A customer sent in this feature-rich ISP Beta Bass because it has a footswitchable distortion but oddly enough no volume control. The addition of a volume control allows us to boost or cut the distortion section so the user no longer needs to compromise gain and volume levels. After the mod the distortion section can also work as a clean boost.
One of the great things about the large EHX casings is that there is plenty of room to add knobs on the pedal. This pedal was one of our own to experiment on. Our mix knob has been popular on flanger and phaser pedals so we decided to add it to this chorus pedal. Chorus is simply a dry signal mixed with a pitch shifted (vibrato) signal so this mix control allows you to make the chorus effect a bit more subtle by mixing in some clean guitar or more intense by mixing in more of the vibrato sound. Turning the knob entirely clockwise will give a full vibrato effect.
We added a Depth Knob which affects how wide the LFO sweeps.Since adding a Depth knob makes the Depth switch redundant, we decided to rewire it as an Intensity Switch. When pushed up the pedal is at it’s stock tone, when slid down it is a more subtle shimmer effect.
Other mods include a Volume knob to help the pedal boost the signal an appropriate amount and a Boss style barrel jack to replace the stock ⅛” phone jack. Overall a very versatile pedal with an entirely analog circuit path which should cover a wide variety of tones.
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.
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.
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!
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).
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
