hello people, i come in peace...here's a interview i did for DiscoFreq's Effects Database a while back..since then, my mom passed away from lung cancer..i still love to build pedals (in her honor and for therapy)
How did Pedals By Tone start?
I basically got into building pedals in a few ways ways:
The first, which I think is the most common with guitarists like myself, is that I really couldn't find anything on the market that sounded like the sounds I heard in my head.
Secondly, and I think the most important, was that my mom was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and with my father passing away and mounting medicals bills, we need an additional source of income.
Combine that with my love for electronics and I started building pedals. Having a musical background I had a basic working knowledge of electronics. I took that a step further learning the more technical aspect of circuitry and the ability to create tones for various applications.
Where does the name come from?
It's a form of my first name... It's basically what all my friends call me.
I have no logo as of yet, but I have had a few ideas in mind though.
What sets Pedals By Tone apart from other builders?
Pedals By Tone will build you a quality pedal with a great sound and amazing one of a kind graphics that is built to last!
Can you tell us something about the production process?
All pedals are hand built and hand wired by me in my workshop.
These are a one of a kind hand built overdrive/distortion pedal. I have hand crafted these myself with care and dedication. It really is a great sounding pedal with lots of gain and tons of sustain. There are no IC's in this, the sound comes from 5 JFETs. It has controls for level, tone and gain. These pedals were designed to make a clean set amp sound like a cranked stack. It runs on a standard adapter or 9 volt battery. If you want that huge sound without having a wall of amps then this is the pedal for you. Turn your little combo into a full blown raging stack with this pedal. From clean to mean and all in between.
I only use the best parts in my pedals. Die Cast Hammond Aluminum 1590N1 cases, high quality knobs, 3PDT true bypass switch, Neutrik jacks, 22 gauge high grade military wire, 16 mm Alpha pots, FR-4 .055 two ounce copper clad board. All the PCB's are hand etched and drilled personally by me. I use Wima and Panasonic capacitors with Xicon 1% resistors. Each pedal is neatly soldered and wired with care and dedication.
Each pedal has one of a kind graphics with a matching LED. I have used a two part epoxy resin for the finish which will last a lifetime. Please note these are handmade custom creations. The finish and graphics will vary slightly from pedal to pedal.
How important is the look of your pedals?
It's an important aspect of my builds. I want people to feel like they own a pedal that no one else owns. I want them to feel like they own a piece of art.
Is parts selection important?
Of course, I only use the best caps, switches, jacks, potentiometers, copper clad, JFETs, wire, die-cast aluminum enclosures, solder and resistors around.
Who uses your pedals and for which genres?
No specific genre just any guitarist who would want an overdrive/distortion type sound. It can be used for many applications; Metal, Blues, Pop, Rock, etc.
I created a pedal for Spike Cassidy, lead guitarist for the major recording thrash band D.R.I. with their signature "skanking dude" logo covering the enclosure. D.R.I. was a major influence on me growing up. It seemed as if every lyric on the "Dealing With It" album was about me and my life.
What does the future of Pedals By Tone look like?
The short term goals for Pedals By Tone is get more recognition through building a quality product with one of a kind graphics that is built to last and give a great tone.
Long term goals are to perfect and produce other models. All with hopes of gaining more attention to boutique builders who want to keep the feel and the vibe of a quality piece of electronics with out the hassle of mass production generic products. I have always focused on quality of the build, which in my eyes is second to none-other than that I would have to say I've only just begun.
Are you working on any new products?
Yep, I have quite a few ideas. I've been working on an analog sounding delay, an optical compressor, a very transparent sounding boost, and a buffer. As far as when you can expect them, probably in the near future, no set dates as of yet. I'm putting them through the trenches on stage with my band, Malicious Damage, at the moment making sure they'll pass the test.
More info at
http://www.effectsdatabase.com/intervie ... z233LnfIFQ
Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:27 pm
