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The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:24 am
by niftyprose
Hello guys, I like Toadworks and recently found out about their DECO line from ten years ago, a range of 'DSP' (presumably SPin FV-1) pedals. This includes a stereo chorus with a random function. Don't suppose anyone has heard this elusive unit? Best, NP.
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 11:57 am
by Chankgeez
I've heard of 'em.
I think it was sorta ToadWorks last gasp rebrandin'. Possibly even vaporware?
I was mildly interested in their parametric EQ (as I'm interested in any parametric EQ).
Good luck findin'.

Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 2:09 pm
by The Eristic
Don't think I ever saw a "real" example of that line in the wild, sadly. Shame, Toadworks made some nice stuff, but just couldn't figure out the marketing once the pedal craze really kicked off. I had one of the very first Death Rattles, won the contest way back on HCFX to get a quote on the production PCB. Wish I'd bought a Phantasm, too.
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 5:12 pm
by Dandolin
Yeah, Toadworks were interesting - had a lickle fuzz from them that i liked

and yes, that re-branding indeed smacked of desperation and the poof when they disappeared was also quite...lickle.
also - nice new avvy, Mr. Chanks!
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 6:22 pm
by Chankgeez
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 6:55 pm
by Dandolin
haha - tbh I'd have a hard time telling, except for Furry Lewis

Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 7:05 pm
by repoman
Website is still up, that harmonic trem sounds really nice.
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2020 7:18 pm
by Dandolin
ok, i found this about Toadworks rebranding to "TEN Effects" in 2013,with a rash of negative comments from around 2018 in the comments.
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/ ... EN_Effects
Also remembered that I have an Enveloope, which is a cool idea that never caught on (envelope controlled bypass loop).
all of which is no real help with Deco Pedals....
but this, about the Deco line, from 2011:
https://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars ... als-357823
but...
...$550 each, retail?
Shame, the chorus looked cool, and the Signal Blender looked to up the Enveloope's game
TEN Effects website is still up too

Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 2:06 am
by niftyprose
Thanks, guys, esp. Dandolin.
Guess the Deco Chorus is hors de combat.
Hijacking my own thread: as I understand it the Enveloope is a better version of the DOD FX30B. How do you find it?
Best, NP
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2020 11:43 am
by Dandolin
My pleasure NP
Yes, it looks like the DOD and Toadworks are doing pretty much the same thing, but the Enveloope has some additional modes. Not sure if the Enveloope really improves on the triggering or "tone" tho
I like the Enveloope - it triggers reasonably well, and it's nice to have the option to switch functions - either dynamically controlled fade-in or fade-out of the fx in the loop. It's not quite up to my fantasy task of mixing in a touch of noise on note attack or decay to simulate woodwind instruments (I think you might have to go with something a little snappier than vactrols to get there), but it is a cool effect nonetheless. It's very helpful if you've got an effect you like with an annoying characteristic in the attack phase, like a Belton Brick reverb with an audible fixed pre-delay time you don't always want to hear....
If you have the patience to set it up, it can be fun fun to put an octave down in the loop and have your drummer's kick trigger that. And it functions perfectly well as a straight-up bypass loop as well.
It's also fun to put a feeback looper in the loop and fade chaos in and out
I guess it can be a bit subtle, but that is probs an advantage in the long-run. My only complaint is that it doesn't do all the other mixing tricks I want to do, like parallel and feedback looping and order switching, which would have helped make it a constant presence on my board. It is fun to set it up for certain "projects" sometimes though, for sure. I haven't checked on how much they go for used, but it might be worth a flier if you can find one cheap.
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 12:13 pm
by whoismarykelly
The Deco pedals looked awesome but AFAIK they were all vaporware. They were trying to do $499 digital pedals about 10 years too soon.
Re: The Other Deco
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2020 6:59 pm
by Dandolin
yeah, they jumped the line