Laney Monolith Review – 3 Distortion Circuits in 1!

Welcome back to another gear review! Today, we are diving into the Laney Monolith Distortion Pedal—a boutique offering from Laney’s Black Country Customs line. Known for their British amp heritage, Laney brings that same character to this pedal, promising a range of tones from classic overdrive to high-gain distortion.

I got this pedal over a year ago and couldn’t decide between the Monolith and Steel Park booster pedals. I eventually end up with the Monolith distortion to try and test with my Marshall JVM410H tube amp.

I was using the Monolith occasionally with my rig, using various guitars and wanted to share my experience with you! Like I always do, I will do my best to provide as many details as possible about Laney Amps and the Monolith distortion pedal, as well as a brief sound demo video in this Laney Monolith distortion pedal review.

While I was working in the musical instruments industry back in Türkiye, I was working with Laney and had the chance to meet the Laney crew at Frankfurt Musikmesse exhibitions. Laney was one of our biggest brands with which we had a long history of good relationships.

I took their 50th Anniversary catalogue and translated it into the Turkish language fully for the local music scene in my country. So this brand has a special place in my heart! 🙂

You can access Laney’s Turkish catalogue in the Download section here

TL;DR

If you are one of those guitar players who would like to have as many drive and distortion pedals as possible, you may quickly find yourself owning tons of pedals without even noticing it. But while you are maturing as an electric guitar player, you will also learn that most of the times, the basics, the most tested and approved pieces of gears will remain in your pedalboard.

One can argue the basics for sure, but still, you want your assymetrical and symetrical overdrives to boost your guitar amp and get different flavours in combination with the rest of your rig. Personally, I tend to stick to the basics and try to just live with Boss SD-1, Ibanez Tube Screamer and some fuzz pedals. Would I ever want to have a single pedal that contains what I like the most? Yes, 100%!

Laney Monolith is designed to give you multiple drive circuits in one pedal just like that! You will have three different modes which are very unique and distinct. As Laney described them you will have the infamous “Orange“, “Yellow” and “Purple” pedals in one compact pedal.

On top of that, Laney cleverly implemented a “Range” control which you can adjust the low-end  (basically you can cut or leave the amount of low-end as you wish). The overall product quaility is top notch! From the packaging, attention to details, craftsmanship and sounds are extremely good!

However, I would question whether one ever needs these selected drives in a compact pedal format. Personally, I wouldn’t unless I get to choose what pedals to be squeezed into a single guitar pedal.

For that reason, cigilovic.com can not recommend Laney Monolith to everyone out there blindly. I’d suggest please go and check out what this pedal offers tonally. If these distinct modes what you are looking for and you need, there won’t be any better offer for you as it’s 3 drive circuits in 1! But if you already have one or two of these pedals, I’m not sure if one ever wants to purchase another one that combines these circuits.

About Laney

Laney Amplification is a name deeply woven into the fabric of British rock history. The company was founded in 1967 by Lyndon Laney, a bassist who originally began building amps in his parents’ garage in Birmingham, England.

What started as a humble side project quickly grew into a fully-fledged business, thanks in part to his proximity to the emerging heavy rock scene of the late ’60s and early ’70s.

One of Laney’s earliest and most iconic users was none other than Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath—a relationship that would cement Laney’s reputation in the world of heavy music. The brand became synonymous with the raw, powerful sound that helped define the early days of metal, and their amps became a go-to choice for players seeking crushing gain with that unmistakable British character.

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Throughout the decades, Laney continued to innovate while staying true to their roots. They expanded their lineup to include everything from compact practice amps to powerful stage heads, catering to a wide range of genres and players. Models like the GH100L, VH100R, and Ironheart series became favourites among players in the metal, prog, and hard rock worlds, while the Cub series offered vintage tone in smaller, more accessible packages.

More recently, Laney launched the Black Country Customs division—a boutique-style branch of the company focused on pedals and hand-built gear. Named after the industrial region in the West Midlands where the company was born, Black Country Customs represents a fusion of heritage and modern craftsmanship.

The line includes pedals like the Monolith Distortion, Steelpark Boost, and Spiral Array Chorus, all designed and built in the UK with a focus on tonal integrity and rugged reliability.

What sets Laney apart is their ability to offer a distinct British tone while continuing to evolve with the times. Whether you’re chasing vintage warmth or modern high-gain aggression, Laney gear has always had a foot planted firmly in both worlds, making it a beloved brand for tone chasers across generations.

