SolidGoldFX Lysis Mk II – Polyphonic Octave Fuzz Modulator

 SolidGoldFX Lysis MkII

If you’ve ever awoken in a cold sweat dreaming of synths, we’ve got just the ticket, the SolidGoldFX Lysis.

There’s always been something about synth players for which guitarists and bassists alike have yearned.

See the demo using guitar and bass here

And now the SolidGoldFX Lysis MkII is here

Is it a fuzz pedal, an octave, a sweeping filter, or some kind of synth machine? YES!!

Building on the foundation of SGFX’s original Lysis design, the Lysis MKII pushes the envelope even further with a number of new features and functionality that helps to increase player interaction and versatility.

Bursting with possibilities, Lysis MKII melds the world of strings with that of synths. The Lysis MKII applies thick, resonant filters, multiple polyphonic voicings and sweeping LFOs, all drenched in an analog square-wave fuzz to your instrument of choice.

Main Features:

• Octave Fuzz Pedal with LFO ramping/breaking modulation
• Discrete analog square wave fuzz circuit with FET preamp
• Polyphonic pitch shifting – delivers octave down, octave down/up and octave down/fifth voicings
• Selectable HP/LP filters with adjustable resonance
• 3 waveform modes (triangle, sine, square) with 11 presets each – for a total of 33 modulation settings
• Tap Tempo control with speed ramping & LFO braking
• Soft touch true bypass switching
• Expression/CV control assignable to any parameter via internal DIP switches
• Top-mounted jacks – for ease of pedalboard mounting
• Hand-made in Montreal, Canada
• Powered by a regular 9 V DC PSU (centre -, 2,1 mm, ~60 mA current draw)

At the core of the Lysis MKII is a discrete FET preamp and high-gain fuzz circuit.

This feeds into SGFX’s digital polyphonic voice and filter generator, then back into a discrete transistor output stage, offering the best of both analog and digital signal processing.

While the high-pass and low-pass filters carry over from the previous generation, they are now controlled by SGFX’s new tap tempo LFO.

This is now loaded with 33 different triangle, sine and square waveshapes coupled with 3 preset resonance settings for your choice of soft modulation or heavy, rhythmic sweeps.

The Voice selector has been expanded to include the previous octave down setting, as well as a new octave down/octave up voicing and SGFX’s Super Power Chord featuring octave down/fifth pitch shifting.

Combined with a featurerich, yet easy to use control set, the Lysis MKII quickly becomes an extension of your instrument and an inspirational toolbox.

There’s nothing left to do but to plug in and let the Lysis MKII sweep you off to synth/fuzz nirvana and enjoy punishing octave-down fuzz, rich, gooey filter sweeps or anything in between.

Filters

Though they’re essentially the same instrument, the onboard accouterments are what make all the difference. Oscillators, filters and LFOs. These are the makings of true electronic synthesis, and these are all things we stuffed into the Lysis.

All of the bells and whistles of synths are featured in full within the walls of the Lysis. For starters, the Lysis serves up a specially-designed wave-shaping fuzz circuit.

This helps the Lysis sound more like a square wave or sawtooth wave.

Our DSP-controlled polyphonic octave circuit takes all the clang you’ve cooked up and sends it south, to a rich two-voice octave-down synthesizer that tracks one note or 88, all at once.

Serve Lysis your longest signal chain on a platter, and it will eat it for breakfast.

The Filter section is where things get really interesting.

For starters, the Lysis gives you the option to blend the octave/fuzz section with the filtering, so you can enjoy punishing octave-down fuzz, rich, goopy filter sweeps or anything in between.

The Lysis also gives you a switchable high-pass and low-pass filter, along with the option to manually manipulate the filter’s cutoff or have it automatically modulate.

If you choose the manual path, an expression pedal jack gives you hands-free control of the Freq knob, for a sound-bending filter-wah effect that can absorb the impact of the most well-equipped dirt section. Should you choose modulation, the Freq knob controls the rate of the effect.

An expression pedal gives you foot control over the speed for some psychedelic guitar freakouts or smooth undulation.

An onboard vibrato circuit finishes off the signal path of the Lysis.

When in fixed mode the Lysis kicks in the vibrato, but in modulated mode, a filter LFO is engaged and Mod controls the rate of that. The two-position Warp switch works in tandem with the corresponding footswitch, either maxing or killing the Mod knob depending on the position.

Much more than a mere effect Lysis is its own future forward entity, an organism of the sonic variety bursting with possibilities.

SolidGoldFx Lysis Controls

KNOBS:

Speed:

This knob adjusts the speed of the LFO, from low and slow, to warble fast. This also controls the filter frequency in Manual mode.

Mode:

The Lysis II has three different wave modes to choose from and each mode has 11 presets. This 11-position knob selects the preset. See Waveforms!

Ramp:

This allows you to set the intensity of the momentary ramp feature.

With the knob in the center position, the Ramp feature is off. Turning it CCW from the noon position slows down the LFO, while turning it CW from noon position increases speed.

The distance the knob is from the noon position determines how quickly the speed will ramp up or down and return to its original position. See Tap/(Ramp)

Blend:

This control gives you a blend between the always on octave/- fuzz section and the filter section.

Fuzz:

This knob controls the amount of fuzz in the circuit. Level: This is the master volume of the pedal.

TOGGLE SWITCHES:

Wave:

This toggle switch selects the main LFO waveform. Left enters sawtooth mode, center is sine and right is square. This toggle is used in combination with the 11-position mode switch to deliver a total of 33 different LFO shapes. For realsies! See Waveforms!

Res:

This toggle sets the resonant peak of the filter. Left is low resonance, center is medium and right is high resonance.

Voice:

This toggle selects the octave voicing of the Lysis. Left is octave down, center is octave down/octave up, right is octave down/fifth aka Super Power Chord.

HPF/LPF:

This changes the filter type. The left position engages a high-pass filter while the right engages a low-pass filter.

Tap/(Ramp) Footswitch:

This footswitch allows you to tap in the speed. When the switch is held down it ramps the speed up or down, depending on how the ramp knob is set.

Bypass Footswitch: Turns the effect on and off. If you hold the foot switch down while the effect is on, you will momentarily pause the LFO until this button is released.

AUXILIARY:

Expression pedal jack:

Takes over the function of the Freq knob.

Input:

Instrument or other pedal goes here.

Output:

Amplifier or other pedal goes here.

True bypass foot switch:

Turns the effect on and off.

POWER:

The SolidGoldFX Lysis requires a center negative 9VDC power adapter with at least 60mA of current (not included). Almost all power supplies meet this, but check yours. There is no option for a battery.

DIMENSIONS:

4.67″ x 3.68″ x 1.18″ (119mm x 94mm x 30mm)