Idea for a pedal,who do I approach..

KevS

Right,I was never an uber Capitalist,so sod it...
If someone is capable of using the idea at leat give me a freebie..

My idea may be stupid..If it is fair enough.
It would solve a lot of my problems..
Is it a bit unconventional..I guess so..

OK why I thought of the idea..
Not having my own transport..
I have had to travel to gigs by both Bus and Taxi..
My first realisation was,most venues have at least one speaker cab and a head is lighter than a combo,,
it also takes up less space..
I then realised that transistor heads can sound decent and are much lighter..
They also have more headroom,then crap out,,this can work to your advantage by giving a volume boost as well as pushing the pre amp harder..
Even when I got my first JCM 800 combo in 1990 I realised that you could make the amp saturate more by pushing it,
but once valves were in saturation,you had pretty much reached your actual volume ceiling..
My third realisation was,most amps have a clean channel..
You could therefore use someone else's clean channel..
This was no problem at the gigs I played at..
There are great pedals these days such as the said Wampler Pinnacle ..
This gives a pretty good approximation or an Amp head sound trough a clean channel..
Especially as far as the Audience goes..

OK so the last 2 bands I played in live were high speed Punk/Thrash Metal affairs..
Other stuff thrown in there,but you get the idea..
I had to be able to solo..Legato requires a fair bit or gain to give your fingers a bit more muscle..
Too much gain things turn to mush...
You need both volume and a lift in mids and sometimes treble to get above someone already playing a pretty distorted guitar if you want to solo...Now it's all fair enough saying use less gain in your rhythm sound..
Or use less mid,which some bands do,but I hate that sound..
You can't play this music and sound convincing with AC DC levels of crunch..

Playing this type of music takes an instant change in gain and volume,so stepping on 2 pedals in succession is not an option..

I got around this by making A and B loops on a Boss Line Selector..
I had to use a different pedal for rhythm and lead.. 
Each pedal had independent volume controls plus each loop of the LS 2  had independent controls..
This is a very elaborate way of doing things and takes up space..
I transported this and a TU 2 in a Boss BCB 60 pedal case..

So to my idea....The Horseshoe...

It goes around the pedal in a horseshoe shape..Simple

Think input cable to horseshoe..the say a Wampler Pinnacle,then Wampler output to horseshoe then to amp,or whatever is next in the chain..

The pre Pinnacle side of the horseshoe would have a boost..Maybe switchable between,clean boost,treble boost and a more mid voiced TS stye thing,so you can have clean boost or overdrive..
A Volume,a gain and a tone control..
The other side of the horseshoe would have a simple volume control..

You want to solo,,you can have both volume and gain boost at the same time using whatever pedal you want inside the horseshoe....
It would need to be switched remotely because stomping on one side of it would likely cause it to tip because of balance,plus the idea is not to take up the space of 3 pedals,plus not to have to buy an extra clean boost or overdrive..
Just use your original preferred pedal..
So the switch being outside the pedalboard,like I use a Tap Tempo outside of my pedalboard for my Boss DD7. would probably be a must..

Not just useful for fast music..It also enables you to make the most out of a distortion /overdrive pedal you like..

Input and output placement on the distortion pedal and different sizes of pedals are the only hiccups I can think of..
So I don't think one size could fit all,,but I also thought about making the middle section adjustable to accommodate different sized pedals..

hollywoodrox

You need a partner , like Steve jobs had Wozniak , someone who can realise your idea into a tangible thing . I wish you all the best with it

fretmeister

KevS said:

Right,I was never an uber Capitalist,so sod it...
If someone is capable of using the idea at leat give me a freebie..

My idea may be stupid..If it is fair enough.
It would solve a lot of my problems..
Is it a bit unconventional..I guess so..

OK why I thought of the idea..
Not having my own transport..
I have had to travel to gigs by both Bus and Taxi..
My first realisation was,most venues have at least one speaker cab and a head is lighter than a combo,,
it also takes up less space..
I then realised that transistor heads can sound decent and are much lighter..
They also have more headroom,then crap out,,this can work to your advantage by giving a volume boost as well as pushing the pre amp harder..
Even when I got my first JCM 800 combo in 1990 I realised that you could make the amp saturate more by pushing it,
but once valves were in saturation,you had pretty much reached your actual volume ceiling..
My third realisation was,most amps have a clean channel..
You could therefore use someone else's clean channel..
This was no problem at the gigs I played at..
There are great pedals these days such as the said Wampler Pinnacle ..
This gives a pretty good approximation or an Amp head sound trough a clean channel..
Especially as far as the Audience goes..

