mini-TAFM... yay or nay?

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

smaller enclosure, top mounted jacks, 1 stompswitch, 4 knobs.
clean volume, fuzz volume, fuzz, shape.
goodidea/badidea?

from my guitarist point of view i wouldnt be interested in that with the options listed. (although i did see that you were aiming it at bass players)

i might be interested in a mini version that was minus the whole clean blend section but no internal trimpots they are just annoying, and should be for calibration things only.
as a straightforward mini fuzz i would need to keep input gain, fuzz gain, shape and volume. so thats 4 knobs + the mid switch nestled in the middle
its just a great sounding fuzz and the input gain and mid switch are essential to it, i dont want to be unscrewing the back plate to have to change sounds.

in terms of the other things mentioned in the thread - the altered/improved gain range and a better clean blend - they sound good improvements and can they not just be an evolution to the current pedal?
at the moment the 'clean' part is pretty drastically degraded but without any control on my part about how that sounds.
i would rather have the clean part left completely clean so that i can input the sound i want and then just add the fuzz parts i want, or have some separate control over the clean drive, not shared with the fuzz. (although that may be a vital part of the circuit and essential for the phase switching, i dont know)
if it was possible to have the separated hi-fi clean sound with a minifuck like bias control to soften the attack and break it up, that would be handy
but thats major tafm not mini tafm ...

(and my preference would be for a clean/fuzz blend knob + master volume, over the 2 separate volumes)

lots of good thoughts here - hence why i started the thread!

also by the way, the newest version of the tafm does not have any internal pots (the older ones were there for calibration) but it does have an internal DIP-switch (buffered or unbuffered) which related to updates in the design including an added input buffer to keep the clean signal MUCH less degraded (it's a tiny bit colored, but not much) than the original version.

though i should add here that if anyone wants some one-off TAFM-esque thing suited to your particular needs, i'm always willing and able...

[Almonds]

I agree with a lot of the points in here. If the mini version was more guitar oriented I would be interested; I sold my big version awhile ago and I miss it a lot...

[kbit]

Dip switch, eh? Stop making me want all your pedals (again).

[guitarslinger21]

So, since the last time I posted in this thread, I've purchased and explored the latest TAFM full sized model wit hthe gate.

I like it just the way it is. Don't mess with it.

It's a wall of sound, with a clean blend ditch of sadness. It's like losing all hope and blowing it all up.

Leave it as is.

[SmallEQ]

Any more thoughts on this. I could use a smaller non muff like bass friendly fuzz in my life.

[MSUsousaphone]

Oh lol. My cutom finish TAFM is not even built yet and I'm ogling all over this.

[goosekevin]

So, since the last time I posted in this thread, I've purchased and explored the latest TAFM full sized model wit hthe gate.

I like it just the way it is. Don't mess with it.

It's a wall of sound, with a clean blend ditch of sadness. It's like losing all hope and blowing it all up.

Leave it as is.

my thoughts too

[MSUsousaphone]

I also tire of electrical input thingies.......check into running these off some sort of renewable power source like a wind turbine or dark matter or something.

[chillerthanmost]

i think i would pretty much completely redesign certain elements of it so it was even more bass-friendly and keep the standard TAFM as a more guitar/bass/tweaker friendly thing.

initial thoughts:
- much higher headroom clean blend that is a little more "hi-fi"
- tweaked fuzz range for more low gain stuff? similar to the fuck gain range, but obviously different overall
- no toggles - maybe an internal mids DIP switch with a slightly altered frequency
- shape control would pretty much stay the same i think

double volumes are necessary - either that or a mix/volume combo.

My $0.02, I think the TAFM is already geared towards bass pretty well. In fact, I think more bass players rave and talk about it more than guitar players. I would say turning it from bass geared to even more bass geared would just limit the market on them even more. I say; bass is big, leave it in a big enclosure.

Guitar, on the other hand, I think has more options to change the layout just enough to start a new market on them, while still retaining the market of anyone that already owns a TAFM... or two.... or three

I dig the idea of keeping the pedal mid boosted with internal dip switches to opt out/scooped. When I play guitar through mine, the clean blend goes completely off, as I don't find it's needed for guitar. The other four controls all interact very well with each other on guitar. If it was geared towards guitar, though, it could go with more fuzz on tap to eliminate the input gain knob and give you the option of something else in it's place. The idea of a 2-band EQ like the mini fuck would be neat. Maybe the middle knob being a GATE knob to let you set to the users like, eliminating a footswitch for the smaller footprint.

Obv, as you already know, you'll need to make it justifiable so that people who already own a TAFM would want a Mini version as well. Or else you limit your market to anyone just looking for a smaller enclosure or someone specifically in the market for a tafm.

Another thing that I didn't see posted was the option of having a clean blend (more hi-fi like you mentioned) on the side of the pedal, which I do find extremely useful on bass. This would open up more of a "universal use" market while still saving room on the enclosure, and if the other changes are different enough, still attract those who have a couple of TAFM's as it is.

But in short, yeah, I'd probably be into buying one

[SmallEQ]

I know nothing.

[Bellyheart]

Is this still happening?

[SmallEQ]

Is this still happening?

Yes, and hopefully soon...

[MSUsousaphone]

I'm on the list....but......I broke down and bought a used TAFM last night to hold me over until these guys are ready.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

Is this still happening?

Yes, and hopefully soon...

some delays over here but yes

[Bellyheart]

No rush, just wanted to make sure before I bought something else. Going to wait.