Aclam The Woman Tone User guide

USER MA NUAL & SAFETY IN STRUCTI ONS

A time machine to Cream’s Farewell Show at the Royal Albert Hall in 1968!

Thank you for purchasing The Woman Tone.

www.aclamguitars.com

C/ Consell de Cent, 201 - local
08011 Barcelona. Spain
Llevinac S.L.
CIF: B64412406

Version 1.0

Available in other languages at:
www.aclamguitars.com

Index

Overview
Features
Specs & material Included
Powering Requirements
Operating Diagram
Controls
Internal Controls
Suggested Settings and advice to place it into the effect pedal chain
Setting up on a pedalboard
Troubleshooting
Security Instructions
Warranty Terms
Your own settings

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Overview

The Woman Tone is our own tribute to Eric Clapton’s

amazing sound during his Cream era. An accurate
approach to the unique tone he attained with a simple
yet effective combination of a P.A.F equipped Gibson and
100W Marshall stacks all the way up.

Cream’s last show before their dissolution was The

Farewell Concert at The Royal Albert Hall, lmed on

November 26, 1968. Clapton was delivering his signature
blues licks and amazing riffs with such an amazing
tone; impossible not to notice how cool and unique the
“Woman Tone” was. That characteristic silky, but at the
same time gnarly tone, he attained by rolling off the tone
control of his guitar.

“Woman Tone” was one of Clapton’s most famous tricks
during that period, and after watching the Farewell
Concert again, we had renewed interest in re-listening to
Cream’s records. We ended up paying special attention
to songs like “SWLABR”, “I Feel Free” or “Sunshine of
Your Love"...

Even though the underlying concept could be considered
as simple, you would just need a guitar with tone control
and an overdriven amp, we realised it wasn’t; so, tests
with our own vintage gear started.

Rolling off the tone pot and turning it back on while
playing was certainly not easy, and what was going
on was way more than that: The combination of that

specic Gibson SG with humbuckers, potentiometers,

and tone capacitors, in conjunction with the Marshall
plexi amp would make it incomparable to other tones
of the time. We realised how a “Woman Tone” pre-set
controlled via footswitch would have made Clapton’s life
much easier when it came to switching back and forth
from standard to the “Woman” tone.

At that point, we were challenged enough to attempt
to create a Woman Tone “in-a-box”. A pedal with a
dedicated footswitch capable of reproducing Clapton’s
main overdriven sound, keeping it as close to the original
as possible, with its same character, emphasising certain
frequencies to match Eric’s own 1964 Gibson SG, without
having to reach any control with the hands; and that

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could be used on any guitar & pickup combination.

So, we designed a custom all-analog pickup simulation
circuit to reproduce the tonal qualities of a vintage Gibson
P.A.F humbucker. We paired it with a Plexi style overdrive
with a great dynamic range, so you can achieve the
Woman Tone with your own rig.

We ne-tuned the Woman Tone footswitch to slightly

increase the gain when engaged, so when you roll off
the tone control of the pedal, the saturation does not
decrease. It also enhances the low end to make the guitar
sound fuller when melodies are played. A joy to play!

As we did with the Dr Robert, we wanted The Woman Tone
to pay tribute to Cream both from the inside and outside.
We’ve been lucky enough to get Marijke Koger, former
member of the incredible The Fool Dutch Art Collective, to
sign the artwork of The Woman Tone.

Marijke is the artist responsible for the art of Eric
Clapton's iconic 1964 Gibson SG nicknamed “The Fool”,
in honour to the artistic collective Marijke formed with
Simon Posthuma. Her artwork illustrates the fantasy of

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the Woman Tone, depicting a woman in paradise with
a very colourful illustration, very representative of the
psychedelic movement of that period.

The result is a pedal with whom you will achieve the
legendary Woman Tone by simply pressing a switch. It
will not disappoint both Cream fans seeking Clapton’s
signature sound, and players in search for a classic plexi
tone plus a unique feature for solo and rhythm parts!

Features

ERIC CLAPTON’S CREAM SOUND IN A BOX!:

We’ve distilled and bottled in a stompbox the key elements
that shaped Eric’s rig. Reproduce his unique rhythmic

and solo tones, ne-tuned using both live and studio

recordings of Cream.

CUSTOM ARTWORK BY THE FOOL’S GUITAR ARTIST,
MARIJKE KOGER:

Responsible for the psychedelic decoration of Clapton’s
Gibson SG nicknamed “The Fool”, Marijke accepted
creating a unique artistic interpretation of the Woman
Tone that exceeded our expectations!

CUSTOM HUMBUCKER PICKUP SIMULATION CIRCUIT
AND TONE CONTROL:

A pickup simulation circuit emulating the tonal
characteristics of a P.A.F style pickup has been
incorporated to reproduce the “Woman Tone”.
With its buffered input, the guitar signal won’t be affected.
Use compressors, fuzzes or whatever effect you want
in front of the Woman Tone, and it will retain its tonal
characteristics.

