The Butter Machine was developed in collaboration with Michael Landau to create his ideal distortion pedal. We have made countless prototypes, which took more than 2 years in R&D. Having Michael use the prototypes at his sessions and on tour, we were able to hear his direct feedback and aim straight for his ideal driven tone. In addition, new ideas were implemented, and various improvements were made by testing the prototypes at his recording sessions and at his home studio in Los Angeles as well. As a result, we were able to create a new type" of distortion pedal that is user-friendly and wide in range. It allows you to control your picking nuance and dynamics, and the drive goes from overdrive to full-on distortion effortlessly. Michael Landau's comment &story: "In the past I've used an SD9 as my high gain pedal, it was my main distortion pedal for many years, but I've always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the pedal. It can be shrill and overly compressed if it's not dialed in just right... So a couple of years ago I asked Daiya (CEO of Vemuram) if he could design a distortion pedal that had the positive sonic qualities of the SD9, but without the overly compressed, high-end harshness. We used the SD9 as a starting point but of course this new Vemuram distortion pedal is a higher grade unit with many improvements. Besides the Gain, Volume and Tone knobs, there are two trim pots that let you fine tune this pedal in a unique way. The final version of this new Vemuram distortion pedal has a perfectly open, natural feeling overdrive. It has gain and sustain for days...yet it stays clear, punchy and solid when you roll the volume back on your guitar. It's very easy to dial in the perfect amount of overdrive with this pedal while keeping all of the musicality intact. Vemuram has designed the best distortion pedal that I have ever played through. We named it the "Butter Machine", and if you play through one you'll know why. It's a very satisfying sonic experience." Note: Many LA musicians and guitar player use the term "Butter" as a slang to express the buttery pleasant driven sound/tone."