Both the Open Road and Warped Distortion come Visual Sound’s unique and angular V2 Series enclosures and sport the mushroom-shaped proprietary Visual Sound foot switch. Beyond the pedals, the unboxing of each stomp reveals pedal instructions, warranty card, a Visual Sound sticker and information about an AIDS fundraising organization the company has teamed up with to raise money and awareness. Both the Open Road and Warped Distortion have three knob controls. On the Open Road, they are Drive, Tone and Volume… pretty straight-forward. On the Warped pedal, it is Grind, Edge and Loud… not so straight-forward, but basically the same controls.

Starting with the Open Road and with the Les Paul, we dial in a little rootsy growl. With Drive set at noon, Tone at 9 o’clock and Volume around 2 o’clock, we give a freshly-learned Steepwater Band riff a go. First clean, then the road.

We dug the wideness of the Open Road right away here, mostly because it doesn’t come at the cost of the low-end. The tone was tight yet plenty thick for this mid-gain application. Over to the Strat, bridge pick up, we up the ante. With Drive dimed, Tone at noon and Volume at noon we put a little fixin’ on it. First clean, then the drive.

Again we were impressed at the tightness of the Open Road across the frequency spectrum… not squealchy, sloppy or too boomy… it sits just right and pretty much nails that Pearl Jam riff. Shifting to the neck pickup on the Strat, we dial up the thinest layer of grit and see how the Open Road responds. With Drive at 9 o’clock, Tone at 3 o’clock and Volume around noon, here is a little blues progression. First clean, then dingy.

The Open Road performed like a champ during our little test drive. This is one harmonically sound dirt box. Across the gain spectrum, the Open Road keeps the low-end and high-end in balance without forcing any noticeable mid-hump into the tone… and at $120, the pedal is a steal.

The Vans Warped Tour Distortion populates the opposite spectrum of dirt pedals from the Open Road. While the Open Road is meant to offer an earthy snarl, the Warped Distortion is a lime green box of mean spitting out chunky, modern distortion at most any level. With the Les Paul in hand, we open the pedal up for some modern metallic riffage. With the Grind dimed, the Edge dimed and the Loud at high noon, we rip through a little discordant power progression. First clean, then Warp Factor 10!

The Warped Distortion doesn’t have the same organic feel as its sibling, likely by design… but the modern high-gain tones are present and accounted for. Over to the Strat, bridge pickup, we shoot for a quick punk riff with a little less gas. With the Grind dialed back to noon, Edge to 3 o’clock and Loud still at noon, we get in the pit. First clean… then Oi!

The Warped Distortion can beef up a thinned-out single coil to give a little punk rock chunk if so desired. It is not its specialty, but it is fully capable of the feat. To the neck pickup on the Strat, we dial it up again for an old Nirvana/Neil Young hybrid strummer. With Grind at 3 o’clock, the Edge dimed and Loud at 3 o’clock we see if Polly wants a cracker or just wants to rock the free world. First hungry… then fed.

In addition to its recent pedal shootouts, the Visual Sound Open Road and Warped Distortion are just two more reasons gear heads should be giving this company’s product some serious consideration when eying a new pedal purchase. Do not let the unconventional enclosures and/or the affordability fool you… these are professional tone tools. While the Warped Distortion did its job well, its performance didn’t stick with me like the Open Road’s tone has… but that is more personal taste talking than a knock on the pedal. If I wasn’t so dirt heavy right now, I’d probably own an Open Road. Our time with both of these pedals makes us most curious to see what Visual Sound has to show us at the NAMM convention next month. That’s our take anyway… your mileage may vary!

PLEASE NOTE: All YMMV Review clips are played through a Reverend Hellhound 40/60 combo amp with 1×12 extension cab. No reverb or other effects were added to the clips. Guitars used in this review include a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom and a 1998 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster.