Empty Head Effects refines its beautifully textured The Lover 2-Stage Transistor Drive/Fuzz - now in V2 Portrait format

Apr 28, 202614:00 by

Stefan Karlsson

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I was all et to get the Big Talker Modulator next in my ongoing coverage of the complete Empty Head Effects roster - but Nick tweaked his The Lover 2-Stage Transistor Drive & Fuzz - which was initially in Zvex-style Landscape format, while nearly everyone positioned the pedal vertically in Portrait mode on their boards. So Nic decided in the end that he should relocate the jacks to the top edge and shift some of those elements around for a more elegant control topology the the more pedalboard-friendly format. I believe the core internal circuitry remains the same - with the same values.

The 2 Gain Stages consist of 1 x 2N4124 and 1 x 2N2222A Silicon Transistors. There are also 4 Silicon Diodes in the mix.

Controls - Heart (Drive / Output Gain), Lungs (Clipping Gain + Bass Cut), Whispers (Volume), A Veil (LPF), Loss (HPF), Compassion (Bias / Input Gain / Fuzz).

Internal Trimmers - LPF : L 24kHz > R 1.4kHz, HPF : L 23kHz > R 120Hz.

Default Values for the Trimmers is mid-way for the LPF (A Veil) - sort of around 11.3kHz, and at the least cut for the HPF (Loss) at 23kHz.

I prefer all the switches to the right mostly (Off) for the full frequencies in the mix, while for Compassion (Input Gain / Bias) - I flip that Toggle back and forth quite a bit - which takes you into more clipped fuzzy territory.

I’m not the biggest fan of internal trimmers - particularly when they are EQ controls - as these are. The circuit is already great as is, but I personally would like make all the toggle switches Mini Pots - so you can tweak more easily on the fly. And as I do use the Compassion switch on and off - I would engage that with a second footswitch. With knobs instead of trimmers and switches - the values would need to be different. I really like tweaking things on-the-fly!

Generally - tweaking the internal trimmers and adjusting by ear can be a fiddly process - so I’m always going to prefer fully surfaced controls yo make that process easier. For some types of set-and-forget elements, being on the inside of the pedal kind of works - but for settings you might want to come back to every now and again - it will likely be an inconvenience. Practical considerations are always a big thing for me - in how I get the most out of that pedal - in the most intuitive manner!

My preferred settings are Heart (Output Gain) @ either FCCW (more drive-style) or at 3 o'c (more fuzz-style), Lungs @ 9 o'c (Diodes Clipping + Bass Cut), and Whispers @ 4 o'c for maximum harmonic content - and all switches typically off and to the right. The Compassion switch (Input Gain) sounds sharper and more clipped when to the left, and more open and searing to the right - I like both those tonalities.

It's mostly a fuzzy-drive in its output profile - with a sort of proto fuzz sound at its peak - loads of range onboard and it can sound pretty fantastic. If the King Alex II is an Obliteration Distortion - then this is more of a Fuzzy-Drive.

I'm rather delighted that it now has the portrait orientation - it's a really distinct and interesting sounding Drive / Fuzz with plenty of shaping options. It sounds fantastic really, while as mentioned, I'm not the biggest fan of internal trimers. I guess the idea is to use the LPF and HPF more as shelving filters to shape a set-and-forget core sound - or give your interesting alternative A/B options. For me though I would prefer to be able to adjust those on the fly - for a more versatile and dynamic output.

Excellent build quality as usual - and this 2-Transistor format cleans up amazingly well courtesy of your guitar volume control. As with all of Nic's circuits - there are some cool idiosyncratic details here. This one needs a little more nuanced deployment than the Obliteration Distortion - but offers more versatility. Both of those are somewhat distinct and unusual gain pedals.

Nic will be releasing his Seafarer Modulated Reverb next, while I'm currently in line for a Big Talker Modulator after this one. I might just cover the Seafarer first though!

The Lover V2 2-Stage Transistor Drive goes for €195 on the Empty Head Effects Webstore, where there are also 2 left of the landscape V1 variety - at €175. There will have been a new batch arrived for this article to go live!