Source Audio AfterShock Bass Distortion

First impression from the three presets are that they are ok. Not excellent, but ok. However, the salt of the pedal is that you can tweak pretty much everything and I managed to find some very nice sounds from the neuro editor. There is a lot of different drive engines, some mediocre, or unusable (for my taste), but some are just awesome. It takes time to learn how to use the editor, but it's worth it. I have spend couple of days playing with this, and I still feel like I've only scratched the surface.
My biggest concern is that neither the desktop or iOS version of the editor are that good/stable nor have good usability. I had the desktop editor freezing or stuck in single virtual knob without getting to do anything but reboot my computer (win 10) and the iOS version for iPad... it's even worse. It kept loosing the edits and I couldn't access either the library or community preset every other time using it. So basically when desktop version keeps freezing, I switch wires and use iOS until it starts messing with me again - so I switch back to desktop et cetera. I really hope Source Audio updates/fixes their app(s)!
That being said, I'm still keeping the pedal, because for the price it's awesome and it's got me playing more, since I like to experiment with the settings and different drive engines.
One other thing. Not sure about the bybass, there is a big volume drop when not using the pedal so maybe it is not true bybass. I think I have to experiment a bit whether the fault is the bybass, settings or what…
Pros:
+no hiss or hum of any kind!
+power adapter included!
+three decent factory presets, but huge load of other available from community or make them yourself
+Did I mention that there is no hiss or hum?

Cons:
-Neuro editor seems to malfunction/freeze with this pedal a lot more (both desktop and iOS) than with my other Source Audio pedal from One series
-Drains at least 150mA, which is a bit difficult if using basic power bank for pedal board, as some have only 100mA available. But I think this is not that different from other digital pedals, so just buy a bigger/better power bank.

Got this pedal to create wide use of different distortions. For me this gives a nice punch vintage tube style overdrive which I use the most. Heavy distortion gives really aggressive sound which I use the least but might work for metalheads. Fuzz for is good to create synth style mix. So very versatile pedal for every one. The software neuro which gives access to pedals mind. I haven't use this feature much if ever since I can't really get it how to work this live instead of studio use. That's the only drawback. But still 5/5 would distortion again.

Todella monipuolinen särö jossa on potentiaalia vaikka mihin monipuolisten asetteluidensa ja muutaman tallennuspaikan puolesta.

Vaatii kuitenkin melkoisesti paneutumista asetteluihin, jotta tästä saa täyden potentiaalin irti, eikä tämän app ole kaikkein selkeimmästä päästä. Saundit myös kuulostavat lähtökohtaisesti hiukan ohkaisilta, joskin tämä on varmasti korjattavissa sillä että jaksaisi ruuvata asetuksia pidempään. Laite tuntuu fyysisesti hiukan heppoiselta joten laadusta ei voi antaa kummoisia pisteitä.

What I like the most about this pedal is its extreme versatility and customisability. Using the Neuro tool (I'd recommend the Windows version, not the mobile) you can edit all the parameters that this pedal uses and the only true difference between this pedal, the L.A. Lady, and the Kingmaker is how such parameters are set. So if you like customisation, you can turn any of those three into either one, which is a very smart design choice in my opinion.

The editable parameters are well explained here: .

There are two ways in which you can save your presets: if you save them on the "green" slots (green LED lit), the pedal will recall all parameters except the ones controlled by the 4 physical knobs, whose position at any moment will dictate the value of those parameters. If you save them on the "red" slots (red LED lit), then all parameters will be recalled as stored, regardless of the current knob position (pretty much like a "full preset"). There are 3 slots for each type of presets, and NOT, as sometime stated, 3 for green and only 1 for red.

This pedal isn't without issues though. As someone else said in another review, it seems that the idea of parameters editing with the Neuro app is excellent in principle, but that they didn't manage to implement it in the best way possible. For example, the default "drive" range goes so high that slightly moving the drive knob would already produce too much distortion. Luckily there is a "max drive" setting, which in my case I had to turn right to zero to gain some finer control when I rotate the knob. I wonder in which conditions such a huge drive range is useable.

The other parameters seem to have been poorly calibrated too. For example, with certain settings, even the lowest drive value possible (0) already yields some heavy distortion effect. Also, even with the "Clean" knob to its highest value, you'll hear some distortion creeping in, if the "drive" knob is high. Isn't the "Clean" knob supposed to work as an "pedal ON"-bypass? Another example: the "Level" knob, which is supposed to compensate for the increase in volume as the drive is pushed high, has a way too low level for when the drive is below 1/4 turn. So if you turn the pedal ON, and your drive is turned up to 1/4 (which as I said it's already a big amount of effect), even with the "Level" way to its peak you will get a noticeable volume drop.

And speaking of bypass, this pedal noticeably lower the volume even when turned OFF. I tried both types of bypass, nothing changes in this respect. So whatever it's doing, it doesn't seem to me it's truly bypassing.

Now for the sound itself: I mainly use this pedal for the Tube Overdrive type of effect, and unfortunately it seems to me it is its weakest area, when compared to Distortion and Fuzz. It turns out it's not easy to chase that warm tube overdrive feeling. It took me a lot of editing and I am only partially satisfied with the results. The pedal in my opinion "colours" the sound way too much even with values set to the minimum.

Despite the few cons that I pointed out, overall I like this pedal enought to give it 4 stars. I like the concept of pedal customisation by app and I appreciate the effort by SourceAudio. I hope they'll improve in the areas I have found to be a bit lacking.