PROJECT NAME

AZIMUTH
BASED ON BUILD DIFFICULTY
Hermida / Lovepedal Zendrive Beginner
EFFECT TYPE DOCUMENT VERSION
Overdrive 1.1.1 (2024-08-08)
PROJECT SUMMARY
The first overdrive that attempted to replicate the tone of the legendary Dumble amplifiers. A favorite
of blues guitarists, and with its low parts count, a great project for beginners.

Actual size is 2.3” x 1.86” (main board) and 2.3” x 0.86” (bypass board).

IMPORTANT NOTE
This documentation is for the PCB-only version of the project. If you are building the full kit from
Aion FX, please use the kit build documentation instead. The instructions are more detailed and
may differ in some areas due to the specialized parts and assembly methods used in our kits.

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Project Overview 7 Enclosure Layout
2 Introduction & Usage 8 Wiring Diagram
3-4 Parts List 9 Licensing
5 Schematic 9 Document Revisions
6 Drill Template

INTRODUCTION
The Azimuth Dynamic Overdrive is a recreation of the Hermida Zendrive, first released in 2004 and
taken over by Lovepedal in 2013. The circuit has changed very little since its inception, with the only
major change being the op-amp which happened after Lovepedal took over.

The Zendrive can be seen as a stripped-down Tube Screamer. It starts with a standard Tube Screamer-
style clipping section, followed by a variable R-C treble cut and a buffer. The bass is adjustable via the
“Voice” control, which varies the corner frequency of the filter coming off the op-amp. This also has the
side-effect that the available gain increases as the Voice control is turned up.

Despite the legendary stature of the Zendrive, the circuit has among the lowest parts count of any Aion
FX project and is a very good starting point for new builders.

USAGE
The Zendrive has the following controls:

• Drive controls the amount of gain in the op-amp feedback diode clipping stage.
• Tone controls the treble response of the effect. It’s a simple passive filter that only cuts.
• Voice controls the amount of bass while also changing the gain structure. As you turn it up, the
available gain range also increases.
• Volume controls the overall output.

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 2

PARTS LIST
This parts list is also available in a spreadsheet format which can be imported directly into Mouser for
easy parts ordering. Mouser doesn’t carry all the parts—notably potentiometers—so the second tab lists
all the non-Mouser parts as well as sources for each.

View parts list spreadsheet →

PART VALUE TYPE NOTES

C1 470n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C2 100pF MLCC capacitor, NP0/C0G

C3 100n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C4 3n3 Film capacitor, 7.2 x 2.5mm

C5 470n Film capacitor, 7.2 x 3.5mm

C6 100uF Electrolytic capacitor, 6.3mm

C7 47uF Electrolytic capacitor, 5mm

C8 100n MLCC capacitor, X7R

R1 470k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R2 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R3 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R4 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R5 1k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R6 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R7 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

R8 100R Metal film resistor, 1/4W

RPD 2M2 Metal film resistor, 1/4W

LEDR 10k Metal film resistor, 1/4W

D1 1N5817 Schottky diode, DO-41

D2 BAT41 Schottky diode, DO-35

D3 BAT41 Schottky diode, DO-35 Some versions of the Zendrive use a 1N34A germanium diode here.

D4 BAT41 Schottky diode, DO-35

Q1 2N7000 MOSFET, N-channel, TO-92

Q2 2N7000 MOSFET, N-channel, TO-92

IC1 NE5532P Operational amplifier, DIP8

LED 5mm LED, 5mm

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 3

PARTS LIST, CONT.
PART VALUE TYPE NOTES
GAIN 500kA Potentiometer, 16mm right-angle

TONE 50kB Potentiometer, 16mm right-angle

VOICE 10kB Potentiometer, 16mm right-angle

VOL. 100kB Potentiometer, 16mm right-angle

IN 1/4" stereo 1/4" phone jack, closed frame Switchcraft 112BX or equivalent.

