Wattson Classic Electronics

Blog Index

May 24, 2008

by Jim "The Amp Surgeon"

How Do You Mount A SuperFuzz On A Pedalboard?

The steel chassis of the Wattson Classic SuperFuzz certainly has the vintage style and appeal of the original Shin-ei and Univox pedals, but it can be a challenge to mount it on a pedalboard.
You see, just like those vintage classics, the Wattson Classic SuperFuzz has four rubber feet on the bottom of the chassis. This is great for keeping the pedal from scooting across the carpet or floor when you step on it, but the objective on a pedalboard goes beyond simply keeping the pedal from scooting around - you want to keep it well anchored to the board so that it doesn't bounce around when you're transporting your pedals. Over the years, guitarists have come up with a lot of novel approaches to keep those pedals firmly attached to the pedalboard. Some pedalboards are covered in fuzzy black "carpet". The bottoms of the pedals are then covered in Velcro style "hook" fabric, which makes the pedal stick to the carpet. To mount pedals on wood or metal pedalboards, guitarists usually create some sort of bracket that will attack to the bottom of the pedal, allowing it to be held to the pedalboard with screws or bolts. Bicycle chain links have become popular for this. For some pedals, the only option is to lash the pedal to the board using plastic tie straps.
Well, all of these methods will work with the Wattson Classic SuperFuzz, but there are problems.
To mount "hook" fabric on the bottom of the pedal you have to first remove the four rubber feet. If you later decide to remove the fabric you're left with a lot of gunky adhesive on the bottom of the pedal. Not only does this look nasty, it can also affect the resale value of the pedal.
Mounting brackets, such as bicycle chain links, is possible. These can be bolted to the same nuts that the rubber feet are bolted to. Unfortunately, if the pedal vibrates during transport then those brackets can chew up the sandtex finish on the bottom of the pedal. Again, it doesn't look good, and can affect the resale value of the pedal.
You could use tie straps, but it would be hard to get a tie strap to hold the SuperFuzz securely enough that it wouldn't move. Tie straps don't wrap tightly around square corners, and the SuperFuzz is a pretty heavy pedal. What's more, tie straps can look pretty gruesome when they cross the front of your pedals.
A better way...
We've designed a skid plate that can be bolted to the bottom of the SuperFuzz pedal. It's made of 16 gauge steel, just like the SuperFuzz chassis. It's also finished in the same black sandtex powdercoat as the SuperFuzz. It's the same length, and 1/2 inch wider on either side. Those "ears" on either side have a number of holes drilled in them. It will look something like this:

SuperFuzz Skidplate
The top side of the skidplate will be covered with a thin rubber cushion. The bottom side will not be covered, but we'll provide a sheet of Velcro "hooks" large enough to cover it. All you have to do to mount the skidplate to the SuperFuzz is remove the four rubber feet, and then bolt the skidplate to the pedal using the screws we provide. Now, if you want to attach the pedal to a carepeted pedalboard, you just apply the Velcro "hook" sheet to the bottom of the skidplate. To bolt or screw it down to a wood or metal pedalboard, you just use the holes provided. Likewise, to lash it down with tie straps, you just pass the straps through the holes. If you want to restore the SuperFuzz to it's original configuration, simply remove the skidplate and put the rubber feet back on!
We'll be ordering the first batch of SuperFuzz skidplates early in June, and expect them to be available by the middle of the month. Cost is tentatively set at $20. Stay tuned...

The Wattson Classic SuperVibe?

If you've followed any of the discussions in the forum, then you know that we've been considering a reproduction of the original Shin-ei/Univox Uni-Vibe* pedal. There are a whole lot of reasons we've been thinking about this particular pedal:

It was made by Shin-ei, just like the original Super-Fuzz, so we understand the engineering behind it.

It uses the same transistors as the original Super-Fuzz, so we know we can make the circuit work with modern transistors.

The vintage originals are in very high demand and very short supply, so we know that there is a market for a top quality reproduction.

The vintage originals are selling for $1500 to $2000 on eBay, so there is definitely a need for a much less expensive alternative.

Of course, we'll make a few improvements, just like we did with the SuperFuzz:

The original Uni-Vibe* was designed for use with electronic keyboards rather than guitars, so the in/out jacks were placed on the top of the case. We'll put the jacks on the back of the case, where it makes more sense for guitars. Likewise, the original Uni-Vibe* had the rate controller footpedal jack on the top of the case. We'll move that jack to the front.

The original Uni-Vibe* had a built-in power supply, and had to be connected to a 110V wall socket. We can't build the pedal to run from batteries because it requires too much voltage, but we can equip it with a power adapter jack, and provide a power adapter which is compatible with the power system in the country we ship the pedals to.

The original Uni-Vibe* was built in a thin 20 gauge steel box. We'll build a very rugged 16 gauge steel chassis for our pedal.
We've got some really cool ideas to make the foot controller much more durable and reliable, more responsive, and completely adjustable. We'll tell you more about these plans as we develop them.

The fly in the ointment...
The original Uni-Vibe* featured a four-stage transistor circuit to provide it's signature phase/chorus effect. It used an ingenious method to vary the signal through each of these stages in time with the rate LFO. A light-dependent resistor (LDR) was placed in front of each stage. These LDR's were arranged in a circle around a light bulb which pulsed with the signal from the rate LFO. The unique characteristics of the light bulb heating up and cooling down defined the way that the phase/chorus circuits responded to the rate control, and became one the signatures of the unique Uni-Vibe* tone.
And there's the rub...
Light-dependent resistors are made with cadmium, and cadmium is one of the metals which have been banned by the European RoHS directives. There is currently no type of LDR which does not use cadmium. If we build the pedal using LDR's then we won't be able to sell it in Europe - ever!
There are other light sensitive components which could be used, with appropriate changes to the original circuit. These include photovoltaic cells (solar cells) and phototransistors. We're currently evaluating the other options. One possibility is to make the light tank as a plug-in module, allowing an LDR light tank to be used in countries where it's legal, and an alternative light tank to be used in European countries that have to comply with RoHS directives.
We'll keep you updated on our progress.

Keep on playing!
Jim "The Amp Surgeon"

* Uni-Vibe is a registered trademark of Dunlop Manufacturing, Inc.

May 15, 2008

By Jim "The Amp Surgeon"

Shipping to Europe!

Yes! We are now shipping Wattson Classic SuperFuzz pedals to Europe!
The Wattson Classic SuperFuzz is now fully compliant with the EU's RoHS regulations. In addition, we've passed our CE certification tests, thanks to the fine folks at G&M Compliance in Orange, California. The SuperFuzz is now completely 'legit' to sell in Europe.
A special thanks goes out to the fine folks in Europe who ordered pedals last month, knowing the hoops we still had to jump through before we'd be able to ship pedals to them. Thanks for being patient and having faith in us.

Are there any pedals left?

Yes! There are still plenty of pedals left. As promised, we've held some back for shipment to Europe. In addition, there are still some pedals left in the batch we built for North American sales. All of these are now available for purchase.
Since we have pedals in stock, most orders will ship within 24 hours.

Keep on playing!
Jim "The Amp Surgeon"