the things we did and didn't say...

[Uncle Grandfather]

NPD x 3

woo-hoo today was a good day. Still snow everywhere but the streets were clean enough for a morning bike ride.
got three packages....

1. Gretsch Playboy Harmon Booster made by JEN. best i can find its from the mid 70s? Its and od/boost that gets dirty pretty easily and fuzzy when dimed, and its high gain. uses three sliders, one for gain, tone and volume. After today, this is among my favorite sounding overdrives. The three knobs are pretty interactive giving a wide range of tones to the boost. Or just a clean boost, but I think its colored. Still need to listen to playback from some recordings I made earlier trying it out with some of my favorite fuzz and od pedals.

2. Jmi studio 2 fuzz box. replica of the wem rush pep box, as used in studio 2 at abbey road. Gated fuzz with gobs of swirling fuzz when dimed. its decay sizzles out a bit longer than the fz-1a, and the fz-1a uses germs the pep uses silicon. going to a/b with my ghost effects silicon pep box. i'm really really really liking these two pedals. not too aggressive but still a full buzzing sound.

3. Fredric Effects Mutant Fuzz. Os mutantes (regulus VIII) clone. Been waiting for one of these for quite awhile so I was suprised to get it. I never received a tracking number and it was international from uk to usa. Pedal has a two way tone switch for high and low, and a volume knob. Its a fuzzface circuit with silicon transistors and I believe some other changes.
Nicely broken up buzzy fuzz that's not too aggressive but very expressive. Really another unique vintage fuzz tone. I've got a creepy fingers Os mutantes on the way from Australia but god knows when that will arrive. its been sitting in the same location for over a week now according to tracking.




[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5tbnIoFOnw[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WLrKsyYMho[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pd2zuKdYj0[/youtube]

[terminator]

it's been iced over here in north tx since Thursday. ive been trapped inside looking at your pedals. I love snow days.
my buddy has been gasing for the studio 2 and the gretsch. he likes a pretty thick or out of control tone, though. how do these guys handle that?

[Uncle Grandfather]

it's been iced over here in north tx since Thursday. ive been trapped inside looking at your pedals. I love snow days.
my buddy has been gasing for the studio 2 and the gretsch. he likes a pretty thick or out of control tone, though. how do these guys handle that?

the studio 2, and the ghost effects silicone pep box, are both awesome... close but not identical. the wem rush pep box came out in 66, and is a two transistor circuit. but it doesnt' sound like a fuzz face or have its sustain. does sound thick and complex, with a little sustain but not much and it fizzles/crackles very nicely. nice buzz on single notes and can't really play chords but fifths etc sound really nice. It doesn't get congested when you play a chord, but its too thick to differentiate between single notes. Wouldn't call it out of control on its own, fair to say that it fits the stereotypical early gated buzz fuzz, with some added sustain. But not like a mk1 tonebender's sustain. Have not had enough time on them alone to know how they stack with other ods and fuzzzz.

Oh shit i love the gretsch. this might be my go to high gain od. doesn't lose definition when the tone is rolled back, doesn't get loudly bright when the tone is maxed. has a very complex sounding distortion that when dimed gets fuzzzy and sounds alive. i don't know what else i could want from an od. i'm very impressed with it. evidently JEN made this, along with all the vox wah pedals and vox tonebenders back in the day. They have at least a couple other models, a ring mod and a fuzz. I want that fuzz. With my amps preamp tubes just on the verge of breakup this pedal sounds like pure heaven. I think your friend would like this one.

[Uncle Grandfather]

addendum:
so i been playing around with the studio 2, gretsch and a 68 vox tone bender. the gretsch into the studio 2 is just nasty, everything about the studio 2 with a thicker center. with both pedals dimed the gretsch pushes the studio 2 beyond its limits with extra gain and highend fuzzyness combined with the crackly fizzzle that happens when the studio 2 is dimed.

the gretsch with the vox was interesting. they are both similar in many ways. in theory the gretsch is more versatile given the tone control. it was possible to set the vox knobs at 12 o'clock, and push it so hard with the gretsch that it almost sounded as if it were on its own and dimed. both pedals dimed there was only a subtle difference between switching one off or the other. then i just played with the vox and damn it has so many great fuzz tones in it, even with just two knobs. the gretsch on its own doesn't come anywhere close to the fuzz tones of the vox, which is to be expected I suppose. but dimed....they are damn close. also shit was loud as fuck and I think my hearing might have been affected by that time.

Still feel the gretsch is a winner. And great for pushing preamp tubes into saturation.

This go around I think your friend might like the studio 2 as well. at high volumes and high settings it gets interesting ghost harmonics and squeals.

I got it all on tape so I'll have to listen back later when my ears stop pulsing

[jlemons]

I am David's buddy that is interested in the Studio 2. The fuzz on revolver is my favorite fuzz sound EVER. My big question with it is:

Does it have enough output? Most old fuzz boxes drop volume when engaged and that has been my main concern with the Studio 2. I have never talked to someone who has actually used it. I had a Vox Tonebender (germ) reissue a few years back, and though i loved the sound of it, I couldn't use it live due to the fact that I am the only string player in the band and when I went to hit that pedal, everything just fell out (like I stopped playing).

