The K117

The K117 is a custom designed dual FET overdrive circuit. This one-off edition is mounted on a 1955 RCA 6J6 circuit board salvaged from a WO-91a Oscilloscope and features a mix of vintage, NOS, and modern components. The pair of K117 FET's were salvaged from the input stage of a Roland SDE 2500 and carefully biased into a luscious cascade overdrive. The Tube sockets have been modified to accommodate LED indicator lights; the original tubes are just for aesthetic. The box is handmade from Cedar and Paduak, bonded with hide glue, and finished with oil.

Left Knob: Voltage - Allows the user to control the voltage feed to the FET's. Although it does affect the volume, this is not a volume knob. Panning hard left or right will result in no signal. It has a definitive "zone" that it sounds best in (roughly 70-80% open) and adjusting by the slightest amount from there will allow you to shape the charactaristic of the distortion. Don't be intimidated, its very easy to dial in - just strum a chord, turn the knob, and let your ears guide you!

Right Knob: Tone - Easy Peasy roll-off much like the one on your guitar only it comes after the gain stage.