt Rock/Metal, Progressive Rock/Metal distortion. In my opinion as an owner of the pedal it sounds awesome and clear. Every note can be listened but it's not for extreme Metal or a very tight kind of distortion. You have forgotten to try to boost it with an overdrive. That's a game changer. Try it if you want. It's a cool pedal. Cheers bro.

[@martinkrauser4029]

The problem is that it won't chug.

[@ChiAeNima]

@@martinkrauser4029 sure it doesn't. With an overdrive in front of it as a clean boost or even with a little drive, it can be more aggressive, more Metal. In fact, TC designed the MojoMojo overdrive and Dark Matter distortion as some kind of brothers pedals. To use them separately or together for more gain. But it's not made for chugging.

[@kukusensei1561]

Hot rails for the next will it chug anyone?

[@elitejams]

if im not mistaken i think this pedal was developed with Brett Garsed.....if u are familiar with his music, there is not really any heavy distorted tones....this pedal reflects the tone Brett uses often. Of course i could be wrong....

[@Callum-Morrison]

Give that sound to Kim Thayil and he'll write you a great Soundgarden tune.

[@DanielECarroll]

Dark Matter reminds me of the Seymour Duncan Dirty Deed. It has a nice warm tube style distortion(especially the Dirty Deed with 18v), but add a Tubescreamer in front of it and it tightens up and shreds!

[@Jonezzzzzzzy]

Of all 43 pieces of gear tested in Will It Chug thus far, this TC Electronic Dark Matter comes in at 12th fastest chug! The Engl Powerball Distortion Pedal comes in at 11th place at 36.13 seconds, and the TC Fangs comes in 13th place at 40.28 seconds. Edit: this is also the first piece of gear to chug, but also not chug!

[@Aeronaut1975]

I own this pedal. I got it as a freebie (Buy one, get one free). Used ot once for about 5 mins. It's been sat in it's box on a shelf for the last 4 years or so ever since.

[@briansau8729]

It sounds a bit "better/warmer" in person, but it's not a pedal for metal by any means. Definitely has a misleading name IMO.

[@pabloantuna717]

only the name chugs. thanks for your sincerity Ola!!! nothing can break the WILL IT CHUG? section

[@gorf101]

It's a top 40 chug..nicklechug.

[@thomasmichael1129]

Underrated comment 🤣😂🤣

[@mattmcfarland3491]

Seriously. Not saying there isnt a use for this pedal, but the sound he got is radio rock all day lol.

[@gorf101]

@@mattmcfarland3491 exactly

[@TidusfromZanarkand]

Finally a Will It Chug of a piece that doesn't cost a fortune!! The last few pedals you did, sounded awesome sure, but costed £200+

[@slamblossom793]

Wasn't everyone complaining when you used the Randall Satan? Lmao never pleased

[@Soldano999]

The satan is based on the engl savage...

[@slamblossom793]

@@Soldano999 no guff. Just making an observation on people are always going to complain, and finding humor in it.

[@terryenglish7132]

Did you krank the bass ? That's what Dark Matter is about. It brings clarity to the tone even w distortion. When the amp distortion was used, there was the bass. W the Dark Matter bass up that's what the clean channel would sound like. Metal amps tweak for bass oriented gain so the distortion doesn't get thin, and that's what is going on w the DM.

[@immanuelrohy]

"ola uses this too much", "ola uses that too much". Are ya'll really that picky?

[@marvintimke3978]

Yes, i guess people are like this

[@search895]

If he uses the same type of guitar to test pedals and amps it is better i guess. Testing the gear not the guitar and seeing the difference with similar guitars.

[@paulkline3011]

People just really suck Ass!! Quit complaining.

[@theelusivedillinger]

Uhh...this is the internet..No?

[@trulsolsen683]

probably mostly people who buy pedals because of this video, gets home, makes it sound like shit because they cant play like Ola, then blame the amp instead of their skill level. Ola could chug with a 30's lapsteel guitar plugged into a Twin Reverb through a metalzone if he wanted to. wouldnt sound great, but it would still sound chug

[@liys540]

add tube screamer or any overdrive pedal, it maybe chuck

[@ronnymilianowicz5228]

If u put this pedal after your tubescreamer and use it as a treble booster with volume and and treble at max it is one of the best pedals for the money. Same with the Mojo Mojo.

[@chrishawkins2267]

I think the pedal nails shitty Tool distortion - no bite/definition

[@isuckatguitar6252]

I have the TC Fangs Metal Pedal - Maybe u can try that one out for us? I'm not sure if it chugs either! 😂 I switched to mostly using virtual pedals on Bias FX. Got a few of Ola's metal pedals in there!

[@aaronsg71]

It’s a great sounding pedal but not for extreme metal

[@phillippitts6294]

Very transparent distortion. I own one. Not my favorite but I still like it.

[@gordontubbs]

This pedal sounds like what decaffeinated coffee tastes like. Yeah, it's coffee, but is it really doing anything for you? No.

[@mikex300]

Will it chug? Joyo Uzi. Thanks Ola, great vídeo!

