The Dark Blood distortion is the most aggressive-sounding drive pedal that KHDK Electronics - the company founded by Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett and sound designer David Karon in 2012 - has released to date. This high-gain specialist comes in a stylish red-and-black housing, and its circuitry combines the best of MOSFET and solid-state technology to produce a sound that reproduces that of an overdriven tube amplifier with astonishing accuracy. Another practical feature is the onboard noise gate, which is very easy to use and eliminates almost all unwanted noise, and the pedal also has a HI/LO switch to allow the player to adjust the sound to suit their own taste. And it goes without saying that the Dark Blood, like all of the brand's other pedals, is hand-built in Paducah, USA.
The Dark Blood's potentiometers are topped with chicken-head control knobs so that the settings can easily be seen against the pedal's dark paintwork. In addition to the obligatory gain and volume knobs, the KHDK Dark Blood also features a treble control that covers a wide frequency range. The heart of the pedal, however, is the "Doom" control, which adjusts the bass frequency response with extreme precision to provide a tight bottom end for precise riffing, rich and sustaining sounds for solos or Stoner Rock, and everything in between. Together with the wealth of sonic options provided by the HI/LO switch, guitar players have everything from a mild crunch through to crushing distortion at their fingertips.
The KHDK Dark Blood is an obvious addition to the pedalboard of any player looking to capture the sound of Kirk Hammett and Metallica. However, the pedal's choice of two sound modes, effective EQ controls, and immense gain reserves make it a veritable Swiss army knife for all types of Hard Rock and Metal music. In addition to the full-on gain sounds typically heard in these genres, however, players can also look forward to excellent dynamics and a similarly organic playing feel to that of a real tube amplifier. The whole thing is topped of by the adjustable noise gate, which is highy sensitive and effectively eliminates unwanted noise in both modes, even with the gain knob cranked all the way up.
The US company KHDK Electronics was founded in 2012 by Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett and sound designer David Karon. The company is based in Paducah/Kentucky and produces effect pedals for guitar and bass. In order to achieve a high standard of quality, these are exclusively handcrafted on an analogue basis by a small team. The range of products is confined to boost, overdrive, and distortion pedals which cover an enormously wide sonic range that goes from warm clean boost through to infernal distortion and are not only intended for metal musicians. Besides Kirk Hammett, who actually uses his own pedals, KHDK Electronics pedals can also be found in the arsenal of other big names in the Metal genre, including Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and Gary Holt of Slayer.
Whether you are using the KHDK Dark Blood distortion pedal to push your amp's overdrive channel further into saturation or running it into the clean channel, you can be sure that this pedal with its striking blood-red and black design will deliver an impressive range of drive sounds, all with its characteristic, lively dynamics and a very high level of signal quality. In the studio, the onboard noise gate will ensure that any unwanted noise or hum is quickly eliminated, and the selectable HI and LO modes provide an ideal basis for shaping the pedal's sound to suit your equipment and personal taste.