Silktone / Expander

The Silktone Expander boldly expands the concept of the simple distortion box: three knobs and a voice switch unleash a vast palette of thick, textured drive, from subtle harmonic emphasis to rich, gritty overdrive that makes your amp suddenly come to life.

The design is inspired by the aesthetic and vibe of our Micro Note series, as well as the quirky charm of vintage Japanese distortion boxes, a genre I've recently become obsessed with. The look, feel, and even some of the tonal DNA pay homage to that era while pushing it into new territory.

The first stage is a JFET-based second harmonic circuit, instantly adding thickness and depth to the sound. At its core, the germanium transistor circuit (inspired by classic '60s units) creates a uniquely viscous, richly colored sound. In the output stage, another JFET is tuned to emulate an amplifier's first-stage vacuum tube, preserving the distinctive saturation and sweet tone of a first-stage vacuum tube even at lower volumes. To be honest, before adding the output stage, I almost didn't even need a volume knob. The sound quality at full volume was so amazing...so I designed an entire dedicated circuit to ensure the same sound quality even at lower volumes.

The controls are minimal, yet deeply interactive.

Gain: From low, asymmetrical thickness to a medium-gain grind. Push it further and it transforms into smooth odd-order harmonics.
Choke: Transforms the low end from huge and full to focused and aggressive.
Volume: Adjusts the overall balance without losing the feel of the amp's first-stage tubes.

Tweak your tone with the 3-way voice switch:

Left = Dark and rolled-off, ideal for high gain settings.

Right = Bright, perfect for always-on sparkle.

Center = Standard voice, colorful and balanced.
And best of all, while it can be heavily distorted when needed, the Expander really shines as an always-on pedal. With the Choke and Gain settings low and the Volume around 12 o'clock, everything becomes bigger, better, and more alive.

This pedal will expand your sound.

■SPECS
Power Supply: 9VDC (center negative)
Current Draw: 12mA
Controls: Volume, Choke, Gain, 3-way Voice Switch