Little Bump

What is Little Bump? Well, the philosophy is simple: every sound is a waveform, whether it’s a clean or distorted guitar, a synth, keys, drums, vocals, or whatever, all effects ultimately work by shaping, or altering the waveform. Distortion and fuzz alter it through clipping. Little Bump takes a different approach.

It interacts with the incoming signal and reshapes it in a way that reveals new harmonic content and movement.

Some signals will respond more dramatically than others. Higher gain inputs tend to produce more complex results, while cleaner signals yield more subtle enhancement and refinement potential. In either case, Little Bump gives you a new way to sculpt and expand your sound using the gear you already own.

There’s no need to change your workflow. Use the pedals you know and own. Build your tone the way you always have. Simply insert Little Bump anywhere into your signal path.

There is no single “correct” placement, no wrong answer—different positions will produce different results, and each one is likely to open up new possibilities. 

Download the User Manual here

How It Works

Harmonic Enhancement

Little Bump increases harmonic complexity by folding and reshaping the waveform. This results in more detailed tones that retain the identity of your input signal.

What's actually happening (or), how does it work? Little Bump started as an attempt at a wavefolder circuit. Due to unforeseen circumstances completely within our control, a slight mishap altered the initial trajectory. This resulted in a quirky, and unique circuit. The short answer is, it's more of a waveshaper. 

Controls

LEAN

• Adjusts waveform balance and "bias" behavior.

Use it to make the waveform tilt to one side or the other  The knob has a center detent, and the center position provides balanced symmetry.

Crank the LEAN and it's possible to turn a boring overdrive into a sputtery, gated fuzz! Or upgrade a generic high gain signal into it's next evolution. Yeah, you can do things like that with a Little Bump. Tested and proven in actual use with many modern and classic pedals. Check out our online videos and hear the results.

• Center: balanced response
• Moderate settings: enhanced texture and complexity
• Extreme settings: gated, sputtering, “broken” tones
  

PUSH

• Controls the strength of the signal into the folding section. That's a fancy way to say: it's a type of gain control.

Start at 0 and slowly turn it up. The higher you go, the tighter the sound gets, as Little Bump introduces a mild compression. At the high end of the sweep you can reach mild clipping. When LEAN is at extreme settings the sound can start to collapse. Use PUSH to maintain the signal strength and SEND to compensate for volume loss. 

• Lower settings: subtle enhancement, added clarity. Great for clean guitar
• Mid settings: rich, still subtle harmonic expansion and slight compression
• Higher settings: increased compression, mild overdrive-like sound

SEND

• Sets the overall output level after the LEAN & PUSH stages.

Essential control. Use it to boost or cut volume as desired or required.

• Match bypass level
• Compensate for volume loss at extreme LEAN settings
• Boost output

I/O

• Standard 1/4" instrument cable in and out 
• +9v DC jack (Boss style, negative tip. Not designed to use more than +9v)

Usage Guidelines

Place after drive pedals

Little Bump is made to enhance distorted guitar sounds. 

• Overdrive
• Distortion
• Fuzz

Alternative to Gain Stacking

Traditional stacking can create too much compression, resulting in a loss of clarity. Little Bump achieves something similar, but maintains articulation and note definition. Single notes as well as chords come alive.

Clean Signal Use

While Little Bump is designed to excel with driven signals, it can also be used effectively with a clean guitar or any other signal.

Bonus value!

Sustained Notes & “Breathing” Effect

Under certain settings and conditions, Little Bump may produce subtle volume fluctuations and tonal shifts. This is a natural result of the circuit interacting with signal decay and is a defining characteristic of the pedal. NOTE: This effect is most evident when paired with high gain drive circuits.

This effect can create:

• Pulsing textures
• “Alive” tonal movement
• Extended perceived sustain
• A desire to play long, singing notes.