“The Tripel” – Big Muff, Pro Co Rat, Tubescreamer all in one enclosure

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Joshua

tripel-rat-big-muff-ts9

 

In a previous post we combined a Pro Co Rate and EHX Big Muff into one enclosure with a few modifications. We decided to take this one step further and add both a Rat and a Tubescreamer into this USA Big Muff for an even more versatile sound. We didn’t want to dramatically change the tone of each effect but we did decide to go with some minor tweaks on each circuit.

Big Muff: We added our “Body Knob” to adjust the lower midrange and help the pedal sit well in the mix. We also moved the stock LED right next to the footswitch so it would match the layout of the added footswitches. This pedal already had true bypass so we didn’t need to change the switch but we did install a “Boss style” barrel jack to make it easier to power.

Ibanez Tubescreamer TS-9: For the TS-9 we converted the pedal to true bypass and simply replaced the stock IC with a socket and a JRC4558D as it should have had from the factory.

Pro Co Rat: While I think this pedal needs a bass boost we decided against putting that modification in as that may muddy up the Big Muff which is located down the signal path. We simply removed the stock chip and installed the LM308N and left the rest of the audio path unchanged.

This has been a great way to utilize the empty space in the cavernous Big Muff enclosure and make a convenient, all-in-one distortion pedal to cover a wide variety of tones.

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Shin-ei Uni-Vibe Expression Pedal

Posted on August 24, 2015 by Joshua

uni-vibe-expression-pedal

 

We always like to see vintage pedals in here and this is definitely one of the holy grails. The Shin-ei Uni-Vibe is the original uni-vibe pedal which has inspired clones for decades since its inception as a portable device to emulate a Leslie spinning speaker.

This pedal was in for basic servicing but the important goal was to build a replacement expression pedal since the main unit does not have a Speed knob or a bypass switch rendering the main unit useless. Our replacement expression pedal unit uses a custom 5-pin DIN cable to connect to the main unit so the rate can be adjusted while playing.

The interesting part of this project was that in order to copy the original expression pedal we needed to install a bypass switch in the heel. Most people are familiar with a wah pedal which is activated by pressing down firmly with your toes. While this works great for a wah pedal it can sound bizarre on a univibe as you would need to turn the rate to full speed (toe down) in the process of hitting the switch. By placing the bypass switch in the heel (rocked back) position it allows for a seamless transition from the slowest setting to the bypassed tone with almost no effort.

This project was a custom build but we are always able to recreate similar expression pedals as a direct replacement for the original Uni-Vibe expression pedal.

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Ibanez UE-300 Multi Effects Rehousing

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Joshua

Ibanez UE300 rehousing

The Ibanez UE-300 is a relic from the 1980s when multi effects were becoming popular but predates the popularity of digital effects. This unit has an all analog signal path with a compressor, overdrive (tubescreamer), and chorus all built into one unit with a master bypass switch and effects loop. The pedal sounds great but after thirty years the hardware is a bit tired. This rehousing narrows the pedal by almost two inches and also provides the opportunity to install soft-touch footswitches, all new jacks, a bypass switch for the effects loop, and convert the pedal to run on DC instead of 110V AC.  This ended up being a big project but the end result should provide years of reliable service and sounds great!

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Custom wah base plates

Posted on January 25, 2015 by admin

wah plate

 

We’ve had quite a few requests to put modulation and delay pedals into a wah pedal casing. The problem is that in order to hit the bypass switch you need to rock the treadle forward which means you lose the setting you were currently at. This add on plate allows a box to be mounted to the side for a bypass switch and a status LED (not yet installed in the above photo).

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Colorsound wah sweep

Posted on October 20, 2014 by admin

colorsound vs crybaby

Most wahs on the market rely on a rack and pinion to turn the potentiometer which creates the wah-wah effect. This system is used by the big players like Dunlop and Vox as well as most of the other clones on the market. It’s a great, reliable setup and I have no complaints with it.

Colorsound decided to go a different route and used a lever that attaches to the pot which allows for a much wider sweep. If you look at the photos above you can see how much wider the Colorsound wah (blue) rocks back compared to a stock Dunlop Crybaby (black). This gives the pedal a bit more sweep and changes the feel of the pedal because of the longer distance traveled.  Although a wider sweep may be better there are still people that prefer the shorter travel yet sturdier casing found in the Dunlop/Vox style wah casing.

