[USED] Amptweaker FatMetal Distortion

Since its introduction, the TightMetal has been very popular, but as usual Amptweaker received many requests for a variation…..the new FatMetal is designed for players who wanted a warmer version that worked better with brighter guitars and amps, but also was less aimed at palm-muted metal, and worked better for tremolo-picking Black metal. All features are identical to the TightMetal, but the tone has been tweaked to extend the low range of the Tight and Tone controls, and an added Black Gain switch was added to boost the gain in an appropriate way to get the thicker, buzzier gain required for that genre.

The Thrash switch converts the basic tone into a heavier, more mid-scooped tone for classic vintage metal tones. The Black Gain switch modifies the gain from a moderately heavy metal distortion to a very thick and extreme metal tone that. The TightMetal noise gate has also been retweaked to make it smoother, and to sound better with the reduced highs of the FatMetal to allow it to work better for solos.

Another cool Amptweaker feature on this pedal is the SideTrak™ effects loop. Several consumer requests led to this extra effects loop that turns OFF when the pedal is ON. Since the FatMetal makes such a good ‘solo’ pedal, it’s the perfect pedal to include this unique idea.

It can be used to add a compressor, chorus or chain of effects that only works when you play clean, or to switch to another distortion pedal like the TightMetal to use for the rhythm sound and the FatMetal for the solos…all without having to hit more than one switch….it’s like having a built-in A/B box. A green LED alternates with the normal red one to indicate that the loop is active when the pedal is bypassed.

Another cool SideTrak trick is that if you only plug in the SideTrak Send, and don’t plug in the Return, then that Sent dry signal can be sent to another amp…..meaning you could have the FatMetal going through a 412 halfstack while sending the clean tone to a Twin or some other clean amp. All this ability comes from two simple jacks on the side of the pedal!

All other features from the TightMetal remain intact, including the Effects Loop with its Pre/Post switch, the LED illumination of the controls, and the Battery On/Off switch and magnetic battery access door. The rear effects loop send can also be used as a clean guitar send for re-amping in the studio if switched to Pre.