Equinox Overdrive

Marshall Guv’nor / Drivemaster

Overview
The Equinox Overdrive project is a clone of the Marshall
Guv’nor and Drivemaster. (They have different names, but they
are identical circuits in every way except that the Guv’nor has
3 1 3 1 an effects loop which has been excluded from this project).

First released in 1988, the Guv’nor was replaced in 1991 by the

Drivemaster, the same time the Shredmaster and Bluesbreaker
pedals were released. It was a very popular pedal at the time
and remains well-regarded.

The Guv’nor was among the first overdrive pedals to use a

3-band tone control, allowing for more amp-like toneshaping via
3 1 3 1 3 1
bass, midrange and treble knobs. Because of this, you can get
a very wide range of tones out of it and it is suitable for many
different styles of playing.

Be aware that due to the 5-knob layout, this project uses 9mm
PCB-mounted pots (widely available from Small Bear, Tayda,
etc). If you use standard 16mm pots, you will have to wire them
off-board and it may be really tight.

Controls & Usage

The Guv’nor controls are pretty fancy for an overdrive:

• Gain controls the amount of gain from the op amp that is fed into the diode clipping stage.
• Bass, Mid and Treble act as a 3-band tone control, allowing for very flexible tone shaping.
• Volume controls the overall output.

Modifications & Experimentation

This is a pretty tight control layout already, so no switch mods for this one. The original uses LEDs for clipping
diodes, but pads have been provided for other diodes—you just won’t be able to switch between them.

MARSHALL GUV’NOR / DRIVEMASTER / EQUINOX OVERDRIVE 1

Parts
Resistors Capacitors Semiconductors
R1 1M C1 10n IC1 TL072
R2 2k2 C2 120pF D1 1N4002
R3 10k C3 100n D2, D3 5mm red LED
R4 680k C4 68n DX1, DX2 2

R5 1k C5 220pF LED 5mm LED

R6 1k5 C6 220n
R7 680R C7 100n Potentiometers 3
R8 680R C8 220n
Gain 100kB 9mm
R9 100R C9 4n7
Bass 10kA 9mm
R10 22k C10 10n
Mid 10kA 9mm
R12 47k C11 68n
Treble 10kA 9mm
R13 47k C12 470pF
Volume 100kB 9mm
RPD 1M to 2M2 C13 47uF
RPD2 1M 1 C14 10uF
LEDR 4k7

1
Optional. This is a pulldown resistor on the output. It’s used in the original and may help with switch popping,
but does not affect tone. Most effect pedals do not have an output pulldown so you can probably leave it off.
2
Extra pads have been provided to use alternate diodes if you want, but you’ll only want to use one set of them
(D2/D3 or DX1/DX2).
3
This project uses Alpha 9mm PCB-mount pots, widely available from Small Bear, Mouser, Tayda, Mammoth
and many other places. The standard 16mm pots will not fit easily!

Additional Part Notes

• Capacitors are shown in nanofarads (n or nF) where appropriate. 1000n = 1uF. Many online suppliers do
not use nanofarads, so you’ll often have to look for 0.047uF instead of 47n, 0.0056uF instead of 5n6, etc.
• The PCB layout assumes the use of film capacitors with 5mm lead spacing for all values 1nF through
470nF. I prefer EPCOS box film or Panasonic ECQ-B/V-series.

MARSHALL GUV’NOR / DRIVEMASTER / EQUINOX OVERDRIVE 2

 Schematic

GAIN
2k2 100kB
C3
100n R2 1 3
2
C5 220pF
GND C2
VA
120pF 68n C9 C10
680k
3

C4 R4 4n7 10n
6 TL072P

R1
1M
2

10k
TREBLE
10kA

7 2 TL072P
C1 5 1 C6 1k
1

R3
3

10n IC1B 3 220n

R9
100R

IN R5
IC1A R10 OUT

R6
1k5
2

1
VOLUME
100kB

VA
22k

MARSHALL GUV’NOR / DRIVEMASTER / EQUINOX OVERDRIVE

C8
220n

RPD
2M2
1

470pF
MID
10kA

C7 C12
RPD2
1M

R8

+9V VA

DX1
D2
LED

DX2
D3 GND
LED
680R

100n
GND
47k GND
GND GND
R12
1

+9V C13 C14

8
GND GND 68n
2

47uF 10uF C11

D1

LEDR
4k7
R13
47k

1N4001
10kA
BASS

4
3

R7

GND

LED
5MM
680R

GND GND GND GND GND

SW
GND GND

3
General Build Instructions
These are general guidelines and explanations for all Aion Electronics DIY projects, so be aware that not
everything described below may apply to this particular project.

