electro-harmonix Spruce Goose Overdrive Instruction Manual
- June 13, 2024
- electro-harmonix
Table of Contents
electro-harmonix Spruce Goose Overdrive
Product Information
Welcome to the Electro-Harmonix Spruce Goose, a compact, natural overdrive pedal with a wide range of tonal and gain settings. The pedal features separate TREBLE and BASS EQ knobs, allowing you to sculpt your sound to your liking. With the GAIN knob and LIFT switch, you can dial in the perfect amount of dirt, from subtle to extreme overdrive. The Spruce Goose also includes a mechanical relay true bypass on a soft footswitch, ensuring high-quality signal integrity when the pedal is disengaged. It can be powered by either a 9V battery or an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200, MOP-D10, or S8 power supply.
Controls and Connections
- INPUT jack: Connect your guitar to this jack.
- AMP jack: Connect this jack to your amp’s input.
- Footswitch: Press this footswitch to activate the pedal. A lit LED indicates it is activated.
- TREBLE EQ knob: Use this knob to adjust the treble frequencies.
- BASS EQ knob: Use this knob to adjust the bass frequencies.
- GAIN knob: Adjust this knob to control the amount of overdrive.
- LIFT switch: Use this switch to fine-tune the level of break-up.
Operating Instructions
- Connect your guitar to the INPUT jack of the Spruce Goose and connect the AMP jack to your amp’s input.
- Press the footswitch to activate the pedal. Ensure that the LED is lit.
- Set the TREBLE and BASS EQ knobs, GAIN knob, and LIFT switch to their 12 o’clock positions as a starting point.
- Adjust the LIFT toggle switch to achieve the desired amount of break-up.
- Further tweak the TREBLE and BASS EQ knobs, GAIN knob, and LIFT switch to dial in your perfect sound.
Power Supply Requirements
The Spruce Goose requires a 9VDC power supply with a center-negative polarity.
The current draw is 20mA at 9VDC. It can be powered by an Electro-Harmonix
9.6DC-200, MOP-D10, or S8 power supply. Using the wrong adapter or a plug with
the wrong polarity may damage the device and void the warranty. Do not exceed
12VDC on the power plug. Power supplies rated for less than 50mA can cause the
device to act unreliably.
Warranty Information
For warranty information, please contact Electro-Harmonix Customer Service:
- United States & Canada:
- Electro-Harmonix / New Sensor Corp. 47-50 33rd Street Long Island City, NY 11101
- Tel: 718-937-8300
- Email: info@ehx.com.
- UK:
- John Williams/Electro-Harmonix UK 13 Cwmdonkin Terrace Swansea SA2 0RQ United Kingdom
- Tel: +44 179 247 3258
- Email: ehxuk@ehx.com.
- Europe:
- Tel: +49 911 559152
- Email: info@musikhof.de
Compliance
Modifications not approved by the manufacturer may void the user’s authority
to operate the equipment under FCC rules. The CE logo indicates that this
product conforms with all applicable European Conformity directives. The WEEE
or trashcan logo indicates that this product contains electronic components
that should be recycled by a proper electrical waste facility and not trashed
with household waste.
Welcome to the Electro-Harmonix Spruce Goose, a compact, natural overdrive with a wide range of tonal and gain settings. Sculpt your sound with separate TREBLE and BASS EQ knobs. Dial in just the right amount of dirt, from barely there to over the top, using the GAIN knob and LIFT switch. The Spruce Goose also features a mechanical relay true bypass on a soft footswitch and optional 9V battery power.
Operating Instructions
- Connect your guitar to the INPUT jack of the Spruce Goose and the AMP jack to your amp’s input. Press the footswitch to ensure the LED is lit. Your Spruce Goose is now ready to play.
- A good starting point is to set the knobs to their 12 o’clock positions, and then adjust the LIFT toggle switch for the right amount of break-up. Further, tweak the knobs to dial in your perfect setting.
POWER SUPPLY REQUIREMENTS:
- Voltage: 9VDC
- Current: 20mA
- Polarity: Center-Negative
- Battery: 9V
This device may be powered with an Electro-Harmonix 9.6DC-200, MOP-D10, or S8 power supply. Use of the wrong adapter or a plug with the wrong polarity may damage the device and void the warranty. Do not exceed 12VDC on the power plug. Power supplies rated for less than 50mA can cause the device to act unreliably.
Controls and Connections
- GAIN Knob Adjusts the amount of gain and distortion. As you turn this knob clockwise, your signal gets louder and more saturated.
- TREBLE Knob Controls the high-frequency EQ of your signal. The higher the setting, the brighter the output signal.
