the savage mk1 is back, combined with the ego driver
The Savage was the first overdrive launched by Anasounds in 2015. Inspired by the famous US transparent overdrive which now sells for the price of a Custom Shop guitar, the MkI, the fan-favorite first-generation Savage, is back in a brand-new format.
Indeed, we couldn’t simply offer another identical reissue, and so was born the Sandman, which combines the circuit of the Savage MkI (identical, not a modified version) with the Ego Driver, two perfectly complementary overdrives that will take up little space on your pedalboard compared to the enormity of the sound they offer.
connecting the sandman
Make sure you use mono jacks to connect the pedal. Use only a negative-center 9VDC power supply.
the sandman settings
The Sandman is split into two sections: the Savage MkI and the Ego Driver, each with 3 potentiometers, a toggle switch and a footswitch.
savage mki
out
Adjusts the Savage’s output volume. The volume reserve is quite large, allowing the Savage to be used as a preamp to make an already cranked amp saturate.
tone
The Savage tone, to provide more presence and punch in the mix.
gain
Controls the amount of saturation, mixing clean and drive and adding midrange. At minimum, a warm clean, at maximum, thick saturation, in the middle, a perfect blend of clean and overdrive, ideal for bass.
ge/si
Selects the kind of clipping: germanium for compressed vintage voicing, specific to the original transparent overdrive, or silicon, specific to the Savage MkI, for more dynamics.
ego driver
out
The Ego Driver output volume. If the Savage is activated with the Ego Driver, then this control acts as a pre-gain on the Savage, changing the amount of saturation.
tone
The tone of the Ego Driver, adjusting the high end of the spectrum to focus on the midrange, or adding treble for greater precision and clarity.
gain
The gain of the Ego Driver, from a light crunch to a thick overdrive. Stacked with the Savage, it can be set at minimum to obtain the coloration of the Ego Driver while boosting the Savage with the volume control.
hi/lo
Changes the voicing of the Ego Driver. At the bottom, more saturation in the lower midrange, at the top, more saturation in the upper midrange. In the middle, the original voicing of the famous mid boost.
trimpots
Internal settings that give access to the lab by adjusting very fine circuit settings. They are adjusted by our team to guarantee the pedal’s sound.
high
Adjusts the treble range that will saturate the Ego Driver, when the Hi/Lo switch is set to Hi. The setting acts like a tone before the saturation stage, so the effect is more subtle than the front-panel tone, and will affect the precision of the upper midrange.
bass
Adjusts the bass range that will saturate the Ego Driver, when the Hi/Lo switch is set to Lo. The setting acts like a tone before the saturation stage, so the effect is more subtle than the front-panel tone, and will affect the precision of the lower midrange.
diodes/led
The clipping of the Ego Driver. Diodes for original clipping with 1N914 silicon diodes, LED for more dynamics and less compression.
t/m
The Savage’s voicing, T for a crystal-clear treble sound, or M for a more modern, midrange-focused sound. Works best when the Savage tone is at its maximum.
oops we forgot the diodes
In the Savage MkI, we realized that we’d provided an extra slot for clipping diodes, which we never actually used. We decided to leave this slot in the Sandman, if you want to experiment with your own diodes.
As the Sandman is an overdrive, it can be used in many different ways. You can put it before a preamp or an already saturated amp, to boost and add presence. But also after a fuzz, to give it more definition and midrange. The two channels can be used separately or together, for different textures. Ideally placed before delay and reverb, although as always, there are no absolute rules. The best thing is to try out different combinations yourself and find your ideal configuration!
the secret settings of guitarists who have tried it out
julien bitoun: pushing the amp to its limits
The Savage is used as an always on preamp, with gain at minimum to provide coloration without saturation, and volume at maximum to bring out the amp’s saturation. Use it with an amp providing a very light crunch, the result will be very dependent on the kind of amp you’re using and its settings. The Ge/Si switch has no influence when the gain is at 0.
The Ego Driver acts as a gain boost, making the amp more saturated with its increased volume, while bringing its characteristic midrange bump, and its own coloration with gain at 11 o’clock.
swan vaude: a dynamic, expressive drive that breaks the mix
The Savage also acts as a sound base, adding coloration and dynamics to a clean amp. Once again, gain at 0 to simply add the Savage’s coloration, and a low volume for a very slight volume boost.
