You know that tone: that humble-yet-nonetheless-mighty grail voicing that’s graced everything from classic sweat-drenched Texas blues to smooth and smoky fusion explorations to visits to planet El Rayo-X. That tone is what the Velvet Hammer is all about. The left side brings the Velvet, with controls for Volume, Tone (just enough shaping to line things up with your rig without compromising that tone), and Gain (again, working with that classic voicing and allowing you to roam from mild to fairly wild ... but humble).

Got that where you want it? Cool; there’s your base Velvet tone.

Now step on the right side – the Hammer, with its fixed midrange and gain bump – for the perfect delivery of pre-portioned oomph while you flinch and grin. Just a smoothly-delivered knockout punch.

Think of it maybe as the tonal equivalent of Mike Tyson in a really classy smoking jacket. It’s all about the Velvet, baby ... but look out for the Hammer.

As with all BMF Effects pedals, the High Roller distortion pedal features true bypass switching and a DC jack.