In the gain stage of my pedal board, I'm running One Control's Rebel Red 4K Distortion and their Marigold Orange Overdrive followed by a Boss BD2. The Phenom sounds best at the front of those, even though it can hold its own as an independent effect. After reading a critical review claiming this was not a high gain pedal, I balked. So glad I went through with the purchase. This pedal can make my 15W tube amp roar and I can dial-in any tone I'm interested in as well. This takes slightly more effort turning three tone control knobs -vs- one on my other gain pedals, but the tones produced are much more specific. I would buy this pedal again with no hesitation and I'll be paying more attention to the Wampler brand in the future.