PAINSTAGER is a distortion pedal plugin from Oracle Sound, priced at $29.99 on sale (down from $34.99), and holds 33 reviews on its product page. The plugin is explicitly marketed as "inspired by" the legendary Boss HM-2 pedal circuit rather than a licensed reissue, which the brand discloses directly in the product description.
According to Oracle Sound, PAINSTAGER models 19 distinct voicings drawn from HM-2-style circuits and allows two voices to be chained in series with independent wet/dry blend controls. It includes a built-in noise gate to manage feedback and a "tightness" control aimed at tightening low-end response for palm-muted riffing, and is built to run in front of an amp simulator rather than as a standalone amp/cab solution.
The plugin is available in VST3, AU, and AAX formats for macOS 10.13+ and Windows 10+, and Oracle Sound recommends a multicore Intel, AMD, or Apple Silicon CPU with at least 8GB of RAM.
The product page includes a testimonial from a mixing engineer describing PAINSTAGER as a fast way to dial in HM-2-style and fuzz tones without extensive manual tweaking. With 33 reviews on the page, the sample size is modest, so prospective buyers working in metal, grind, or hardcore genres may want to listen to demo audio before purchasing to confirm the tone fits their production style.
Oracle Sound also sells PAINSTAGER as part of a larger "5 Stager" plugin bundle at a further discount for users who want its sibling distortion plugins as well. See current pricing here.
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