Haptic Overdrive

Description

The Haptic Overdrive is a discrete Class A circuit that uses soft clipping between two transistor gain stages while introducing heavy square wave clipping at higher gain settings. Transistors have a different attack and feel compared to IC-based circuits like the Tube Screamer. This approach to analog effect design yields a very touch sensitive, "multi-dimensional" overdrive effect that doesn't quite sound like anything else (that I am aware of). Tone is shaped by a tandem mids control that manages a selectable peak or notch alongside a passive high-frequency roll-off. Sweeping the TONE control moves the centre frequency up and down the frequency spectrum. Three manual switches provide further texture and tonal control by limiting the bass content of the circuit, putting the tone control into boost, scoop, or treble rolloff, and choosing the soft clipping threshold of the feedback loop.

The Haptic Overdrive makes it easy to get awesome tones that fit perfectly in the mix because in SCOOP mode, your rhythm tones will leave a pocket in the frequency spectrum that will be filled when you switch to HUMP mode. The centre frequency stays the same, so your tones are pre-mastered for rhythm and lead guitar as long as the TONE knob stays in the same place.

• FREQ:

  Selects between full bass intact, lower mids cutoff, or mids cutoff frequencies in a high pass filter in the middle of the circuit. This filter affects clarity of the circuit and is useful when stacking with other pedals, especially bass heavy ones, making the distortion frequency dependant.

• SCOOP/OFF/HUMP:

  This EQ switch controls how the the TONE knob behaves, controlling either a sweepable mids boost, cut, or passive low pass filter.

• CLIP:

  This switch controls how much soft clipping and compression there is in the signal, and also when the gain knob transitions from diode soft clipping to harder square wave clipping. More compression and clipping results in less headroom, and vice versa. Clean transistor boost tones are possible in least compressed position and GAIN rolled back and MASTER rolled up.

• GAIN:

  This control pans between softly driven diode clipping to harder clipping and everything in between.

• TONE:

  Sweeps the midrange cut or boost centre frequency from 500 Hz to 1.5 kHz while simultaneously shifting a passive low-pass cutoff from 800 Hz to 12 kHz. When the EQ switch is set to OFF, only the passive low-pass remains in the circuit.

• MASTER:

  Adjusts the final output level.

Input Z: ~300K
Output Z: ~7K
Max Current Draw: ~3.5mA
Gain: ~+30dB (max settings)

True Bypass
Requires a centre negative 9V power supply
Dimensions: 4.43 in x 2.38 in x 1.22 in
(113 mm x 60 mm x 31 mm)
No battery option. If user wants to use a battery, they must buy an external adaptor.