Laney Monolith Distortion Pedal

As mentioned, Monolith is one of Laney’s Black Country Customs series pedals, and it focuses fully on the distortion tones. Just like other pedals in this line, Monolith offers tons of flexibility on a fairly compact yet built-like a tank enclosure, featuring multiple modes and variety of controls.

The Monolith is designed to offer a spectrum of distortion tones, catering to various genres and playing styles. Its three distinct modes—Overdrive (O/D), Distortion 1 (D1), and Distortion 2 (D2)—provide a versatile palette for guitarists seeking both classic and modern sounds.

I think the modes are the most important feature of this pedal. So, I believe we should go a little bit deeper with the explanations here.

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Mode Breakdown

As the modes are not openly named based on what the inspiration was to implement them by Laney, I wanted to also share the official Laney video featuring Mr Simon down here!

Distortion 1 (D1) – Orange LED

Based on what’s mentioned in the video is that the D1 mode is based on the “Orange” distortion pedal that everyone has! I reckon this has to be a Boss DS-1 type of distortion which is a compressed and smooth distortion.

Distortion 2 (D2) – Blue LED

Again, based on the video by Laney down here, the D2 mode is based on that shiny “Purple” distortion pedal. They also made some jokes with words and mentioned “Suhrly not!” :D.

I think they were referring to Suhr Riot, as this is the only shiny purple pedal I know! 🙂 This mode has less gain and compression, therefore more open sounding and a little bit louder than the D1 mode with the same settings applied.

Overdrive (O/D) – Purple LED

Last but not least, we have the O/D mode, which is the middle position. As they barely mentioned in the video, this mode must be based on the “Yellow” pedal, which we all love and have, that is the Boss SD-1!

This is the least compressed and most open sounding one as it’s clearly stated this is more like an overdrive than a distortion.

Additional Controls

There are also additional controls, along with standard Drive and Volume controls on the Monolith distortion pedal.

Range: Adjusts the low-end content before distortion is added to the signal. This is useful for taming the low-end frequencies, which is pretty unique as you may not come across many distortion pedals with this control.

At the minimum position, it’s full range, and all the low-end frequencies are passing through. When you max this out, you have the maximum amount of low-end reduction, so it will tighten the sound.

Tone: This is for adjusting the overall tonal response of the pedal from smooth and warm to bright and cutting lead tones.

Before we jump to the review section, let’s have a brief look at the tech specs here.

Laney Monolith Tech Specs

Laney Monolith Distortion Sound Demo (no talking)

As I always do, I prepared a brief sound demo for Laney Monolith. For the demo, I used my FGN Boundary Odyssey and my usual setup featuring my Marshall JVM410HJS, Two Notes Torpedo Captor X SE, RME Babyface PRO FS and Genelec DP8020 DPM.

For the effects, I also applied the PSP SpringBox spring reverb plugin in the post.

I kind of improvised in the video and attempted to demonstrate all the modes on the clean channel of my amp, as well as used it as a clean boost on the overdrive channels.

Laney Monolith Review

As far as I know, Laney Monolith was released around 2020 (not 100% sure though). As with many Laney products, somehow, they haven’t been so visible in the EU market. For instance, I barely see Laney products on Thomann‘s website, which is pretty weird in my opinion.

However, in some countries, the Laney brand is pretty much present all year round. In my opinion, it’s a shame that they are available in every location. Slovakia is not one of them! Since I’m based in Slovakia, it’s pretty easy to find Laney products online and also in the physical shops.

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As mentioned, Laney Monolith is one of the distortion pedals from their Black Country Customs product line. These products are all made in the UK and are one of the best in terms of packaging, attention to detail, built quality and uniqueness within the guitar pedal segment.

Laney Monolith comes in a very nice metal box wrapped with a nice packaging and also sealed. Even though these are all details regarding a product and have nothing to do with the sound, I must say I find this very impressive.

I think this gives a product a premium feel from the very first moment you receive one! Also, considering this pedal is made in the UK, I think it’s fair to say that they invest a lot of the money into the overall quality of their products.

In the box, you have supporting pads all around to keep the pedal still inside. a nicely written manual and the pedal itself.

