Diamond Cornerstone User Manual

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Cornerstone

Multi Gain Stage Overdrive/Distortion

User Manual
v1.01 • January 12, 2012

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing the Diamond Cornerstone!

Capable of low gain grit to touch sensitive crunch to searing leads, its multiple unique
discrete gain stages with dual gain controls allows the user to dial in a wide range of
harmonically complex distortion tones. The dual gain controls allow the user to inde­pendently yet interactively overdrive two of the unique gain stages in the drive chain,
which coupled with a midrange cut/boost control and treble ‘profile’ switch make for lim­itless tonal ‘personalities’. And even with this much flexibility, a simple control layout
with usable ranges across the board make finding any particular personality just a matter
of seconds…

We hope you’ll enjoy using this pedal as much as we have enjoyed designing it.

Remember to protect your hearing and wear appropriate hearing protection when play­ing loud…

FEATURES

Independently controllable gain stages

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True Bypass switching

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Small footprint

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Top edge mounted signal and power jacks

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Discrete overdrive circuit uses no opamps or diodes for distortion

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Active midrange boost/cut control

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USING THE CORNERSTONE

The Cornerstone works much like typical overdrive pedals but allows the player more
control over the character of its distortion. Using the dual gain controls provides for a

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wide variety of textures, much like stacking individual overdrive pedals or using an over­drive pedal with an already overdriven amplifier. Higher settings of Gain1 will not only
overdrive the first gain stage but also hits the second gain stage with a hotter signal caus­ing it to distort more. High settings of Gain1 and Gain2 can take things ‘over the top’ for
high gain rhythm and lead tones.

Experiment with low and high settings of both controls to understand how they interact
and how to use them to dial in your preferred level of distortion.

The MID control provides a midrange boost or cut centered at 750Hz. Because the hu­man ear is very sensitive to midrange frequencies, this control has a major effect on the
overall tone and perceived loudness of the pedal. Cut midrange for classic ‘scooped mid
tones’ or boost midrange for sounds that will cut through a band mix and provide ‘sing­ing’ single note tones.

Use the BRT switch to add brightness to your sound, or turn it off for more apparent bass
and midrange.

CONTROLS SUMMARY

ON/OFF

The ON/OFF footswitch is used to engage or bypass the effect. The Diamond Tremolo is true
bypass.

GAIN1

The GAIN1 control sets the both the level of distortion for the first stage and the amount of out­put fed to the second gain stage.

GAIN2

The GAIN2 control sets the level of distortion for the second stage.

MID

The MID control affects the overall character of the sound, providing boost or cut at 750Hz. At

the most extreme levels of MID cut and boost, you may need to adjust the volume to compensate

for loudness changes due to the sensitivity of our hearing to midrange frequencies.

BRT

The BRT control is similar to the classic amplifier bright switch or bright input providing in-

creased treble response when in the down position.

VOL

This control sets the overall output volume. Use it to set the pedal to match your un-effected vol-

ume, or set it for a volume boost when engaged.

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