Becos ZIFFER JORDAN ZIFF SIGNATURE User manual

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TS8‐JZTHEZIFFER–JORDANZIFFSIGNATURE
MINIOVERDRIVEPEDAL
MANUAL
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SPECIFICATIONS
Inputimpedance:550KΩ
OutputImpedance:100Ω
OptimalPowerVoltage:9‐18VDC±10%CenterNegativeBarrel
DCPowerPlugBarrel:Ø5.1/2.1mm,12mmlong
PowerConsumption:<11mAh
ProductSize:Length:39mm,Depth:92mm,Height:51mm
ProductWeight:159gr.
PackedWeight:200gr.
ADVICE,WARNING&CAUTIONS
‐Readthismanualandkeepithandy.
‐Donotplacethepedalindirectsunlight,inextremetemperature
andhumidityconditions,orindustyenvironment.
‐Donotmakemodificationstothecircuitanddonotinstallthe
pedalinanyotherwayexceptasdescribedinthismanual.
‐Aswestruggletoimproveourselvesandourproducts,wemay
changeproductsspecifications,design,andfeatureswithoutnotice.
Likewise,thismanualmaybechangedormodifiedwithoutnoticeso
weadviseyoutodownloaditfromthewebsitebeforeusingthe
product.
INTRODUCTION
ThankyouforchoosingTheZifferOverdrive–JordanZiffSignature
minitubescreamerpedal.
TheTS8‐JZZiffer Overdrive is derivedfromour TS8‐MS Overdrive /
MIDI Switcher pedal. We removed the MIDI switching capabilities
andaddedseveralcontrolswhichcontributetosubtletone‐crafting
andexpandedversatility.
Wealwayskept in mind JordanZiff’sminimalist approachtoguitar
tone – only using the overdrive to push his 1959 Plexi amp – and
mixedthetubescreamerbareessentialswithcarefulsophistication,
all while shrinking the packaging into a sturdy 1590A Hammond
aluminum enclosure. The Ziffer is a sturdy minion, road‐ready, and
eagertoperforminanyenvironment.
The Ziffer’s circuit is tributary to the vintage 808 still, yetfeatures
our modifications which we took even further. Compared with the
TS8‐MS,theZifferOverdrivefeaturesaDEEPswitchwithanoption
forbeefingupthelowerendfrequencies,aDRY/WETMIXtrimmer
toblendthecleansignaloverthewetoverdrivensignal,andaDRY
EQtrimmerthatactsonthedrylineonlytomixbackeitherflatclean
or tilted frequencies on either the lows or highs spectrum. It still
features the tri‐option CLIPPINGswitchwhichmodifiestheoverall
gainstructuretobettershapesuitabletonesforalargevariety of
applications.
Ontopofthat,wereplacedtheone‐transistorbufferswithaudio
gradeop‐ampswhichcontributetoalowernoisefloor,especiallyin
thehigh‐gainsettings.Wealsoemployverylowtoleranceparts,
high‐qualityPanasonicmulti‐layerplasticmetalizedfilmcapacitorsin
the audio path, and build everything on our standard Gold‐plated
tracingcircuitboard,forlifetimeendurance.TheZifferOverdrivecan
be powered anywhere in between 9VDC and 18VDC for improved
transparencyandhighheadroom.
EFFECTCONTROLS
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FOOTSWITCH –When engaged, the switch routes the audio signal
throughthecircuitryand the Power LED islitGreen. When pushed
again, the signal is routed inTrue Bypassfrom Input to Output,
leavingtheaudiountouched.Thisroutingisstillavailableevenwhen
thepedalisnotpowered.
GAIN–AlongwiththeCLIPandtheDEEPswitches,theGAINcontrol
setstheamountofoverdriveappliedtothecleansignal.Thegain
stage preserves the original 808 tubescreamer characters but itis
modified for tonal enhancement and variable structural response.
Thefrequencyfiltersaretrimmedforenhancedresponseinthelow
end while enhancing warmth and clarity. Dialed to a minimum, it
barelybreaksin,andwhiletwistingtotheotherendcanreachfocus
and aggression, you may find your best balance in between. Roll
downthevolumeknobinyourinstrumentandthepedalcleansout
nicely,alwaysrenderinganorganic andnaturaldrive.Alittledump
in the guitar tone as well may lead to your sweetest bluesy tone.
Playwithit.
TONE–Thetonecontrolshouldnotbeusedasmuchasatone
correction but more like a frequency balancer and drive‐response
sweetener,appropriatetoyourparticularinstrumentoramp.Ifyour
toneseemstoobrittle,don’tbeafraidtoturnitcounterclockwisefor
asmuchasitisneeded.Onthecontrary,ifyourinstrumentis too
darkersounding,turnitclockwisetoaddhighermidsandpresence.
LEVEL–Thelevelcontrolisplacedpost‐DRY/WETMIXandsetsthe
overall output volume of the pedal.Initsmostcounterclockwise
position, it puts the signal to the ground, leaving nothing at the
output.Turnedtothemax,itpassestheoveralllevelsetintheGAIN
stage.
DRY/WETMIX–Thiscontrolactslikeanaudiomixer,whereyoucan
blend the input clean signal with the hot overdriven signal. This
feature works in conjunction with the DRY EQ. When fully
counterclockwise,thesignalis100%wet.Turnedfullyclockwise,itis
100%dry.Inbetweenis50/50.
The typical frequency response of the overdrive exhibits a strong
bumpinthemidscenteredon1kHz,attheexpenseoflosingsome
of the low‐end frequencies. Although this is highly desirable when
pushing an instrument amplifier to cut out through the other
instrumentsinamix,itmayleavesomethingtobedesired.Injecting
backsomeofthecleansignalsmayrestoreapartofthelowend,
addingmorebodytothetone.Itmayalsoaltertheoverallgain
structure,but, depending on the instrument, the general overdrive
soundmaybebettertunedthisway,addingoptionsforcreativity.
