In this episode, we check out the Gross Distortion by Joe Gore. At its heart, Gross is a simple, one-transistor distortion from the same family tree as the Electra circuit. This simple yet powerful effect was built into Electra guitars in the late ’70s, and was later adopted by many boutique stompbox builders. See our It’s Electra Series Premiere to learn more. The
Electra Distortion is a lively, dynamically responsive circuit with less compression than most modern IC-based distortion pedals. The transistor boosts the level, and then the signal hits a pair of clipping diodes, which provide the signature distortion.

Every diode combination sounds slightly different. In fact, several boutique pedal companies have created Electra derivatives with slightly varied diode choices as you can see from the pedals in this series.

Gross isn’t an Electra clone. Joe Gore has changed parts and values for a fatter sound and even greater dynamic response. He has also added an active 2-band tone control—something seldom, if ever, combined with primitive distortion like this. The distortion isn’t too “gainy.” It’s more about definition than sheer power—one reason it pairs well with other gain pedals. The character of your guitar and fingers always comes through.

The oddest feature is the diode section. Instead of a fixed diode pair, two 12-position rotary switches select from 24 diodes for 78 possible diode combinations! An additional switch adds a third diode for asymmetric distortion, which makes 156 possible shades. My target number was 144—that’s why he called it Gross (though that may have happened the other way around).

Some combinations are as different as night and day. Others are only as different as noon and 12:05. But this network of germanium, silicon, and LED diodes provides many crunch colors.

With its labeled and detented selector knobs, you can call up favorite settings onstage. But for Joe, Gross’s forte is as a studio tool. It’s great for “texturizing” guitar overdubs—just spin the dials till you find a tone that sits perfectly in the track. It’s especially useful for doubling. (Description adapted from Joe Gore's website)

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Don’t have time to watch the whole video? Check out these video timestamps:

0:00 - It’s Electra Bumper
0:27 - Introduction
2:20 - Reference Tone
2:41 - The level, gain, bass, and treble knobs demo
3:41 - Some thoughts
4:33 - Selecting diodes
5:50 - The +1 switch w/demo
7:06 - Random selections
8:15 - First selection
9:39 - Second selection
10:50 - Third selection
12:21 - How does it stack w/demo
13:52 - How does it react with the guitar’s volume knob w/demo
17:09 - Ending jam with the Gross Distortion

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