Lithium Grim Les Boutiques User manual

Les Boutiques
Manual v1.0
© LithiumGrim Effects 2022

2
Table of Contents
Operating Power.................................................................................................... 3
Basic Settings ....................................................................................................... 4
Royal Tone ........................................................................................................ 4
Horse Majeur ..................................................................................................... 5
Merlin ............................................................................................................... 6
Advanced Settings ................................................................................................. 7
Royal Tone ........................................................................................................ 7
Horse Majeur ..................................................................................................... 7
Merlin ............................................................................................................... 7
Order switching .................................................................................................. 8
True bypass Horse Majeur ................................................................................... 8
Default settings ..................................................................................................... 9

3
Operating Power
Only use a regular +9V DC Adapter (Negative center). Do not use a different adapter
(12V/18V) as it will void any warranty.
The Les Boutiques effect consists of 3 separate pedals that can be individually switched and
also have their own switching options. Be warned that turning all 3 effects to maximum
gain may result in it squealing like a pig depending on how clean your DC adapter is (it
will at best amplify all the noise in your signal chain for a hissing extravaganza).
However, the effects are perfect for stacking and by doing so creating eternal feedback
that Gary Moore and Billy Gibbons love(d) to ride like a wave.
The individual effects from right to left:
•Royal Tone
Inspired by the Prince of Tone (1/2 a King of Tone) by Analogman, which itself is
based on the Marshall Blues Breaker.
•Horse Majeur
Inspired by the Klon Centaur by Bill Finnigan.
•Merlin
Inspired by the Tim(my) by Paul Cochran, which in essence is a stripped down
and tweaked version of a Tube Screamer.
This effect is a fully tricked out pedal, a true options galore. However, pretty as that
might be, it might also scare some users off. To keep the pedal accessible for all users,
we split the manual up into 2 sections: Basic (external pots and switches) and
Advanced (internal switches). You can stick to the basic settings and only read the
advanced settings if you are interested in more in depth tweaking.

4
Basic Settings
Royal Tone
This is the lowest driving Overdrive of the 3 and is on the
Green channel.
Volume, Drive and Tone are the same as in other pedals.
Presence can create some top end sparkle.
Headroom
The Headroom switch (+9V/+18V) gives the effect, at 18V,
a longer breath before overdriving the signal. Some may
perceive it as more transparent sounding.
Clipping
The clipping switch gives you the choice between 3
settings:
•OD (OverDrive) (
1
)
This adds the 4 symmetrical soft clipping diodes to the feedback loop of the
second opamp stage of the effect. Gives a warm overdrive.
•None
No clipping diodes in the signal path of the effect, so all clipping comes only from
the second opamp stage. Compares best to a clean boost.
•Distortion
Adds 2 hard clipping diodes after the second opamp stage. Gives a bit harsher
overdrive/distortion.
Note:
1. This is a low gain overdrive. Only with the drive at 3 o’clock (75%) and volume at
around noon (50%) will you notice the signal breaking up. This is normal.
2. Adding too much presence can make the effect harsh sounding. By default turn
the presence knob off and only add when needed.
1
Default setting

5
Horse Majeur
This is best used as a Low to Mid Gain overdrive and is on
the Orange channel.
Volume, Gain and Treble are the same as in other pedal.
The original effect only has a Gain potentiometer (pot) that
actually is a stereo pot that internally controls both Gain
and Blend at the same time. Turning the Gain knob up
results off course in more gain, but also turns down the
overall added clean signal, while turning the gain down
lowers the gain and also lets more of the clean signal
remain.
In the Les Boutiques effect the pot is split into separate Gain and Blend. You can now
determine in every Gain setting how much of the clean signal you want to let bleed
through. If you turn the Blend knob to the same position as the Gain knob, it will act as
the Gain knob on the original.
Diodes
The diode selection switch gives you the option between 3 flavors:
•Germanium (1)
Warm vintage overdrive sound
•None
More of a Clean boost setting. Notice the raised volume in this setting.
•Silicon
Slightly compressed setting but still leaves enough top end.

6
Merlin
This is best used as a Mid to High Gain overdrive and is
on the Red channel.
Volume, Gain, Treble and Bass are the same as in other
pedals although Treble may work in a reverse order than
you would expect.
Headroom
The Headroom switch (+9V/+18V) gives the effect, at
18V, a longer breath before overdriving the signal. Some
may perceive it as more transparent sounding.
Clipping Symmetry
Enables you to switch between the normally internal
switching options of the original. As this effect has a lot of
diode switching options, here is a snippet from the schematic:
•A-Sym(metrical)
Adds an extra single clipping diodes to the circuit. A-symmetrical will be slightly
louder, cleaner and with a bit more headroom.
•Stock (1)
•Sym(metrical)
Adds 2 extra clipping diodes to the circuit. Symmetrical will sound smoother and a
bit more compressed, but less compressed than the stock setting

7
Advanced Settings
Besides external pots and switching options as described in the Basic settings, you can
open the lid by unscrewing the 6 screws, to reveal extra DIP switching options. These
settings are for advanced users who like to tweak the pedal a bit more.
A DIP switch has 2 positions. Up = On, Down = Off, but that is also marked on the switch
itself.
Royal Tone
Gain
Enables you to switch between the stock Drive potentiometer value (100k) and the High
Gain potentiometer value (250k).
Default = Off = High Gain
Symmetry
Enables you to switch between the stock symmetrical clipping and a-symmetrical
clipping. Symmetrical will sound smoother and a bit more compressed, while
a-symmetrical will be slightly louder and cleaner.
This switch only functions if the external clipping switch is set to the OD mode!
Default = Off = Symmetrical.
Horse Majeur
Extra gain
When switching this on, you will notice a little extra room in the gain.
Default = Off = Stock Gain
Extra Bass
When switching this on, the treble knobs frequency operation range will shift a bit and
leave more bass in the signal.
Default = Off = Stock Bass
Merlin
Here is another piece of the schematic:
Stock/BB style
In stock all 4 diodes are connected in the center, while in BB-
style (Blues Breaker) they are not (DIP2A in the picture).
Default = On = Stock.
Sym/A-Sym
Default = Off = Symmetrical
PS on the PCB the Sym/A-Sym are printed in reverse order.
This has no negative effect on the workings of the pedal!
On the footswitch PCB there are 3 trim pots, one for each effect. You should not need to
use these unless you think the “pop” you hear when switching on an effect is too loud. If
the pop is caused by the LED switching on, you can turn the trimpot of that effect to see
if it goes away.

8
Order switching
If your version of the Les Boutiques comes with order switching, you can set the order of
the effects chain by putting the switches on the footswitch PCB as follows:
1-2-3: Guitar -> Royal tone -> Horse Majeur -> Merlin -> Amp
3-2-1: Guitar -> Merlin -> Horse Majeur -> Royal tone -> Amp
Both switches need to be set in the same order configuration!
True bypass Horse Majeur
The Horse Majeur can be switch between Buffered Bypass (default) and True bypass by
flipping the switch on the Footswitch PCB. There will be a noticeable volume drop when
switching from buffered bypass to true bypass. This is normal.

9
Default settings
If you have any questions or requests, please contact me at arnold.dikstaa[email protected].