Michael Klein Dybbuk (Sammy Duet OD) GOLD
Dybbuk OD by Michael Klein. Signature pedal for Sammy Duet of Goatwhore.
Overview:
Dybbuk overdrive
Dybbuk is the result of a long collaboration with Sammy Duet, and by design is made to allow him to capture and refine his signature tone into a wide variety of amplifiers. It was also important that Dybbuk also be versatile enough to allow any guitarist to sculpt their sound with this carefully voiced overdrive pedal.
Controls
LOW: this is an active EQ control that allows for both boost and cut of a narrow band around 110Hz. With the control at noon, this EQ is essentially neutral. In other words, it isn't adding or subtracting anything to Dybbuk's sound. As the control is increased, it adds a girth to the bottom end without getting overly woofy or muddy. As the control is decreased, it can help add clarity and definition (without neutering the tone) if the tuning, guitar, and/or pickups push a lot of lows for a particular amplifier.
It's worth mentioning that Dybbuk has an inherent midrange focus to it (like many overdrives/boosts), and a neutral setting on LOW does not necessarily mean Dybbuk is tonally neutral.
USURP: this is a dual-function control. First, it is an active midrange boost. Second, as it is increased it also slightly compresses and "thickens" the pick attack. The frequency at which the boost occurs is a very specific band inherent to Sammy’s signature sound. Fortunately, it’s a highly effective frequency in a variety of applications.
With USURP all the way off, it has no impact on frequency/transient response. As it is turned up, it starts to bring in low mid frequencies and thicken up the pick attack (especially on fast picking or palm mutes). With the control in the higher-to-max settings, Dybbuk starts to take on a very...frosty...type tone.
Fun fact - "Usurp" was inspired by the song on "To Mega Therion" and means "to take by force", which is what this control does tonally.
HIGH - this is an active EQ control that sets the balance between a "softened treble" at minimum, to a "boosted treble" at maximum. Compared to some High or Treble controls, this is able to still sound pretty clear as the control is turned down. As it's turned up, pick attack gets emphasized as is a more familiar sound for thrash-type tones.
LEVEL - this is just the volume control for the pedal.
GAIN - this controls the amount of internal clipping the pedal has. It's by no means a distortion
pedal, but it is voiced to meld well with an amplifier's natural distortion if needed.
POWER (internal slide switch) - this changes the internal operating voltage of Dybbuk from 9VDC to 18VDC, all while running on a standard 9VDC, 2.1mm "Boss-style" power adapter.