Drunk Beaver's Pedal Drop #43 runs a Dominator tremolo at 190 V
A subminiature Soviet triode at 190 V recreates the Watkins Dominator vibrato channel, with a tremolo that adds grit as each pulse peaks.
The odd thing about the vibrato channel on a vintage Watkins Dominator is that it does more than turn the volume up and down. The circuit wobbles the high-tension supply and the bias of the gain stage at the same time. Drunk Beaver Pedals has rebuilt that idea as the Kostiantynivka Dominator Preamp, number 43 in its monthly Pedal Drop series.
Inside sits a NOS Soviet 6N17B-V, a subminiature dual triode, running from a 190 V rail that a boost circuit in the pedal generates. As in the original amp, one triode is the gain stage and the other is the oscillator that drives the throb. Old amps called this vibrato even though it is a tremolo, and Drunk Beaver says the modulation pushes the signal into a chewy, harmonically rich overdrive as the wave peaks.
The controls stay amp-simple. Volume and Tone are classic amp-style controls, Speed sets the rate, and Intensity sets how hard the modulation leans on the HT supply and bias, which also decides how much grit comes along with the pulse. A Low/High toggle trims the input by 6 dB for hot pickups, and a trimmer on the board sets the LED brightness. Full details are on our Kostiantynivka Dominator Preamp page.
Every Pedal Drop is a limited run named after a Ukrainian Hero City, with profits going to support Ukraine's defenders. Kostiantynivka is an industrial city in the Donetsk region, and the pedal is built by hand in the Drunk Beaver workshop in Wysoka, Poland. The maker's product page already lists this one as discontinued.
Video: Drunk Beaver Pedals — Pedal Drop 43 Konstiantynivka Dominator Preamp in action
