The KMA Machines Chief Disruptor is a Muff-style fuzz and distortion pedal with three switchable gain modes, an active three band EQ, a parametric mid section with expression control, a clean blend, and a Top Boost switch. It’s a very full featured Muff-style circuit. The controls that most Muff-style pedals leave fixed, are here adjustable and switchable.
Three gain modes give three very different compression and gain characters. VTG: The classic lower gain sustain, a tighter more focused distortion (TIGHT), and a (HEAVY) mode that pushes into fuzz territory.
The parametric mid is key. Sweep the mid frequency while it’s boosted and you get a wah-like effect. Sweep it while it’s cut and you get a slow phaser-style sweep. Expression pedal control over the mid frequency parameter turns this into a hands free performance tool.
KMA’s stacked headroom topology is there to stop the EQs sagging when cranked, and to give more output than classic Muffs.
Controls
- Disruption: This is the gain control, that sets the amount of drive
- Master: As you would expect, sets the overall output of the pedal
- Clean: This is a “mix” controls where the un affected signal is mixed with the “Disrupted” signal
- Voicing (VTG): Select one of 3 Muff voicing : Vintage, Tight and Heavy
- Lows: A +/- 15dB bass lift or cut
- Highs: (You guessed!) A +/- 15dB treble lift or cut
- Blend: Chose whether to add the Clean Blend before or after the EQ
- Mids: Cut or boost
- Mids Freq: Sets mid point of boosted frequency – 100Hz to 2kHz
- Top Boost: Switchable high-mid boost – pushes the high-mids to bring that bite back.
- Internal Trimpot: Sets Top Boost level
- Internal Trimpot: Sets Q of mid EQ. Makes the mid sweep more resonant or subtle
Key Features
- Muff-style fuzz and distortion — three switchable gain modes
- Active EQ
- Parametric mid section — frequency sweepable 100Hz to 2kHz
- Clean blend — parallel clean signal for definition and note clarity
- Top Boost switch — adds high-frequency presence
- Internal trimpots for Top Boost level and mid Q
- Made in Berlin, Germany
Power
9V DC centre negative. 160mA current draw
Watch The KMA Chief Disruptor In Action
FAQs
Three switchable modes give different compression and saturation characters. VTG (Vintage): Low – mid gain dynamics; TIGHT: Modern and more focussed, with tight lows and crisp top-end
HEAVY: Full blast, wall of sound with big low-end
The expression input is assignable to the mid frequency parameter of the parametric EQ. With the mids boosted, sweeping the frequency gives a wah-like effect. With the mids cut, sweeping gives a slow phaser-style sweep.
It blends an unprocessed clean signal in parallel with the distorted signal. Particularly useful on bass, for low-end clarity.
It adds a high-frequency boost for added presence and cut-through. The level of the boost is adjustable via an internal trimpot. Useful for pushing through a band mix or for adding brightness to darker-sounding guitars or amps.
Yes. The clean blend makes the Chief Disruptor particularly bass-friendly. You can dial in heavy distortion while maintaining low-end clarity and definition through the parallel clean signal.
9V DC centre-negative. 160mA supply
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