Xerograph deluxe distorting
 

I've noticed that my Xerograph deluxe distorts at certain settings when it receives a relatively loud input signal (and typically when playing notes on the G string) -- does anyone else experience this?

I mostly play active basses, and I realize that a hotter output signal can cause some pedals to distort, but with the xerograph it seems to happen even with my passive std J-bass. I could circumvent the problem with a signal attenuator, but I'm curious if this is normal or if there's actually an issue with my pedal. I'd appreciate if some of you Xerograph users out there could share your experiences.

I recorded the following clip with my Warwick corvette $$ going through a TU-2 (to split the signal), then through the xerograph and then directly to my audio interface with no other processing added.

Settings used for the recording:

• 4 pole mode
• Resonance at 9 o'clock (a safe distance from where you'd expect the filter to "blow up")
• Envelope settings are all off
• Frequency set at 3 o'clock

I find that the distortion starts appearing when the filter opens above the ~1 o'clock setting, even at the lowest resonance settings.

I also recorded the clean signal in parallel, which is what can be heard first in the clip. As is evident in the second half of the clip (which is the effected signal), the Xerograph distorts quite noticably with the signal peaks.

https://soundcloud.com/hakonnybo/xerograph-distortion/s-LuZuK

I don't have my XeroD with me at the moment, but that doesn't sound right to me, I think it should be able to take a very hot signal and not distort.

Where is the filter volume set? The Xero can get very loud and I find it distorts my interface/amp if it is too far above noon.

Filter volume was at noon for this recording. I set it to be approximately as loud as my parallel clean signal, and both channels had plenty of headroom going into my interface.

Turning down the filter volume was my first thought as well, but I quickly discovered that the distortion is coming from the Xerograph itself -- lower output volume doesn't make a difference.

To be fair, my bass signal in this recording is at full volume with boosted treble; the distortion doesn't usually get this prominent with "regular" playing, but rather pops out if I hit a bright note particularly hard.