Zander Circuitry Cranium Distortion

Got a ‘rodent’ problem? You’re not alone. This classic distortion circuit has been tweaked and twisted by almost every pedal builder in the game, with countless mods to take the sound in different directions to suit different needs. The Cranium pulls the threads together for an all-in-one ‘rodent-style’ circuit that gives you the freedom to dial in the exact sound you’re looking for.

Flexibility is the name of the Cranium’s game, giving you extra control over several critical parts of the circuit for stress-free tweaking.

Key to this is the extra Freq control, which works in tandem with the Tone control to give you a far wider range of sounds. Essentially, the Freq knob alters what would normally be a fixed resistor value, making it variable and allowing for precise frequency control that’s not normally possible with traditional versions of the circuit. Plus, the Body knob alters the low-end and overall gain response, letting you bring in more or less bass, depending on the situation. Both the Freq and Body controls work very interactively with the Gain and Tone controls.

The Cranium also incorporates our signature diode rotary switch, which lets you choose between eight different clipping types (and for this circuit that means you get to pick from the many ‘rodent’ variants that have been released through the years) :

• Germanium: Smooth, sweet, and classically ‘amp-like’. (You Dirty)
• Silicon: Louder, brighter, and a little bit brittle. (Standard)
• LED: Louder again, with less saturation and more punch. (Turbo)
• Asymmetrical germanium: A more aggressive version of germanium. (Zander)
• Asymmetrical silicon: A more aggressive version of silicon. (Solo)
• Asymmetrical LED: A more aggressive version of LED. (Solo)
• Transistor/MOSFET: Similar to silicon, but sweeter and crunchier. (FAT)
• No diodes: Loads of output and much less gain. (Deucetone)

And when you need an added dose of distortion, the Cranium’s Blast footswitch ramps the drive all the way up, and activates a second volume control that makes it quick and easy to switch between low and high-gain sounds.