TOUCH SENSITIVE PLEXI-INSPIRED OVERDRIVE USING
DISCRETE COMPONENTS:

Inspired by Clapton’s 100W full stacks it results in a
powerful overdrive with a great British character! Designed
having blues-rock in mind, it will perfectly suit any guitar
player seeking a vintage tone!

TRUE BYPASS RELAY SWITCHING:

Our soft touch switch activated relay switching is a much
more reliable bypass system than the traditional 3PDT
footswitches. Like all our pedals, it is true bypass to
ensure signal integrity.

SMART TRACK® FASTENING SYSTEM:

Custom enclosure designed to perfectly match our Smart
Track® pedalboards. Safely lock the stompbox into one of
our pedalboards by using the side thumb screws or use
velcro for the rest of the pedalboards in the market.

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Specs &
Material included

THE WOMAN TONE REF:

AP0040

DIMENSIONS:
13,7 x 8,8 x 5,5cm (5.4” x 3.4” x 2.2”) with knobs

WEIGHT:
424g (0.93 lb)

BYPASS:

Relay True Bypass

POWER REQUIREMENTS:
9V DC Center Negative 40mA minimum

CURRENT DRAW:

≈10mA

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DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY:

This product complies with the requirements of

MADE IN SPAIN

MATERIAL INCLUDED

1 x The Woman Tone pedal
1 x Anti-sliding rubber pad
1 x Velcro® pad

Power requirements

POWER SUPPLY

This unit must be powered with a 9VDC negative tip power
supply with the standard Boss type 2.1mm connector.

Current supply should be a minimum of 40 mA just to
leave a safety margin for the DC adapter.

Make sure you use a good quality power supply and avoid
using generic SMPS type adapters which can induce high
pitched noise to the audio.

CAUTION:

Please note this pedal MUST not be powered with
any voltage above 9VDC. Powering it up with a 12V or 18V
power supply will damage its circuit and immediately void
the warranty.

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Operating Diagram

GUITAR AMP INPUT

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OUTPUT INPUT

Controls

1 32

1 2 3

INPUT JACK POWER JACK OUTPUT JACK

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4

BYPASS SWITCH: Engages the unit allowing the

signal to ow through the Woman Tone circuit. It also

lights up the LED above it.

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GAIN: Sets the amount of overdrive. Turn it clockwise

all the way up to get a roaring plexi saturation!

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WOMAN MODE SWITCH: Activates the Woman Tone

knob. It also lights up the led above it.

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WOMAN MODE KNOB TONE: This knob has the

same behaviour as the tone control found on most
electric guitars. By turning it counterclockwise, it
reduces the treble content of the guitar signal making
it sound darker and silky.
The trick inside the Woman Tone is our custom
pickup simulation circuit that reproduces the tonal
characteristics of a classic humbucker pickup. This
is the key to reproduce the iconic sound that was
Clapton’s trademark during the Cream days!

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Aside from enabling the knob, this mode boosts the
gain in order to compensate for the slight volume drop
caused by the tone control rolled off so if you use this
mode with the Woman Tone Knob fully clockwise you
can use the pedal as a dual stage overdrive!

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VOLUME: Controls the overall volume of the unit!

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Internal Controls

HOW TO ACCESS:

1

Loosen the side thumb screws and disassemble the
Smart Track® system of both sides of the pedal.

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2

Remove the screws of the baseplate to access the
inside of the pedal.

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INTERNAL DIP SWITCH (DARKER WOMAN TONE):

When we designed the Woman Tone, we focused on
getting the closest to Clapton’s live and studio sound
but at the same time to make the pedal versatile and
even with few controls, to suit different tastes.

Because the pickup simulation circuit behaves the
same as a real pickup, by changing the tone capacitor
value we can change the response of the Woman
Tone mode and make it darker or brighter. And this is
exactly what the dip switch does!

For the ones that like a mellower and darker Woman
Tone, all that needs to be done is to open the pedal

and using a small at screwdriver slide the dip switch

to the ON position. We encourage you to experiment

and nd which mode is better to your taste!

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Suggested Settings and advice to
place it into the effect pedal chain

Thanks to the buffered pickup simulation circuit of the
Woman Tone, it doesn't matter where you put it on the
effects chain, it will retain its tonal characteristics and
behave exactly the same when the Woman Tone knob is
active. Although as it happens when you stack saturation

pedals, the last one has a higher impact on the nal timbre

of your sound.

That being said, there’s no written rules on which pedal

should be placed rst after the guitar or if overdrives

should be placed before modulations but here’s our opinion
on how to get the best results with the Woman Tone.
If you want to use the Woman Tone for solos and lead
parts we recommend you to put it before your other
saturation pedals.

On the other hand, if your intention is to have the pedal on
most of the time to be the foundation of your overdriven
sound, we think it is better to put it the last one in your
overdrive chain.

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All the examples shown below are being ne-tuned with

the guitar plugged into the Woman Tone and straight to
the amp, no other pedals involved.

