Aclam Guitars THE MOCKER Operator's manual
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USER MANUAL &
SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
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www.aclamguitars.com
C/ Consell de Cent, 201 - local
08011 Barcelona. Spain
Llevinac S.L.
CIF: B64412406 Version 1.2
Thank you for purchasing The Mocker.
The fuzziest side of Vox UL730
for Mods & Rockers
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In September 2017, after months of gathering and
searching through the internet, we were extremely
lucky to nd and buy an original VOX UL730 with serial
number 3042, the amp The Beatles used on Revolver.
After a careful restoration, layout tracing, and further
circuit analysis, we developed the Dr. Robert pedal. It
was the closest replica we could create of its unique
sound and amazing saturation, caused when you
turned the amp’s volume all the way up.
We packed a lot of features into the pedal, including
inner EQ controls and the Mach Schau! switch. An
extra gain boost for solos and heavier parts, making
the Dr. Robert a super versatile overdrive, perfect for
nailing those Revolver guitar tones.
But the amp had another hidden gem…
The UL amp series was the rst Vox amps to
feature a built-in “distortion” circuit controlled by a
footswitch, one of the rst ones to use shunt diodes,
also known as hard clipping to saturate the guitar’s
signal Although they named it distortion, the resultant
tone was closer to a fuzz than what we understand
nowadays as a distortion pedal.
When we got our own UL730 working after restoring it,
we tried to match tones found in the Revolver album,
but we couldn’t nd a similar one using the internal
fuzz. It sounded kind of gated and spluttery, which was
Overview
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really cool, but no song on the album was close to it,
so we focused on creating a device that recreated the
tube’s saturation and abandoned the idea of including
the fuzz circuit in the Dr. Robert.
Eventually one day, we came across a Youtube demo
where a Vox UL730 was being showcased, and its
fuzz tone was nothing like our amp. It had a lot more
sustain with no gated component, which made us
wonder what was the cause of such a dramatic
difference. We reopened our UL730 and after checking
several components in the circuit, we found the
culprit! As time passes, some components lose their
properties and shift their value out of their specied
tolerances. That led to an underbiasing of the fuzz
circuit and caused that starving and gated tone!
While we were re-analyzing the amp, we looked for
the same diodes used on the UL series and found
a surplus lot of 400 N.O.S Phillips OA200 diodes, a
very rare component only used on that amp series.
We couldn’t believe how lucky we were, because that
meant that at least we could make a small run of fuzz
pedals!
With the mystery solved and the right component in
hand, it was time to create what would become The
Mocker!
As we found both sounds equally cool and useful, we
developed a prototype which featured a bias knob to
dial between a great variety of textures, from gated to
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compressed tones. In addition to that, we included
a tone control, so The Mocker would be more
compatible with many amps and guitars. The Mocker
is an extended version of the original Vox UL series
fuzz circuit while retaining its essence. You’d nail
Beatles tones from that ‘66-’67 era (especially if you
pair it with a Dr. Robert), but it will also delight any
player seeking a signature sound! We ourselves are
amazed at the versatility of the Bias knob, capable of
making The Mocker land on so many musical terrains,
from vintage to modern ones, all with just a few
controls; you won’t miss a gain knob!
The graphics inspiration came from the Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band album since the eponymous
song that opens the record has a lead guitar intro,
which was likely recorded with the UL fuzz. We
couldn’t resist painting The Mocker with a Hammerite
nish, the same used on most British fuzz boxes
of that period and also used on the VOX UL series
footswitches.
As the very Ringo said on A Hard Day’s Night, this
pedal it’s not a Mod nor a Rocker, it is The Mocker!
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ACCURATE REPRODUCTION OF THE VOX UL SERIES
INTERNAL FUZZ CIRCUIT:
The Mocker is a faithful replica of our own VOX UL730
amp (S/N: 3042), we measured each component involved
and ne-tuned the circuit to match our own amp.
EXTENDED SONIC RANGE AND TEXTURES THANKS
TO THE BIAS AND TONE KNOBS:
The original amp’s fuzz circuit is controlled via an
external footswitch and has no knobs; it is a preset
effect. Due to component degradation and tolerances,
our UL730 had a gated behavior attributed to an
under-biased transistor. We implemented a Bias knob
to recreate that effect, and get many more textures,
from a plenty of sustain sound to a compressed and
creamy tone.
There’s also a Tone knob to make it even more
versatile and friendly with different guitars and amps!
N.O.S PHILLIPS OA200 DIODES, THE VERY SAME
DIODES FOUND ON THE UL AMP SERIES:
We’ve been lucky to nd a surplus lot of 400 rare OA200
diodes, a key part of the Vox UL700 and 400 fuzz tone!
GRAPHICS INSPIRED ON THE SGT PEPPERS
LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND AND HAMMERED
FINISH PAINT:
Since the Vox UL730 had been used on Sgt Peppers
too we thought it’d be cool honor its artwork. Also the
enclosure has a beautiful hammered nish paint, used
Features
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on many fuzz boxes of that period and also on the UL’s
footswitches.
