Hilbish Design puts a Sunn Beta Lead in a pedal with the Night Destroyer

Hilbish Design has teamed with stoner rockers Red Fang to launch the limited-edition Night Destroyer, a preamp pedal based on the iconic Sunn Beta Lead.

The Sunn Beta Lead – which originally rolled out in the late ’70s – is a mainstay of the sludge, stoner and doom metal genres. The amp was popularised by bands such as The Melvins and Red Fang. Kurt Cobain was also said to have played one during Nirvana’s Bleach era.

The Night Destroyer features two independent channels. Each has level and gain controls, as well as a three-band EQ. There’s also a master volume output which both channels pass through. The only knobs missing from the original are independent reverb controls.

Footswitches on the Night Destroyer add much versatility to the original’s input manners. Formerly, users could plug into either channel, or both at the same time, whereas now they can stomp on a footswitch to toggle between channels or engage both together.

The Night Destroyer also features some rather extensive IO. The Line output can be used to drive a power amp directly, while the TRS balanced output can send signals directly to a mixing board. Plus, each channel features its own output, and Hilbish suggests could be used to send your low-end to one cabinet, and highs to another.

The Night Destroyer, priced at $365, is limited to 150 units and is expected to ship in mid-October. Its enclosure features a variation of the cover art to Red Fang’s self-titled debut from 2009, designed by artist Aaron Draplin.

Learn more at hilbishdesign.com

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