OUT 1/4" mono 1/4" phone jack, closed frame Switchcraft 111X or equivalent.

DC 2.1mm DC jack, 2.1mm panel mount Mouser 163-4302-E or equivalent.

BATT Battery snap 9V battery snap Optional. Use the soft plastic type—the hard-shell type will not fit.

FSW 3PDT Stomp switch, 3PDT

ENC 125B Enclosure, die-cast aluminum Can also use a Hammond 1590N1.

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 4

SCHEMATIC
+9V VA VB

D1 R8 R6

1N5817 100R 10k C7

C8
C6

10k
R7
100n 47uF
100uF

GND

GND GND GND

VB

VA
470k
R1
470n

TONE
C1

3 IC1A 50kB

470n
IN R4

8
1 5 IC1B

C5
R5
2 1 3 7
10k
NE5532 C4 6
2M2
RPD

2
1k
NE5532

3
C2 100pF 3n3

VOLUME
100kB
Q1 OUT

2
D2 D3 2N7000 GND
R3

GND GND
1k

1
BAT41 1N34a
3

GND
D4
VOICE
10kB

Q2 BAT41
2N7000
1

R2

1k 2
C3
3 1
100n
GAIN
500kA

VB

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 5

DRILL TEMPLATE
Cut out this drill template, fold the edges and tape it to the enclosure. Before drilling, it’s recommended
to first use a center punch for each of the holes to help guide the drill bit.

Ensure that this template is printed at 100% or “Actual Size”. You can double-check this by measuring
the scale on the printed page.

Top jack layout assumes the use of closed-frame jacks like the Switchcraft 111X. If you’d rather use
open-frame jacks, please refer to the Open-Frame Jack Drill Template for the top side.

LED hole drill size assumes the use of a 5mm LED bezel, available from several parts suppliers. Adjust
size accordingly if using something different, such as a 3mm bezel, a plastic bezel, or just a plain LED.

INCH
125B

0.385”

0 1 0.625” 0.625”

ø3/8” ø3/8”
ø1/2”
CM
OUT DC IN

0 1 2

VOLUME GAIN

x: -0.65, y: +1.71 x: 0.65, y: +1.71

ø9/32” ø9/32”

TONE VOICE

x: -0.65, y: +0.41 x: 0.65, y: +0.41

ø9/32” ø9/32”

CENTER (0,0)

LED FOOTSWITCH

x: -0.775, y: -1.20 x: 0, y: -1.20

ø5/16” ø15/32”

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 6

ENCLOSURE LAYOUT
Enclosure is shown without jacks. See next page for jack layout and wiring.

125B

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 7

WIRING DIAGRAM

IN GND +V N.C. N.C. OUT

PCB GND +V +V JACK GND JACK GND GND PCB

IN IN OUT OUT

125B

Shown with optional 9V battery. If battery is omitted, both jacks can be mono rather than one being stereo.
Leave the far-right lug of the DC jack unconnected.

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 8

LICENSE & USAGE
No direct support is offered for these projects beyond the provided documentation. It’s assumed
that you have at least some experience building pedals before starting one of these. Replacements and
refunds cannotbe offered unless it can be shown that the circuit or documentation are in error.

All of these circuits have been tested in good faith in their base configurations. However, not all the
modifications or variations have necessarily been tested. 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
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 without prior arrangement, 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 industry needs more transparency, not less!)

DOCUMENT REVISIONS
1.1.1 (2024-08-08)
• Changed LEDR to 10k to work with a wider variety of LEDs.
• Changed Drive pot taper from linear to audio (log) for smoother control of drive range.

1.1.0 (2020-01-07)
Added C8 and R8 (improved power filtering) for consistency with other boards.

1.0.1 (2018-08-14)
Minor formatting adjustments.

1.0.0 (2018-07-04)
Initial release.

AZIMUTH DYNAMIC OVERDRIVE 9