ULTRA SILENT TRUE BYPASS RELAY SWITCHING:
We’ve made an effort to make the transition from
bypass to on as silent as possible. You won’t hear any
popping noise in the audio path every time you press the
footswitch, no matter how quiet the playing environment
would be.
SMART TRACK®FASTENING SYSTEM:
All our pedals use a custom enclosure designed to
perfectly match our Smart Track® pedalboards. Using
the side thumb screws, you’ll be able to lock safely
the stompbox into one of our pedalboards. It also was
designed with the other pedalboard options in the market
in mind. (see page 21)
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THE MOCKER REF:
AP0050
DIMENSIONS:
13,7 x 8,8 x 5,5cm (5.4” x 3.4” x 2.2”) with knobs
WEIGHT:
410g. (0.90 lb)
BYPASS:
Relay True Bypass
POWER REQUIREMENTS:
9V DC Center Negative 50mA minimum
CURRENT DRAW:
≈12mA
DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY:
This product complies with the requirements of
MADE IN SPAIN
MATERIAL INCLUDED
1 x The Mocker pedal
1 x Anti-sliding rubber pad
1 x Velcro®pad
Specs &
Material included
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Power requirements
POWER SUPPLY
This unit must be powered with a 9VDC negative tip
power supply with the standard Boss type 2.1mm
connector.
Current supply should be a minimum of 50 mA just to
leave a safety margin for the DC adapter.
Make sure you use a good quality power supply and
avoid using generic SMPS type adapters which can
induce high pitched noise to the audio.
CAUTION:
Please note this pedal MUST not be powered
with any voltage above 9VDC. Powering it up with a
12V or 18V power supply will damage its circuit and
immediately void the warranty.
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Operating Diagram
GUITAR AMP INPUT
OUTPUT INPUT
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Controls
1 32
INPUT JACK
POWER JACK
OUTPUT JACK
1
2
3
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4BYPASS SWITCH: Engages the unit allowing the
signal to ow through The Mocker circuit. It also lights
up the LED on the upper left side of the pedal, close to
the Vol control.
BIAS: This knob lets you ne tune the operating
point of The Mocker’s second transistor. Tweaking this
control will let you obtain a wide range of textures and
will change the fuzz behavior and response to your
playing dynamics.
By turning it counterclockwise the fuzz will be gated
and spluttery causing notes to decay quickly quickly to
dead silent. You’ll have to play hard in order to activate
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the second transistor and let the signal pass through
it. This kind of behavior is the one found on our VOX
UL730.
As you start to turn it clockwise the gated behavior will
transition to a more open tone with plenty of gain and
sustain, close to a typical distorted tone but with that
fuzzy character. This ideal for riffs and will be quite
suitable for palm mute playing. This is the tone the
VOX UL series had when they got out of the production
line in 1966.
As you start to turn it clockwise the gated behavior will
transition to a more open tone with plenty of gain and
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sustain, close to a typical distorsion tone but with that
fuzzy character. This ideal for riffs and will be quite
suitable for palm mute playing. This is the tone the VOX
UL series had when they got out of the production line
in 1966.
As you keep turning the knob until you turn it all the
way up, sound will become more compressed and with
a sort of PWM component, ideal for high gain solos
and lead parts. This is also a new terrain for this circuit
since it wasn’t meant to sound like this, it will let you
explore new sonic registers no one at that time knew
where possible with the UL internal fuzz!
You may hear some crackle turning the Bias knob. This
is completely normal since it sets the circuit’s DC bias
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TONE: The original Vox UL series amp’s fuzz had a
preset low pass lter. We’ve replaced the xed resistor
in that part of the circuit with a potentiometer so you
can make it sound brighter or darker depending on the
instrument and/or amp you’re playing. Turn it clockwise
to make it sound brighter.
VOL: Controls the overall volume of The Mocker.
BYPASS LED: It lights up when the unit is engaged.
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Setting Samples
The Bias knob in conjunction with the Tone control
make The Mocker a really versatile fuzz, we recommend
you trying the following setting examples. These
suggestions do not show specic positions for the
VOL as it will depend on the output of the guitar you
use. We recommend you to starting with VOL knob
at 11 o’clock and adjust it to match unity gain of the
unit bypassed. This way you can make sure you’re not
overloading the amp’s preamp and all the saturation
comes from The Mocker.
You'll nd some settings where there's no specic
position for the TONE control. This is because it will
depend on your rig to ne tune The Mocker's brightness
and suit your preferences.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
TO THE MOCKER
SUGGESTED SETTINGS
All samples played with:
1966 Epiphone Casino
Vox AC15C1
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UL730 S/N: 3042
GATED FUZZ
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FACTORY UL730 / SGT. PEPPER’S LEAD INTRO
LIGHTLY COMPRESSED FUZZ
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HEAVILY COMPRESSED FUZZ
SCAN OR CLICK
TO WATCH
THE OFFICAL
DEMOS
This manual suits for next models
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