About, Mods, Repair

Intellectual Property Statement

All Spencer Amps products may contain concepts and circuitry containing trade secrets and information copyright of Spencer Amps.

(As the complexity of the world's art increases, so does the absurdity of patent examination. With software this increases to the point that routine engineering produces patentable developments on a daily basis. As the population increases, it also becomes more likely that even true inventions may be made simultaneously. Thus, the patent system becomes obsolete without any attempt to discount its original justification.)

MIXING DISTORTIONS

The concepts regarding mixing distortions such as Subzombie are believed to be public domain. An early example was the Gretch Controfuzz (clean plus antiphase distortion). In-phase mixing-in of distortion examples include Yamaha's GEP50 effect unit and Roland's JC-120 and Unicord's Stage 400 amplifiers. The splitting of a signal into multiple processing paths and then remixing it has surely been known since at least the mid-60s and the importance of phase relationships in mixing is well known; most high quality recording consoles include phase switches for all channels. It was also known to split a signal and then remix it using the two channels of a guitar amplifier, but some cases (Fender Twin Reverb) these two channels are out of phase. In the case of phaser, flanger, and delay devices, inversion of the effected signal to be remixed into the dry signal is a well known variant and is often used to produce a form of stereo output. Several "ultra fuzz" type circuits also make use of cancellation mixing, although in a nonlinear context and without providing specific control of this process.

With the availability of all the basic building blocks -- distortion units, mixers, cables, etc. -- it is well within the capabilities of the layman to assemble a distortion mixing apparatus. This would be a "multiple box solution." In view of simple single-box distortion mixing devices such as the Controfuzz, it would have been obvious that any multi-box circuit could be built within a single enclosure. The trade-offs regarding flexibility, function and economics of packaging effects singly vs. multiple are well-known and widely explored with regards to musical instrument effects. Note that if you run any other distortion pedal into a Controfuzz suddenly this is two distortion signals combining in antiphase rather than clean minus distorted, and placing two distortion effects in series in a single enclosure has been done many times. I may have gone beyond the prior art in my appreciation of the the value of such circuits and the details of their use.

Therefore, I disclose:
1. A device containing audio circuitry comprising signal splitting means, at least one distortion element, and mixing means to combine at least two signals of different distortion level or type derived from a single input.
2. The apparatus (1) in which one or more of the distortion signals to be mixed is of opposite or controllable polarity to at least one other signal to be mixed.
3. The apparatus (1) in which the signals to be mixed number three.
4. The apparatus (1) in which the distortions are generated by parallel circuits.
5. The apparatus (1) in which the distortions are generated by cascaded (series) circuits.
6. The apparatus (2) in which the distortion polarity is controlled at the input to at least one distortion circuit.
7. The apparatus (2) in which the distortion polarity is controlled at the output of at least one distortion circuit or as part of the mixing means.
8. The apparatus (7) in which the polarity of at least one distortion circuit is also controlled at its input, in order to vary the effect of the distortion section's assymetry independent of the polarity of mixing.
9. The apparatus (1) in which the mixing means or distortion elements include at least one level control.
10. The apparatus (1) in which the mixing means or distortion elements include at least one tonal control.
11. The apparatus (1) in which the distortion phase of at least one distortion signal is varied with respect to frequency.
12. The apparatus (1) in which at least one control that may be manipulated by the user in one degree of freedom (e.g. a knob) over a range comprises the alteration of at least two different control parameters by dividing said range into subsections.

The timeline of my own developments include:
Distortion effect with Zombie Mode, late 1980s.
Use of opposite phase outputs of Arion Distortion unit, late 1980s, described here in 2002.
Splonkulator, released Sept. 2004.
Zombie Fuzz prototype, Spring 2005.
Subzombie, released March 2006.

These concepts are known or hereby disclosed to the public domain according to the principles of "public license": you may use them but, in return, you cannot claim you invented them or restrict further development beyond your work. No guarantee can be made that no other intellectual property claim will be infringed. All actual circuits of my development are copyright, may contain patentable improvements, and publication without permission is not allowed.

-- Bill Spencer, Richmond VA, based on original of April 17, 2006, updated June 12, 2006.