The Ego Driver adds presence by breaking through the mix with pushed tone and voicing on Hi, while adding light coloration with a little gain. Ideal for highlighting lead parts.
nico chona (tone factory): mixing pedal and amp character
The Savage brings out the grain of the amp with a slightly boosted volume, while adding its own character with the gain at 11 o’clock. The tone and voicing on T add clarity to avoid a muddy, undefined sound. Use with a slightly crunched amp.
The Ego Driver saturates the amp even more, with high volume and LED clipping for great dynamics, while the increased gain adds grain and midrange.
questions about the sandman
specific to the anasounds range
pedal has no sound / does not light up
The Sandman should only be used with mono jacks, to allow the circuit to be powered. A negative-centered 9V DC power supply must also be used, otherwise a protection circuit will cut the power supply to protect the pedal.
switches and trimpots have little effect on sound
The purpose of switches and trimpots is to fine-tune the sound, right down to the smallest detail. The difference can sometimes be subtle and hard to hear by ear. They are adjusted by our team to guarantee the sound of the pedal. We advise you to touch them only when you’ve studied the pedal thoroughly, so you know what you’re doing.
specific to the sandman
there is a difference in volume when changing the clipping
The various clipping diodes can be used to change the signal clipping threshold. The higher the threshold, the greater the amplitude required to saturate the circuit. The difference in volume is therefore normal, and can be compensated for by adjusting the OUT settings of both channels.
the pedal produces white noise
The Sandman is made up of two overdrives, so there can be considerable hiss if the gains of both pedals are pushed. On an already saturated amp, the louder the pedal volume, the more pronounced the hiss, saturating the preamp without changing the overall volume.
the volume is too high
The Savage has a very large volume reserve, designed to be used as a boost to saturate an already crunched amp. On a clean amp, the volume can rise very quickly, which is normal, due to the 27V headroom like the original pedal.
enjoy your sandman limited edition!
Now that you know all about the Sandman, we hope you’ll make good use of it, and that it will fit in perfectly with your pedalboard. Don’t hesitate to share your experience of your Sandman on social networks!
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Anasounds sandman user manual
the savage mk1 is back, combined with the ego driver
The Savage was the first overdrive launched by Anasounds in 2015. Inspired by the famous US transparent overdrive which now sells for the price of a Custom Shop guitar, the MkI, the fan-favorite first-generation Savage, is back in a brand-new format.
Indeed, we couldn’t simply offer another identical reissue, and so was born the Sandman, which combines the circuit of the Savage MkI (identical, not a modified version) with the Ego Driver, two perfectly complementary overdrives that will take up little space on your pedalboard compared to the enormity of the sound they offer.
connecting the sandman
Make sure you use mono jacks to connect the pedal.
Use only a negative-center 9VDC power supply.
the sandman settings
The Sandman is split into two sections: the Savage MkI and the Ego Driver, each with 3 potentiometers, a toggle switch and a footswitch.
savage mki
out
Adjusts the Savage’s output volume. The volume reserve is quite large, allowing the Savage to be used as a preamp to make an already cranked amp saturate.
tone
The Savage tone, to provide more presence and punch in the mix.
gain
Controls the amount of saturation, mixing clean and drive and adding midrange. At minimum, a warm clean, at maximum, thick saturation, in the middle, a perfect blend of clean and overdrive, ideal for bass.
ge/si
Selects the kind of clipping: germanium for compressed vintage voicing, specific to the original transparent overdrive, or silicon, specific to the Savage MkI, for more dynamics.
ego driver
out
The Ego Driver output volume. If the Savage is activated with the Ego Driver, then this control acts as a pre-gain on the Savage, changing the amount of saturation.
tone
The tone of the Ego Driver, adjusting the high end of the spectrum to focus on the midrange, or adding treble for greater precision and clarity.
gain
The gain of the Ego Driver, from a light crunch to a thick overdrive. Stacked with the Savage, it can be set at minimum to obtain the coloration of the Ego Driver while boosting the Savage with the volume control.
hi/lo
Changes the voicing of the Ego Driver. At the bottom, more saturation in the lower midrange, at the top, more saturation in the upper midrange. In the middle, the original voicing of the famous mid boost.