LISTEN TO WOMAN TONE
SUGGESTED SETTINGS

ON OFF

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SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE - CREAM (MAIN RIFF)

Telecaster - Neck Pickup Telecaster - Neck Pickup

SUNSHINE OF YOUR LOVE - CREAM (SOLO)

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I FEEL FREE - CREAM (SOLO)

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I FEEL FREE - CREAM (RHYTHM)

Gibson 335 - Bridge PickupGibson 335 - Neck Pickup

ON OFF

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AMERICAN WOMAN - THE GUESS WHO (SOLO)

Gibson 335 - Neck Pickup

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SCAN TO WATCH

THE OFFICAL DEMOS

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Setting up on
a pedalboard

All our effect pedals use a custom light aluminum

enclosure specially designed to t our Smart Track®

pedalboards. We incorporated a proprietary locking
system which allows the user to fasten the pedal without
the need of using the typical hook and loop method.
This custom fastening system follows the same
philosophy behind the Smart Track® fasteners but
integrated in the enclosure reducing the space occupied
by each pedal.

That translates into more pedal density for the same
space, and who doesn’t want that?

We strongly recommend you to take a look at our line of
pedalboards, which are the best complement to our pedals!

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HOW TO MOUNT IT ON A SMART TRACK® PEDALBOARD:

1

Add the anti-sliding rubber pad at the bottom of your
pedal, specially shaped for this unit.

Surface must be clean and dry before applying

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adhesive pad.

Loosen the 2 thumb screws to unlock the bottom

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pieces out of the pedal.

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Place the pedal, inserting the bottom pieces inside
the grooves.

Move the pedal to its nal position.

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5

Tighten the two thumb screws with your hands or
with a screwdriver.

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USING OTHER PEDALBOARDS:

Hook and Loop: Take the included super strong Velcro®
pad and stick it on the base plate.
Again, make sure the base is clean of dirt and dust.

Pre-drilled pedalboard: Fix it with a bolt and a nut you

could nd at any hardware store or instead of passing the

zip tie over the pedal you can take advantage of the Smart
Track® enclosure and put the zip ties over the holes.

DIY woodboard: You can screw the pedal directly with
wood bolts through the enclosure side holes.

No board: If you use the pedals standalone make sure you
place the included anti-sliding rubber pad on the baseplate.

Troubleshooting

SIGNAL PASSES THROUGH IN BYPASS BUT NOT
WHEN ENGAGED:

Make sure you´ve connected the input and output
jacks correctly.

PEDAL DOES NOT WORK WITH THE POWER SUPPLY:

Take a look at your power supply output voltage and
polarity. Make sure it’s 9V DC negative tip and can provide
enough current to run the pedal safely.

Most modern power supplies have an output of 100mA or
more and that is more than enough for the Woman Tone.

PEDAL SOUNDS DISTORTED AT REALLY LOW
SETTINGS:

The Woman Tone is a really dynamic pedal. Different
types of guitars and pickups will make it saturate in
different regions of the Gain knob. That is a totally correct
response from the unit.

Make sure there’s not any pedal before the Woman Tone
increasing too much the guitar’s signal output, like boosters,
preamps compressors and other overdrive pedals.

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Security
Instructions

- Read these instructions carefully.

- Keep them for future reference.

- Heed all warnings.

- Aclam Guitars shall not be held liable for any damage
to persons or property caused by incorrect operation or
installation.

- Use the product in accordance with the assembly
instructions. Do not modify or operate the product
incorrectly.

- Incorrect installation could result in serious damage to
persons and property.

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- Open the package and check that the assembly
instructions and all the parts of the product are there.
Check that none of the parts are defective.

- Keep out of reach of children. This product contains
small parts that represent a choking hazard if swallowed.

- If you do not understand these safety instructions,
or if you have any queries regarding the safety of the
installation, please contact us at: [email protected]

Warranty
Terms

This product is covered by a two-year warranty from
the purchase date, under the conditions and supporting
evidence regulated by current Spanish Legislation.
The product warranty will only be applicable by presenting
the proof of purchase (which is the invoice or the receipt)
and serial number.
A product is covered under warranty if it presents lack of

conformity because it does not correspond to the specied

product characteristics, is defective which prevents its
normal use according to its purpose, or does not function
as described. The purchaser has the right to have the
article repaired or replaced (either the product or the faulty
component, at the discretion of the manufacturer.)

The warranty is not transferable and won’t cover the
following issues:

· Attempts of modications or repairs by an unauthorized

service center.

· Unsuitable use

· Incorrect storage

· Explosions or burns caused by incorrect power supplies.

· Other causes not attributable to the manufacturer.

To make a claim, the purchaser must return the product to
the store where it was purchased within one month from
discovering the fault, and report the nature of the problem,
the time and the circumstances under which it occurred.

If the product was purchased through our website, the
purchaser must refer to www.aclamguitars.com and
complete an RMA (Return to Manufacturer Authorization)
form before returning the unit.

We strongly recommend looking at the “Troubleshooting”
section of the manual before panicking!!

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Your own
settings

Use this space to save your best setting samples and share
them on your social media using #aclamguitars

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