The TUA (Total Utter Annihilation) Metalcore Distortion

Demos

Guitar: Les Paul, bridge pickup, tone at 10. The TUA's settings are as follows: Presence 10 o'clock, Bass 2 o'clock, Mid 11 o'clock, Treble 12 o'clock, Gain 12 o'clock. This is an example of getting a really nasty sound with plenty of thin string twang for a really aggressive, dirty, crazy tone.

http://www.railheadeffects.com/sounds/RHFX-TUA-Sample-01.mp3

Guitar: Les Paul, bridge pickup, tone at 50%. The TUA's settings are as follows: Presence 8 o'clock, Bass 3 o'clock, Mid 11 o'clock, Treble 12 o'clock, Gain 1 o'clock. This is an example of getting a really fat, chunky, rich distortion.

http://www.railheadeffects.com/sounds/RHFX-TUA-Sample-02.mp3

More to come...

Gallery

Details

Meet sonic oblivion: the TUA aka the Total, Utter Annihilation Metalcore Distortion. This is the be all end all of high-gain distortions, and it provides the most guttural, gnashing, straight-from-Hades sounds you'll ever hear — think the ElectricTabs Boogie on "refined steroids."

The TUA is loaded with 6 controls, opening the doors to unlimited sounds and preferences. From left to right we have Volume, Presence, Bass, Mid, Treble, and Gain, and all are highly interactive with one another. Here's a run-down of what each control does:

Volume controls the overall output level.
Presence controls how "forward" or "backward" in the mix the effect's sound is.
Bass controls the amount of low frequencies that remain in the mix.
Mid controls the amount of midrange frequencies that remain in the mix.
Treble controls the amount of treble frequencies that remain in the mix.
Gain controls just how much distortion you want.

The EQ controls are extremely interactive, and all work as roll-offs, meaning, counterclockwise will cut the upper frequencies while keeping the lower frequencies intact, and clockwise will cut lower frequencies while maintaining the upper frequencies (setting them all to 12 o'clock will be somewhere close to neutral). Each control's control is also tied to the others, so setting the Bass frequencies impacts how much mid and treble is left in the signal for those controls to manipulate. Setting the Mid impacts how much bass and treble is left for those controls. And — you guessed it — setting the Treble controls how much bass and mid is left for those controls to tweak. So, as you adjust each control, you're also adjusting the remaining frequencies for all the other ranges — and this is what allows you to explicitly dial-in and fine-tune the TUA to get exactly the sound you want.

The TUA comes in two flavors: Etched and Painted. The etched finish is hand sanded and polished, and sports metallic black paint in the recesses. The painted version is metallic black with a high-gloss finish, and sports polished aluminum knobs — and as with all my effects, only the finest quality parts are used: cast aluminum shells, Switchcraft jacks, individually selected transistors, carbon resistors, high-end capacitors, and personally designed plate-through PCBs. The TUA is true bypass, sports a 9-volt center pin negative (BOSS style) DC jack, and DOES NOT support and internal battery (a DC-jack to 9-volt battery cable is available). Current draw is approximately 2mA. Made by hand, one at a time, here in the USA.

You can read more about etching here.

Recent User Comments

I just melted my roommate's face off with your TUA, so now you owe me his cut of rent!
The horrific tones in this black beast make Sepultura cry like babies.
Near limitless control is right — I can get so many sounds from the TUA that every kind of metal and hardcore rock is accessible. SIMPLY AWESOME RHFX!

Documentation

RAILhead Effects TUA Manual

Pricing and Availability

Ordering will reopen March 1, 2012. I am on sabbatical until then. Read more about it here.

The TUA Metalcore Distortion is only $140 (Etched) or $160 (Painted) plus $7 shipping and handling (within the US), and has a current lead time of 2-3 weeks (Etched/Painted). I also ship Internationally, but please email me your full shipping address before ordering to discuss shipping costs.

Made in USA