trimpots
Internal settings that give access to the lab by adjusting very fine circuit settings. They are adjusted by our team to guarantee the pedal’s sound.
high
Adjusts the treble range that will saturate the Ego Driver, when the Hi/Lo switch is set to Hi. The setting acts like a tone before the saturation stage, so the effect is more subtle than the front-panel tone, and will affect the precision of the upper midrange.
bass
Adjusts the bass range that will saturate the Ego Driver, when the Hi/Lo switch is set to Lo. The setting acts like a tone before the saturation stage, so the effect is more subtle than the front-panel tone, and will affect the precision of the lower midrange.
diodes/led
The clipping of the Ego Driver. Diodes for original clipping with 1N914 silicon diodes, LED for more dynamics and less compression.
t/m
The Savage’s voicing, T for a crystal-clear treble sound, or M for a more modern, midrange-focused sound. Works best when the Savage tone is at its maximum.
oops we forgot the diodes
In the Savage MkI, we realized that we’d provided an extra slot for clipping diodes, which we never actually used. We decided to leave this slot in the Sandman, if you want to experiment with your own diodes.
settings examples
the signal chain
As the Sandman is an overdrive, it can be used in many different ways. You can put it before a preamp or an already saturated amp, to boost and add presence. But also after a fuzz, to give it more definition and midrange.
The two channels can be used separately or together, for different textures. Ideally placed before delay and reverb, although as always, there are no absolute rules. The best thing is to try out different combinations yourself and find your ideal configuration!
the secret settings of guitarists who have tried it out
julien bitoun: pushing the amp to its limits
The Savage is used as an always on preamp, with gain at minimum to provide coloration without saturation, and volume at maximum to bring out the amp’s saturation. Use it with an amp providing a very light crunch, the result will be very dependent on the kind of amp you’re using and its settings. The Ge/Si switch has no influence when the gain is at 0.
The Ego Driver acts as a gain boost, making the amp more saturated with its increased volume, while bringing its characteristic midrange bump, and its own coloration with gain at 11 o’clock.
swan vaude: a dynamic, expressive drive that breaks the mix
The Savage also acts as a sound base, adding coloration and dynamics to a clean amp. Once again, gain at 0 to simply add the Savage’s coloration, and a low volume for a very slight volume boost.
The Ego Driver adds presence by breaking through the mix with pushed tone and voicing on Hi, while adding light coloration with a little gain. Ideal for highlighting lead parts.
nico chona (tone factory): mixing pedal and amp character
The Savage brings out the grain of the amp with a slightly boosted volume, while adding its own character with the gain at 11 o’clock. The tone and voicing on T add clarity to avoid a muddy, undefined sound. Use with a slightly crunched amp.
The Ego Driver saturates the amp even more, with high volume and LED clipping for great dynamics, while the increased gain adds grain and midrange.
questions about the sandman
specific to the anasounds range
pedal has no sound / does not light up
The Sandman should only be used with mono jacks, to allow the circuit to be powered. A negative-centered 9V DC power supply must also be used, otherwise a protection circuit will cut the power supply to protect the pedal.
switches and trimpots have little effect on sound
The purpose of switches and trimpots is to fine-tune the sound, right down to the smallest detail. The difference can sometimes be subtle and hard to hear by ear. They are adjusted by our team to guarantee the sound of the pedal. We advise you to touch them only when you’ve studied the pedal thoroughly, so you know what you’re doing.
specific to the sandman
there is a difference in volume when changing the clipping
The various clipping diodes can be used to change the signal clipping threshold. The higher the threshold, the greater the amplitude required to saturate the circuit. The difference in volume is therefore normal, and can be compensated for by adjusting the OUT settings of both channels.
the pedal produces white noise
The Sandman is made up of two overdrives, so there can be considerable hiss if the gains of both pedals are pushed. On an already saturated amp, the louder the pedal volume, the more pronounced the hiss, saturating the preamp without changing the overall volume.
the volume is too high
The Savage has a very large volume reserve, designed to be used as a boost to saturate an already crunched amp. On a clean amp, the volume can rise very quickly, which is normal, due to the 27V headroom like the original pedal.
enjoy your sandman limited edition!
Now that you know all about the Sandman, we hope you’ll make good use of it, and that it will fit in perfectly with your pedalboard. Don’t hesitate to share your experience of your Sandman on social networks!