- BASS Knob Controls the low-frequency EQ of your signal. The bass EQ is flat at noon. As you turn BASS clockwise from noon, the bass response increases. As you turn counterclockwise from noon, the bass response is cut.
- VOL Knob Sets the output level of the Spruce Goose.
- LIFT Switch LIFT loses the input signal before it hits the overdrive circuit. The mid position provides 9dB of gain, which helps get more drive from low-output pickups. The high position provides 21dB of gain, adding even more saturation and distortion. The low position does not provide any additional gain.
- FOOTSWITCH and STATUS LED The soft footswitch engages or bypasses the effect. The status LED lights when the effect is engaged. The LED is off in the bypass. The Spruce Goose employs True Bypass with a mechanical relay. The footswitch includes a momentary action when you press and hold the switch for more than half a second. The momentary footswitch action may also be disabled, see the section Footswitch Latching and Momentary Action.
- INPUT Jack Audio input jack. Impedance: 680kΩ.
- AMP Jack Audio output Jack. Impedance: 550Ω.
- 9VDC Power Jack An optional 9VDC, center-negative power supply can be connected to the power jack to provide power without a battery. The Spruce Goose requires 20mA at 9VDC on a center-negative plug. Do not exceed 12VDC at the power jack.
When using a 9V battery, plugging into the INPUT jack activates power. The input cable should be removed when the unit is not in use to avoid running down the battery. To change the 9-volt battery, you must remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the Spruce Goose. Once the screws are removed, you can take off the bottom plate and change the battery. Please do not touch the circuit board while the bottom plate is off, or you risk damaging a component.
Footswitch Latching and Momentary Action
The soft footswitch works both like a standard latching footswitch and a momentary footswitch. The latching action means each press and release of the footswitch will toggle between bypass and effect modes. A momentary change between bypass and effect occurs when you press and hold the footswitch. The Spruce Goose changes state immediately upon pressing the footswitch. If you continue to hold the footswitch—for more than half a second—it will return to the previous state when you release the footswitch.
Momentary hold action can be disabled completely by performing the following procedure:
- Power down the Spruce Goose.
- Press and hold the footswitch.
- While holding down the footswitch, apply power to the Spruce Goose.
- Continue to hold down the footswitch. After about 2 seconds, the LED blinks. A slow blink means momentary footswitch holds are disabled. A fast blink means momentary footswitch holds are enabled.
- Release the footswitch.
The momentary footswitch hold setting is remembered through power cycles so you can set it and forget it.
Notes and Specifications
- Audio input impedance at INPUT jack: 680kΩ
- Audio output impedance at AMP jack: 550Ω
- Current draw: 20mA at 9VDC
- Power Supply: 9VDC, Center-negative polarity
- True bypass switching
WARRANTY INFORMATION
Please register online at www.ehx.com/product- registration or complete and return the enclosed warranty card within 10 days of purchase. Electro-Harmonix will repair or replace, at its discretion, a product that fails to operate due to defects in materials or workmanship for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This applies only to original purchasers who have bought their product from an authorized Electro-Har-money retailer. Repaired or replaced units will then be warranted for the unexpired portion of the original warranty term.
If you should need to return your unit for service within the warranty period, please contact the appropriate office listed below. For customers outside the regions listed below, please contact EHX Customer Service for information on warranty repairs at info@ehx.com or +1-718-937-8300. USA and Canadian customers: please obtain a Return Authorization Number (RA#) from EHX Customer Service before returning your product. With your returned unit, include a written description of the problem as well as your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, RA#, and a copy of your receipt clearly showing the purchase date.
-
United States & Canada
EHX Customer Service Electro-Harmonix Co. New Sensor Corp. 47-50 33rd Street Long Island City, NY 11101 -
Tel: 718-937-8300
-
Email: info@ehx.com
UK
- John Williams Electro-Harmonix UK 13 Cwmdonkin Terrace Swansea SA2 0RQ United Kingdom
- Tel: +44 179 247 3258
- Email: ehxuk@ehx.com.
Europe
- Musik Elektronik EHX Repair Center Ötterichweg 7 D-90411 Nürnberg Germany
- Tel: +49 911 559152
- Email: info@musikhof.de.
This warranty gives a purchaser specific legal rights. A purchaser may have even greater rights depending upon the laws of the jurisdiction within which the product was purchased.
COMPLIANCE
Note:
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However,
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and
on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more
of the following measures:
- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
- Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
- Connect the equipment to an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment under FCC rules.
The CE logo indicates that this product has been tested and shown to conform with all applicable European Conformity directives. The WEEE or “trashcan” logo indicates that this product is made up of electronic components that should not be trashed alongside household waste but instead should be recycled by a proper electrical waste facility.