OK so the last 2 bands I played in live were high speed Punk/Thrash Metal affairs..
Other stuff thrown in there,but you get the idea..
I had to be able to solo..Legato requires a fair bit or gain to give your fingers a bit more muscle..
Too much gain things turn to mush...
You need both volume and a lift in mids and sometimes treble to get above someone already playing a pretty distorted guitar if you want to solo...Now it's all fair enough saying use less gain in your rhythm sound..
Or use less mid,which some bands do,but I hate that sound..
You can't play this music and sound convincing with AC DC levels of crunch..

Playing this type of music takes an instant change in gain and volume,so stepping on 2 pedals in succession is not an option..

I got around this by making A and B loops on a Boss Line Selector..
I had to use a different pedal for rhythm and lead.. 
Each pedal had independent volume controls plus each loop of the LS 2  had independent controls..
This is a very elaborate way of doing things and takes up space..
I transported this and a TU 2 in a Boss BCB 60 pedal case..

So to my idea....The Horseshoe...

It goes around the pedal in a horseshoe shape..Simple

Think input cable to horseshoe..the say a Wampler Pinnacle,then Wampler output to horseshoe then to amp,or whatever is next in the chain..

The pre Pinnacle side of the horseshoe would have a boost..Maybe switchable between,clean boost,treble boost and a more mid voiced TS stye thing,so you can have clean boost or overdrive..
A Volume,a gain and a tone control..
The other side of the horseshoe would have a simple volume control..

You want to solo,,you can have both volume and gain boost at the same time using whatever pedal you want inside the horseshoe....
It would need to be switched remotely because stomping on one side of it would likely cause it to tip because of balance,plus the idea is not to take up the space of 3 pedals,plus not to have to buy an extra clean boost or overdrive..
Just use your original preferred pedal..
So the switch being outside the pedalboard,like I use a Tap Tempo outside of my pedalboard for my Boss DD7. would probably be a must..

Not just useful for fast music..It also enables you to make the most out of a distortion /overdrive pedal you like..

Input and output placement on the distortion pedal and different sizes of pedals are the only hiccups I can think of..
So I don't think one size could fit all,,but I also thought about making the middle section adjustable to accommodate different sized pedals..

It seems to be a simplified Boss ES-8 but in a unique shape?

KevS

fretmeister said:

KevS said:

Right,I was never an uber Capitalist,so sod it...
If someone is capable of using the idea at leat give me a freebie..

My idea may be stupid..If it is fair enough.
It would solve a lot of my problems..
Is it a bit unconventional..I guess so..

OK why I thought of the idea..
Not having my own transport..
I have had to travel to gigs by both Bus and Taxi..
My first realisation was,most venues have at least one speaker cab and a head is lighter than a combo,,
it also takes up less space..
I then realised that transistor heads can sound decent and are much lighter..
They also have more headroom,then crap out,,this can work to your advantage by giving a volume boost as well as pushing the pre amp harder..
Even when I got my first JCM 800 combo in 1990 I realised that you could make the amp saturate more by pushing it,
but once valves were in saturation,you had pretty much reached your actual volume ceiling..
My third realisation was,most amps have a clean channel..
You could therefore use someone else's clean channel..
This was no problem at the gigs I played at..
There are great pedals these days such as the said Wampler Pinnacle ..
This gives a pretty good approximation or an Amp head sound trough a clean channel..
Especially as far as the Audience goes..

OK so the last 2 bands I played in live were high speed Punk/Thrash Metal affairs..
Other stuff thrown in there,but you get the idea..
I had to be able to solo..Legato requires a fair bit or gain to give your fingers a bit more muscle..
Too much gain things turn to mush...
You need both volume and a lift in mids and sometimes treble to get above someone already playing a pretty distorted guitar if you want to solo...Now it's all fair enough saying use less gain in your rhythm sound..
Or use less mid,which some bands do,but I hate that sound..
You can't play this music and sound convincing with AC DC levels of crunch..

