KMA Machines Chief Disruptor Fuzz Distortion Pedal Overview
CHIEF DISRUPTORFundamental Fuzz/Distortion
“Gazing from afar at the downfall of archaic sonic structures, a hooded being sat calmly on the cornerstone of legacy. For generations, instead of asking what the present actually screamed for, people had been blinded by the achievements of the past. That was before the CHIEF DISRUPTOR came along! All it took was the push of a single handle to tear down the ancient landmarks for good, not even passing a flinch as the explosion happened. Instead, a feeling of hope began to saturate the entire being, manifesting in an endlessly sustaining smile on their face. It’s finally time for a new era of crushing tones. It’s time for the age of the CHIEF DISRUPTOR!”
Welcome to a new era of the most iconic fuzz/distortion sound the world has ever known. You know, that epically huge and super saturated tone (some might call it big and muffy) that has defined the signature sound of so many artists and countless records in the past few decades. It's arguably one of the pedals with the biggest impact on the entire industry, which has seen it modified over and over and over again. So much that you think it's all been done, right? Oh boy do we have a surprise for you here! Holding three different Gain Modes, a pre- or post-EQ Clean Blend, active Bass and Treble controls, a foot-switchable and expression-controllable parametric Mid-EQ as well as a switchable top-boost for even more raspy, grinding bite, CHIEF DISRUPTOR is the most flexible, beautifully balanced and LOUDEST muff-style pedal you'll ever hear!
Features:
• Fuzz/Distortion Pedal with Switchable Mid EQ/Boost
• The ultimate ‘muff-style’ drive, with stacked topology
• 3 distinctive gain structures:
Vintage (dynamic)
Tight (more focussed)
Heavy (sustaining and thick)
• Pre or Post Clean Blend, for a tight low end
• Active Bass and Treble EQ
• Separate Mid EQ, with footswitch and frequency control
• Top-Boost, for more crunchy harmonics
• External Expression control, allows for filter or pseudo-phase tones
• Internal controls for Mid Q and Top Boost Level
• Relay-based soft-switching
• Made in Berlin, Germany
• Power by opt. 9 V PSU
(9 V DC, centre -, 2.1 mm, >160 mA max. current draw)
Over the years, different muff drives had different levels of gain, so we derived three major distinctive gain structures all based on what we consider to be the best versions. The Vintage Mode (VTG) will give you every shade of discrete overdrive, while the Tight Mode will give a more focused and modern tone with less bass and super crisp harmonics. Heavy Mode is the essence of what we all love about muffs. Heavy, sustaining and crazy thick fuzzy distortion, with bone-shaking lows and chewy mids. Just crank the Disruption (Gain) Control and you'll know exactly what we’re talking about here.
Tonal shaping was one of the true weak points of classic muff pedals and something we absolutely knew we had to remedy. We’ve opened the gates to more modern tonal flexibility through our active Bass and Treble controls, which let you boost or cut highs and lows with up to 15 dB, while our parametric Mid-EQ with adjustable centre-frequency and level boost/cut allows you to fine tune the mids with extreme precision, for everything from classic scooped fuzz tones, modern mid-focused dirt tones and all the way to cocked-wah saturation.
You can take complete hands-free control of the Mid-EQ frequency via an expression-pedal. This lets you make instant tone changes on the fly, as well as unleash fast and quacky wah-like sounds or slow and enveloping phaser-like sweeps. If you feel like the filter needs to be more resonant for screaming synth-like sweeps or needs to be subtler, then you can adjust the Q of the Mid-EQ via an internal trimpot. The mids can also be turned on and off via the relay-based soft-switch, allowing you to kick in the mids for soaring solos, cutting chords or when you want to get filter freaky.
Having super saturated mids and lows can sometimes result in a perceived loss of highs. To fix this, just engage the Top-Boost to give your high-mids a big push for more crunchy harmonics and bite to cut through any band mix. We’ve tweaked the Top Boost to our personal taste, but if you feel like it’s either too loud or not loud enough, you can also adjust the Top Boost Level via an internal trimpot.
We carefully balanced the gain control to achieve total control of even the slightest harmonic nuances. So, whether you’re looking for low gain drive, crunchy medium gain rhythm tones, singing or saturated lead sounds or skull-crushing doom tones, the Disruption control can and will cover all of them!
A lot of gain rules! But gain also means compression, and the more we compress our sound, the more our instrument will lose definition. Yes, bass players, synth slingers and extended range guitar rockers, we hear you! To preserve your precious core tone the CHIEF DISRUPTOR sports a clean blend control and a toggle switch to define the insert position. Insert your dry signal before the EQ section for a more cohesive sound or place it post-EQ to keep your dry signal completely unaffected.
Last but not least, we always felt the original muff pedals (and clones) lacked output, hence we implemented our stacked headroom topology to keep the EQs from getting saggy when cranked, all which results in the tightest, most punchy and LOUDEST muff-style tone on the market.
Go forth and empower your creative side, with tone that has true vision to inspire. If you are ready for a change in distortion history, then it’s time to follow the CHIEF DISRUPTOR!