Thanks man. I have also enjoyed viewing your pedal posts over the last couple of days.

[Uncle Grandfather]

Does it have enough output?

Hey there and thanks It has a LOT of output. also uses silicone transistors so theres no worry with what is it gonna sound like this time. output is equal to my jerms mkI tonebender that uses germanium's. I mostly use vintage gear and that may color my impression on the pedals output. it easily pushed my preamp tubes into saturation. i think unity gain was around noonish. so its got plenty on tap. obviously you know the beatles used this pedal around the revolver era. you've probably seen this but its cool anyways.

[jlemons]

Thanks man! Such good info. How does it handle bass if you don't mind me asking?

I had never seen that picture! Thank you for that. Finally an end to the constant google searches of "fuzz beatles revolver".

[Uncle Grandfather]

Thanks man! Such good info. How does it handle bass if you don't mind me asking?

I had never seen that picture! Thank you for that. Finally an end to the constant google searches of "fuzz beatles revolver".

So far i've only played it with a 69 jvri mustang with single coils through a vox ac15, and a 60s silvertone 1448 through the vox. Then a 72 avri telecaster with telenator/cunife wrhb through a blackface vibro champ. I've got a baritone, bass VI and bass that I'm interested in playing through it, but havn't had the chance yet. I'll post results here.

[jlemons]

Sorry- low-end in general. Not bass (the instrument) specifically.

[Uncle Grandfather]

Sorry- low-end in general. Not bass (the instrument) specifically.

Oh i see. At most all settings its very balanced, dimed it gets into that cool unpredictable crackley fizzle gated action, and when thats going on the frequency spectrum...if thats the right descriptor... seems to be shrinking upwards. But that just makes sense as it fizzles away to nothing. However, at this setting it also depends on playing technique along with single notes which crackle away in a gated quick way vs.strumming where the pedal still sounds full with new interesting textures popping out now and again.

Just another aside, I believe I've read that alot of the beatles distortion was the result of overloading the preamp on those tubed mixing boards in unique ways.

[Uncle Grandfather]

Got around to the Fredric Effects Os mutantes clone. Its a fuzz face type circuit with some changes is my limited understanding. I came across something when researching this pedal, some of the guys associated with the band Os mutantes made most of their effects, and one of them was a fuzz actually in the guitar. actually 6 fuzzes, a different one for each string Yes the pickup on that guitar has 6 outputs and each one is distorted separately, there is an article where he explains about intermodulation when you play more than one string at time. I think the Os mutantes (R-VIII) might be based on that design. Its straight up buzzsaw fuzz. Listen to this Os Mutantes track, at 14 seconds in is the tone of this Fredric Effects pedal.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ohTi8lbeok[/youtube]

[jlemons]

Thanks for the great descriptions and for that Os Mutantes song. I had never heard them before. Definitely going to start working towards getting a Studio 2.

I have definitely heard about them getting there sound from overdriving the tube consoles. The distorted guitar on the single version of Revolution was recorded that way.

[Uncle Grandfather]

Thanks for the great descriptions and for that Os Mutantes song. I had never heard them before. Definitely going to start working towards getting a Studio 2.

I have definitely heard about them getting there sound from overdriving the tube consoles. The distorted guitar on the single version of Revolution was recorded that way.

No problem. I'm glad you liked Os Mutantes, they're a pretty rad band. The idea of a different fuzz circuit for each string blows my mind! Someone should get onto making THAT pup/pedal combo.

I think you'll love the Studio 2, ghost effects also makes an excellent version for less $$. Its not a replica in terms of the casing and all, just a hammond box. I've got plans to buy more from ghost effects is how impressed I am with their pep box.

I ran my rickenbacker 325 v59 through the version 2 into the vox ac15 and it was crazy nice. I know john wasn't playing his 325 by '66 but it was still cool. I need to break out my vintage 60s casino and give that a go at it.

[ghost_effects]

i haven't seen the guts of the studio 2 so not 100% sure what they have done there, is it Ge? maybe you could post a gutshot? : )
My Silicon Pep Box is based on the massive 'slab' wem rush pep box and is all Si.
I had a loan of one of jerms Ge versions and it was a tad 'darker' than mine but in the same ballpark.
speaking of bottom end, I can do the pep box with an output capacitor 'tone' control (or even a switch) where you can add more bass than stock which may be useful to the guy asking about bass.

[Uncle Grandfather]

i haven't seen the guts of the studio 2 so not 100% sure what they have done there, is it Ge? maybe you could post a gutshot? : )
My Silicon Pep Box is based on the massive 'slab' wem rush pep box and is all Si.
I had a loan of one of jerms Ge versions and it was a tad 'darker' than mine but in the same ballpark.
speaking of bottom end, I can do the pep box with an output capacitor 'tone' control (or even a switch) where you can add more bass than stock which may be useful to the guy asking about bass.

The studio 2 is based on an earlier version enclosure that i understand was a fixture at studio 2 and used by the beatles revolver era.

the jmi uses the same bc107 as your version...i believe.