Playing this type of music takes an instant change in gain and volume,so stepping on 2 pedals in succession is not an option..

I got around this by making A and B loops on a Boss Line Selector..
I had to use a different pedal for rhythm and lead.. 
Each pedal had independent volume controls plus each loop of the LS 2  had independent controls..
This is a very elaborate way of doing things and takes up space..
I transported this and a TU 2 in a Boss BCB 60 pedal case..

So to my idea....The Horseshoe...

It goes around the pedal in a horseshoe shape..Simple

Think input cable to horseshoe..the say a Wampler Pinnacle,then Wampler output to horseshoe then to amp,or whatever is next in the chain..

The pre Pinnacle side of the horseshoe would have a boost..Maybe switchable between,clean boost,treble boost and a more mid voiced TS stye thing,so you can have clean boost or overdrive..
A Volume,a gain and a tone control..
The other side of the horseshoe would have a simple volume control..

You want to solo,,you can have both volume and gain boost at the same time using whatever pedal you want inside the horseshoe....
It would need to be switched remotely because stomping on one side of it would likely cause it to tip because of balance,plus the idea is not to take up the space of 3 pedals,plus not to have to buy an extra clean boost or overdrive..
Just use your original preferred pedal..
So the switch being outside the pedalboard,like I use a Tap Tempo outside of my pedalboard for my Boss DD7. would probably be a must..

Not just useful for fast music..It also enables you to make the most out of a distortion /overdrive pedal you like..

Input and output placement on the distortion pedal and different sizes of pedals are the only hiccups I can think of..
So I don't think one size could fit all,,but I also thought about making the middle section adjustable to accommodate different sized pedals..

It seems to be a simplified Boss ES-8 but in a unique shape?

No the ES 8 looks very Fancy and has lots of switches...

This is just one  with a clean boost/overdrive built into it with a volume boost added post pedal..

monquixote

If I understand correctly I used to do something quite similar with a Boss GT-100. Put a drive pedal in the loop and then boost, cut and EQ to taste using the pre and post loop to get various tones from one pedal.

I think the mechanical design of the horseshoe is probably just over complicating something simple, you could just have a normal pedal enclosure with 4 jacks. It would essentially be the 4 jack King of Tone, or Wamper Dual Fusion (or several others) but with one pedal activating both circuits and whatever other pedal you wanted between the two.

You could probably have a custom builder knock that up for you for £100 say a TS and a Micro Amp in a box with 4 jacks and a single switch.

Alternatively you could just use a Tight Rock Pro or Bogner Red which all have a second set of volume and gain controls, or something like a Boss OD-200 where you have infinite flexibility for layering gain.

Edit you could also use a Suhr Eclipse which has two full sets of EQ, or use any two of the other Suhr pedals which have a relay input and use that to switch both.

KevS

monquixote said:

If I understand correctly I used to do something quite similar with a Boss GT-100. Put a drive pedal in the loop and then boost, cut and EQ to taste using the pre and post loop to get various tones from one pedal.

I think the mechanical design of the horseshoe is probably just over complicating something simple, you could just have a normal pedal enclosure with 4 jacks. It would essentially be the 4 jack King of Tone, or Wamper Dual Fusion (or several others) but with one pedal activating both circuits and whatever other pedal you wanted between the two.

You could probably have a custom builder knock that up for you for £100 say a TS and a Micro Amp in a box with 4 jacks and a single switch.

Alternatively you could just use a Tight Rock Pro or Bogner Red which all have a second set of volume and gain controls, or something like a Boss OD-200 where you have infinite flexibility for layering gain.

I have a Bogner Red..It sounds think and plinky,,I jut don't get on with it at all..
I don't like the pedal..Why it would be good to use my own choice of pedal..

If I could get a builder to do that...I would very much like one..

MattBanshee

Surely it'd just be easier and simpler to put an additional overdrive/boost pedal before your main drive, and then either an active boost or a passive volume pedal (like EHX Signal Pad) after it? 

