ASABI Distortion

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Mateus Asato’s signature pedal, the Asabi, is an overdrive and distortion pedal with a wide range of sounds. The name Asabi, which means « of unusual birth », was chosen by Mateus because it refers to the unique nature of this pedal, as much as to his own family heritage.

But there’s more! The Asabi is the world’s first pedal to work with analog saturation modules! Jackson Audio has developed this replaceable module technology so that you can replace and completely change the Asabi’s saturation circuit without having to buy a new pedal. These aren’t software upgrades that load new presets, they’re real, whole analog circuit boards with the same op-amps, transistors, diodes, resistors and capacitors used in any saturation pedal.

The saturation module supplied with the Asabi is the Modern High Gain, a high-gain clipping circuit inspired by the Marshall JCM800. Because of this, the sound is very open and fun to play! There’s everything from ’80s hard rock to more modern heavy sounds.

Distortion channel
The Asabi’s distortion channel is a hard-gain circuit based on the Marshall JCM800. As a result, the sound is wide open, crisp and fun to play, from ’80s hard rock to big modern gains!

The Asabi has 4 different diode-clipping presets, operable after a long press:
– 1-Amber: Guv’nor style. 2 LEDs are used to symmetrically and evenly clip the high and low portions of your guitar’s waveform. The LEDs give much more dynamics to give a more open, less compressed sound, like a vintage Marshall.
– 2-Green: 808 style. 2 symmetrical silicon diodes give the typical 808 saturation and compression.
– 3-Blue: Asymmetrical High Gain. 3 asymmetrical diodes (2 silicon and 1 LED) clip the high and low portions of your guitar’s waveform to give a more complex sound, perfect for aggressive rhythm parts.
– 4-Magenta: Symmetrical High Gain. 4 symmetrical silicon diodes clip the high and low portions of your guitar’s waveform for a more concentrated, direct sound.

A unique circuit harmonizes the pedal’s output level according to the selected clipping, so the volume remains constant whatever clipping is selected.

Gain Cycle
The Gain Cycle function takes the position of the Gain control, which defines the maximum gain, and divides it into 4 equal parts, then each time you press the 2 footswitches simultaneously, the gain increases by 25% to 100%, then again to 25%, and so on. The Drive LED changes intensity according to the gain percentage selected.

Active 3-band equalization
The Asabi’s distortion circuit features parametric 3-band equalization. This studio-quality EQ gives the Asabi superb tonal flexibility, and is based on the legendary Baxandall EQ found in many studios around the world. The Asabi takes this circuit and adapts it for guitarists.

Overdrive channel
To take distortion even further, the Asabi’s Overdrive channel is an incredibly touch-sensitive overdrive circuit. Designed for maximum transparency, the Asabi’s overdrive is totally flat in its frequency response, with no midrange hum. The Asabi’s overdrive simply pushes your sound without distorting it.

Like the distortion channel, the Asabi has 4 different diode-clipping presets, activated by a long press:
– 1-Amber: Vintage Marshall. 2 blue diodes are used to symmetrically and evenly clip the high and low portions of your guitar’s waveform. The diodes give much more dynamics to give a more open, less compressed sound, like a vintage Marshall.
– 2-Green: Classic Screamer. 2 symmetrical silicon diodes give the classic Tube Screamer saturation and compression.
– 3-Blue: Asymmetrical clipping. 3 asymmetrical diodes (2 silicon and 1 red diode) clip the high and low portions of your guitar’s waveform to give a more complex sound, perfect for aggressive rhythm parts.
– 4-Magenta: Symmetrical clipping. 4 symmetrical silicon diodes clip the high and low portions of your guitar’s waveform for a more concentrated, direct sound.

MIDI features
Enjoy even more possibilities with your analog pedal via MIDI by controlling clipping presets, Gain Cycle, EQ and overdrive/distortion channel on/off.