Are You a Pedal Junkie?

By Trent Salter

GAS: Gear Acquasition Syndrome
PAS: Pedal Acquasition Syndrome

My wife always asks me why I buy so much gear but hardly ever sell anything. I had never really thought about it, but she certainly raises a valid point, to which I don’t have an answer. Perhaps it is a side effect related to G.A.S, or perhaps I’m your typical gearhead pack rat! Regardless, there is no cure for either, as you know. Kind of like swimming against Michael Phelps, you know you are going to get your ass kicked, you can only hope to contain the damage.

I suppose I never sell anything because in the back of my mind I think I can use it someday. If for nothing else, I can rob a knob off of an old Tube Screamer, steal an input jack off an old Princeton, or perhaps a Grover off an old broken headstock. Gear is sentimental stuff that carries a story with it—a time and place in your life that validated the acquisition in the first place. Who doesn’t cherish their first pawn shop prize? I’ll bet most of you still have yours tucked away in an attic or obscure closet somewhere and when you occasionally pull it out for a dust off, you realize that it means something to you.

My first pawn shop prize was a small Kingston Amp with Tremolo, Volume, Tone, Speed and Depth with an eight inch speaker. I was ten and paid 20 bucks for it. I mowed a lot of yards for that 20 bucks! I’ve still got it and I won’t ever sell it—don’t even ask. It means something to me.

It strikes me that acquiring pedals is one of the worst sub-maladies in the G.A.S. family of diseases—P.A.S! Perhaps this is because they are less expensive and easier to hide from the spousal unit—but don’t kid yourself, it’s just as lethal. I have 50+ pedals in my collection, including early script-logo models, Tube Screamers, Cry Babies—even an early Echoplex. Still got ‘em, won’t ever sell ‘em—don’t even ask! They mean something to me.

My first pedal was an Apollo fuzz wah (circa 1976) that will make any amp sound like the speakers are blown with that over-the-top fuzz tone, à la the Beatles’ “Revolution.” I got mine for Christmas when I was 11. I had grown tired of playing through that Kingston and needed some hair on my tone to play along with my Kiss Alive record. Which, by the way, I still have on original vinyl, along with the Kiss “Original” Box Set on vinyl, with original booklet and Kiss Army patch. Still got ‘em, wont ever sell ‘em—don’t even ask! They mean something to me.

Modern day boutique pedal builders have certainly contributed to our incurable P.A.S by building some of the finest and most advanced pedals in history. Many of today’s pedals are certainly based on respected traditional vintage designs and concepts, but utilize incredible advancements in modern day circuit technology to push the performance levels to incredible new sonic heights. These days you can pack a ton of tone into a tiny box. God bless ‘em! Those pedal builders serve an important role in improving your tone.

And yes, I have invested in several boutique pedals over the past year. Still got em—you know…

Whether they’re vintage, modern boutique or somewhere in between, pedals are just frickin’ fun. I think everyone has a little (or a lot of) pedal freak in them, so step out of the closet and fly your freak flag high.

Nuff Sed,

Trent Salter,
Publisher of Premier Guitar Magazine.
www.premierguitar.com

Quick History of 5 of the Most Popular Pedals in the last 2 Decades

Boss DS-1 Distortion

This is truly a classic distortion pedal. It produces a distortion sound with a hard edge and is known to have a very low noise level compared to other distortion pedals. Many people swear that the older Japan made pedals sounds better than the newer ones made in Taiwan. The DS-1 has over the years been used by a lot of great guitar players. Steve Vai and Joe Satriani are just two of the players who has voiced their praise over this pedal. The DS-1 is also a favorite among modifiers. Keeley, Analogman and Stinkfoot all provide their own versions of this icon among distortion makers.

Version differences
The design of the DS-1 has changed little throughout its lifetime but the opamp the circuit is based around has changed several times. From 1978, the DS-1 was using the Toshiba TA7136AP opamp. This remained unchanged for about 16 years but in 1994 it was replaced by the Rohm BA728N. In 2000 the opamp was again changed. This time the Mitsubishi M5223AL was used. The last change came 2006 when the New Japan Radio NJM2904L opamp was introduced.

The DS-1 went through a few cosmetical changes in the early years of production. The first version had a clear switch, silver thumb screw and the D in DS-1 placed directly underneat the t in Distortion. This is usually referred to as the long dash version. The clear switch disappeared around serial number 8700, the silver thumb screw at serial number 0500 while the D in DS-1 ended up under the i in Distortion around serial number 14xx00 (short dash version). Since early 1982 the only changes has been to the bottom label. It changed when the production moved from Japan to Taiwan i 1988 and a silver label was introduced when the circuit was modified to accept the PSA adapter 1994.

