CrescentAmp Distortion

From the vendor

A Marshall-like distortion pedal noted for its high-gain “stack of amps” tone.

Project description

The Crescent Amp Distortion is an adaptation of the MI Audio Crunch Box, a tweaked hybrid of the Marshall Guv’nor and Bluesbreaker first released in 2006.

It’s solidly in the family of Marshall-like pedals and is lauded for its high-gain “stack of amps” tone. It has seen has seen at least five major versions since that time, with the fourth and fifth version being renamed to the Super Crunch Box.

The Crescent is not a direct clone or copy of any of these versions, but rather a hybrid of several of them. It’s most similar to version 3, but with an added option for 18V operation using a charge pump as well as a clipping diode toggle switch (both features from V5, although our version had it long before V5 was released!).

The updated version of the Crescent is mostly the same as the earlier 1590B version, with two major changes. First, there is an internal slide switch allowing 9V or 18V operation to be selected. Second, the Presence control has been relocated back inside the enclosure as a trimmer, as on the original Crunch Box units. The presence control essentially just sets the range of the main tone control, so it doesn’t need to be external.

The Crunch Box was the inspiration for another well-known high gain pedal, the Suhr Riot. An Aion FX adaptation of the Riot is available called the Fusion.

Note: This project uses a type of capacitor that has been temporarily discontinued by WIMA. Please see our news article about the issue and the substitution spreadsheet for project-specific recommendations. We are stocking a limited supply in the mean time. The build document has not yet been updated to reflect this.