Alkene

Browne Amplification builds out of Nashville, Tennessee, where designer Kevin Browne hand-assembles every pedal. Known for the Protein and Carbon drives, the company focuses on transparent-to-pushed gain circuits designed for studio and stage work.

The Alkene takes cues from classic 'Nashville' overdrives found on session players' boards. It pairs soft-clipping drive with restored midrange and a tightened low end, keeping chords articulate even at higher gain settings. An external toggle switches between symmetrical and asymmetrical clipping, while internal DIP switches add hard-clipping diodes ('More Clip' mode) and a low-cut filter for further tone shaping.

Three knobs—Gain, Tone, and Level—keep things simple up top. The pedal responds well to pick dynamics and cleans up with your guitar's volume knob, making it a solid platform for stacking or running on its own into a clean amp.