Boss GE-7 Graphic EQ

With the availability of slimmer slide potentiometers, the GE-7 was released 1981. It’s got the same frequency bands as the GE-6 as well as one additional band at 6.4kHz. There is also a level control that you can use to set the difference of level between on and off mode for the pedal. Each band can be boosted or cut by 15dB. The GE-7 can also be used as a gain booster.

The GE-7 has been in continous production since 1981. A few components, like the TL022 opamps, have been replaced in this time but the original design is still the same. GE-7 production moved from Japan to Taiwan, early 1992. It was modified for the PSA adapter 1997 and has since then been fitted with a silver bottom label.

Boss SD-1 Super OverDrive

The SD-1 has been around for a very long time and has gone almost unchanged from its conseption back in 1981. The pedal contains an asymmetric overdrive circuit that responds very well to the player’s picking force. It produces a dynamic and smooth overdrive effect well suited to any type of rock music. The SD-1 is also poular as a booster pedal for valve amplifiers. Turn the distortion down and the level up and connect it in front of the amplifier. The higher input level will push the input valve of the amplifier harder producing more distortion from the amp itself. The SD-1 is well suited to do this because it maintains the natural tone from the guitar.

The OD-1 didn’t have a tone control so the engineers felt that the tonal range was limited because of this. As an answer to the problem they came up with the SD-1. Comparing the two circuits reveals that they are very closely related and using the exact same overdrive circuit. When comparing the sound of the two pedals side by side, it is however obvious that they’re not identical. Opinions are divided when it comes to the question, which one sounds best, but there is no doubt that they’re both legendary overdrive pedals.

• SD-1 production moved from Japan to Taiwan early 1988 and was one of the first pedals produced in Roland’s Taiwan factory.
• The pedal was modified for the PSA power adapter early 1997 which can be identified by the change from black to silver bottom labels.
• The earliest SD-1s was shipped with the silver coloured thumb screw but this was changed to the current black screw only months into production.
• A special Zakk Wylde painted SD-1 was made for Ishibashi Music in Japan 2001. These are rare and unconfirmed rumours has it that only 5 of these were made.

Ibanez TS-808 & TS-9 Tube Screamer

The pedal has an overdrive knob, a tone knob, and a level knob. The drive knob controls the level of distortion, the tone knob adjusts the amount of treble in the sound, and the level knob controls the output volume of the pedal. The pedal can be used on a solid-state amp to try to mimic the sound of a vintage tube amp, although many guitarists prefer to use it to push a tube amp’s pre-amp into an overdriven state. The classic Tube Screamer sound includes a “mid-hump,” which means that the circuit accentuates frequencies between the bass and treble ranges (mid-frequencies). Many guitarists prefer this sort of equalization, as it helps to keep their sound from getting lost in the overall mix of the band.

The pedal was produced with many variants. The early incarnations of the TS-808 and TS-9 are the most sought after by collectors, due in part to the fact that Stevie Ray Vaughan is known to have used them as part of his signature sound. Other variants, including the TS-10, TS7, and TS-5 are less collectible and vary in the their reproduction of the original circuit. The TS-9 and TS-808 pedals have been reissued, and according to the company, feature the same circuitry, electronics and design components that helped to shape the famous Tube Screamer sound. Some musicians have a technician perform modifications to the unit to change the sound to their liking. Also, Maxon, who produced the original Tube Screamer pedals for the Ibanez brand in the seventies and eighties, produce their own version of the Tube Screamer. In addition, many of the most highly-regarded overdrive pedals, both mass-manufactured and boutique, owe their heritage to the Tube Screamer circuit.

When used with a tube amplifier the Tube Screamer increases the gain of the input signal overloading the preamp and further distorting the signal. When used with a cranked master-volume type tube amplifier, this can result in much higher volumes than before the pedal is engaged if the preamp is not already turned up fairly high. Provided the preamp gain is already turned up, the Tube Screamer will saturate the signal, creating a thickly overdriven tone

MXR Blue Box

This fiesty little fella has been wisely re-issued to save us all from collectors prices and all those empty handed pawnshop outings. It’s here and it’s just as mean as ever. The Blue Box is a vicious fuzz combined with an octave tone two notes below your original note. The tracking on this unit is very random so don’t ever plan on predictable results. Expecting sheer madness when stomping on this is a whole lot of fun and the experience is refreshing compared to the safe sonic trips we all end up taking with most of our effects. The Blue Box will twist and pulverize your riffs and notes into something very sick and, at times, very synthy . Need a little sanity? Try backing off the blend knob and things get a little more manageable. Everyone needs a secret weapon in their rig and this one is the perfect candidate.