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gain/filter/octave stuff
Digitech EX-7 Expression factory
This one actually belongs in all three categories, as it provides (simulated) effects from all of them. I realized that I hadn't used wah for a long time, and was considering taking it off the board and only bringing one to gigs where I knew I'd use it. At the same time, I wanted to expand my arsenal of airy, weird synth-y sounds, and started looking at the EX-7. If it could do a passable wah sound as well as all the other sounds, it might be something for me... It turned out great. Of course, the wah isn't anywhere near as juicy and organic as the real thing, but it'll do for the (very few) gigs where it's called for. The Space Station model is great, while the Whammy model probably won't get too much use. If I want a lower octave, the Octron is much better. But being able to manipulate the pitch with your foot could come in handy, I suppose. The Uni-vibe model is the weakest, IMO, and didn't win me over. The leslie sim is another effect that I have better ways to achieve (sticking my Korg G4 after the pedalboard sounds much better, not to mention using my real leslie cab), but if I quickly need to imitate an organ, the EX-7 TS-9 + leslie sim will do a passable impression without having to carry additional gear. The ADA flanger simulation sounds good, but as you can't control the output level, it tends to lose a little volume.
The pedal doesn't change the dry tone too much - I did several blind tests, switching the bypassed EX-7 in/out from a true bypass loop box with a buffered pedal right after it (to take the cable to the amp out of the equation), and it wasn't immediately apparent when the pedal was in the chain or not. There was a slight difference, but not enough to cause any worry. I guess it will come down to how much I will use it - if it only gets used a few bars per gig, I might end up using a TB loop box to get it out of the chain when it's not in use. If I find more use for it, so it will be activated a lot more, I might just leave it as is in the chain.
Dunlop JH-1 wah (modified)
I needed a regular wah pedal to take the Vox's place on the board, as that one was becoming too fragile for live use. So I started looking for a neat used pedal, and since I can do my mods to both the regular GCB-95 and the JH-1 Jimi Hendrix wah, I simply looked for the cheapest and cleanest specimen out there, and ended up with this one. It is fairly new, sporting the rev. G Crybaby circuit board with the latest version of the JH-1 circuit. Or, that's what it was before I started modding it... Now it has a tweaked version of the regular Stinkfoot wah mod. The transistors have been replaced with BC109B's, the inductor is a red Fasel reissue, and of course the pedal is now true bypass. Basically, this is the ever-evolving prototype for a Stage 2 wah mod that I may or may not start doing. Here's what I do to regular unsuspecting GCB-95's and JH-1's, btw (the page is in swedish, but click the picture for soundclips)...
For you DIY folks, I've written up a small page describing how to mod Dunlop wahs produced 1990 and onwards. Because of their construction, they are hard(ish) to mod for true bypass – but don’t despair. It can be done!
Vox CryBaby wah
Vintage – manufactured by Jen in Italia. I have no idea what year it might be, but the guy who gave it (yes!) to me played guitar in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. He approached me one day at work and said that he had some guitar stuff in a box in the basement, and wondered if I might be interested. He then went on to tell me about all the pedals he had used during his “active” period, but he didn’t know their whereabouts. Some of them might be in the aforementioned box, but… All that eventually came out of it was this wah pedal (not bad, mind you) in pretty bad shape. I've since replaced the switch (wired for true bypass, naturally) and pot, as well as resolder all connections in an effort to make it a little more dependable. However, there's still something wrong with the circuit board - it crackles badly with every little flexing, which points to a hairline crack in one of the pcb traces. I need to get that sorted, before I can use it properly.
DOD FX25 Envelope Filter
I got this one off a sales ad here in Sweden, not really knowing why (what else is new?). I had just sold off the RoboTalk, and figured I might be able to put this one to use. Or not. Either way, it's a cool pedal and the deal was more than decent, so I went for it.
The pedal is not as refined as the filter section in the RoboTalk, but it definitely has a nice growl to it. When it sweeps back (as the input signal drops in strength), it is very grainy with a very gargly character. But the hard thing is setting it up right - it is very hard to find the sweet spot where the pedal is clear enough to not sound muffled, but still will not spend all its time in the highest frequency band. At the moment, it's being run from a true bypass loop. Not because the pedal has a particularly bad bypass sound, but simply because it's not being used very much. This is an effect you can use once or twice each night, in the right band, but not much more. Although I have to restrain myself - the sound when I kick it in is soo cool that I'm tempted to use it far too often...
I recently came across another FX25 fairly cheaply, so for a while I had two of them... I considered using the second one for a small bass pedalboard, but ended up sending it to a bass playing friend.
