Death By Audio and Rainger FX have built a stompbox with a working amplifier inside it – the Amp Crash. It packs a real 3-watt amp, a 2-inch speaker and a microphone into a pedal, and the sound comes from those three parts interacting rather than any modelling.

At a glance

A collaboration between Death By Audio and Rainger FX
Real 3-watt amplifier, 2-inch speaker and microphone built into the pedal
Blend the direct amp signal with the internal mic
Real speaker interaction for harmonics, feedback, compression and unpredictable textures
Built-in reverb, echo and chorus
External 8Ω speaker output for running a cabinet
Buffered bypass, runs on 9V DC (300mA)
Lifetime warranty

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The amp drives the speaker, the mic picks up what the speaker is doing, and a blend control mixes the direct amp signal with the mic’d sound. Because air is moving inside the box, the result covers touch-sensitive overdrive, thick fuzz, blooming harmonics and natural feedback, along with the less predictable noises a small combo makes when pushed hard.

A small effects section with reverb, echo and chorus is built around that core to push the sounds further, and an external 8Ω speaker output lets the Amp Crash run a full cabinet, working as a tiny but real amplifier rather than only a pedal.

The idea started when David Rainger brought a concept to New York, putting a mic inside a pedal so room sound could mix with the guitar. Death By Audio took it further by adding a speaker for the mic to capture, and the two interacting like an amp in a room became the whole thing.

“The Amp Crash is powerful, unique, flexible, and a whole load of fun to use,” says David Rainger of Rainger FX. “I’m knocked out by how Death By Audio developed this idea into an amazing product.”

Between the built-in speaker, the mic’d blend and the effects, it works as a practice amp, a compact recording tool or a noise-making platform for players after sounds a normal distortion pedal can’t reach. It runs on 9V, has buffered bypass and comes with a lifetime warranty.

Amp Crash is available now direct from Death By Audio and through retailers worldwide, with Rainger FX handling UK sales.

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