Laney Monolith is built like a tank. The overall build quality, the quality for the materials, design, knobs and everything about the pedal is top notch! It’s one of the highest quality products I have ever come across! I really dig the overall design as it offers tons of variety, yet it is still a very compact pedal.

The only thing that took some time for me to get used to was the Range control. I couldn’t relate to that for a while. I normally use overdrives, distortions and fuzz pedals along with my tube amps and preamps to add the boosting effect as well as the colouring of that specific pedal.

Usually, all these pedals somehow manipulate the low-end by default. Most guitar players know that Boss SD-1 reduces a lot of the bass frequencies so when you combine it with a slightly overdriven or crunch sounds, you get a really nice, sweet and tight sounds for most of the styles.

But with Monolith, you can adjust this! That was something new to me, and I appreciated this feature. Tonewise, it offers a lot of different gain textures, which I like. However, sometimes this creates option paralysis for people like me. When you add these options on top of your multiple guitars and channels, and modes on your amp, it becomes difficult to find a favourite sound.

Based on what Mr Simon said in the official Laney video, I can confirm that I’m familiar with the sounds of the “Yellow” and “Orange” pedal,s and I believe they pretty much put these Boss SD-1 and DS-1 pedals into one with an added “Range” control which is very smart.

However, I can’t say that I would recognise the shiny “Purple” pedal, which is highly likely the Suhr Riot distortion pedal. I have never had one, so not really sure if they nailed it.

I think Laney Monolith is an awesome pedal for what it costs and offers! Basically, you are getting three distinct distortion/overdrive pedals in one!

Out of the three modes, I must say I love the O/D mode the most. This is absolutely not a surprise as I’m a big fan of the Boss SD-1. Currently, I have multiple drives and overdrive pedals, and I always tend to go for the  Boss SD-1 for boosting my overdriven or crunchy guitar sounds.

Following that, I would say the D2 mode, which is the shiny “Purple” pedal mode, is my second favourite. The D1 mode is a bit too compressed for my taste. So normally I wouldn’t go and get a DS-1, but this would be my least-used mode.

Verdict

As I mentioned, I was very impressed with the Laney Monolith distortion pedal. This Black Country Customs line offers a lot of great products. I think they are all unique in a way to fill a particular spot on the pedal market.

The overall quality is top-notch with the Monolith. The packaging, attention to detail, build and sound quality are very impressive. I think Laney did an excellent job with this pedal.

But would I keep this pedal? I’m not really sure about that! The reason is mainly about me having already too many pedals, and I don’t think I will ever need another distortion/overdrive pedal that gives me what I already have.

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I usually stick to my Boss SD-1 and my Tube Screamer Mini all day long. I think they work great with any setup. So when I have the Monolith distortion which features the SD-1 circuit (O/D mode), it is just a duplicate for me.

As I said, I’m very impressed with the pedal. But I think the idea of multiple distortion pedals, which are tested and loved by thousands of guitar players in a compact format, is the selling point for Monolith.

It’s not offering anything new, in my opinion. You may question this, as all the guitar pedal manufacturers are doing pretty much the same. But the problem is, this is nothing new. I still like the idea of having multiple distortion and overdrive circuits in a single pedal.

I’m not sure about the boost version of this, which is named Steelpark. Maybe that’s a better option for me, who knows? I’d actually love to have a pedal that features all my favourite circuits in this format, would buy it right away. But for the circuits I’m not interested in, I don’t think I would keep this.

Where to Buy Laney Monolith?

As I mentioned in the beginning, unfortunately, Laney is not always available in every music store. This is pretty sad, especially due to the fact that the company is a UK company! I will never understand why Laney is not present with their full catalogue, all the time on Thomann. Currently, there are no Laney products listed on the Thomann website. Can you believe it?

However, you can still find Laney products on various websites. I got mine from Muziker here in Slovakia. This pedal is still available there as well as on Amazon and Reverb (brand new and used). Muziker also supplies Laney products to Alza.sk, which is my favourite online store here.

I’d suggest you check these stores out, and if you like the idea of having these legendary circuits with a cleverly implemented “Range” control, get yourself one.

Check out Laney Monolith Distortion on Amazon here

Luckily, there are even brand new ones listed on Reverb as well as the used ones.

Check out Laney Monolith Distortion on Reverb  here

Thanks for visiting my blog and supporting me so far! I will hopefully see you in the next review here!

Osman Cenan Çiğil – cigilovic.com

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