KevS

MattBanshee said:

Surely it'd just be easier and simpler to put an additional overdrive/boost pedal before your main drive, and then either an active boost or a passive volume pedal (like EHX Signal Pad) after it? 

I can't switch that fast if playing at Angel of Death type of Speed..
I just want one target I can hit in a single swipe while keeping the music going..

Danny1969

It doesn't sound like a winner sales wise to me, it's a bit niche. Electronics wise it's very simple, although I would say a better way to do the boost side of things is to actually have 2 pots, one is non boost level, one is boosted level. In actual fact neither pot boosts anything but switching from the pot turned down at 12 o'clock to the pot turned up to 12:15 gives a volume boost with no electronics or even a power requirement at all. This is how my own antiboost pedal works. 

Enclosure wise you need one that is generic and thus cheap due to the quantities sold. Then you need a drill template ... I make my own out of mild steel. This means the drilling of pot and jack holes can be done accurately in 45 seconds rather than 15 minutes. 

Cheapest way to do graphics is use a  vinyl sticker slapped on top. Like the sticker on my U-mix pedal ... This can also serve as a drilling template until you build a steel one. 



Never use anything you can't second source. It all comes form China but always have more than supplier. Otherwise something like  a big boat stuck in the Suez canal can cause you grieve and cause delays. 

If a product is good it will sell straight away. So all you need is enough money to make one, then you sell it and buy enough bits to make 3, then sell those and make 10 etc. The nice thing is the more of something you buy the cheaper it is. 

Jonathangus

Something like a Boss SD-1 in front of the amp for a gain boost, and a GE-7 in the loop to boost mids/level.  Put them next to each other on the board and hit them both at once (the ease of which is yet another reason why they're the best pedal design ever).

monquixote

KevS said:

monquixote said:

If I understand correctly I used to do something quite similar with a Boss GT-100. Put a drive pedal in the loop and then boost, cut and EQ to taste using the pre and post loop to get various tones from one pedal.

I think the mechanical design of the horseshoe is probably just over complicating something simple, you could just have a normal pedal enclosure with 4 jacks. It would essentially be the 4 jack King of Tone, or Wamper Dual Fusion (or several others) but with one pedal activating both circuits and whatever other pedal you wanted between the two.

You could probably have a custom builder knock that up for you for £100 say a TS and a Micro Amp in a box with 4 jacks and a single switch.

Alternatively you could just use a Tight Rock Pro or Bogner Red which all have a second set of volume and gain controls, or something like a Boss OD-200 where you have infinite flexibility for layering gain.

I have a Bogner Red..It sounds think and plinky,,I jut don't get on with it at all..
I don't like the pedal..Why it would be good to use my own choice of pedal..

If I could get a builder to do that...I would very much like one..

I would think it would just be a case of building two relay bypass pedals in a box and triggering them from a single relay with a loop in the middle.

KevS

monquixote said:

KevS said:

monquixote said:

If I understand correctly I used to do something quite similar with a Boss GT-100. Put a drive pedal in the loop and then boost, cut and EQ to taste using the pre and post loop to get various tones from one pedal.

I think the mechanical design of the horseshoe is probably just over complicating something simple, you could just have a normal pedal enclosure with 4 jacks. It would essentially be the 4 jack King of Tone, or Wamper Dual Fusion (or several others) but with one pedal activating both circuits and whatever other pedal you wanted between the two.

You could probably have a custom builder knock that up for you for £100 say a TS and a Micro Amp in a box with 4 jacks and a single switch.

Alternatively you could just use a Tight Rock Pro or Bogner Red which all have a second set of volume and gain controls, or something like a Boss OD-200 where you have infinite flexibility for layering gain.

I have a Bogner Red..It sounds think and plinky,,I jut don't get on with it at all..
I don't like the pedal..Why it would be good to use my own choice of pedal..

If I could get a builder to do that...I would very much like one..

I would think it would just be a case of building two relay bypass pedals in a box and triggering them from a single relay with a loop in the middle.

I can't do that or build that is part of the problem..Plus that would be an extra overdrive pedal plus the switching box..

The Suhr Eclipse,,I would have to like the distortion/overdrive..