Marshall ED-1 Compressor
I had a big gig coming up, and needed a good compressor to help me bring my clean sound a little closer to my dirty sounds (overdrive pedals do compress the signal quite a bit). So I built a clone of the grey Ross compressor, and of course it didn't work properly... (one of these days, I'll get around to trouble-shooting it - I promise) At the same time, I was talking to a friend about compressors for bass - he had a Marshall comp that he was thinking about selling, and I thought I might as well... I modified a Boss CS-3 for him to try, and brought the Marshall home. After a quick spin with it, I realized that I wasn't going to let him sell the Marshall comp - it only needed a few mods to fit the lower bass frequencies, and then I needed to get another one for myself. What a gem it turned out to be! It was very transparent sounding, and with some careful dialing I was able to make my clean sound sit perfectly in the mix (the same way the dirty sounds does). This really was the missing link for me.
Of course, nothing is perfect... the Marshall uses the hardwire/half-assed/output switching only bypass style, where the circuit input is permanently connected to the input jack. This arrangement can steal a lot of tone under certain circumstances, and with the ED-1 and Danelectro DanEcho as the only two pedals running, not even the output buffer in my DT-10 (which is responsible for driving the signal through all the true bypass connections on the rest of the board) could overcome the tone sucking... Also, the Marshall engineers has added a few inductors and ferrite beads in the direct signal path, as well as a capacitor straight to ground, none of which helps the bypass sound. So I've (naturally) modified it to true bypass. Sadly, there's something in the circuit design that makes the modified pedal "pop" when turned on/off, and no amount of pop fixes (there are a few tricks you can use to reduce that problem) seems to help. I guess these inductors were there as a stopgap fix for what is really a design flaw... Other than that, it sounds great!
Foxrox Electronics Octron
I got whiff of this pedal through my participation on the Harmony Central effects forum, and signed up for one of the initial 100 Octrons being built. After a couple of months I received Octron #26, and I am truly amazed. Dave Fox is an outstanding pedal builder, who always comes up with something that is a little outside of the box. The Octron is no exception - it is essentially two completely different analog octave effects rolled into one box, with the ability to freely mix how much you want to hear of each. As a bonus, it also has a superb preamp/buffer for the regular/dry signal, which only makes the guitar sound bigger without making it that much louder. And then there's the octave effects...
First off, the octave down works in a similar fashion to the venerable Boss OC-2 Octaver - both use analog frequency dividers to create a lower octave note, and both do not work with more than one note at a time. The difference is that the Octron tracks much better than the OC-2, and if you happen to confuse it (for instance by playing two notes at the same time), it will try to lock on to the strongest pitch, jumping between the two notes in quite an interesting robot fashion. I'm not sure this is what Dave designed the pedal for, but it's a really cool sound anyway. Other than that, keeping the dry mix fully up and bringing in the lower octave instantly beams you back to the '80s, when all the cool single-note riffs were played...
The octave up is a completely different affair - once again, it's an analog octave effect, but much more related to the legendary Octavia than any pitch shifter. It spits and grinds, and sounds downright awesome! Not quite as "dirty" and ring modulator-ish as a true Octavia, but not far off. And if you want the upper octave to be a little more well-mannered, it will do that too.
I tend to use the pedal either as an octave up screamer - when fed into a TS-9 [see below] on medium gain, the Octron takes on a whole new angry personality - or as an octave down unit with the dry signal mixed in. I never use all three octaves at once, or just the lower and upper octaves - not because it sounds bad, but simply because I don't have any use for those sounds.
Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer
Early 80s version. I found it in the “dump” corner of a rehearsal room, all busted up with no bottom plate and a big crack down the middle of the pcb. I asked around if anyone wanted it, and the general consensus was: “Nope. It’s busted. It’s a throwaway.” So I took it home and gave it some TLC – I jumpered the cracked traces with expertly laid blobs of solder, installed a new battery clip and manufactured a new bottom plate from a piece of cardboard. To my amazement, it worked! I still use it at every gig, and have therefore upgraded the bottom plate to a real Ibanez item (I stole the bottom plate from a PT-9 Phaser I wasn't using). I’ve also modified the output section to 808 specs and let more bass into the circuit. I like my sound with a little meat to it... Stock tube screamers seems to beg you to turn them up real loud - to get some bottom end out of it - but this one sounds fuller from the get-go. In a later modding session I also replaced the JRC 2043 chip it came with for a reissue JRC4558D, and it made the pedal just that little bit better. With the RC4558P the pedal becomes just a hair raunchier, and I ended up preferring the slightly smoother sounding JRC4558D. Now, I use my own pedals as guinea-pigs for the mods I perform at StinkFoot Electronics, and the mods done to this pedal has since become the StinkFoot TS Stage 1 mod - Stage 2 involves changing the gain structure, which I've tried on others but don't want to do to this one. After all, it has to suit my gigging rig as well... Later, I also damaged what little vintage value it had by installing a proper stompswitch in the nameplate, wired for true bypass. So sue me...
