Empress Effects Heavy Menace Distortion Pedal Overview
The Heavy Menace is a compact evolution of Empress’ popular Heavy dual-distortion pedal designed to fit seamlessly into your pedalboard setup.
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Versatility at Its Finest: Original Modes and Exciting Additions
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With the Heavy Menace, we have retained the original Heavy and Heavier modes, while introducing an exciting new Lite(ish) mode. This versatile pedal covers a wide range of higher-gain tones, from subtle crunch to earth-shattering distortion.
One feature that has garnered immense praise from our customers and artists is the adaptive gate found in the original Heavy. This circuit intuitively responds to sustained notes, providing natural decay while swiftly clamping down during fast stops. In the Heavy Menace, we have taken it a step further by making the gate footswitchable. Players now have the option to link the gate status to the distortion or switch it independently. Additionally, we have incorporated a Gate Key Input for enhanced flexibility.
In terms of bypass options, you can choose between true bypass or buffered bypass modes to suit your preference.
Expanding Tone-Shaping Capabilities: Midrange Frequency and Weight Control
Building upon the robust tone-shaping capabilities of the original Heavy, the Heavy Menace introduces a sweepable midrange frequency control, ranging from 200 Hz to 2.5 kHz. Alongside the three-band EQ, the pedal includes our Weight control, which tailors the low-end response for thick, full chords or tight palm muting.
It is important to note that the original Heavy will continue to be produced, catering to customers who appreciate its two-channel functionality with independent gain, EQ, and gate settings for each channel.
