About This Item
Description
Set your amp on fire without setting your amp on fire. Absolute Destruction is the pedal Death By Audio calls their most insane yet: a power amplifier IC pushed far past its comfort zone until the sound thickens into fuzz, crushes into distortion, blooms into octave nastiness and finally starves into a gated collapse.
Which Death by Audio extreme fuzz is this?
- Fuzz War: the sustaining wall of fuzz with a sweeping active tone control.
- Octave Clang V2: transformer driven pseudo ring modulation with a footswitchable analog octave up.
- Apocalypse: five selectable fuzz voices behind a sweepable frequency equalizer.
Absolute Destruction is the one that ducks, chokes and falls apart on purpose. Reach for it when you want the amplifier to sound like it is failing rather than simply saturating.
Why guitarists choose the Absolute Destruction
- Slider controls let you set gain and overload by eye on a dark stage, then move them mid song for dramatic swells.
- The interaction between Gain and Overload covers thick fuzz, crushing distortion and starved gated collapse from one circuit.
- Blooming octave nastiness appears on held notes without a separate octave device in the chain.
- True bypass keeps the pedal completely out of the signal path when it is switched off.
- It draws only 5 mA, so it fits any crowded supply with room to spare.
- Hand built in New York City in a folded metal enclosure with jacks along the top edge.
Controls and switches
- MASTER VOLUME slider sets the output level of the effect, from quiet to far louder than your dry signal.
- OVERLOAD slider sets the ceiling at which the circuit overloads, which is where the ducking, starving and gated collapse live.
- GAIN slider sets how hard the signal is driven into that ceiling, from thick fuzz to complete disintegration.
- The footswitch is a true bypass on and off switch, with a red indicator LED next to it.
Power and pedalboard compatibility
- Runs on 9 V DC, 2.1 mm barrel, center negative.
- Current draw is 5 mA, so budget that on your supply.
- A 9 V battery can also power it.
- True bypass means it is completely out of the signal path when it is off, so place it wherever the chain sounds best.
- Jacks sit along the top edge, which keeps patch cables out of the row in front.
- Routing: Mono (single IN and OUT shown in manual).
- It measures 12.57 x 6.63 x 5.94 cm including hardware, so measure your row before ordering.
Technical specifications
| Model | Death by Audio Absolute Destruction |
| Effect type | Fuzz distortion |
| Controls | Master Volume slider, Overload slider, Gain slider |
| Bypass | True bypass |
| Expression or CV input | No |
| Power | 9 V DC, 2.1 mm barrel, center negative |
| Current draw (mA) | 5 |
| Battery | Yes |
| Top mounted jacks | Yes |
| Routing | Mono (single IN and OUT shown in manual) |
| Connections | IN jack, OUT jack, 9V DC power jack (per manual panel diagram); jack type/size not published |
| Dimensions including hardware | 12.57 x 6.63 x 5.94 cm |
| Weight | 10 oz. |
| MPN | 720260152447 |
| GTIN | 720260152447 |
| ASIN | B07C2K5G31 |
| Manufacture and warranty | Handmade in New York City |
FAQ
What does the Overload slider actually do? It sets the point at which the power amplifier IC gives up. Lower settings choke and duck the note, higher settings let it bloom before it collapses.
Can it run on a 9 V battery? Yes. Death By Audio lists 9 V battery operation for this pedal as well as a 9 V DC adapter.
How much current does it need? Only 5 mA at 9 V DC, so it is one of the easiest pedals on the board to power.
Is it true bypass? Yes. When the footswitch is off the pedal is completely out of the signal path.
Where should it sit in the chain? Place it early, before time based effects, so the reverb and delay hear the collapse rather than smearing it.
Does it work for bass? It will pass bass, but the gating and starving are voiced for guitar. For low end that stays solid, the Bass War keeps a clean blend under the fuzz.
Is it handmade? Yes. Death By Audio states that the pedal is handmade in New York City.