Seamoss Overdrive Amplifier v2

Designed using revolutionary Seamoss Technology, this circuit brings the goods!  

The second revision of this unique circuit delivers refinement to the amp-like natural overdrive that the Seamoss has become known for. While it is the case with many circuits, I found that the v1 circuit got a little flabbier and fizzier with humbuckers than I’d like.   I wanted the great tone to shine for all the guitars in my flock  – basses included. I retuned the circuit to have wider overall frequency response and to build gain in a more controlled way.  

The resulting flavor is very natural, warm and transparent with rich harmonic textures. Many players have commented, “It sounds and feels like a cranked amp.” A touch sensitivity conveys the tactile qualities of fingers on strings. There are no clipping diodes or IC chips in this circuit  so the compression sounds natural and emulates the feel of a saturated tube preamp. While the Seamoss can get very dirty, the clarity of attack is preserved. Because the mosfet circuit topology is different from many other overdrive and distortion boxes, the Seamoss and complements other dirt pedals very well. 

This circuit is built like a high gain tube preamp.  The treble-mid-bass tonestack makes the pedal extremely versatile.  The intuitive controls do what you’d expect and the extreme ranges are all totally usable.  The circuit is built with 6 discrete mosfet stages. I fine tuned each stage’s bias and frequency response to eliminate the undesirable artifacts of saturated mosfets, to overdrive musically and to accentuate the characteristics of guitar and your pickups.

The low impedance buffered output can directly drive a power amp or plug direct in. This pedal can use a standard center negative 9VDC power supply however you can experiment with voltages ranging from 5V to 24V. The v2 circuit features a new presence control trimmer on the inside of the pedal so the high end can be finely tuned to each player’s tastes. 

For the last several years this has been my goto pedal for grit and tone. I’m really excited about the new revision. 

Greg