The Artemis Preamp Drive Mk. I is a versatile pedal that is based on the Catalinbread® SFT, which in turn is an adaptation of the Ampeg® SVT bass amplifier. It was originally released in 2009 and is suitable for both bass and guitar.

This pedal blurs the line between a preamp and an overdrive, reacting to the signal that comes before it. It is best placed after other drive pedals but before modulation effects. However, it can also be used as a standalone overdrive pedal.

The original SFT used 2N5457 JFETs, which are no longer available in through-hole format. However, the pedal provides extra pads if you want to use surface-mount JFETs (MMBF5457). Aion FX also offers pre-soldered MMBF5457s on adapter boards for those who find surface-mount parts intimidating.

In 2016, an updated and redesigned version of the SFT was released due to the discontinuation of the 2N5457s. While both versions are voiced with the same Ampeg SVT amplifiers as a reference, they have distinct differences. If you can source the right JFETs, the original version is still worth considering.

Additionally, the Artemis Mk. I is compatible with the 18V Voltage Doubler / Bypass module, allowing you to run the circuit at 18V without using an external adapter. This can provide additional headroom and dynamics to the pedal’s sound.

Summary created by AI from the original source.