Vaderin Pedals Radio Dirtman

The Vaderin Pedals Radio Dirtman is a hybrid fuzz/drive pedal, a v2 of the company's existing Dirt Transmitter circuit. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio, writing at its August 2023 launch, described it as "a versatile fuzz/drive based on the Dirt Transmitter circuit," and explained that it is "at its heart an overdrive circuit that can be turned into a sputtery/velcroy fuzz when the Bias control" is set to lower levels¹. In practice that means one pedal covering ground normally split between Overdrive Pedals and Fuzz Pedals, with Bias deciding which side it lands on.

What the v2 changes

The Radio Dirtman is the second version of the Dirt Transmitter circuit, and the headline update is the Tone control. De Gregorio's write-up quotes the builder's notes: "My updated take builds on the original circuit with an expanded Tone control to cover a wider frequency range while still preserving the same midrange settings as the original"¹. The tone section uses silver mica caps and 5% poly film caps¹.

The wider sweep also changes the pedal's low end. "Far more low end can be dialed in on one end of the sweep than with the original, allowing for more low end overall"¹. Players who found the first Dirt Transmitter thin on the low strings get more range to work with, while the midrange positions of the control behave as they did before.

Bias, transistors, and where it sits

The Bias control starves the circuit, which is what pulls the pedal from drive into fuzz. Backed off, it produces the sputtery, velcroy behavior De Gregorio describes; opened up, the overdrive core of the circuit carries the sound¹. The gain devices are metal can 2N1711 transistors, the same type used in the original circuit¹.

Vaderin builds a family of fuzz-adjacent circuits, including the Vaderin Pedals Cherry Fuzz 'Stainer and the Vaderin Pedals Vaporizer. The Radio Dirtman is the one that deliberately straddles the line between fuzz and drive¹.

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