Danelectro Pepperoni Phasor

Danelectro has had some great success with their pedals in the past decade.  Their small food themed pedals while not the sturdiest enclosures they are packed with sound.  I have purchased a few of these little gems and I think you get a lot of pedal for not a lot of money.

I decided to break out the Pepperoni Phasor and run it through it's paces. Its controls are super simple, just a speed knob.  Even I can handle that. Even if you only need this thing to get the EVH vibe going it's well worth it. Boba Fett says "Get one of these or I'll encase you in corbonite"

Check out the demo...

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Focus on the playing forget about the gear

We all go through periods where the quest for tone becomes almost obsessive.  We think,rethink, and over think the signal chain. “If I had my XYZ box on the board I could get the (insert favorite guitarist here) sound. 

Maybe we think we need another OD just to round things out.  Maybe a speaker change would get us that tonal nirvana.  What about new cables for the board?

I have gone through this myself.  While chasing the perfect tone is fun, it can be counter productive.  You see, it doesn’t matter how good you sound if the sounds being made are not pleasant.  I’m not saying that trying to get a great tone is a bad thing, just make sure it isn’t the only thing.

I have done the past several gigs without even thinking about my gear.  I have a few pedals, wah,a booster, a chorus, and an echo into a Fender Blues Jr.  I stopped worrying about whether the OD I have is the right one or whether I should use another pedal for an extra layer of sound.  I have been enjoying just playing with what I have and it has been great.

I’ve tried to make sure the notes I am playing count more than whether of not the Leslie sound I’m getting out of the chorus pedal is convincing enough. I'm too busy making music to worry about my rig. I’m also trying to make sure I sell the song.  Really making sure that the audience sees the fun I’m having playing the gig.

I have had many last minute gigs and when I find out in short notice instead of worrying about the gear I need I just nodded my head and said ” I’ll be there”.  All I’m concerned with now is the set list.

Try to spend some time focusing on the playing and you’ll be surprised at how easily the rig comes together.

What's not to like?

The below post is from many years ago on my old guitar blog but still valid today.

Enjoy

 The BUM syndrome

Guitarists are a strange lot. We are quirky,superstitious, and neurotic at best. These traits lead us to exhibit some pretty strange behavior. One of these behaviors is the BUM syndrome. No, not being an out of work bum like your dad said you would be playing guitar but BUM as in Blind Urge to Mod.

Why is it that no instrument is good enough? I have seen countless posts out there stating things like “ Got a new super duper wanko master 3000, What do I need to change to make this thing killer”. How about,” just picked up a drive-o-matic 6000 pedal for $300 on flea bay, talk to me about chip swapping”

I have several guitars, a few amps, and a good selection of pedals. I too have been guilty of this condition but only to the extent that the mods help the instrument do something it didn’t previously do well. Sure I have a hacked frankenstrat but for the most part, all the rest of my guitars are stock. Maybe a pickup swap here or there but not all of them and only after the instrument was run through it’s paces as purchased.

I can get behind a few mods right out of the gate but these are practical mod’s rather than a mod just to mod. Strap locks are a must. A $20 investment can save you a hefty neck repair. Better tuning keys, sure. If they improve the tuning stability then go for it. After that I just try to live with the gear a while to see what it will do. Remember, all mods make it different, but different isn’t always better.

  

Russian Big Muff

I have a friend who had a Big Muff pedal that was intermittently cutting out. Knowing that I'm a tinkerer and build pedals I was asked if I could look at it. Of course my response was yes.

Since I don't own one of these glorious distortion devices I though tit would be a great opportunity to play around with this "Made In Russia" monster of sonic madness.


I initially thought it might be a faulty switch.  Once I opened it up and tested it with the circuit board exposed I came to the conclusion that the switch was fine but there was a loose connection somewhere.

Since EH uses a ribbon wire that is split off to the various connections on the pots, switches, and circuit board I basically started re-soldering all the connections on the pedal.

Fortunately, after I did the switch the tone control and the volume control the pedal came back to life and the sound was loud and proud with no cutting out.














Check out the demo of the revived and revitalized pedal.

Get by with a little DIY…..

How many times have you had a pedal that sounded good but you thought, “it could use a little more bass” or “a little more mids would be nice”. Maybe you think, “I don’t know if I want a fuzz pedal enough to spend the dough”. Maybe you’re just naturally curious and like to tinker. If so, the I’m here to help you get bit by the DIY bug.


I got into DIY pedals about 10 years ago simply because I wanted an octave pedal but didn’t have the cash to buy one. I had a new baby and I couldn’t justify spending the dough on a pedal I didn’t really need. So I thought, “I can build one”. Sure why not. I quickly found out that DIY does not equal cheaper, but it sure is fun.


I surfed the net and found lots of great information and some not so great information. Here are some of my favorite sites to get you immersed in the world of DIY pedals.

Kit Sites

• General Guitar Gadgets
• Build your own clone
• Officially Licensed Circuits

General DIY info

• DIY stompboxes
• R.G. Keen’s site
• AMZ

Required reading

• DIY wiki
• Geofex how to’s
• Geofex debuggin page

Basic Electronics references

• Basic info on Capacitors,resistors, etc..
• Ohms law calculator
• Ohms law chart

Parts

• Small bear electronics
• DIY stompboxes store
• Jameco electronics
• Pedal Parts Plus

These are just a few of the many sites out their devoted to DIY stomp boxes. Look around and you’ll find a whole world of information to get you on the road to building your own pedals.

Scott

Plutonium Fuzz….Meltdown in a box

Fuzz pedals have been around for over forty years now. They were among the first pedals us guitarists had to use to create the distorted rock and roll sound we all love. A few years ago while learning the ropes of pedal building I built the Plutonium Fuzz. It was based on Fuzz Central's Axis Face which was a Fuzz Face variant. I did some tweaks based on information found on the various DIY sites and ended up with a really cool pedal.

I've had the schematic and perf board layout on the DIY stompboxes forum for a while but I think it's time I put it here for everyone to see.


The Schematic

The Layout



The Lowdown

This Fuzz is not subtle. It is not completely out of control either. It has lots of gain but with careful tweaking of the controls you can get a great maxed out fuzz sound while still maintaining some clarity and minimizing noise.

When building this there are a few things to be careful of. Make sure your input and output wires are as short as possible. Also don't let the input and outputs cross. Nor should you let any signal carrying wires cross the power supply wires.

 Fuzz circuits are a magnet for noise and you will be faced with some ugly hum, his and oscillation if your are not careful.

Here’s a link to a video demo from my old guitar blog days…..yes I probably talked too much
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDbTzIldEY4

Danelectro Chicken Salad Vibe pedal

The Original Uni-vibe pedal is one of the  most sought after effects in the world.  It's think swirling modulaiton made famous by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower are distinctive and mesmorizing.

For most of us, an original isn't an option.  They are pricey and somewhat noisy and cumbersome. Fortunealy Danelectro has produced a nice compact alternative that will fit nicely on the pedal board and wont break the bank.  While these aren't made any more, you can find these on ebay for around $30.  I myself own three.  :)

Check out this short little video of this awesome modulation pedal.