Ibanez TS-9 Tube Screamer (reissue)
If you've followed this page, you'll know I used to have a Maxon OD-9 modified to Stinkfoot Stage 2 specs. I ended up selling it to a customer in South Africa - he wanted me to buy a new TS-9, mod it to Stage 2 with true bypass added, and send it to a friend in Germany who would then bring it to South Africa. The only issue was that it had to be in Germany in less than two weeks... It would only have taken one delay at one point (if my local store didn't have it in stock, it could take a week just to get hold of one) to bust that scheme, so I ended up selling my Maxon pedal to him, and buying a new Ibanez to mod for myself.
The Stage 2 modification involves doubling the available gain/drive, and a small switch to select the level of compression. I also modified it to true bypass. I'll eventually (you know how this goes) get a picture up, but it is basically a regular Tube Screamer with a 3PDT switch in the nameplate and a small toggle switch under the distortion knob.
Ibanez STL Super Tube
I recently had the opportunity to work on one of these pedals - I replaced a broken drive pot and got to mess about with some circuit modifications as well - and it turned out so well that I immediately decided to buy one for myself. The one I have is a little busted up - the switch needs a good cleaning, and the rubber part of the battery lid/footpedal is long gone. But it sounds really cool... It is more or less a tube screamer, but with an added mid-boost circuit. I found that with the "bite" control (er, the mid boost, that is) almost fully off, you get a fairly normal tube screamer sound, but with slightly more gain and less mid than a TS-9. Just the ticket... I did some mods to it - more gain (about 1.5 times) with extended pot range, better low end etc - and it sounds great! I tend to use it on my small pedalboard, but lately it has featured on the big board as well.
Note: the picture isn't mine, and will be replaced with one of my own pedal asap. Meanwhile, if you own this pic and want me to take it down, just e-mail me and it will be done.
Boss Super Overdrive with Stinkfoot SD-1 Bass Drive mod
I knew that once I started playing bass more frequently, I'd have to get one of my own bass overdrives as well. People seem to get along so well with them, that I thought I'd have to have a go myself. So I bought an SD-1 and got busy with it. I use it both with my 50w Fender Bassman head into a 2x12" bass cab and straight into the PA (sometimes both at the same time, depending on the size of the gig), and it seems to do the job. If it's good enough for all the folks (real bass players) who I mod these pedals for, I suppose it's good enough for me... It sounds great - fat, slighly distorted with a tad more midrange, to make the bass stand out a little. I like it...
Electro-Harmonix Big Muff pi
1978 op-amp version. Another thrash bin find from yet another rehearsal room. When I got it, it was opened and had an adapter for a Texas Instruments calculator hard soldered to the “ac input” jack… After a long, hard look I noticed other oddities as well. The stereo input jack had a ground cable attached - to the "ring" lug. The "sleeve" lug had never been touched. Also, a black wire ("ground" in universal electronics language) from the "ac input jack" was soldered to the power input of the pcb... I removed the ac jack and installed a battery clip instead, using the input jack for power on/off. After a bit of tinkering, it worked just fine. It doesn't clean up as well as a germanium fuzz, but then again it's a completely different design. Three gain stages from two op-amps and six(!) clipping diodes...
Now what was that fuzz (sorry) about the op-amps? Well, apparently Electro-Harmonix did some experimenting with a new design that replaced the four transistors with two op-amps (this one has one 741 and one RC4558 chip). Anyway, one can only speculate as to why E-H decided to switch to op-amp chips, but my guess is that they saw the Japanese way of doing it (the TS-808 and OD-1 both used op-amp/diode clipping) and decided to "keep up" with the competition. According to most knowledgeable people this happened in 1978, but I've also heard later dates being thrown around (apparently someone has an op-amp BM with 1982 pots). The pots in my Big Muff are dated late '77 to early '78, which gives some support to the claim that the op-amp era indeed happened in 1978. The experiment didn't last long, in any case - as the new design lost a gain stage, the pedal lost some of its "Muffiness", and E-H soon went back to the earlier four-transistor layout. Only a couple of thousand units were ever produced using the op-amp design, which makes it a somewhat rare beast. Especially if you consider that at the time the factory was churning out 7000 Small Stone units a month...
It would be a good candidate for a rehousing project, as the original box is huuuge. But knowing what I know now, about this particular Muff being a little collectable, I'm not sure I want to mess with it. If it becomes a regular on my pedalboard, I might do it to save space. We'll just have to wait and see...
