Jam Pedals Stu Mackenzie Tiny Amp Destroyer
Created with Stu Mackenzie of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, the Tiny Amp Destroyer is our original three-footswitch gain machine, combining two independent drive stages with a standalone treble booster. It moves from focused low-gain drive to raw, boxy distortion and dense, blown-out saturation.
It began with Stu pushing two Boomsters into his favourite pawn-shop amp until it stopped behaving as intended and started sounding enormous. We did not simply clone that setup. We captured its unstable breakup and unruly response, then used them as the foundation for a completely fresh circuit.
Active Bass and Treble controls, MAGIC and Notch give you the freedom to shape that instability, from controlled and articulate to hollow, explosive and unhinged.
The original artwork was created by Jason Galea, King Gizzard’s longtime visual collaborator and the artist behind much of the band’s album artwork, posters, stage imagery and iconic visual universe.
TAD is not an amp in a box. It is the sound of the box losing the fight.
Two independent drive stages
G2 is the more restrained stage, covering lower-gain breakup and driven tones. G1 runs hotter, moving into heavier overdrive and distortion. Use either stage independently or stack them for TAD’s most saturated sounds.
Active tone shaping
Both drive stages share an overall Level control and active Bass and Treble controls with boost and cut. Add weight, tighten the low end or introduce the focus needed to hold your place in a mix.
MAGIC voicing
Engaging MAGIC shifts the response towards the compressed, boxy and unstable character of a tiny amplifier being pushed beyond its limits.
For the strongest small-amp character, keep the gain stages lower, engage MAGIC and use Notch to shape the boxiness.
Notch control
Notch begins in a neutral position and progressively removes a key frequency band as you turn it up. It can transform a full, forward sound into something increasingly scooped, hollow and unconventional.
Independent treble booster
The third footswitch activates an independent treble booster based on our Rooster. Positioned before G1 and G2, it tightens the low end, sharpens the attack and changes how both drive stages respond.
Use it to push either stage, drive the complete stack harder or run it independently as a standalone treble boost.
Two booster voicings
An internal DIP switch provides two treble-booster responses:
Full: A broader response with greater low-frequency content
Standard: A more focused, traditional treble-booster response
TAD ships in Full mode.
G1 Global Bypass
G1 Global Bypass mode allows the G1 footswitch to control the entire pedal. Leave G2 and the treble booster engaged, then bring the complete sound in with one press.
Hold G1 while connecting power to select the operating mode:
Two LED blinks: Normal operation
Three LED blinks: G1 Global Bypass
Signal flow
Input → Treble Booster → G1 → G2 → Output
Bass, Treble, MAGIC and Notch affect G1 and G2 only. The treble booster remains fully independent.
Specifications
- Bypass: True bypass
- Power requirement: 9 V DC, centre-negative
- Maximum power consumption: 90 mA with all circuits engaged
- Input impedance with treble booster off: approximately 500 kΩ
- Input impedance with treble booster on: approximately 50 kΩ
- Output impedance: less than 5 kΩ
- Dimensions: 14.5 × 12.4 × 5.9 cm
- Dimensions in inches: 5.7 × 4.8 × 2.3 in
- Weight: 511 g / 1.13 lb
