TCD

The TCD — short for The Compulsion Drive, not tape anything — is Brian Wampler's reimagining of a legendary distortion circuit in the Mesa/high-gain lineage. Gain sweeps from edge-of-breakup crunch to full-on distortion. A Mode switch on the face toggles between a traditional gain structure and a harder-hitting cascaded MOSFET mode that behaves more like a pushed tube stage. Two internal DIP switches tune the voicing further: a Fat switch adds low-end warmth for deeper rhythm tones, and a Diode switch adds an extra clipping diode for tighter, more saturated distortion. Three-band EQ plus Level covers shaping and output. Cleans up with guitar volume for shimmering grit, then opens to searing distortion when pushed. 9V DC or 18V DC (20mA/25mA). Built in the USA. No longer in production.