Guitar Pedal Reviews

Empress Effects Heavy

Introduction

In this aptly named box you’ll find a huge range of killer high gain tones. From crisp, mid-driven 80’s metal, to scooped, modern down-tuned brutality, this little box of sonic mayhem does it all.

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Empress Effects Heavy Details

The two independent channels of the Empress Effects Heavy can be voiced similarly so that one channel can be used as a solo boost, or they can be voiced entirely differently by using the mid-range control in conjunction with the 3 position mid frequency select switch.

Add in separate weight controls to shape the low end response of each channel, and a global hi/low eq section that allows you to fine tune your particular amp and cab combination, and you’ve got a serious tool to create a supremely heavy sounding rig.

On top of all this we’ve added an extremely responsive and hassle free noise gate that will ensure dead silent operation with even the most obscene amounts of gain added.

Features

  • All Analog Signal Path – no digitals in here!
  • Super High Gain – It’s called the heavy, what’d you expect?
  • Weight – An intuitive new control that changes the character of your low end.
  • 3 Band EQ – Selectable mid frequency lets you get precise eq curves, with boost or cut up to 10dB per band.
  • Dual Channel Design – Heavy and Heavier let you set your channels similarly, for rhythm/solo, or completely differently for a wider range of tones.
  • Soft Touch Switches – Relay bypass and intelligent switching make this pedal super easy to use.
  • Noise Gate – Natural and aggressive settings let you tailor the gate to your needs, keeping noise out of your signal chain.
  • True Bypass – The Empress Heavy employs true bypass, so you can be sure that it’s not affecting the signal when disengaged.
  • Small Size – The enclosure measures approximately 4.5″ by 3.5″ by 1.5″, which is delightfully small when considering all the features packed into this unit.

Specifications

Input Impedance 1M
Output Impedance 510 Ohm
Frequency Response (-3dB) 35Hz – 17kHz
Power Input Voltage 9 – 18 V DC (Negative tip)
Power Input Connector 2.1mm barrel connector (Negative tip)
Power Consumption ~ 200mA
Enclosure Material Die Cast Aluminum

Empress Effects Heavy Reviews

All the reviews of the Empress Effects Heavy below are by real world users of this pedal. If there are no reviews yet, and you have used this pedal, feel free to let everyone know what your experience with it was like, using the form to the right or below.

Ryan G

100%

An absolutely brutal sounding pedal! A total game changer for distortion.

Yohay

100%

I play guitar for 30 years and this is the best distortion pedal I ever heard. Spent 3 hours playing it right after the delivery boy was gone.

Kyle S

100%

I’ve gone through a lot of distortion pedals and I’ve never been able to dial in the right amount of gurthiness with clarity…. I could rant and rave about this for paragraphs, I was very impressed and excited jamming on this thing (the weight dial had an amazing effect on the low end, and the built in noise gates and mid range freq gives you so many possibilities) I LOVE this pedal

Steven A

100%

Depending on your setup, pedals work differently for everyone. With this pedal, I use a Blackstar St.James 6L6 amp on clean, MXR M108 EQ, and Seymour Duncan Blackouts. The high gain is razor sharp, you get 2 chanels and a noise gate with each. I stopped looking for a distortion pedal because I dig this, this is pretty much the top of the line for me at this point in time. I am still trying to figure out the Weight knob.

Submit Your Review

If you have owned or used a Empress Effects Heavy, why not let everyone know what your experince was like?