Fulltone Full-drive 3 User manual

2015 FMPInc. Manual Version 1.1

In 1993 I started developing a dual mode overdrive called the Fulldrive. It was stuffed into a raw aluminum die cast enclosure with a

sanding-disc polished top, and had graphics done via a Brother P-Touch label maker. It got into the hands of some great players and it

soon took off! A little later it became the Fulldrive2, and graduated to a bright orange steel enclosure sporting a BOOST footswitch that

simply increased the distortion, and along with that added a little bit of volume boost.

The FD2 has been a tremendous hit for me over the years, but when I realized that the Fulldrive was about to turn 20 years old, I decided

to do a limited-run orange “20th Anniversary FD-3” out of my Fulltone Custom Shop. I reduced the FD2’s size by about 15% and set out to

capture the exact sound of the circa-1996 Orange FD2 that everyone loves, but also offer something more with a few key features.

It was an instant hit, with all 5000 units sold out within seven months. I wasn’t expecting that, and so out of the many, many requests I’ve

been getting to buy a CS-FD3, the new black standard FD3 was born!

Plug in and set the pedal’s 3-way CLIPPING toggle switch to 90’s and you’ll get the familiar 1990’s FD2 smooth, symmetrical clipping, with

ample midrange. Set the switch to WIDE ASYM (wide asymmetrical clipping) and more sweet highs and lows come through, along with

chimey, Class-A style even harmonic overtones. Lastly, I have included COMP-CUT mode, which is a popular Fulltone invention offering a

not-so-clean Boost that’s pure opamp-overdrive, with no diode clipping assistance. Aggressive, cutting, and (be careful) capable of a huge

volume boost to help you pop out in the mix.

I totally redesigned and improved the FD2’s BOOST channel, making it a completely separate pedal on the FD3 so that it could be used

either on its own, or in conjunction with the OD side of the pedal for an infinite amount of sound combinations. To further enhance the

versatility, the BOOST channel in the FD3 can be routed to be positioned before the OVERDRIVE side of the pedal, or after it...either

giving the OVERDRIVE channel a lift in distortion (BOOST-->OD) or lift in volume (OD-->BOOST), depending on where you set the

ORDER switch.

The BOOST side of the FD3 is the finest clean boost I’ve ever encountered, dialing up its DYNAMICS knob (a Fulltone-exclusive Germa-

nium diode Limiter circuit) starts to drastically alter the feel of the notes being played as well as subdue the transient spikes which can

overload your amp’s input. Those spikes can be fatiguing, as well a damaging to the ears, the amp, and its speakers! Similar to using a

limiter on the mixdown of a song in the studio, the FD3’s DYNAMICS feature helps you keep your place in the live mix.....like a very smart

compressor. This feature can make even an “ok” amp feel responsive and juicy, and will keep you from distorting the amp’s input, a

problem plaguing virtually all other clean-boost pedals.

I hope you get a lot of use out of your new FD3, I sure had fun designing and making it, and I believe it truly pays homage to the Fulldrive

legacy while raising the bar for overdrive design in the process!

Play on!

Michael Fuller / President

Congratulations on the purchase of your

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IN Jack (#16 on above diagrams): Connect a cable (shielded with ¼” mono plugs) coming from your guitar, bass, or other instrument into this jack. Always use good quality shielded

cables (e.g. Fulltone Gold Standards) for audio signals, speaker cables are un-shielded and should not ever be used to connect your instrument.

OUT Jack (#14): Connect a cable (shielded with ¼” mono plugs) going to your amplifier and/or the IN of other pedals.

ON/OFF footswitch (#1) Press this to turn the OVERDRIVE (OD) side of the pedal ON or OFF. This is the LEFT side of the pedal, and utilizes every feature except for 8, 9, 10, 12, and

13. This pedal is “True-Bypass” which means when the pedal is turned off it is not coloring your sound with any circuitry and is simply routing the signal from IN jack to OUT jack. When

the LED (#2) is lit the OD side of the pedal is ON.

VOLUME knob (#4): This knob only controls the OD side of the pedal, when the LED (#2) is lit. Turn this Clockwise (CW) and the volume will increase...turn it Counter Clockwise (CCW)

and the volume will decrease.

TONE knob (#5): This knob only controls the OD side of the pedal, and reduces the Treble frequencies as you turn it CCW...and increases Treble as you turn CW. Neutral tends to be

around 12 O’clock with most amps.

