KMA CHIEF DISRUPTOR User manual

Quick Start Guide
Made in Berlin, Germany since 2013
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E-mail: [email protected] | Website: www.kma-machines.com
© 2022 KMA Audio Machines UG & Co.KG
Quick Start Guide
Thank you for purchasing this CHIEF DISRUPTOR Fuzz/Distortion pedal.
We hope you get many years of pleasure and use from this device and if
this is your rst product from our brand, welcome!
This simple connecting guide should help start you on your journey to
sonic creativity. However, if you wish to know all of the pedal’s hidden
secrets, you can nd the full manual online on the product page at:
kma-machines.com
Some quick usage examples:
Having super saturated mids and lows can sometimes result in a
perceived loss of highs. To x 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 it’s either too loud or not loud enough, you can also adjust the
Top Boost Level via an internal trimpot to your own taste.
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 y,
as well as unleash fast and quacky wah-like sounds (when the mids are
boosted) or slow and enveloping phaser-like sweeps (when they are
cut). If you feel like the lter 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. Keep in mind that more resonance yields
in a very peaky sound and the mids can start to oscillate when all of the
controls (gain, highs, master, top boost activated) are maxed out.
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 lter freaky. CD QSG V1.01
CHIEF DISRUPTOR Specications
• 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)
and 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 lter or pseudo-phase tones
• Internal controls for Mid Q and Top Boost Level
• Relay-based soft-switching
Power requirements:
9 V DC, centre -, 2.1 mm, ≈160 mA max. current draw

MASTER
Sets the overall output level of your weapon of disruption
VOICING
Choose between three different ‘muff-style’ voicings
VTG (Vintage): Classy dynamics, with low- to mid-gain sounds
TIGHT: Modern and more focussed, with tight lows and crisp top-end
HE AV Y: Full blast, with massive low-end and plenty of thick sustaining gain
MAIN OUTPUT
Connect your amplier/ next series of
pedal(s) or other audio devices here 9 V DC
Input
MIDS
Activates the parametric MID-EQ
ENGAGE
Activates and turns on the pedal
CLEAN
Blends in the input signal (often referred to as Clean Blend)
TOP BOOST
Turns on/off a high-mid Boost for a sharp attack
and more top end distortion
BLEND INSERT POSITION
POST: Adds the Clean Blend after the EQ-Section
PRE: Adds the Clean Blend before the EQ-Section
MAIN INPUT
Connect your instrument or other
audio devices here
MID FREQ
Sets the centre frequency of the Mid-EQ
(from 100 Hz to 2 kHz)
HIGHS
Active Treble control to boost or cut your highs (+/-15dB)
LOWS
Active Bass control to boost or cut your low end (+/-15 dB)
EXP-INPUT
Plug in a TRS expression device here to sweep through the Mid-EQ
frequencies, for Wah-Wah or Phase type effects (depending on
the Cut/Boost knob). We recommend the MOOG-EP3 or any other
expression pedal/device with the same TRS polarity.
WARNING DO NOT USE A CV CONNECTION IN THIS SOCKET!
It won’t work and may damage your pedal.
MIDS CUT/BOOST
Sets how much you want to boost (CW) or cut (CCW)
the Mid frequencies when the MIDS are activated
DISRUPTION
Sets the amount of gain/drive