Impossibility Drive

When you're tired of tone and all else fails, why not totally shiz things up with the Impossibility Drive?

More sound mangler than tone machine, this crazy box of fuzz takes your sound places you may not even know you wanted it to go.

It's very difficult to describe. There are a couple of easy to grasp controls - IN and OUT, which will adjust your gain and volume. After that it's anyone's guess, including the original designer. That'll be why the controls are simply numbered rather than named. The other three pots and two switches (more on that below) are totally interactive with each other. Basically the learning curve on this is steep, but the fun and journey of discovery will last for weeks.

The range of tones available is typical of the circuit designer's oeuvre, going from barely broken up OD to all-out splattery fizz, with all kinds of crazy in between.

This kit is based on the only schematic available, which is the original designer's version of the pedal, not the licensed version produced by another company which added more options. However, the Dog ain't going to sell you short. Inspired by the licensed pedal's "V" control (which was a Version selector, swapping between two known versions of the original), we've added some extra fun by making that a Voltage control. Yes, voltage starve takes this thing to a whole different dimension of screwed. A pot is recommended for the V control, but there's also the option of having it on a toggle switch with the amount of starve set with an internal trimmer.

So what's this for? Getting creative. Stick it in front of another fuzz and let the fun commence. Do NOT expect creamy Gimour tone, and don't come crying about your sanity and lack of sleep once you start messing with it.

The kit is supplied with vertical-mount pots which have round shafts, so you'll need set-screw fitting knobs.

If you want the PCB without parts there's a link for that at the bottom of the page.

Partial kit: PCB, all board-mounted components, pots.

Full kit: As above, plus footswitch and appropriate daughterboard/components for your selected bypass type (see Downloads section for details of those), jack sockets, DC socket, battery snap, hook-up wire, LED.

1590BB Enclosure (pre-drilled) is available as an option with full kits, and will not take a battery. Knobs are not included.

Difficulty: Improbability

Difficulty: Medium

PCB size: 80 x 42mm

Knobs required: 5/6

Enclosure: 1590BB

Direct Connect compatible (4- or 6-way)

Download the INSTRUCTION PDF