When set to 100% dry, the pedal acts as a hot buffer or, more
correctly, like a mild booster because the dryline is pre‐set with a
certainamountofgainwhichisneededtobalancethehighergainin
thewet overdriven signal. And, when used in conjunction with the
DRY EQ, you can choose to inject either more highs or more lows.
The latter is particularly useful when using the pedal with a bass
instrument or with single‐coil guitars, while the former is helpful
whendrivingtheinstrumentamplifierineithermildbreak‐up(where

TS8‐JZTHEZIFFER–JORDANZIFFSIGNATURE
MINIOVERDRIVEPEDAL
Designed&HandMadeinRomania/EU
ThankyouforusingBECOSproducts!
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MANUAL
Lastmodified:April10,2021
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www.becosfx.com
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theproportionofhighsinthedrysignalmayhelppreservethesonic
character of the amplifier), or in blistering high gain (where a
proportionofcleandryhighssubtlymixedwithoverdrivenwetmids
canimprovetheclarityofyourplaying).
DRY EQ– ThiscontroladdsmorevaluetotheDRY/WETmixer,
allowingmore coloringto the clean signalwhichis supposed tobe
blendedwiththewetoverdrivensound.Itactslikeatiltingequalizer
withacenterpivotat750Hz.Turnedtotheleft,itdumpsthelows
byaslowas‐6dBwhileconcomitantly bumping highs with up to
+6dB. And vice versa. Left in the middle, it leaves the clean signal
unchanged. When the MIX knob is trimmed right to the max, the
pedalmaybeusedasafrequencybooster.UsetheDRYEQtomake
either minor or bold corrections to your push, and use the pedal’s
LEVELtosettheoutputasloudasneeded.However,thisisnotthe
onlywaytheDRYEQcanbeused.
Thiscontroladdsmoreversatilitywhenthepedalisusedwith
differentinstruments,suchasbass,orover‐brightsinglecoilguitars,
ordark‐soundinghumbuckerguitars.Thereyoucanrecoversomeof
thelowslostintheoverdriveengine,oraddsparkinghighsif
needed. Be creative. Start by blending half DRY and half WET with
the knob centered at noon, the slightly tilt the EQ one way or the
other, to better hear its response. Fine‐tune it afterward to
appropriatelybalancethemixofcleanandoverdrivensignals.
CLIP SWITCH– Thiscontrolispartofthegainstageandis
responsible for carving the gainstructurewhichgivesthepedal its
particular voicing. The clipping switch has three positions. Inthe
upper position, theCLASSICclipping is set with silicon diodes. This
mostlyresemblestheoriginal808tones,andcanonlybedescribed
ascreamysaturatedoverdrive.Inthemiddleposition,avariationis
introduced,settingtheclippingtoASYMMETRIC.Thetonebecomes
airier,lesssaturated.Theoveralllevelrisesabitand,iftheGAINis
dialedinmoreclockwise,thetonesoonresemblesanaughtydrive.It
cutsbetterinthemixandbecomesmoreaggressive.Usethisalong
withtheDRY/WETMIXandtheDRYEQformoretonalvariation.
Finally, in the lower position of the switch, the clipping is set
toCUSTOM–usingourchoiceofRedLEDs.Anoticeablerisein
volumetakesplace.WiththeGAINtotheminimum,theoutputis
almostclean,breakinguponlyonhigherstrokes.Again,theMIXand
DRYEQcontrolsmaybeveryhelpfultovoiceyourparticulartone.
ThemoreGAINisdialedin,themoremeanandaggressivethesound
gets.
You could use the Ziffer as your solo tone machine as Jordan Ziff
does,but,ifyouwanttogofurther,youmayusetwostackedZiffers
‐ one set for a creamy overdrive in CLASSIC clipping mode, while
engagingthesecondonesetforCUSTOMclippingonlyduringyour
solopassages.Youmayneedtorebalancetheoutputlevelalittle,
andsometimestrimdowntheTONEifthevoicingistooaggressive.
Thisclippingmodeisbettersuitedforboostingraw‐soundingamps
or even for lead tones. But really, there are no rules. Experiment
withyoursetup and bepreparedtodiscover even moretonesand
drives.
DCPOWERCONNECTOR–The pedal is powered as soon as the
PowerPlugisinsertedintotheDCPowerConnector.Itremains
powered even when the footswitch is in the bypass position.Use
onlygoodfilteredandregulatedpowersupplies,with a voltageof
9‐18VDC,withcenternegativepolarity.UseaDCPowerPlugØ5.1/
2.1 mm, with a 12mm long barrel because the power connector is
recessed inside the enclosure (which also has tapered sidewalls,
keepingtheplugalittleout).
INPUT–Hereyouwill connect eitheran instrumentdirectly,orthe
outputofanothereffect,orasignaltakenfromtheamplifier'sSEND
FX‐loop.
OUTPUT– From here you will send the signal to the next effect
pedal,oranamplifier'sinput,ortheRETURNFX‐loopofanamplifier.
TheoutputsignalcanalsoberecordeddirectlyintoaHi‐Zinterface
input.Whennotengaged(orpowered),thepedalisinTrueBypass.
DEEP SWITCH–Thedeepswitchhastwooptions.Intheupper
position,itsetstheCLASSICtoneandthefeelyouwouldexpectfrom
anoverdrive.WhensetintheDEEPlower position, the frequency
response of the gain engine is changed, introducing lower end
frequencieswithoutmuddyingthesound.Thismodemaybeusedas
anenhanceratalltimes,butitisparticularlyusefulforbass
instrumentsandthin‐soundingsinglecoils.
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