A tiny bit of history, I have terrible luck with distortion pedals. Most of them have some sort of audible quirk or a harsh frequency or two that I can't stand, etc... That being said, the Pathos is very refined sounding. Mr. Abasi tends to like brighter, clearer tone from his guitars (based on what I hear) and the Pathos is more full and warm sounding to compensate for that. It is very articulate and surprisingly quiet for a dirt box. To my ears it likes big chords and lead work just a bit more than chugging away or fast palm-muting. I've seen a couple of reviewers that didn't like the sweep of the gain knob, it's certainly not the most linear I've heard but it isn't terrible. The EQ is phenomenal. The midrange is the most powerful of the three frequencies (by design if I remember what Mr. Abasi said in an interview), but the treble and bass are no slouches. Overall the circuit remains 'tight' and note separation is excellent no matter the settings. The smooth/edge switch is very powerful as well. Leaving the smooth setting on doesn't seem to affect the gain or output of the circuit, but it makes it the smoothest distortion I've heard, period. Not dark or wooly or murky in any fashion, just SMOOTH.
Is this pedal for everyone? Nope, not even close. It was built as a very specific tool for a very unique player. But if you want something that jives a little off center, the Pathos is worth a try.
