V!N
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2007
- Messages
- 4,064
- Reaction score
- 170
A wise man once said "if you need an amp for anything, your pedal sucks." 
Then he parked his posterior on my couch and turned around to ask me if there were any more pork rinds. "No, there aren't any more, you already went through three bags of them ! Now get out of my house, wise man ! Who invited you anyway..."
You can say what you want about this wise man, but he sure was on to something ! I think...
I've been wanting to build another pedal for a while now and his words of wisdom have inspired me to do this with you, my forum brothers.
So, how would you lads feel about making a pedal ? We can help each other out if it doesn't fire up right away and if one of our less experienced brothers needs some advice along the way. Also, we can get a nice discount from suppliers as it's much more efficient to process batches. I've already talked with a few about this idea, they're as excited about it as I am and have been very forthcoming with their service and discount.
I might even get a friend to supply us something really cool, but he'd like to see if this idea sparks any interest first. Hopefully, more about that later.
It'll have to be a pedal that's easy to build, so the less experienced pedalists could join in on this as well. It'll have to be sweet to the ear and of course versatile and foolproof to use. There are plenty of kits out there for the same old same old, so something rather unique would be nice as well. If possible, a pedal that every guitarist could use, no matter what genre he plays or what other gear he has. Then there's really only one kind of pedal that pops to mind: a booster ! What else.
From the smoothest jazz all the way up to the most brutal metal, everybody could use a single knob boost pedal and I think I know one that you'll really, really like.
Once upon a time in California, there lived this Dutch born lad with a single PAF loaded Frankenstrat who loved his solid state tape delay units. He used these Echoplex EP-3 gadgets not only for the delay, but also to add the sweetness of the preamp in this unit to his sound. He knew that transparency is overrated and just loved that certain something that the Echoplex added to his tone.
Eddie Van Halen is just one example, Eric Johnson and Jimmy Page are also known to have used these gizmos as tone sweeteners.
Some DIY techs have taken this to the next level by cloning the preamp circuitry from the EP-3 and sticking it in a compact pedal. You know where this is going now, don't you ?
What would you say to a single knob boost pedal that takes a regular 9V battery and/or any regular external power supply, internally pumps up the Voltage to where it is in the EP-3 and runs your signal through exactly the same preamp circuitry that makes those elusive vintage delay units sound so sweet ?
A rough estimate, a complete kit will cost you between US$ 60 and US$ 80.
One more thing though. With most of the MLP members living in the USA, I really need the help of a treasurer and partner in crime who lives there. Your job will be to receive the money from the forumites on your PayPal account, then use that to pay for the orders.
I will arange for the tiny parts to be delivered in a big box with separate project bags and a bunch of small cardboard boxes so yo don't have to go through hundreds of parts to compile the kits yourself. The the finished enclosures and the etched and drilled PCB's will also be delivered to your doorstep. Then all you have to do is put one bag, one PCB and one enclosure in a box, flap on an address label and send them out.
Let me know if you want to be in on this !
Then he parked his posterior on my couch and turned around to ask me if there were any more pork rinds. "No, there aren't any more, you already went through three bags of them ! Now get out of my house, wise man ! Who invited you anyway..."
You can say what you want about this wise man, but he sure was on to something ! I think...
I've been wanting to build another pedal for a while now and his words of wisdom have inspired me to do this with you, my forum brothers.
So, how would you lads feel about making a pedal ? We can help each other out if it doesn't fire up right away and if one of our less experienced brothers needs some advice along the way. Also, we can get a nice discount from suppliers as it's much more efficient to process batches. I've already talked with a few about this idea, they're as excited about it as I am and have been very forthcoming with their service and discount.
I might even get a friend to supply us something really cool, but he'd like to see if this idea sparks any interest first. Hopefully, more about that later.
It'll have to be a pedal that's easy to build, so the less experienced pedalists could join in on this as well. It'll have to be sweet to the ear and of course versatile and foolproof to use. There are plenty of kits out there for the same old same old, so something rather unique would be nice as well. If possible, a pedal that every guitarist could use, no matter what genre he plays or what other gear he has. Then there's really only one kind of pedal that pops to mind: a booster ! What else.
From the smoothest jazz all the way up to the most brutal metal, everybody could use a single knob boost pedal and I think I know one that you'll really, really like.
Once upon a time in California, there lived this Dutch born lad with a single PAF loaded Frankenstrat who loved his solid state tape delay units. He used these Echoplex EP-3 gadgets not only for the delay, but also to add the sweetness of the preamp in this unit to his sound. He knew that transparency is overrated and just loved that certain something that the Echoplex added to his tone.
Eddie Van Halen is just one example, Eric Johnson and Jimmy Page are also known to have used these gizmos as tone sweeteners.
Some DIY techs have taken this to the next level by cloning the preamp circuitry from the EP-3 and sticking it in a compact pedal. You know where this is going now, don't you ?
What would you say to a single knob boost pedal that takes a regular 9V battery and/or any regular external power supply, internally pumps up the Voltage to where it is in the EP-3 and runs your signal through exactly the same preamp circuitry that makes those elusive vintage delay units sound so sweet ?
A rough estimate, a complete kit will cost you between US$ 60 and US$ 80.
One more thing though. With most of the MLP members living in the USA, I really need the help of a treasurer and partner in crime who lives there. Your job will be to receive the money from the forumites on your PayPal account, then use that to pay for the orders.
I will arange for the tiny parts to be delivered in a big box with separate project bags and a bunch of small cardboard boxes so yo don't have to go through hundreds of parts to compile the kits yourself. The the finished enclosures and the etched and drilled PCB's will also be delivered to your doorstep. Then all you have to do is put one bag, one PCB and one enclosure in a box, flap on an address label and send them out.
Let me know if you want to be in on this !
