Hammerhead is a Compressor/Clean Boost/Tone Shaper, a versatile pedal capable of adapting to the high pressures of the seas of music to generate beautiful timbres and perform powerful attacks!
Featuring a VCA (Voltage Controlled Amplifier) compression system, Hammerhead lets you replicate the classic tones of guitar Compressors, as well as creating new textures with its additional controls. Blend controls allows you to perfectly mix the clean sound of your instrument with the compressed signal, or even transform your pedal into a beautiful Clean Boost, since the pedal has an active circuit for this control. The Filter and Voice parameters provide a wide range of equalizations for the pedal, allowing its use as a Tone Shaper and making it pleasant for both lovers of groovy and those hungry for greasy sounds.
But what exactly does a compressor pedal do?
Compressors are effects that attenuate the instrument's volume peaks, decreasing the difference between the weakest and strongest signal and leveling them within a range pre-established by a ‘Threshold’. Any signal outside this range will be reduced to within it.
As a consequence of this leveling, we have more prominent harmonics, greater sustain and a smaller difference in volume between the notes played with more or less force.
Applications:
The sound characteristics generated by compressors are useful to all guitarists, being particularly interesting for those who play in styles that require grooved rhythmic moves, such as Pop, Soul, Funk, Country, LoFi etc.
They are also very important tools for those who like to strum: when we play with our fingers, we tend to apply different forces to each one of them, unintentionally taking out the intonation of certain musical notes. The use of compressors corrects this difference and allows all notes to sound evenly.
Other possible applications of compressors involve their combination with other pedals, such as:
• Use before modulations to deliver greater clarity to the modulated sound;
• Use before fuzz pedals, drives or distortions, in order to "tame" the leftover frequencies and make the sound more balanced;
• Use after filter pedals, such as Wah-Wah, to control volume spikes caused by the filter;
CONTROLS
• Pressure: This control determines the compression level of the signal. The higher the knob, the greater the compression caused on the signal;
• Attack: Adjusts the speed at which the effect will act on your notes. Moving clockwise makes the response time longer, being more ideal for a rhythmic play. Counter-clockwise, there is a more immediate compression, being a more suitable configuration for leads and chicken picking.
• Blend: Allows you to blend the clean sound of your instrument with the compressed signal. With this parameter fully counter-clockwise, only the compressed signal will pass. When the control is fully clockwise, it will make your pedal act as a Clean Boost, without any compression effect, getting only the action of the Level control. In the middle, the effect and clean sound are in a 50/50 ratio.
• Filter: This control is a frequency filter that acts on the signal before it enters the compression system. At lower settings, we have less treble frequencies and more "closed" sound, while clockwise we have more treblish sounds.
• Voice (Switch): It is also a frequency filter, but it acts within the compression system.
- UP (Normal) - sound more similar to the original guitar signal;
- MID (Bright) - sharper sound;
- LOW (Dark) - jazzy sound;
• Level: Controls the pedal output volume. By means of this knob it is possible to compensate for any difference in signal level caused by changes in the other parameters.
• Clipping (Trimpot): In addition to all the parameters that the pedal offers, the Hammerhead has a hidden adjustment inside of it: the Clipping. This control acts by limiting the level of the input signal to the compression system, allowing you to use the pedal with high-output instruments without distortion, such as active pickup guitars and basses, keyboards, etc. Keep it fully clockwise for guitars with conventional pickups, For high-output instruments, adjust it until there is no distortion from the compressor.
