Third Man Hardware and Gamechanger Audio announce the PLASMA Coil, a special version of the PLASMA Pedal created by Gamechanger Audio and Third Man Records.
The PLASMA Coil is used by Jack White on the Raconteurs’ latest album Help Us Stranger, in the subsequent tour and upcoming projects. At its heart is Gamechanger’s innovative High Voltage Distortion technology that expresses audio signal as a series of electrical discharges. Even though they’ve been printing the words: “High Voltage Rock’n’Roll” on t-shirts since 1973, PLASMA Distortion is the first commercial musical device that literally amplifies the audio signal to 3500 Volts. Plasma Coil takes High Voltage distortion to new heights by adding multiple Octave-style circuits, and an additional Effects footswitch that can be toggled as latching or momentary. The expected life of the xenon tube is 10,000 to 70,000 hours of active playing.
Simplified signal chain: Input -> EQ -> Octave/Effect -> Transformer to High Voltage -> Xenon Tube -> Antenna that picks up the electromagnetic vibrations surrounding the Tube -> Output
Main Features
2 EQ controls to boost or cut low and high frequencies;
VOLTAGE knob – adjusts the amount of electrical current sent to the PLASMA Tube.
EFFECTS knob allows you to select 1 of 6 different effect types:
Volume boost
2 Subharmonic modes (Bitcrush-style octave down)
1 Upper harmonic mode (Octafuzz-style octave up)
2 Mixed modes (Upper and lower harmonics combined)
Effects footswitch – engages the PLASMA COIL’s special effect circuit.
Master VOLUME knob – cuts or boosts the output signal level.
ON/OFF silent footswitch.
Effects footswitch toggle on the back panel – configure effects footswitch as a latching ON/OFF switch or as a momentary switch.
 
Natural Noise Gate
As soon as you stop playing the electrical discharge within the gas-filled tube is interrupted, and the pedal will not produce any output signal at all. It is eliminating all of the in-between noises created by the instrument’s pick-ups or by humming strings. This feature allows you to achieve extreme contrasts between individual notes.
Extremely Wide EQ
The PLASMA Coil loses the original dry input signal and creates a new signal from fluctuations in the electromagnetic field surrounding the gas-discharge tube. This allows for a very wide range of frequencies. Boost and cut the lows and highs with the dedicated knobs.
Unique Harmonic Saturation
PLASMA converts your instrument’s signal into a rapid series of electric discharges, which results in a large amount of non-linear harmonic saturation that causes extremely rich and responsive attacks, and brings out screeching sharp overtones and harmonics. These harmonic artifacts, produced as a by-product of the high voltage discharge are uncommon in traditional signal amplification, and therefore PLASMA Coil distortion is unlike anything you have heard before.