Drunk Beaver's Pedal Drop #35 - The Mykolaiv Broadcast Attack - is a unique original circuit whose output is defined by Magnetic Saturation

In something of a departure from the norm - where these Pedal Drops are typically based on classic circuit derivations and deviations - this time around Vitalii rolls out one of his very own highly original designs.

Controls - Volume, Treble, Bass, Voicing : Smooth / Hard, Drive.

The Mykolaiv Broadcast Attack is a completely original design that moves away from traditional diode clipping to explore the gritty texture of magnetic saturation. 

At its heart lies an obsolete KA334 dual power op-amp that pushes a small signal transformer hard enough to physically warm it up, generating a unique, compressed distortion character that feels alive under your fingers.

The tone shaping is handled by an ’Attack Equalizer’ topology—rather than cutting frequencies, the Volume, Bass, and Treble knobs act as three separate volume controls, allowing you to blend the raw signal with filtered low and high bands in parallel.

For further versatility, a toggle switch offers two distinct flavors : Hard Mode (Down) gives you pure, unadulterated op-amp and transformer crunch, while the Smooth Mode engages two Silicon KD503A diodes in the feedback loop. These diodes are configured to clip only one side of the waveform, adding a distinct asymmetrical texture to the decay.

This is such a different style of gain pedal with a really unique delivery and shaping of the output.

Where Pedal Drops normally bring enhancements to classic circuits - here Vitalii journeys into entirely new territory - very exciting indeed - and I look forward to comparing notes on how distinct this one is to more conventional clipping pedals!

There will be 30 units up for sale on the Drunk Beaver Rocks Webstore when you see this article - which go for 150$ / €150 / 559 PLN, EU pricing includes VAT . I expect this to be a popular release - so you will need to be quick to secure one!

As it is such a unique circuit, we have a rare demo to accompany this particular rapid prototyping release - as below!