PLASMA COIL

The Plasma Coil is a special version of the Plasma pedal. Instead of LEDs, transistors or valves, it turns the incoming signal into a series of high-voltage discharges inside a xenon-filled tube, and the discharges are converted back into an analog audio signal. The result is a responsive, heavy distortion. There is no blend control, so the output is always fully wet when the pedal is engaged.

The Voltage knob sets how much current reaches the tube, which changes the threshold for a discharge. Low settings separate individual notes and remove pickup noise and string hum. High settings make the pedal very sensitive and suit long sustained lines. Output is shaped with a master Volume knob and two EQ knobs (Low Freq and Hi Freq), each able to boost or cut its range.

The FX section has six octave-down and octave-up circuits. Subharmonics come from modulating the tube voltage with divisions of the played note, giving a glitchy octave-down sound between ring modulation and bit-crushing. Upper harmonics come from a full-wave rectifier and band-pass filter for an octa-fuzz tone. A separate FX footswitch controls this section and can be set to latching or momentary with a switch on the back panel. The pedal uses 1/4" unbalanced TS jacks and a 9V DC barrel-plug input; no power supply is included.