Data Corruptor®
Modulated monophonic harmonization PLL
The Data Corrupter is a monophonic analog harmonization PLL with modulation. It takes your input signal and brutally amplifies it into a crushing square wave fuzz tone that is then multiplied, split and modulated to create a wild, yet repeatable, three-voice guitar synthesizer.
The Master Oscillator is the central nervous system at the heart of the Data Corrupter's cyberpunk hive. It feeds your input to the signal collector in its original octave (Unison), one octave down (-1) or two octaves down (-2) for maximum compatibility with your favorite instrument and frequency register . Once you have chosen your input octave, the Data Corrupter will perform its calculations and spit out an analog synthesized frequency, which can be modified for portamento or vibrato sounds by the frequency modulator! From there, you can mix any of eight Subharmonic intervals up to three octaves below the input and mix in a square wave fuzz tone for maximum data corruption.
The Master Oscillator (1) is the central nervous system at the heart of the Data Corrupter's cyberpunk hive. The three-position switch on the main oscillator control panel labeled Root feeds your input to the signal collector in its original octave (Unison), one octave down (-1), or two octaves down (- 2). Use the main oscillator's root switch to fine-tune the Data Corruptor's tracking response for maximum compatibility with your favorite instrument and frequency register. Once you've chosen your input octave, the Data Corrupter will perform its calculations and spit out a synthesized frequency, the octave and/or interval of which can be selected via the master oscillator's eight-position rotary switch.
The Voice Mixer oscillator control (2) adjusts the mix of the main oscillator.
The frequency modulator (3) applies pitch-bend modulation to the master oscillator. In Glide mode, you'll hear smooth portamento as each note glides into the next. In Vibrato mode, the pitch modulates up and down for a retro sci-fi laser effect.
The Subharmonic (4) assimilates the input signal into one of eight lower octave programs between one and three octaves below the original. For a more stable lower octave, set the subharmonic root switch to the Unison position, which splits the square wave input signal and removes the frequency modulator from the subharmonic signal path.
To unleash the cracked machine hiding in the mainframe, set the subharmonic root switch to the oscillator and try not to look away as the malware you just installed changes your input signal in the sum and difference of the main oscillator and the subharmonic with the frequency modulator. applied to upper and lower octaves.
If you think you're brave enough, set the Subharmonic Root Switch to Oscillator and try experimenting with different Master Oscillator and Subharmonic programs to wind the doomsday clock and get closer and closer to the Singularity. Adjust the Voice Mixer's subharmonic control to adjust the lower octave volume.
Finally, (or is it?) the Square control (5) located at the top left on the Voice Mixer fades into a fuzzy square wave take of your input in its original octave. That's it. These are not the droids we are looking for. Move forward.
Nerd talk
The heart of this pedal is based on a CMOS Phase Locked Loop (PLL) integrated circuit. In a nutshell, the PLL takes your input signal and compares its phase and frequency to an oscillator, generates an output proportional to their difference and then sends it back to the oscillator. This then causes the oscillator to lock onto the input signal and generate a synthesized frequency. Pretty cool, right? This synthesized frequency is called the master oscillator on the Data Corrupter.
Design Notes
This device is inspired by the Electrax Synthax and Ray Marston's "Basic Frequency Synthesizer". Neither were really intended to be guitar effects pedals and a lot of work went into creating the Data Corrupter to provide excellent tracking and long sustain. We think you'll find it more expressive and precise than virtually any other PLL-based effects pedal.