Dirt Monkey

Overdrive as fat and smooth as a banana cream pie

 

   

 

The Dirt Monkey overdrive rack effect module compares to the Digitech Bad Monkey.  It is similar to a Tubescreamer, but with High and Low tone controls.  The Dirt Monkey has a Cabinet Simulation circuit like the Bad Monkey, which was meant to be used as a direct out to the house mixer without an amp.

 

Description

The Dirt Monkey compares to the Digitech Bad Monkey.  The concept is similar to the Tubescreamer, but with Hi and Lo tone controls instead of a single Tone control.  This circuit is not meant to cross into distortion.  It is a nice analog overdrive that provides overdriven tube amp tones.  Works great for blues and some classic rock, probably also some crunchy country.

Depending on your pickups, you might set the Gain on the Dirt Monkey and your amp for a nice thick overdrive sound while your guitar volume is relatively low, then crank your guitar volume to get more dirt, a little closer to a distortion sound.  But don't get it for distortion.  It is designed to be an overdrive and that's what it does best.  It's best to think of it as a Tubescreamer with better Tone controls that give you a bit more flexibility with your overdrive tone.

As is often the case with a nice overdrive, you may find this to be good for stacking, giving another overdrive, distortion, or fuzz a nice boost.  The Bad Monkey has two outputs.  The first is the standard pedal output for getting that overdrive into your chain.  The second output is the Mixer output.  It takes the OD portion of the circuit and sends it through a cabinet simulator.  The intent was to make that Mixer output available for direct recording or for the house PA.  That might be somewhat useful for a gig if your amp is dead, but maybe a bit limiting to run from your OD directly out, without all that other stuff you might normally have after the drive portion of your chain - modulation, delays, reverb, etc.  But it still gives you a second tonal option to work with.  On the Dirt Monkey, this feature is a switchable option.

The Dirt Monkey has good string definition and note clarity.  It cleans up with your guitar volume, but thins out as it does so.  It goes from clean to medium crunch.  The Hi/Lo tone controls have a lot of play in them - lots of tone options.  The cabinet simulation is there, but fairly subtle.  If you like the drive of a Tubescreamer but prefer a bit more control over the Tone voicing, the Dirt Monkey might be a good option for you.

If you happen to be aware of some market hype and price silliness concerning the Bad Monkey in 2023, let's get the record straight about that.  The Bad Monkey, like many, many other pedals, is very similar in design to the Tubescreamer.  As a result, those many, many pedals share some common core tone.  They often differ on exactly how the frequencies in their tone are shaped.  The Tubescreamer has the famous mids-hump.  Many of the Tubescreamer-like pedals tweak or remove that mids-hump, but the overdrive is still similar in many cases.  The Bad Monkey has a bit more flexibility than some of those other Tubescreamer-like circuits, with its Hi and Lo tone controls.  By adjusting those controls, you can cover a lot of the options offered by those other pedals, dialing in tones that sound similar.  After all, it's nearly the same circuit as those other pedals with some small tweaks in many cases.  So, yes, the Bad Monkey is a more versatile Tubescreamer and with its range of tone controls can be adjusted to sound like a lot of other Tubescreamer-like pedals, but it is still a Tubescreamer at heart.  Throw out a couple famous artist names that use it, and suddenly one of the most affordable pedals available becomes wildly over-priced and you get your controversy and hype.

 

Configurations

  • Dirt Monkey - compares to the Digitech Bad Monkey.  Our standard configuration does not include the Cabinet Simulation

 

 

We don't offer many options for this circuit.  Since the Hi/Lo tone section is pretty much the defining feature of the circuit, we passed on the many normal Tubescreamer circuit options that are focused on tone tweaking.  If you want a tricked-out Tubescreamer style circuit, check out our Virago module.  There are plenty of options there for tweakers!

 

Options

  • Cabinet Simulation - Add the cabinet simulation circuitry to the base configuration.  The Cab Sim will be on a front panel switch.  The standard OD tone will be routed through the Cab Sim when it is switched on.  Adding this switch will make the module 2" wide.
  • Power - could run at 12V or 15V if you want more clean headroom and less crunch

 

Front Panel

  • On/Off indicator LED
  • Level
  • Drive
  • Low
  • High
  • (optional) Cab Sim Switch

 

Rear Panel

  • Audio In
  • Audio Out
  • On/Off Footswitch
  • On/Off Override
  • DC Power
  • DC Power LED

 

Module Width

  • 1.5" standard
  • 2" with Cabinet Simulation Switch option

 

Power Consumption (aprox)

25 mA

 

Base Configurations

Part # Description List Price
MOD-DIRTMONKEY GT Dirt Monkey module $225

 

Options

Part # Description List Price
MOPT-DIRTMONKEY-CAB Cabinet Simulation Switch $19
MOPT-DIRTMONKEY-POWER 12V or 15V Power instead of 9V $0