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WatsonWoodMember
Let us sing “New Crying Tone!” together…!!!
WatsonWoodMemberI have an old Deluxe Polychorus with AC input. In fact I had a load of Deluxes which had a strong tendency to make noise under bad stage conditions (meaning quality of the juice on offer, weird earths et cetera). I started getting the transformers taken out and placed in a separate steel housing, which worked fine but after two pedal mods I stopped getting it done. Too many wires, too many cables. Also, as I remember, most all early Deluxes either had one unique LED to show the power was on or no LED at all. Under 150 USD for a Deluxe Polyphase is pretty good because in Europe old and vintage EHX pedals are generally over the 200 EUR mark unless you get lucky!
WatsonWoodMemberOn the link below is a Black Finger being used live on stage at the Salle Wagram in Paris. I chose the Black Finger because of the clarity of the sustain. It had none of the signal damping typical of the comp boxes of the time, and very often today,such as MXR or Ibanez. OK, I was playing loud and live, but I have also used it in studio work for film and album music and have to say my Black Finger was, and is, a clean, clear sustain pedal with no loss in attack.
WatsonWoodMemberOK, point taken. But I must be honest. The only EHX effect pedals I bought which broke down were either victims of amps or PA columns or suffered from old age. I just had a Deluxe Big Muff repaired last week after it had worked perfectly for 30 years or so. I am also a strong believer in local music stores where music matters. I have always found music store staff ready to help on technical problems I had (with other equipment) whether I was in the UK, France or Germany. So I never really had to deal with any technical issue involving EHX stuff. And so far the new EHX pedals I have bought are doing fine.
WatsonWoodMemberGreat idea! I had, in fact still have, a DRM16 which served me well for years and years. Very funky! The trick for a new EHX DRM would be to release a 16 and a 32 version with digital technology and 4 or 8 separate outputs combined with a sequencer and flash memory.
WatsonWoodMemberJust did a session over the weekend where I hooked up a Crying Tone with the Metal Muff then the SMM with Hazarei. Awesome! I was able to get sweeping filter effects combined with thumping looped chord patterns followed by screaming solo loops. All this through use of the positioning of the Crying Tone foot pedal which one can use as a sound modeller by moving it through or leaving it in any desired position along its course, as opposed to the classic wah effect use. (I have played with several other wah pedals such as Boss, Morley,Cry Baby Vintage and Cry Baby Dunlop and they are too weak to handle this sort of positioned soundscaping, especially in live conditions). Just needs a little mechanical adjustment on the Crying Tone sometimes to make sure the foot pedal stays in the desired position and does not slip down forwards on account of its weight (!).
Main point…..the marriage between the ’70s Crying Tone and the contemporary Metal Muff and SMMH is perfect! Let us sing “New Crying Tone!” together…July is approaching and still no news of a possible Crying Tone re-issue. Let us hope something wonderful is about to happen……
WatsonWoodMemberQuote:Would any of you out there be kind enough to post large images of the Big Muff Crying Tone Pedal GUTS? I have this pedal but the wiring is all messed up. Please help!!! Thank you!!!this is the one i have, please see attached image.
I recommend this link to the RonSound website. Ron helped me out with the schematics for my ’70s Freedom Amp and you will find a load of schematics for vintage EHX pedals available. If you are not sure which Crying Tone model you have exactly you should find the model type inscribed on the circuit board. Ron responds well to email queries and is a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.
http://www.ronsound.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=11_18&zenid=57e37a64eac59aee4226878628be56e2
…and the Crying Tone is a great pedal, well worth investing some time to get it back in shape!
March 26, 2009 at 8:37 am in reply to: Stereo Memory Man w/Hazarai (and other modulation pedals) #94919WatsonWoodMemberYes, I had two EHX pedals customised with LFO controls however the result was not brilliant at the time, it simply added a certain complication to live performance. Mea culpa, though, since I asked the technician to provide a whole list of extra functions, which he did, and I ended up buying two more pedals to use on stage and keeping the custom version for the studio. Bad planning on my part. The midi foot controller sounds excellent.
March 25, 2009 at 12:06 pm in reply to: Stereo Memory Man w/Hazarai (and other modulation pedals) #94875WatsonWoodMemberQuote:You know I think the assumption is that a lot of guitarists just want something simple in a guitar pedal and don’t really want to deal with synthesis or MIDI. I think that may be starting to change as the guitar world gets nerdier due to the internet.Good point Julian! EHX always developed stomp boxes which delivered straight off the mark and which started going crazy when you pushed the envelope. A guitar player’s dream. Instant Karma. I take the point that we are now in the 21ST Century and most everyone expects high-tech with all the bells and whistles. EHX has built its great (cult) success on the intuitive musician playing intuitive music. This is why EHX never seem to provide incremental step pots on delay controls so the knobs are always set at around 2 o’clock etc but can never be put precisely in the same position. Midi control eliminates these variances but again EHX puts as much sound and inspiration as possible in a pedal such as the SMMH and is not so set on total (midi) control. A weakness or a strength?
WatsonWoodMemberQuote:Please make a pedal with sequencing/sample and hold/slicing/pattern tremolo so I can have a 99% EHX board [as i doubt you will make a volume pedal or a strobe tuner].If you want an EHX Volume Pedal I suggest you check the vintage market or eBay. Over the last couple of years I have been able to pick up two EHX Volume Pedals as well as several Crying Tone Wah Pedals which also have the Volume Pedal function. The EHX Volume Pedal is large, solid as a tank, is passive, gives a long range of expression between zero and full volume, has straightforward wiring (pot and in-out jack plug sockets) and will virtually never ever break down. I started using them back in the ’70s and have never had to replace one. The two I bought recently are used in the studio and also serve as part of my Electro-Harmonix collection.
WatsonWoodMemberSounds great! Mine needs some work done on the circuit board but I can still play on it and the amp is indeed amazing. The speakers pack a real punch! I sometimes wonder why EHX have not brought out a new release of the ’70s Freedom Amps rather than the low-powered one they have released recently. The twin speakers on the vintage amp are really impressive.
I wish you lots of great music!WatsonWoodMemberGreat! I’ve ordered a schematic for the Freedom Amp. Thanks for the help.
WatsonWoodMemberIt would also be a good idea to develop an all in one power supply integrated in a dedicated EHX pedal board which is configurable to accomodate various pedal “layouts”. (The EHX pedal bag is useful for carrying the pedals to gigs and such but nor very practical on stage) I have had a dedicated pedal board made for my set up, twice in fact, but the power supply issue was never really resolved.
So.. a Power Supply Peddle Board!WatsonWoodMemberOoops! Sorry Kit. But I did learn to read at school! Appreciated!!
WatsonWoodMemberQuote:If they are made before and including the 80’s, before EHX went out of business then you just need to tell me the codes on the back of the pots, they will begin with 137. If they are modern re issues you can t date them. I know some of them are re issues but the big muff and small clone might be 80’s.I have a number of ’70s and ’80s EHX pedals. Is there a sequence to the 137… pot code which makes it possible to date the pedals?
Thanks
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