[@Owen_plays_music1049]

Thanks for using a Strat, PS: it sounds great in my opinion

[@JaPakaj]

Will it chug: fuzz face? or any kind of fuzz actually, I would to see Ola play some doom chugs :D

[@sinnertrain7405]

I think it sounds great, but for full out modern metal, you'd need an amp set for low OD for it to chug. I don't play metal (although I'm still a fan after all these years), and I may buy one of these. I love TC Electronic pedals.

[@stug5041]

I was SHOCKED this pedal got a “will it chug” episode - I have one of these and I use it as an overdrive into dirty amps - def not a metal style pedal on its own. Does well as an OD with a bit more gain than a typical TS though

[@gcvrsa]

The Dark Matter distortion was never really made to be a single box solution for "metal". It's more or less the same pedal as the MojoMojo overdrive, but with about 25-33% more gain. If you put a MojoMojo and Dark Matter side by side and compare them, you will hear the similarities, when you set the gain on the MojoMojo about 35-33% higher than the setting on the Dark Matter. There is a third, even higher gain version in this series, called the Röttweiler distortion, but it was discontinued. Maybe you should track one down and try it.

[@gonzalocastillo2804]

Not meant for chugging. The name is misleading. I'm not a chugger on guitar, maybe beers. lol. I play medium distortion so the "not so dark matter" works fine for me. I boost it with the mojo mojo for solos.

[@sharkymcsharknose2979]

Will a Fender Meteora HH chug?

[@chrismarcyy]

You know what would be cool? Putting a couple of heads on the clean channel, using the same Distortion Pedal, Cab, Speaker, Mic and Mic Preamp, to see how much of a difference a clean channel makes on pedals. Specially distortion pedals. Cheers from Puerto Rico! and Sorry for my fucked up english ;-;

[@olliemckay8755]

I bought this pedal thinking I would get great metal tones. I was very disappointed and almost sold it, then I discovered it does a great Jimmy Page style medium gain Marshall tone

[@huppifiedm8088]

Finally! A pedal that doesn't automatically sound amazing just cause you play it :D I got one myself and was really curious cause I'd know that if it sounds good in this video then I'm doing something wrong. But it's really usable as a boost. You've gotta use it like a tube screamer. Then it does chug as hell!

[@angryjoegaming]

"Use Solar guitars too much." Really??, wow. It is your brand, it is your channel. And at least in my opinion, the Solar guitars look and sound awesome. I have 2 so can confidently say the play well too. Top shelf guitars at about half the price mainstream top shelf's. Man, there is just no pleasing some people. Keep doing your thing man.

[@christopherbass4521]

As many others have said, this thing works like an overdrive but it's got a bit more gain than usual and is a hybrid OD/Distortion as a result. Running it into a clean channel isn't the best application for it.

[@benjimusicandgamimg9773]

I bought one of these in college, was okay for rock and works as a boost for metal

[@Xplora213]

I’m hearing Soundgarden. We didn’t have Cannibal Corpse levels of distortion till the mid 90s. It wasn’t easy to get until 2005. I like CC but most of your kids would have loved that sound when I was in high school.

[@Cobanaut04]

Cool. Was keen to see how these sounded. Asked & answered. Cheers man.

[@PinkFloyd28394]

The dark matter is not a metal pedal in the first place, it is a great distortion pedal. This was a great video to watch and try to make it chug.

[@rockstarr9000]

Good to do reviews like this. Not all of these should equal “yes”

[@ON-bo4cm]

Thanks for using the same amp every time! And keep plugging solar guitars, because they're fucking sick!

[@TheSwanepoelmj]

People need to watch the official product video for this. Tor himself says that this pedal was not designed with metal in mind AT ALL. Its basically a hard clipping transparent overdrive wich goes into distortion territory. No it wont chug, I repeat, this will NEVER CHUG. Horses for coarses. I pair mine with a tube screamer mini. Thats a whole different beast. It focuses the mids, and the active two band eq then works a charm.

[@bradmuromoto9580]

By itself, no lol put in front of a crunched tube amp, yes! Also sweet sounds by itself for sweet dynamics and great response! I use this as a booster in my rig. Really good tone voicing in my Marshall amp. Kinda an oxymoron “DARKmatter” sounds heavy af but once you hear it and play around with it, you can get some really sweet lead tones! PLEASE PLEASE try the Seymour Duncan Palladium Gain stage!!! Been my go to pedal especially when plugged into the effects loop! Kinda like how the Boss MT-2 made its comeback. It bypasses the preamp so your using it as a preamp. Worth a shot.

[@qwerty6789x]

i'm digging more the MT-2 running behind the effects loop.

[@qwaazig1631]

I need to know if EHX Crayons can chug. I trust your scientific method Ola, now I need results!

[@nickolaynaydenov3292]

I love it! I knew about the pedal, but didn't hear a metal review/demo of it.

[@dickieradd]

Thanks for proving I wasn't crazy. This was the biggest regret purchase pedal I ever got

[@rdavanzo]

I owned a Dark Matter for a few months and enjoyed it in its own glory. I sold it because it really did not chug. I even stacked it with an OD (tc mojo mojo) and no chugging.

[@leeyandzlim7763]

The Engl is superb too

[@Sizzorfite]

You need the Dark Knight distortion from VVco pedals... \0/

[@brandonbeach2141]

Reminds me of when I had a Mesa Boogie Stiletto. Was fine when I was playing alone, but when I formed a band and tried to chug live, it was either bright, or mush.