Overdrives and distortions are amongst the most crazed gear in the world of effects pedals. Some guitarists have difficulty getting the overdrive or distortion sounds that they want, especially when your genre or type of music is hard rock.

Dozens of guitarists out there might have owned, used, gigged and recorded using the Shredhead. The artist roster includes David & Tirso of Razorback, Noel Mendez and let's not forget about Mico Ong of Fuseboxx where he recorded guitars using the Shredhead on their album "Animated". However, some may not know about its history. M.V. Electronics released the Shredhead in the late 2009 and it didn’t even have a brand name back then. Now, with over #1100 units sold, M.V. electronics has created an awesome distortion pedal that will surely suit your taste for overdriven tones. The M.V. electronics Shredhead seems to be a perfectly designed distortion pedal. It is a very durable distortion pedal and is owned by Mark Virata from Manila, Philippines. This beast is a "Marshall in a box" for it can get a good and neat tone of a classic Marshall amplifier. It's also a solid, no frills pedal with a footswitch, volume, gain, tone, and a presence knob that will give you a more high-frequency shelving boost.

 

 

Why don’t we check what Mark Virata has to say about his creation.

 

What is your inspiration for making Shredhead?

"Marshall amp was the first gear I got when i started playing the guitar, I always thought that it has a very complex tone while still being transparent and true to the guitar’s tone. I always wanted a pedal that sounded quite similar to that of marshall’s onboard gain, I tried purchasing different distortion pedals just to mimic the sound, but it was never enough. So i thought that maybe I could just make one myself. Besides, my Father being a Technician himself, already has enough tools here at our place for me to take advantage of. I initially started with modifying a Boss DS-1 at first, I thought I reached its limits as far as making it sound better so I thought making a pedal from scratch was the better idea.”

 

What is your inspiration for the physical appearance?

"During the year 2000’s stompboxes are becoming more compact, Boss-sized pedals were sometimes considered a bit bulky, and takes up some space on the pedalboard. I thought that making the Shredhead in a compact form wouldn't technically be a problem, so I decided to make the Shredhead in a smaller footprint as well. The circular saw artwork concept was only put to match the pedal name, and make it look a little tough/gnarly”

 

How did you come up with the name?

"Nico of the Shamrock band thought of it, after he tried the prototype, he suggested that it should have a name already. Both of us were jamming that time at his place, ‘shredding’ with his 4X12 cab with Marshall 6100 ‘head’. Hence he came up with the name Shredhead, big credits to Nico!”

 

Can you tell me about the limited versions of this product?

"Every 100 unit sold, I release a gold version of the Shredhead to celebrate its”

 

Any plans on expanding the product line? When can we expect them?

"No plans yet but I still do offer modifications on some mass-produced pedals until now, improving its tone to match well with the Shredhead and most pedals”

 

-Mark Virata
 

The Shredhead is so much less twitchy and much more instinctive than other distortion pedals available in the market. It has this rich tone and a good sustain. It is also very easy to use, all you need to do is use your ears, tweak its four knobs and adjust it to your preferred taste.  Many local and international musicians have been using this pedal for years. You can get the Shredhead for only 3,500 Pesos. It is a reasonable price for an awesome distortion pedal. With its combination of versatility, simplicity, value, and good tone, the Shredhead is pretty much the chaste ideal of a distortion pedal.

 

M.V. electronics Shreadhead specifications:
• Hand built, numbered and signed by the builder
• High visibility indicator Blue LED
• True-bypass switching
• Cleans up nicely for the volume knob player
• Responsive & boutique quality Alpha potentiometers
• Made in Japan input & output jacks
• Metal Film capacitors to preserve original tone of guitar and amp, & for quiet operation
• 9 to 18v operation
• 9v battery operated
• Equipped with reverse polarity protection
• Lifetime warranty

 

You can watch the official product demo here