CLIPPING switch (#6): This toggle switch only affects the OD side of the pedal, and allows you to change the Distortion clipping characteristics. Set to 90’s, the pedal is almost entirely

Symmetrical in its clipping, with more midrange like an old TS or 1990’s FD2. Set this switch to WIDE ASYM (wide asymmetrical) and the Bass & Treble frequencies are more pronounced

and offering more even-ordered Harmonics. Net sonic result is a more chimey, Class-A tube-type sound. The middle switch position marked “CC” enacts the COMP-CUT feature. This

mode removes all diode clipping from the JFET opamp, giving it a somewhat clean-boost feature or an agressive opamp clipping sound on higher OD settings.

OVERDRIVE knob (#7): Only controls the OVERDRIVE side of the pedal. Turn it CW and the level of distortion will increase, turn it CCW and the opposite occurs.

BOOST footswitch (#13): This switch turns on or off the BOOST, which is the right side of the pedal.

BOOST knob (#9): This knob controls the amount of volume increase the BOOST channel will deliver. CW gets louder, CCW gets quieter.

ORDER switch (#8): This switch only operates when both sides of the pedals are turned ON, and lets you select whether the BOOST circuit (right side of the pedal) comes BEFORE or

AFTER the OD side of the pedal. A Cool feature, because an overdrive sounds completely different with a Clean Booster before it then it does with a clean booster after it.

OD-->BOOST: (with the OD side of the pedal is turned ON) Turn on the BOOST (#13) and it will take the sound you have and simply make it louder without

increasing the distortion! Great for live work, and takes the power away from the soundman, letting you control your place in the mix.

Net result is potential for serious volume increase when set this way without much change to the distortion sound you have chosen.

BOOST-->OD: (with the OD side of the pedal is already turned ON) Turn on the BOOST and its now routed to the OD side, increasing the distortion (by pummeling

the OD’s input) the more CW you turn the BOOST. The net result is more distortion and a little bit of volume increase.

DYNAMICS knob (#10): This knob is part of the BOOST circuit, and only is functional when the BOOST is turned ON. Turning this CW will start to bring in a subtle Germanium diode

limiter circuit, there is no right or wrong way to use this, choose your setting based on how it makes the notes feel when you pick the strings.

WARNING! If you turn this knob too far CW it will actually start reducing your volume, just like a studio Limiter/Compressor can do. Use taste when setting this function, I find that the ideal

way to set this is to first set the DYNAMIC knob to the desired feel, and then adjust the BOOST knob to desired volume.

BATTERY: The FD3 ships with a 9 volt carbon-zinc battery located inside the pedal. To access the battery, remove the thumbscrews (3 & 11) by turning them CCW, separate the top &

bottom sections of the pedal, replace battery, and reassemble the pedal.

DC Power Port: (#15) You may run this device on a 9 volt battery (included), a high-quality, regulated 9 to 18VDC wallwart (not included), or high-quality 9-18VDC regulated pedalboard powersupply.

The power cable’s center must be configured to the (industry-standard) 2.1mm x 5.5mm barrel plug with Negative to Center Pin configuration, as per following diagram:

The Fulltone FPS-1 (not included) is a great 9VDC regulated wall wart adapter. As far as pedalboard power supplies, we have always recommended the various Voodoo Lab products.

Specifications

Input impedance: 2.2 megaohms.

Output Impedance: 180 ohms.

Dimensions: 5.17”W x 4.26”D x 2.36” H.

Weight: 1lb 7oz.

Power Consumption: maximum 13 milliamps with both channels on.

Warranty: Fulltone products carry a Limited 5 year Warranty to the original owner with proof of purchase that the product was bought from an Authorized Fulltone Dealer. There is no need to register your product,

simply keep a copy of your original sales receipt. The Warranty covers failure due to manufacturing errors only and is void if any mod or repair is performed by anyone other than Fulltone AND/OR if we deem that

any operator-caused abuse or damage has occurred, for example; the use of an incorrect power supply, a dropped pedal, water damage, etc. Customer is always responsible for all shipping costs both to and from

Fulltone. Do not attempt to call Fulltone, instead, all Repair issues are handled via email to troubleshoot the possible problem and (after troubleshooting) for the scheduling of Warranty Repair. After we have

deemed that a repair is necessary, we will email you an Acrobat PDF copy of our Return Authorization Form (RA Form) and print it out, fill out all information, and include it with the device you are sending. Fulltone