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Under the hood
Analog or digital delay?
13 Apr 11
This article is an attempt at setting something straight that has been bugging me for a while now. And apparently it’s not just me – I got the inspiration to write from numerous discussion threads at The Gear Page and other forums, where the topic keeps popping up. I’m old enough to remember when the term…
True bypass, Voodoo Lab style
21 Nov 10
There has been lots of discussion about exactly how Voodoo Lab can call their pedals true bypass, when they only use a DPDT switch and still manages to switch an LED too. They could have used the ”Millenium” style of bypass, where the unused (in bypass mode) circuit output is used to control a FET…
Tube Screamer genealogy
16 Nov 10
Old ones TS-808 Overdrive Pro: the first Tube Screamer, introduced somewhere around 1979-1980 (I don’t have an exact date here). There were previous Ibanez pedals labeled ”overdrive”, but the TS-808 was the first time we saw this particular circuit. And it’s also the first one to bear the ”Tube Screamer” name, so that’s where we start. Almost…
Boss DD-3 history
15 Nov 10
Overview The DD-3 is a 12-bit digital delay with analog feedback and mixing stage. What this means is that everything in the pedal is analog, except the part that produces the actual delay. The analog signal is split, and a portion of it is sent to the delay chip (the rest ends up at the…