We combined the best elements of a Tone Bender MkII fuzz with a Rat distortion to create something that sings like a fuzz but is tight like a distortion.
It loves humbuckers and single coils. It loves your cranked amp and your super-clean amp. The front half of the circuit is based on the Tone Bender MKII, widely considered the most desirable of the Tone Benders. In the original, a germanium transistor makes the signal loud. A second transistor makes it very loud. A third one makes it ridiculously loud.
The filter control works wonders, enabling shades you'd never obtain from a Tone Bender MKII.
FILTER: Allows you to dial in your final tone from smooth and creamy all the way to bright and cutting.You can quickly find the sweet spot for your rig with this control. If you are familiar with the Filter control on a Rat then what you’ll find is that this is an even better version of that idea!
VOLUME: Standard volume control. You’ll find that Katzenkönig sounds great turned down quiet or cranked up and loud!
GAIN: Controls the gain of the second gain stage. It is not a conventional gain control, rather, it controls the amount of negative feedback in that stage. What does that mean for you? It means you get a wide ranging gain control that sounds great throughout it’s entire rotation!
INPUT:Controls the input sensitivity. Turn it down when using higher output pickups and humbuckers or to dial in your wah sound (more on that later). Turn it up for lower output pickups or for when you want to go over-the-top!
Katzenkönig runs anywhere from 9 to 18-volts DC, using a standard center negative power supply or using a 9-volt battery. Running a battery gives you a softer response with a slightly different picking feel. Running it on a DC power supply above 9 volts will give you a louder sound with a slightly different feel. Best bet is to try all the powering options to hone in on your ultimate Katzenkönig tone!