The Frost Giant Osiris is an original overdrive circuit based on a circuit that introduces some innovation in a pedal niche that’s been mostly developing around a few established designs, with the specific goal of turning small amps into huge-sounding tone monsters.
Running internally at 18v, the Osiris is a dirt box that delivers overdriven and distorted tones based on the asymmetrical clipping delivered by a Germanium D9B diode.
It has an unusual knob called Depth designed by Dunwhich Effects, which adds more low end and body at higher settings while cutting the mids when rolled off, for a tighter yet aggressive tone that works well for your Thrash and Death Metal riffs.
But every single control on this pedal doesn’t do exactly what you expect it to do, with plenty of gain on tap to deliver distortion tones, an internal 8db fixed boost before the volume for a more reactive feel, and a Blend circuit unusually placed just before the Volume, which creates some interesting repercussions:
With the blend in the middle the volumes unity gain now is at 2 O’clock. Which means the lower the blend goes the higher the volume needs to be for unity… but there’s a reason for this. Since the Volume is being hit with 8db it doesn’t flub out at all, which means you can roll back the Volume and Blend and use it to make a clean channel out of a single channel amp like a JCM800, the same way you would roll your volume back but now with Osiris you can add Depth and a touch more gain to give it a lively feel and not a snubbed out clean tone.
Have a listen to the sound of the Osiris in the videos below.
Frost Giant Osiris Overdrive, Builder’s Notes
Osiris is a ground up design in our way to improve the Overdrive’s most have grown to know over the years, don’t worry, this isn’t the transparent Overdrive or some clone. This is special.
Osiris boasts 18v internal but 9v at the tap so you won’t need any special power source, from there the Volume is hit with 8db of boost to give it a hot and reactive feeling. With this you can use it like a traditional OD into your overdriven amp and max the Volume and set the Gain to zero and get a responsive note jumping tone. The design itself isn’t your traditional OD so pushing the gain and pushing the Volume turns this into a full on Distortion pedal. Stack this with other OD’s and Dirt’s for an amazing tone also!
The tone section was approached a different way then most. We feel when adding an OD to your amp you’re not looking to alter your amps tone but kick it into high gear. So we went with a 906hz Slider type designed by Nick at Dunwhich on a pot we’re calling the Depth knob. It starts at noon, that setting is O, your amp’s natural tone. Pushing it adds more low end and heft while rolling it back cuts the mids and adds tightness and aggression for Thrash and Death Metal riffs. Use the Depth to cut the flub from a Boogie Rect. or add more Depth to your 5150 for more punishing riffs!
With the Depth knob and 18v to add more heft and headroom you can turn a small Crush 12 into a monster! We are known to cater to the larger amp crowd, but we wanted to make something useful for the guys that just can’t play in ear bleed volumes at home and in their apartment. Osiris will turn your Gorilla into King Kong with the right tweaking, it’s perfect for Lunchbox and smaller amps.
One of the other features of this pedal is the Blend knob. Understand this isn’t a clean blend but to blend the right amount of OD into your signal. Some players love their tone but just want something a little more, so with the blend you can dial the right amount into your already badass tone..it’s just more badasser now. Also the Blend control is placed RIGHT before the Volume control so that also gives you a few new options not usually in an OD pedal. With the blend in the middle the volumes unity gain now is at 2 O’clock. Which means the lower the blend goes the higher the volume needs to be for unity..but there’s a reason for this. Since the Volume is being hit with 8db it doesn’t flub out at all, which means you can roll back the Volume and Blend and use it to make a clean channel out of a single channel amp like a JCM800, the same way you would roll your volume back but now with Osiris you can add Depth and a touch more gain to give it a lively feel and not a snubbed out clean tone.
Finally, in the heart of it all lies a single Germanium D9B diode for a beautiful asymmetrical clipping and to smooth out the Distortion while adding a rich and thick overall tone. The D9B sits in between the fabled Klon D9E and the original true 1N34n Germanium Diode used in countless vintage builds and works so well with this circuit we think you’ll enjoy the lush tone it has to offer.
So in a few words that’s Osiris, but you should plug it in for yourself and see what the fuss is about.
