Absolute Distortion

Project overview:

Based on Wampler Sovereign, this circuit is a versatile beast, with plenty of gain and full of harmonic overtones, always sounding organic and big. Surprisingly shapeable and responsive, the non-traditional gain and EQ controls allow you to tune the pedal to suit any setup, and instead of just emphasizing a certain frequency range, they actually change the texture of the gain.

Besides the traditional Volume, Gain, and Tone, this board features a very handy Contour control as well as two toggles on-board, Voice selects in between vintage and Modern, and a Boost switch to give your drive an extra push.

Introduction:

Do I have to say more than it’s based on the Wampler Sovereign ™? With minor changes in the circuit and either T0-92 or SMD pads for easy sourcing the parts or to avoid soldering SMDs just how you prefer to do it. Also, the Layout of the PCB allows top-mounted jacks. Other than that, Brian (like always) didn’t leave much open where I could find something to tweak and make it better.

Just like the Original Pedal, it comes with Volume, Gain, Tone, and a very well thought Mid Contour knob to shape from everywhere in between, rocking vintage Overdrive to high Gain.

The EQ section, which is based on the Big Muff Tone stack with contour mod, has a very wide range like all his pedals have to give you the control you are looking for and like this wasn’t enough it reacts very well with the Volume Knob of our guitar.

The internal trimmer controls how much voltage is feed into Q5; dial it by ear till you find the sweet spot you like, but remember lower voltages will give you a dirtier sound with lower output, while higher voltages will add more headroom and clarity to it.

Highly recommended to give this a go.

Controls

• Gain
• Volume
• Tone
• Contour
• Boost switch
• Voice switch

For further analysis on this circuit, take a look at this thread on Free Stomp Boxes Forum.

For any technical questions regarding this build, don’t forget to check out our Facebook Group and our forum at Free Stomp Boxes.

Absolute Distortion 1.1v – Building Docs

Absolute Distortion 1.0v – Building Docs

Absolute Distortion – Drilling template