OVERDRIVE- BJPRESS Range84 Distortion...a Rat ...decaffeinated

 BJPRESS RANGE 84 DISTORTION 

$295.00 USD

It is most probably a one man operation based in S. Korea. There are a few dirt pedals to choose from but only this is available and I could only find it at a local store. 

The pedal started life from a Rat schematic. It then is indeed a hard clipper. They differ from other ways of making distortion as it uses a  an OpAmp which is in effect a nano amplifier that by design is clean or at least designed to be cleaned. If a signal going in is not the same going out it is indeed distorted. We tend to refer to this when it is cleanish as 'coloured' The 'colouring' of one brand over another is why we make such a fuss over the make and model of an Op Amp. Diodes are used to clip the signal which makes the sound more or less Fuzz like. There are endless choices and designs to vary this  Everything matters but using a design for this part that has the correct value of parts is far less critical then the exact brand. In the case of the Range 84 the schematic may be very similar but the parts and their values are quite different. If a ProCo Rat is espresso this is definitely the the decafe alternative. 

CONCLUSION

The parts and build may justify the price. But I would look at the Caline Queen Bee which is also using the Rat schematic gives you better and more exciting pedal for $40.00 USD. It has wider range of gain but backed off it is similar. Check out the video at the end. Or? At $150.00 USD you can get the Wampler Ratbane mini pedal.