Effects Bay

A musician here in town heard from a mutual friend that I was into pedal projects and he was interested in getting a tremolo pedal. One of my big things as I try to get better with my skills is to continually work on projects. Practice definitely improves your ability to work electronics. You become more efficient and proficient with various tasks from soldering to drilling enclosures, etc. So what I’ve been doing is only charging for parts. Pedal repairs.. I usually accept a 6 pack for my troubles. I’m always looking for opportunities to fire up the soldering iron.

Anyways, this guy wanted a tremolo. I started reviewing various schematics on the internet. Tremolos are definitely more intense than my normal projects. One schematic that looked appealing was at General Guitar Gadgets (EA Tremolo). I fired up my DIY Layout Creator and started laying it out for a vero board. One thing that was evident right away was the size of the board. Vero is great but it can be a pain trying to get the size down to where you want/need it. While I was dicking around with that, I could see the General Guitar Gadgets PCB staring at me in the monitor and decided to just buy the PCB and be done with the hassle.

I also opted to go with the blinking LED mod that would flash the LED with the speed trem speed. I like to things move/blink, so that was a obvious choice. I had most of the components on hand already, but had to purchase a few resistors and the transistors.

Assembly on the PCB was cake (was happy I chose this route). I might try this again, and see if I can etch a PCB based on the schematic. I really want to go this direction in the future and move away from Vero all together. I had a few powder coated enclosures from PedalPartsPlus.com so after completing the circuit board and did my testing, I measured and drilled out the holes. I’m really starting to get a feel for my drill press and holes are coming very easy now-a-days.

After assembly I gave it a thorough test, and it sounds great. I really like the volume pot. You can overdrive circuit with it dimed. Unity gain is about 12 noon. Sounds great with tube amps. I’m not a bit tremolo guy, but I think it’ll cut the mustard. A couple of issues, the blinking LED will immediately blink when input jack is in. I’ll either break this out to the ground on the primary LED or provide a SPST switch to kill the LED. I can see some benefit to adjust the speed while the pedal is off (so you don’t have to engage it to see the rate). Not sure. I’ll ask the guy who this is for.. and go from there. Here is a shot from top.

If you’re into tweaking, building, modding.. love to include your stories as well. Let me know if you’re interested in a guest post!

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Today, I wanted to talk about the Worm by Electro Harmonix. I stumbled across a older video demo by Peter Stroud, but I wasn’t too familiar with this pedal at all.  The worm looks and sounds pretty cool. It’s a ‘all analog’ effects processor with phase, trem, vibrato and modulated wah. Pretty interesting.

Here is the official description by Electro-Harmonix:

The Electro-Harmonix Worm is a guitar effects pedal with an all-analog multi-effects processor featuring Phaser, Tremolo, Vibrato, and a Neo-modulated Wah. At the heart of The Worm is a specially designed tone-bending engine that creates groundbreaking oscillatory effects.

Electro-Harmonix XO Worm Analog Modulation Multi Effects Pedal Features:

* True bypass
* Mode-selectable analog modulation effects: wah, phaser, vibrato, tremolo
* Manual mode removes the modulation so the effects can be swept by hand
* Optional expression pedal sweep capability
* Tough and compact die-cast chassis
* 24VDC-100 power supply included

Below is the video I mentioned above by EHX. This is the older chassis version. The current version comes in the smaller enclosure.

You can pick up the Electro-Harmonix XO Worm Analog Modulation pedal for $103.50 at Musician’s Friend.

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 6%

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Today I wanted to talk about the Mojo Hand Sugar Baby Tremolo. Everyone knows about the pedal give-away, where we’re giving away a Mojo Hand Sugar Baby Tremolo for FREE right?? If not, please register to win this pedal on the following post “Pedal Give-Away Contest :: Mojo Hand Sugar Baby Tremolo“. I’m only taking one more day of entries, so please Re-Tweet and Re-Post this give-away. Like before, if we continue to have good numbers with the give-away, I’ll be able to continue to offer more in the future!

The Mojo Hand pedals are crafted by Brad Fee, who also owns and operates Tone Factor. I came across a great post by What’s That Dude Play, where he interviewed Brad and talked about Mojo Hand.

So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty on the Mojo Hand Sugar Baby Tremolo. Let’s use Brad’s to-the-point description: “Inspired by amp trems from years gone by, the Sugar Baby is pure vintage sweetness.”

Here is the official pedal specs:

Inspired by amp trems from years gone by, the Sugar Baby is pure vintage sweetness. The Speed Control works like a brake. The more brake you apply the slower it goes. Depth controls the depth of the throb. It becomes noticeable around 9 o’clock or so on the dial. Increase depth for more pronounced throb or harder chop. Volume can be adjusted via the internal trim pot.

True Bypass Switching
Custom Powder Coat Finish
9 Volt Center Negative DC Jack
Made in USA Construction

I also have a video by ToneFactor:

Again, I’d like to personally thank Brad of Tone Factor.  I’ve been talking with him over the last few weeks about the possibility of a contest for the site, and he’s been incredibly supportive!

Remember to get your entry in today!

Remember, if you like reading about these pedals and seeing videos reviews from others, please subscribe to the RSS feed and get notified via email when there are new postings!

Popularity: 7%

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THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED

After last months F-Bomb Give-Away, I’m super happy to announce that EffectsBay.com is having another contest! This contest is brought to you by the great people at Tone Factor.  Tone Factor has donated a pedal to our cause, and it’s a sweet pedal for sure!

This month’s pedal give-away, we’ll be giving away a Mojo Hand Sugar Baby Tremolo pedal. This pedal normally sells for $149.99 and it can be yours for FREE, just fill out the information at the end of the post.

So what is the Sugar Baby all about? Here is Tone Factor’s description:

Inspired by amp trems from years gone by, the Sugar Baby is pure vintage sweetness. The Speed Control works like a brake. The more brake you apply the slower it goes. Depth controls the depth of the throb. It becomes noticeable around 9 o’clock or so on the dial. Increase depth for more pronounced throb or harder chop. Volume can be adjusted via the internal trim pot.

True Bypass Switching
Custom Powder Coat Finish
9 Volt Center Negative DC Jack
Made in USA Construction

I want to personally thank Brad of Tone Factor.  I’ve been talking with him over the last few weeks about the possibility of a contest for the site, and he’s been incredibly supportive! Here is some information about Tone Factor, please visit their site!

ToneFactor.com – We’re dedicated to bringing you the finest in hand-made, boutique effects. Not a corporate superstore … we specialize in custom analog effects made one at a time by real people. Looking for TONE? Look no further.

We carry many pedals that you won’t find at other music stores. Our goal is to introduce new and upcoming effect makers to the market. We also carry some the best and most unique in “production” pedals (including Electro-Harmonix and HAO),as well as accessories.

Brad Fee – Owner ToneFactor.com

Okay, so how can you get this pedal on the floor so YOU can stomp on it? Simple, fill out the form below, I’ll need your name, email, optional Twitter account, and you’ll need to answer one simple question – “What is your favorite pedal currently“. That is it! Simple!

The contest will run for 2-weeks starting today. I will pick and announce one random winner on December 15th. You must enter a ‘valid’ email address, bounce back emails will be rejected. Please remember to subscribe to the RSS feed and to follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook to stay informed on the contest. After the winner has been notified and all is good (I’ve retrieved mailing address, etc), Brad from Tone Factor will ship the Sugar Baby directly to the lucky winner! Oh.. and only one submission per person… please.

Popularity: 8%

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