tc electronic Fangs Metal Distortion

DAAAAMN! Metal runs in this pedals veins! The variety of sounds you can produce from a three way switch between Raw, Fat and Scoop. I'm no expert with pedals but having a little fondle with the settings I managed to get a nice Grand Magus sound and then cranking everything up to max and out comes the old school Entombed/Swedish Death Metal kick to the gut.

I love the sound of this pedal along with the build. This thing feels solid. Metal casing makes it feel like it could take a real beating and its got a weight behind it.

I do not think you could find a better pedal for the price if you want a metal distortion pedal. If you are unsure, look up Ola Englund on YouTube who tries this pedal on Will It Chug. Spoiler, hell yeah it does.

USE 1 - I use it with a 5W 1 channel tube amplifier (12AX7 + EL84). It simply turns that amp into a pure analog high gain beast for home practice. I used various digital multi effect before, but I was never pleased with high gain sound. Finally I have the sound I wanted. My amp also lacks bass/mid/treble, it has only TONE knob. This pedal has very responsive bass and treble plus 3 mid presets. I can now definitely dial in any EQ color or flavour i want. It's just perfect.

USE 2 - I also tested it for audio production on PC. Guitar + Fangs Metal directly into audio interface. I used that raw sound basicly as a preamp that enters VST poweramp plugin and finaly VST CAB simulation. All I can say is WOW! With different IR's only the sky is limit.

QUALITY - Outstanding quality. Metal casing build like a tank. Knobs (pots) are big and very firm and strong. Nothing looks cheap on this product.

Some people commented about "3 preset mod switch" that only "fat" mode is usable. I don't agree with that. Be prepared to use bass and treble on pedal. They are very responsive and you can find good sound with "raw" and "scoop" mode also.

For now I simply can't find any cons.

Even though heavy metal distortions (and music style) are not my cup of tea in general I have bought this just for fun and well... it's great for the money!

The EQ knobs and modes can make this sound really massive with any amp. I use this with clean channels of my tube Laney Lionheart L5-t, Peavey Classic MH 20 and Blackstar Artist 30. Really impressed.

It gives a solid full tight bottom end even through vintage sounding bass lacking Celestion Heritage in 1x12 cab. The raw mode is really doom sounding noise - not for me at all. But the mid boost mode is really cool.

Hint: try it's scooped (down switch) mode in return jack of your amp! Bypasing preamp for the FANGS forming all the gain and equalisation can do a great job transforming your amp into heavy metal beast.

Verdict: for the money - you can't get wrong. If you play heavy metal stuff from time to time and don't want to get specific amp - this is a great way to get into that territory.

Advantage: True bypass, not expensive, very well made, despite the specific control this sound "has the right to exist".
I had at home, for testing - Metal Zone 2, Fullbore Metal, Metal Core. It seems to me that I like Fangs more, it only lacks a little anger. And Fullbore Metal is also a good option, but it somehow lacks the middle.

Of the minuses, the pedal turns on when you release the button, and turns off when you press ....
(I noticed that if you press/release the power button sharply, there is no difference, it seems that turning the pedal on/off happens the same way)

The pedal has a quiet click, Fullbore clicks louder.

I am still listening and the final conclusion regarding the sound has not been made, I will add to the review later.

I'm using it with two synths: Odyssey and Model D and my review is written for those who want to use it with synths.
Works good for both but I think that sound-wise it's better with Model D. Unfortunately Low Output of Model D is very quiet and for the distortion pedal I would recommend something before Fangs (boost or drive).
About settings: RAW and FAT are the best and I couldn't find any application for Scoop yet. For synths it would be nice to have a knob for Mids for better control I think.
Sonically it's very good. It has this vibe of the '80s. Easy to make hard leads. Some basic synth patch plus this pedal and I'm immediately hooked up to play fast riffs almost like a guitarist would do.

If you want to have a heavy distortion pedal for your synth and don't pay a lot, Fangs will most likely satisfy your needs. Just keep in mind that it requires quite hot signal if you really want to drive it hard.