Build Order
When putting together the PCB, it’s recommended that you do not yet solder any of the enclosure-mounted
control components (pots and switches) to the board. Instead, follow this build order:

1. Attach the audio jacks, DC jack and footswitch to the enclosure.

2. Firmly attach the pots and switches to the enclosure, taking care that they are aligned and straight.
3. Push the LED1 into the hole in the enclosure with the leads sticking straight up, ensuring that the flat side
is oriented according to the silkscreen on the PCB.
4. Fit the PCB onto all the control components, including the leads of the LED. If it doesn’t fit, or if you need
to bend things more than you think you should, double-check the alignment of the pots and switches.
5. Once you feel good about everything, solder them from the top2 as the last step before wiring. This way
there is no stress on the solder joints from slight misalignments that do not fit the drilled holes. You can
still take it out easily if the build needs to be debugged, but now the PCB is “custom-fit” to that particular
enclosure.
6. Wire everything according to the wiring diagram on the last page.
1
For the LED: You can use a bezel if you’d like, but generally it’s easier just to drill the proper size of hole
and push the LED through so it fits snugly. If you solder it directly to the PCB, it’ll stay put even if the hole is
slightly too big. Make absolutely sure the LED is oriented correctly (the flat side matches the silk screen) before
soldering, as it’ll be a pain to fix later! After it’s soldered, clip off the excess length of the leads.
2
Note on soldering the toggle switch(es): It will require a good amount of solder to fill the pads. Try to be as
quick as possible to avoid melting the lugs, and be prepared to feed a lot of solder as soon as the solder starts
to melt. I recommend waiting 20-30 seconds between soldering each lug to give it time to cool down.

“RPD” and “LEDR” resistors

The resistors marked “RPD” and “LEDR” are generally not original to the circuit and can be adjusted to
preference. “RPD” is the pulldown resistor to help tame true-bypass popping, while “LEDR” controls the
brightness of the LED. I generally use 2.2M for the pulldown resistor and 4.7k for the LED resistor.

Sockets
Since double-sided boards can be very frustrating to desolder, especially components with more than 2 leads,
it is recommended to use sockets for all transistors and ICs. It may save you a lot of headaches later on.

MARSHALL GUV’NOR / DRIVEMASTER / EQUINOX OVERDRIVE 4

Drilling & Placement
Print this page and have an adult cut out the drilling template below for you. Tape it to the enclosure to secure
it while drilling. Note that the holes are shown slightly smaller than they need to be, so drill out the holes as
shown and then step up until they are the correct size for the components.

Hammond 1590B
(bottom/inside view)

Parts Used
• Switchcraft #111A enclosed jacks
• Kobiconn-style DC jack with internal nut

MARSHALL GUV’NOR / DRIVEMASTER / EQUINOX OVERDRIVE 5

Standard Wiring Diagram
This diagram shows standard true-bypass wiring
with a 3PDT switch. When the switch is off, the
input of the circuit is grounded and the input jack
is connected directly to the output jack.

The SW pad is the cathode connection for the

LED. This will connect to ground to turn it on
when the switch is on. Usage of the on-board +9V
LED connection is not required if you have
specific placement needs for your enclosure,
but’s incredibly convenient.

The wiring diagram also makes use of star

grounding principles where all of the grounds
connect to a single ground point (in this case the
sleeve of the input jack). This is best practice
to avoid added noise caused by improper
grounding. The sleeve of the output jack is IN GND OUT SW
unconnected.

If using a painted or powdercoated enclosure,

make sure both jacks have solid contact with SLEEVE
bare aluminum for grounding purposes. You may
need to sand off some of the paint or powdercoat TIP
on the inside in order to make this happen.
TIP
Make sure to double-check the markings of the
pads on the PCB for your particular project – they
are not always in the order shown here!

License / Usage
No direct support is offered for these PCBs beyond the provided documentation. It is assumed that you
have at least some experience building pedals before starting one of these. Replacements and refunds will not
be offered unless it can be shown that the circuit or documentation are in error. I have in good faith tested all of
these circuits. However, I have not necessarily tested every listed modification or variation. These are offered
only as suggestions based on the experience and opinions of others.

Projects may be used for commercial endeavors in any quantity unless specifically noted. No bulk
pricing or discounting is offered. No attribution is necessary, though a link back is always greatly appreciated.
The only usage restrictions are that (1) you cannot resell the PCB as part of a kit, and (2) you cannot
“goop” the circuit, scratch off the screenprint, or otherwise obfuscate the circuit to disguise its source.
(In other words: you don’t have to go out of your way to advertise the fact that you use these PCBs, but please
don’t go out of your way to hide it. The guitar effects pedal industry needs more transparency, not less!)

MARSHALL GUV’NOR / DRIVEMASTER / EQUINOX OVERDRIVE 6