FX86B Death Metal Distortion

U.S.-made (late 1997) and Chinese-made (VFX-series) FX86B pedals

DOD introduced the FX86B Death Metal Distortion in 1998, replacing the FX86 in DOD's lineup. Although its circuit was updated for the final chassis design, there was little difference between the two versions (and early ad copy simply referred to the new pedal as the "FX86", without the "B" designation). The vast majority of FX86B Death Metal Distortion pedals were made in China as part of the "VFX" series, but at least the very first production run was made in the U.S.A.

• Controls: R.I.P. (Level), Guts (Low eq), Pain (Mid eq), Scream (High eq)
  
  
• From the manual: "The FX86B creates a grinding wall of noise perfect for harmonic corruption of the highest order. The FX86 emulates the death metal and grindcore sounds of Napalm Death, Carcass, Brutal Truth, Pungent Stench, and others. One advantage of the FX86B is that it will oscillate when the R.I.P. (LEVEL) control is turned up, allowing oscillation at any amp volume. There is no distortion control. We just turned it up and ripped it off!"
  
  
• Death Metal boxes and manuals In this image, a pedal's original box is on the top row, and its manual is on the bottom row. Left to right: FX86 box and manual (printed in the USA 2/1994); first-issue generic FX86B box and new-design manual (labeled FX86; printed 2/1998); box and manual from VFX-series FX86B ("made in China")
  
  
• Technical info:
  
  
  • Notable IC chips: two JRC 4560D op-amps
    
    
  • Component-side circuitboard images: December 1997 VFX series (made in 2000?)
  
  
• FX heritage: FX86 FX86B
  
  
• External links:
  • @ ftp.dod.com - instruction manual (dated 2/98), .pdf format
  • @ DOD.com
  • @ discofreq's FX site
  • @ harmony-central.com
  • @ noiseguide.com
  • @ ultimate-guitar.com
  
  

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