Voodoo Lab tremolo
Four knob version – I got it when I was using a Boogie Blue Angel combo and needed a tremolo for one song. Actually, I didn’t get this pedal – I bought the Boss TR-1, used it on the gig, then took it back the next day and got this instead. The Boss is not a bad tremolo, but it has a really annoying volume drop when it's active. For sure, this is a feature on amp tremolos also (and it’s not really a factual loss of gain, it’s a perceived loss of gain as a tremolo works by intermittently dropping the volume. In the peaks the gain is more or less the same, but as it is lower in the valleys, we perceive that as an overall gain loss.) But - it feels different when the loss is on the preamp side, rather than in the power amp as with an amp tremolo. You lose punch and definition – not good. The Voodoo Lab has a volume knob to combat this, plus true bypass and great sound. It also has an ace up its sleeve – when I use it with my Twin (which already has the greatest tremolo there is), I set the speed & intensity to zero and use it as a clean boost. The sound gets fatter and louder - perfect for solos! I hear reports of switches acting funny and breaking - but I've never had so much as a hint of a problem with this one, so I can't really comment on that. I guess I don't stomp too hard, then...
Danelectro Fish & Chips EQ
JAM (a music store here in Stockholm) had a blowout on the Danelectro mini pedals. Now, I would never set foot in that store - I'm a dedicated Estrad-aholic myself, and shopping at JAM just won't do - but others apparently do. It turned out that the same guy I bought the '70 Twin Reverb from had gotten this from JAM, used it for five minutes and decided he had no real use for it. I said "I'll take it" and drove over to his place. 300 spänn senare, I was an eq pedal richer. For those of you who are not familiar with swedish currency, 300 kronor equals to roughly 33 EUR or 40 USD. Anyway, I don't know if I'll use it everyday, but it might be good to have one. I tried using it together with the XXL, to see if it could help that pedal out (and yes, it needed a lot of help). I set it up to roll off some bass and push the mids a smidge - just like a stock TS-9 - and it worked like a charm. But I didn't use the XXL anyway, and when I met a guy who was desperate to buy it (his had broken, and it was his "desert island" pedal) i was happy to let it go. The Fish&Chips is still here, though... I did use it as a volume booster for solos, with a Stinkfoot 5-way true bypass loop box to turn it (and a few other pedals) on/off. It has since been bumped off the board by a simple (LPB-style) booster that I built, so at the moment it's sitting in the "currently not in use" box.
LR. Baggs Para Acoustic D.I.
I got this one brand new in the box from Strings-n-things in Las Vegas, via eBay, and for me it was a killer deal. I spotted the auction with an hour or so left, and it stood at $100. After a quick check what the Swedish retail price was (2795 SEK - about $329 with the exchange rate as of Feb 2003), I placed a max bid of $120 or so, just to see what happened. The minimum increase at that level is $2.50, and to my surprise, the auction ended with me as the high bidder at $102.50. With shipping fees, the total cost was $117.50 - a killer deal indeed, which I paid using PayPal. Now, since I used my PayPal business account for StinkFoot Electronics, the shipping address Strings-n-things received was not my personal one. So the package got intercepted at Arlanda customs, and I got a letter saying they wanted me to produce the proper import documents... oops. A phone call later, I had persuaded the lady at customs that this was a private import (which it was), and she'd moved the package to the "private" box. I was fully prepared to pay the 4% duty and 25% sales tax (it would still be a great deal), but the next morning the postman rang on my door and just handed me the package...
This box has become indispensable for keeping my acoustic in check. The i-Beam system on my Furch only needs a little eq to sound good - mainly a reduction of 3 dB or so around 10-12kHz - but I have also had feedback problems, due to the top being so responsive. It's not always feasible to spend time getting the the monitor mix eq:d to fit my specific feedback spots, especially when playing festivals etc, so being able to do this myself - while providing the house system with a balanced XLR output, eq:d to my liking - is simply great. I was originally looking for a t.c. electronics Dual Parametric EQ to do this job, and will probably still buy it when I find one, but this one is a great tool to have. The "phase" button is awesome - if the feedback situation is bad, and the notch filter can't handle it (for instance if you have the notch set to reduce the body resonance, and the stage monitors keep getting the top to resonate as well), flick it and you're instantly off-phase with the monitor speaker. As I sing as well as play guitar, I don't have the option to back away from the monitors to put me off phase, but that switch does the job for me. Also, it seems to sprinkle some of that "magic dust" on the sound - even in situations where no feedback reduction is needed, as soon as I plug into this box the acoustic suddenly sounds twice as good (and it wasn't bad to start with...).
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