There are pedals that fit this category that I already like and have took decades to find in some cases...

The idea of Tube Screamer and Microamp  with 2 ins and outs but one switch is the closest..

KevS

Jonathangus said:

Something like a Boss SD-1 in front of the amp for a gain boost, and a GE-7 in the loop to boost mids/level.  Put them next to each other on the board and hit them both at once (the ease of which is yet another reason why they're the best pedal design ever).

I've tried this method..Big increase in hiss from a graphic pedal..An actual gain boots would suppose you wouldn't use your preferred pedal that can get you your sound but an amp instead.I am limited to what I can carry,,why I discovered some pedals that can do the amp thing....Plus a gain boost doesn't always mean a volume boost if the amp is already saturating,a big part of the problem....

monquixote

KevS said:

monquixote said:

KevS said:

monquixote said:

If I understand correctly I used to do something quite similar with a Boss GT-100. Put a drive pedal in the loop and then boost, cut and EQ to taste using the pre and post loop to get various tones from one pedal.

I think the mechanical design of the horseshoe is probably just over complicating something simple, you could just have a normal pedal enclosure with 4 jacks. It would essentially be the 4 jack King of Tone, or Wamper Dual Fusion (or several others) but with one pedal activating both circuits and whatever other pedal you wanted between the two.

You could probably have a custom builder knock that up for you for £100 say a TS and a Micro Amp in a box with 4 jacks and a single switch.

Alternatively you could just use a Tight Rock Pro or Bogner Red which all have a second set of volume and gain controls, or something like a Boss OD-200 where you have infinite flexibility for layering gain.

I have a Bogner Red..It sounds think and plinky,,I jut don't get on with it at all..
I don't like the pedal..Why it would be good to use my own choice of pedal..

If I could get a builder to do that...I would very much like one..

I would think it would just be a case of building two relay bypass pedals in a box and triggering them from a single relay with a loop in the middle.

I can't do that or build that is part of the problem..Plus that would be an extra overdrive pedal plus the switching box..

I was suggesting you get a builder to do it for you and it would be one box, plus your Wampler.

It's the kind of thing that someone like @juansolo might do if he was still making pedals.

KevS

monquixote said:

KevS said:

monquixote said:

KevS said:

monquixote said:

If I understand correctly I used to do something quite similar with a Boss GT-100. Put a drive pedal in the loop and then boost, cut and EQ to taste using the pre and post loop to get various tones from one pedal.

I think the mechanical design of the horseshoe is probably just over complicating something simple, you could just have a normal pedal enclosure with 4 jacks. It would essentially be the 4 jack King of Tone, or Wamper Dual Fusion (or several others) but with one pedal activating both circuits and whatever other pedal you wanted between the two.

You could probably have a custom builder knock that up for you for £100 say a TS and a Micro Amp in a box with 4 jacks and a single switch.

Alternatively you could just use a Tight Rock Pro or Bogner Red which all have a second set of volume and gain controls, or something like a Boss OD-200 where you have infinite flexibility for layering gain.

I have a Bogner Red..It sounds think and plinky,,I jut don't get on with it at all..
I don't like the pedal..Why it would be good to use my own choice of pedal..

If I could get a builder to do that...I would very much like one..

I would think it would just be a case of building two relay bypass pedals in a box and triggering them from a single relay with a loop in the middle.

I can't do that or build that is part of the problem..Plus that would be an extra overdrive pedal plus the switching box..

I was suggesting you get a builder to do it for you and it would be one box, plus your Wampler.

It's the kind of thing that someone like @juansolo might do if he was still making pedals.

This sounds interesting..    I am genuinely frustrated I don't have a pedal that can do this..

This would be a brilliant addition..

PhilKing

@juansolo made me a pedal that has 2 different overdrives and settings that you can switch individually but also hit the center switch to swap between them and also change the channel on your amp at the same time (it has the ability to be triggered by an external switch too).  

KevS

PhilKing said:

@juansolo made me a pedal that has 2 different overdrives and settings that you can switch individually but also hit the center switch to swap between them and also change the channel on your amp at the same time (it has the ability to be triggered by an external switch too).  

This sounds like the guy I am looking for..