Electro Harmonix Germanium OD User manual

GERMANIUM OD

Vintage Overdrive

The Electro-Harmonix GERMANIUM OD is a classic 1960’s overdrive based around a
hand selected germanium transistor. To get the best results from it please set aside
some time to practice in a quiet room…just you, your amp, and the Germaium OD.
The interaction of each control will reward you with many different flavors of
exceptional vintage overdrive.

-CONTROLS-

GAIN CONTROL – Adjusts the amount of input signal that is fed to the GERMANIUM

OD. The more the knob is rotated the harder the Germanium transistor and drive
components are hit.

BIAS CONTROL – Adjusts the current gain that is sent to the Germanium transistor.
It works together with the voltage control to attain the over all tone. The bias control
works specifically with the Germanium transistor.

VOLTS CONTROL – Allows the user to control the amount of voltage that is applied
to the GERMANIUM OD. When the knob is set at full, 9volts is applied. When set at
minimum 3 volts of current is applied By limiting the volts applied to the pedal a
number of interesting saturations can be set up for variations in tone.

STATUS LED – When the LED is lit; the GERMANIUM OD effect is active. When the
LED is off, the Germanium OD is in True Bypass Mode. The footswitch
engages/disengages the effect.

INPUT Jack – Connect your instrument to the input jack. The input impedance
presented at the input jack is high.

OUTPUT Jack – Connect this jack to your amplifier. This is the GERMANIUM OD
output. This jack is connected directly to the Input Jack.

Footswitch-- True Bypass on and off.

9V Power Jack – The GERMANIUM OD can run off of a 9V battery or you can

connect a 9VDC battery eliminator capable of delivering at least 100mA to the 9V
power jack. The optional 9V power supply from Electro-Harmonix is 9.6DC-200BI

same as used by Boss™ & Ibanez™)

(
must have a barrel connector with center negative. The battery may be left in or
taken out when using an eliminator.

9.6 Volts DC 200mA. The battery eliminator

-OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS and HINTS-

The BIAS KNOB
as the current to the Germanium transistor varies.

The VOLTS KNOB
‘o’ clock and 9 ‘o’ clock you are lowering the number of volts applied to the
germanium transistor. Totally different reactions in the sound can be obtained.

The GAIN KNOB is the master output volume for the GERMANIUM OD.

Plugging into the INPUT jack activates power from the internal 9-volt battery. The
input cable should be removed when the unit is not in use to avoid running down the
battery. If a battery eliminator is used, the Germanium OD will be powered as long as
a wall-wart is plugged into the wall.

To change the 9-volt battery, you must remove the 4 screws on the bottom of the
Germanium OD. Once the screws are removed, you can take off the bottom plate and
change the battery. Please do not touch the circuit board while the bottom plate is off
or you risk damaging a component.

: Experiment with this control. You will notice differences in reaction

should normally be set to 9 volts but as you back off between 3

- POWER -