An all-discrete analog distortion enhancement device designed to give your signal some extra grit and boost without drastically altering your tone and retaining all of the natural nuances and character of your amp. Think of it as sticking an extra preamp tube in your amplifier for more saturation. Single notes will blossom and bloom with rich harmonics and singing sustain with responsive, tube-like sag. Power chords will sound thicker and crunchier, a little more ragged around the edges. Complex chords will remain distinct and complex, as the Special Cranker is designed to preserve your tone’s integrity without muddying up the low-end or smearing the midrange.

1. Level: Adjusts the output volume. Unity gain is between 10-12 o’clock depending on which diodes are selected.

2. Diode Selector: Germanium on the left for a softer and more transparent tone and Silicon on the right for a brighter and more modern edge.

3. More: Adjusts the gain. This control changes the bias of the transistor, so you may hear a little noise when adjusting. Don’t worry; this is perfectly normal. At maximum gain, the Special Cranker can achieve explosive overbiased tones depending on the output of your pickups.

4. Tone: Rolls off highs counterclockwise and boosts highs clockwise. A flat response can be found right around 3 o’clock.

This device should be powered a standard 9-volt DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel. We always recommend pedal-specific, transformer-isolated wall-wart power supplies or multiple isolated-output supplies. Pedals will make extra noise if there is ripple or unclean power. Switching-type power supplies, daisy chains and non-pedal specific power supplies do not filter dirty power as well and let through unwanted noise. The Special Cranker can be safely operated from 9-18 volts.