Empress Effects Heavy Menace

The Heavy Menace is a single-channel, fully analog high-gain distortion designed by Empress Effects as an evolution of the original Heavy – in a smaller, more compact enclosure with an expanded mode range. A new Lite(ish) mode is added to the original Heavy and Heavier modes, covering the range from classic hard rock crunch through crushing contemporary metal. The key structural differences from the Heavy: one channel with a switchable mode rather than two independent channels, an adaptive gate with its own footswitch and a dedicated Gate Key Input, and selectable true or buffered bypass. Input impedance: 1 MΩ. Output impedance: 100 Ω. Frequency response (–3 dB): 35 Hz – 17 kHz. Power: 9–12 V DC, 250 mA. Dimensions: 122×66×38 mm.

Three distortion modes and sweepable mid – where the difference lies

Lite(ish) is a new mode absent from the original Heavy – it covers classic crunch and moderate high-gain characteristic of hard rock and 1980s classic metal. Heavy and Heavier correspond to the original pedal's character: Heavy delivers aggressive, dense distortion with pronounced harmonic saturation, Heavier pushes further toward extreme compression and saturation at the highest gain levels. The Weight control operates a high-pass filter inside the distortion stage – not a post-distortion equalizer: turning it up produces a full, dense sound with prominent low end, turning it down sharpens the attack and gives a tighter character for palm muting and extended-range guitar. The mid frequency EQ is continuously sweepable from 200 Hz to 2.5 kHz – full semi-parametric mid control without stepped positions, allowing precise placement of the boost or cut point.

Adaptive gate with Gate Key Input and bypass options

The gate in the Heavy Menace uses envelope followers tracking the input signal before the distortion stage: it responds to playing dynamics, letting long sustained notes decay naturally while closing quickly during short stops and palm muting. The gate is now an independent footswitch with two operating modes: Normal Bypass (gate disengages with the distortion) and Independent Bypass (gate and distortion operate as two separate pedals, each with its own switch). The Gate Key Input accepts an external triggering signal – connecting a clean signal (e.g. from an Empress Buffer+) makes the gate respond consistently regardless of changes at the main input, which is particularly useful when stacking other pedals before the Heavy Menace. Bypass is selectable between true bypass and buffered bypass via startup preferences.

KEY FEATURES

• Fully analog single-channel distortion with three modes: Lite(ish) / Heavy / Heavier
• Weight control – HPF inside the distortion stage shaping low-end character
• Mid Freq continuously sweepable 200 Hz – 2.5 kHz (semi-parametric)
• 3-band EQ: Low, Mid (sweepable), High
• Adaptive gate with envelope followers – footswitchable, two modes (Normal / Independent)
• Gate Key Input – external signal input for gate triggering
• True bypass or buffered bypass – selectable via startup preferences
• Compact enclosure: 122×66×38 mm
• Power: 9–12 V DC, 250 mA

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Type: fully analog high-gain distortion, single channel, 3 modes
• Distortion modes: Lite(ish) / Heavy / Heavier
• Controls: Gain, Weight, Output, Low, Mid, Mid-Freq (200 Hz – 2.5 kHz), High, Gate Threshold
• Gate: adaptive (envelope follower), footswitchable, Normal / Independent modes
• Gate Key Input: external triggering signal input
• Input impedance: 1 MΩ
• Output impedance: 100 Ω
• Frequency response (–3 dB): 35 Hz – 17 kHz
• Bypass: true or buffered (selectable)
• Power: 9–12 V DC, centre-negative, 2.1 mm, 250 mA
• Dimensions: 122 × 66 × 38 mm (enclosure) / 122 × 66 × 64 mm (including controls)
• Weight: approx. 450 g