Sound Character

Radical Distortion delivers a more assertive drive character while remaining musically controlled. It is designed to provide weight and sustain for aggressive playing, while preserving enough dynamic response to maintain clarity across complex chords and higher-register passages.

Core Design Features

While some pedals prioritize a strictly neutral frequency response and others rely on a fixed mid-range emphasis, Phase Two Music pedals use an active second-order filter with adjustable resonance.

This approach allows the frequency response to range from flat and transparent to focused, resonant, and even wah-like behaviors—offering significantly more tonal flexibility than traditional tone stacks.

The second-order filter also enables precise control of high-frequency content. Harsh or fizzy upper harmonics, often in the 5–10 kHz range, can be reduced while preserving or enhancing the upper-mid frequencies that give electric guitar its power and “throaty” character.

Both pedals also include a post-distortion bass makeup circuit, ensuring a full, authoritative low end without sacrificing clarity.

Radical Distortion uses specialized hard-clipping diodes to generate a more aggressive distortion character than many traditional silicon-based designs. The clipping response is firm and authoritative, but carefully tuned to avoid excessive compression or loss of articulation.

When combined with the active filter and bass makeup circuit, the pedal can deliver powerful low-end impact for chugging rhythms while retaining clarity and sustain for extended chords and higher-register playing.