Coming to us from the Croatian sensation Dawner Prince Effects is the Diktator MkII, a complete redesign of the original unit released over ten years prior in 2013.
Presented as a Preamp/Overdrive/Distortion, this is a pedal that can put your guitar through an evolution of drive stages all the way from warmth and presence with its preamp stage to tight and pretty heavy distortion with the pedal fully engaged and hot using it’s Detonator mode.
The circuits are mounted in a cleverly designed green enclosure with two LEDs that report the signals intensity intentionally placed as the cartoon dictator’s eyes.
The feature set is identicle to MkI, but every part of the circuit was reimagined and enhanced to improve tone and compatibility with a variety of amps.
The pedal is broken down into two sections, Fuse and Detonator. The Fuse section is simply a preamp with a clean boost of up to 30 dB associated with the Boost knob. Turning this on with modest levels of Boost will still fatten up your signal. The Detonator section makes for most of the pedal as it has far more controls associated with it. You can use both modes in series to provide for boost and distortion combined to nice effect. The Detonator section features active Treble and Bass EQ circuits, which actually makes your adjustments quite sweet as opposed to a passive circuit. The adjustments always seem to have a major impact on the signal, which is nice. The Soft/Hard switch toggles between a rounder vintage tube distortion and a more modern high octane distortion. I really like both and they prove useful in their respective applications. The Dark/Bright switch toggles between dark and bright variations on the distortion channel’s tone and creates quite drastic changes. The Drive knob helps dial in just the right the right amount of distortion, while the Level knob allows you to adjust the overall volume level of the Detonator circuit.
All in all, in a sea of gain intensive boxes of joy, the Diktator holds its own. The quality components and beautiful active EQ, as well as the Soft/Hard and Dark/Bright switches make for a complete package of wonderful distortion and overdrive effects. Throw in a really awesome preamp and clean booster to boot and you’ve got one heck of a pedal. I continue to be impressed with this newer maker. And I love those LED eyes! –Gus Green
Check out these videos we found on the internet:
Dawner Prince Diktator MKI, Builder’s Notes
The Diktator MKII pays homage to its predecessor, the original Diktator unit, which we proudly designed a decade ago. We embarked on a complete redesign journey, deconstructing the original design while maintaining its tonal character.
Every aspect of the Diktator MKII was meticulously reimagined. We enhanced the input and output FET buffer stages to increase dynamic responsiveness. The drive sections were transformed into a more flexible tube amp-style overdrive, elevating the original character to new heights.
However, we didn’t stop there. We fine-tuned the active tone control for precise adjustments across the frequency spectrum. The post-drive presence control also underwent a complete redesign to ensure compatibility with various guitar amps.
The Diktator MKII boasts impressive features, including enhanced filtering circuitry, smart PCB routing, audiophile-grade components, Neutrik® jack sockets, and a True Bypass switching system.
The result is the Diktator MKII, a pedal that fully lives up to its name. It embodies the spirit of its predecessor while embracing new sonic possibilities. The Diktator MKII is poised to dominate the pedalboard, providing musicians with an exceptional two-channel drive pedal to shape their tone and unlock new realms of musical expression.
FEATURES:
DETONATOR CHANNEL
is a highly flexible drive ranging from nearly clean and subtle crunch all the way to a thick saturated overdrive with a rich, full-bodied sound. Its dual toggle switches enable precise control over tonal and compression characteristics, while the two-band active tone control allows for accurate adjustments across the entire frequency range. A standout feature is the Dynamic-O-Meter, providing a visual representation of how the pedal responds dynamically to your playing.Level
controls your Diktator MKII’s output volume with precision. From silent to unity gain or crank it up for a fuller tone.Bass
controls the amount of low frequencies coming out of the drive section. Active tone control allows you to easily sweep between fatter or more tighter tones.Treble
controls the amount of higher frequencies which affects the overall character of your sound. You can easily cut or boost the upper frequencies as it is also an active tone control.Drive
controls the amount of overdrive in the signal and can take your tone from mild breakup through warm overdrive, all the way to creamy saturation with tons of sustain.Dark/Bright
activates or deactivates the post-drive output filter, which adjusts the tone in a manner similar to the presence control found in the power amp section of a tube amplifier. This feature guarantees seamless compatibility with both bright-voiced and darker guitar amplifiers.Soft/Hard
toggles between different types of clipping diodes within the drive section. Hard mode provides higher headroom and sparkle, while Soft mode delivers a compressed, creamy tone with a more vintage feel.FUSE CHANNEL
is a highly transparent preamp powered by FET technology. It enhances your guitar’s original tone, adding size and depth, while effortlessly driving your amplifier into natural overdrive. When combined with the Detonator Channel it really hits your amp hard, serving as an exceptional booster for lead sections and solos.Boost
governs the gain of the preamp, enabling you to finely tune your level from unity gain up to a fairly hot signal, reaching up to approximately 30dB of boost.TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Power Input Voltage: 9 – 18V
Power input connector: 2.1mm barrel connector (Negative tip)
Power Consumption: ~ 15mA
Size: 4.4” x 3.5”
Dawner Prince Diktator MKI