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Chinese Pro Co Rat

Posted on October 12, 2014 by admin

Pro Co Rat 3 broken

Customers often ask why there is a $25 additional fee for the Chinese made Pro Co Rat 2 (technically Rat 3) and how to identify if their model will be subject to this fee. This is an issue that has been come up a few times over the years so I’ll show why the build quality of the new Rat pedals causes us to charge more.

Let’s start with the basics: To remove the knobs on most pedals you simply pull the knobs off. When doing this on the newest Rat pedals the entire shaft rips out and the potentiometer then needs to be replaced. If you look above you can see the knob with the shaft stuck in it on the right. The brass-threaded potentiometer on the left is a high quality replacement that we use if the pots are in fact broken in the process.

While I’m not familiar with Pro Co’s pedal production timeline it appears that the consensus is that the problem pedals are:

  • Likely made after 2009
  • Made in China
  • Have smaller, 16mm potentiometers instead of the traditional 24mm.
  • Serial number above 300,000
  • Knobs look different than the classic rat knobs with the knurled edges

If you aren’t sure please remove the back of your pedal and take a photo of the circuit board before mailing the pedal in.

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Custom Scalpel

Posted on September 28, 2014 by admin

scalpel custom momentary

The Scalpel is a passive volume pedal which allows you to quickly cut the volume of your instrument to a specific level without needing to play around with a large volume pedal or using your hands to adjust the volume knob on your instrument. It also happens to be the most commonly modded pedal that we make.

This custom Scalpel has two key differences from our base model (which can be purchased through our online store). Since this is being used with bass we decided to install a toggle switch to bypass the treble bleed circuit. This circuit was designed to prevent a guitar from sounding dull when turning down the volume by bleeding through some treble. We’ve used this for years on guitar with excellent results but without having time to experiment fully with a bass we went with a toggle switch option. The other change we made was to add a momentary switch to quickly bypass the pedal for short bursts at full volume.

Check out our main page (in the links above) for contact info on custom mods and view the gallery for some of our other custom creations.

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Electro Harmonix Hog’s Foot Modernization

Posted on September 26, 2014 by admin

hog's foot

 

Electro Harmonix has a wide variety of old pedals that sound awesome and totally unique but they lack some of the modern features that modern musicians have come to expect. The Hog’s Foot is a unique pedal because it cranks the bass and cuts the treble as opposed to most modern boost pedals which either sound neutral or boost the treble to overdrive an amp.

Some annoyances of these old pedals include a terrible sounding bypass, lack of external power supply (and no battery door at the least!), no status LED, and the battery doesn’t even disconnect when the input plug is removed. In the process of updating this pedal we removed the battery on/off switch and wired up a new input jack to switch the battery off when unplugged the way almost every pedal in the past 40 years has done it. A “Boss style” 2.1mm barrel jack was added for power options as well. The pedal was converted to true bypass and had a red LED installed next to the switch.

Now that the power switch is no longer in use it would have been a shame to leave it without any purpose. The solution we came up with was to allow it to switch from a bass boost to a lower mid / bass boost. This adds a bit more low-mids for punch and helps the pedal cut through the mix if needed. The updates along with a new switch and jack should help the pedal feel at home on any modern pedalboard.

hog's foot inside

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Eventide Time Factor: switch upgrade

Posted on September 23, 2014 by admin

Eventide Time Factor switch upgrade

 

There’s a long history of pedal manufacturers using PCB mounted switches and a spring actuator. This system is very cost effective for manufacturers but leads to problems in reliability as the switches are often cheap and unreliable. Some other pedals with a similar switching scheme include the Line 6 modeler series pedals and the newer TC Electronics pedals such as the Flashback X4. What we do is replace the spring actuator (as shown below) with a standard “soft touch” switch which is a favorite of many musicians these days. This mod works on most pedals that have room for the new, larger, and more durable switch and will withstand the rigors of the road.

spring switch

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Digitech Whammy 5 control box

Posted on September 14, 2014 by admin

whammy-V-remote-control

The Digitech Whammy has been around forever and the latest revision– while very nice– still doesn’t address the issue of not being able to change presets without leaning over and turning the knob. While some guitarists choose to use a MIDI box to make changes our solution has always been to install a second footswitch so you can cycle through the presets. This was a great hands-free solution but may be tedious for quick changes in the middle of a song.

The box above allows you to remotely control the Whammy and uses the same rotary control as the stock pedal. This box can be mounted on a mic stand or left on a table for easy access. We also offer LED color swaps so you can quickly identify your favorite settings from a distance.

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