The Blue Colander Crooked Axis is a multipurpose gain device from Blue Colander that covers everything from a clean boost to fuzz in one box. Paolo De Gregorio, writing on Delicious Audio, placed it "squarely in the increasingly trendy 'multipurpose gain device' category, able as it is to deliver" tones across that whole range1. Its foundation is the Colorsound Power Boost, with two additions of Blue Colander's own: a Master volume and a Range control1.
What it does to your sound
With the Blast switch off, the Crooked Axis is, in the maker's description on its press page, "a powerful clean booster with vintage flavoured feel and active bass & treble controls to drive any amplifier to natural break-up"1.
The Blast switch changes the character entirely. It is a 3-way toggle: the top position delivers overdrive and fuzz tones, the unmarked middle position a looser, thicker overdrive, and the off position returns the classic boost response1.
- Blast off: classic boost response1
- Blast middle: "saggy and loose overdrive with lower gain, but even fatter tone" compared to the top position1
- Blast on, Drive maxed: "melting fuzz with blasting low-end, bursting attack and blooming textures during sustained notes," and at maximum Drive a "brass-like, throaty fuzz with lo-fi dimensions and random octave-down sound"1
The controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| DRIVE | Input gain control1 |
| RANGE | Pre-dirt bass control: maxed is full bass content, turn counterclockwise to cut1 |
| BASS | Post-dirt active equalization, turn counterclockwise to cut, clockwise to boost1 |
| TREBLE | Post-dirt active equalization, turn counterclockwise to cut, clockwise to boost1 |
| MASTER | Master volume control1 |
| BLAST | 3-way switch: off for classic boost response, on for overdrive and fuzz response1 |
The two controls Blue Colander added to the Power Boost formula each have a specific job. The Range knob, in the designer's words, "removes low frequencies from drive section," letting you voice the dirt from tighter and smoother up to "clangy, grinding noise regions"1. The Master knob is described as "an essential addition to let original circuit be set for distorted sounds at low output volume"1.
The Colorsound Power Boost connection
The circuit is based on the Colorsound Power Boost, a transistor-based boost and drive pedal with a 2-band tonestack, first sold in 1970 by the Macaris music store in London2. Aion FX notes the Power Boost has at least two known variants, an early one and a later one, with a few different parts between them3.
The Crooked Axis takes a different route to headroom than the original circuit it draws on: it requires a 9V DC supply and uses an internal voltage doubler circuit to attain 18V operation1. With the BLAST switch on and DRIVE at max, the maker describes "melting fuzz with blasting low-end, bursting attack and blooming textures during sustained notes"1.
Power
The Crooked Axis cannot run on a battery. It needs an isolated, regulated, negative center power supply at 9V DC only1.
The pedal uses an internal voltage doubler circuit to attain 18V operation from the 9V DC supply, which is why the maker specifies a 9V input only1. That rules out daisy-chaining with other pedals on an unisolated supply, since the maker calls for an isolated, regulated source1.
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Questions
What does the Blast switch do on the Crooked Axis?
The Blast switch is a 3-way toggle that changes the pedal's whole response. In the off position it gives the classic boost response of the original circuit. In the on position it turns the boost into an overdrive and fuzz, with more extreme tones in the top position. The unmarked middle position delivers a looser, thicker overdrive with lower gain but an even fatter tone.
Can the Blue Colander Crooked Axis run on a battery?
No. Battery operation is not possible with this pedal. It requires an isolated, regulated, negative center power supply at 9V DC only, and uses an internal voltage doubler circuit to run its circuitry at 18V.
What is the Crooked Axis based on?
The circuit is based on the Colorsound Power Boost, a transistor-based boost and drive pedal with a 2-band tonestack first sold in 1970 by the Macaris music store in London. Blue Colander adds a Master volume and a Range control to that foundation.
What does the Range knob do?
Range is a pre-dirt bass control. Maxed, it passes full bass content; turning it counterclockwise cuts low frequencies from the drive section, which makes the distortion tighter and smoother. At the extreme it can take the dirt into clangy, grinding regions. Blue Colander describes it as an extension for deeper voicing of the dirt character.
What is the power polarity of the Crooked Axis?
Negative center. The pedal wants an isolated, regulated, negative center power supply at 9V DC only, with no battery option.
Sources (3)
- Blue Colander Crooked Axis Boost/Drive/Fuzz, Delicious Audio, 2022-12-06
- Nucleus Vintage Boost / Colorsound Power Booster, Aion FX, 2020-07-03
- Plasma Vintage Drive / Colorsound Overdriver, Aion FX, 2020-07-03
