aion SOMNUS Manual - Page 2
Browse online or download pdf Manual for Music Pedal aion SOMNUS. aion SOMNUS 11 pages. Project name
Print PageTABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Project Overview
2 Introduction & Usage
INTRODUCTION
The Somnus Amp Distortion is an adaptation of the Sobbat DB-01 Drive Breaker, a somewhat obscure
pedal from Japan that was originally released in 1995.
It's perhaps best known for its association with The Edge, who first started using it during the recording
of All That You Can't Leave Behind where it featured most prominently on the song "New York". According
to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, he also used it on the outro solo for "Until the End of the World" during
the Elevation and Vertigo tours, and it has been spotted in the live rig as of the 360 tour.
Sobbat has released three followup versions of the Drive Breaker called the DB-2, DB-3 and DB-4. None
of these have been traced to our knowledge, but they don't seem to be drastically different from the
original, which is still by far the most famous and is still produced along with its successors.
The Somnus is based on the first version, and is a direct adaptation except for the addition of a clipping
diode switch. The original unit uses one diode in each direction for clipping, but we've added options for
two diodes or LEDs.
USAGE
The Somnus has the following controls:
• Drive controls the amount of gain in the op-amp stage that goes into the clipping diodes.
• Treble forms half of the Baxandall tone control and allows adjustment of the treble frequencies.
• Bass forms the other half and allows adjustment of the bass frequencies.
• Volume controls the overall output of the effect.
• Clipping (toggle switch) selects between stock clipping, 2x diodes, or LED clipping.
SOMNUS AMP DISTORTION
11 Licensing
2