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shakethedevil
Copper Member
Australia
27 Posts |
 Posted - 11/23/2007 : 00:38:16
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Heya friends,
I thought I'd start to tell you a short fairy tale about a metal box that had no voice for 25 years but now sings like a star, all credit due to one of the most generous and technically gifted people I've had the pleasure to meet, our own Dr Bob.
Some months back in a thread ( I can't remember which now), I mentioned I had an old '74 Shin-ei wah pedal that was lying around here with a bunch of other pedals I'd pulled out of a storage box from a long time ago. Since I've been gigging regularly again I thought I'd throw it onto my board to use instead of the wah on my Me-50. That's where the fun started. Much to my shocking memory (and mind wiping drunken early 80's train of thought) it seems that during that time I'd asked someone to mod it to a volume pedal instead. I have no recollection of it but it obviously happened lol.
So having discovered that I decided it had no priority anymore since I didn't have the money to get it looked at. I ended up taking an internal pic of the existing wiring instead and posted it on a few forums in the hope someone may be able to steer me to be able to do it myself.
In steps a very interested and helpful Dr Bob. Since I basically live "up the road" from him, after a few months, some emails and a few phone calls I have a pristine pedal in both looks and sound (clips to come when I get a chance).
Sorry I'm already getting long winded in this post.... but we thought you may find it interesting to see how the phoenix rose from the ashes, and the steps taken to get it back original. So I'll hand it over to Dr Bob to continue with his part of the story cause it gets better when I don't yabber on :)
Over to you Dr Bob.....  |
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FRANZONI
Double Platinum Member
Ireland
3543 Posts |
Posted - 11/23/2007 : 00:51:42
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I was following the story of this wah pedal with interest....fair play to the Doc for getting it back on the road. he really is the wizard of oz... ..when you say 'up the road' ...are we talking like us irish,where 1 mile can be 25+ miles away....or 'around the corner' can mean a couple of hours drive..... ....anyone who has ever been to ireland and asked for directions especially out in the countyside will know what i mean..... |
Edited by - FRANZONI on 11/23/2007 00:53:23 |
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shakethedevil
Copper Member
Australia
27 Posts |
Posted - 11/23/2007 : 05:43:21
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yeah +1 on the Wizard of Oz Franzoni, nothing short of genius as far as im concerned.
Hehe, my version of up the road is similar, Dr Bob and I are about 2,000 k's apart (Qld & Victoria) We're both still on the same side of the continent though, I'm just further up hill :) |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2007 : 09:56:29
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Hi ShakeTheDevil
Thanks for the praise & the Thread.
I have a lot of pics of the rebuild & refurbish.
I'll post some up if anyone is interested?
But the most important thing, is that ShakeTheDevil's 25 year old, little son is singing again. ( and wah a singer! )
I hope that Shake posts up some sound samples, as this was one of the nicest sounding wah pedals that I have ever worked on.
I never managed to do any sound recordings of it, and now I feel that I should have made the effort.
I have a at least 8 wah's sitting here in my collection, 2 of them are very early JEN Crybaby's, one With a RED Fasel, & the other with a White Fasel inductor.
It sounds most like the White Fasel JEN, it has a mellow slightly clipped growl to it in heel back down. & a that distinctive W-a-hh that you only get from Fasel equipped Jens.
The soft clipping is touch sensitive.
I hope Shake demo's this in his samples;
I told Shake that if I wasn't an honest and reputable man, he would have never seen his Shin-Ei again... (what wah was that? )
it is truley that good, i hope it comes out in his samples.
I retro fitted a 100K HotPotz II, from a modern Dunlop crybaby, the original pot was 50K (unknown taper as Shake no longer had the pot)
I added an other 100K fixed resistor to the pot to simulate the original 50K.
But after exhaustive listening tests by myself, & a bunch of pro muso's I know, we settled for the 100K with out the resistor.
it just sounded better, & had a bit more bottom end, in heel down.
I rewired it with used 1980's wire, from a derelict bit of vintage electronics, while I was unable to get all the original colours, it looks very authentic, the wires being a bit dull, from age.
I wanted to make it as authentic as Dr. Bob possible.
I have to thank Shake for being patient, as it sat here for a few months, between other jobs collecting bits to refurbish it, & man type duties around our new home.
I really wish I could have played with it a bit longer, but I felt that Shake needed it for his up and coming new gigs.
Apparently, Shake told me that it arrived, a few hours before the he needed it.
I can still see his smile from here ( well in emails anyway )
Hey Shake I still owe you $4au bucks - on the return postage you sent me, or maybe a beer, bring the wah if you come over for a jam..
So please let me know if you guys want to see some pics?
Regards Dr. Bob
PS one of these recently sold for about $450au on evilBay.
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StratoSphere
Double Platinum Member
Canada
2232 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2007 : 13:43:46
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good work Dr Bob, good to see it turned out well. i have a Shin-ei Fuzz Wah from the 70s and it sounds great! |
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Dr. Bob
Moderator
Australia
6593 Posts |
Posted - 11/27/2007 : 14:59:33
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quote:
Originally posted by StratoSphere
good work Dr Bob, good to see it turned out well. i have a Shin-ei Fuzz Wah from the 70s and it sounds great!
Hi Strato
I would take EXTRA good care of it, if I was you Strato.
ou might want to get hold of an ESR meter (Cap Meter) to measure the value of the small electro caps, the 10uf ones on Shake's pedal had drifted miles out of spec., there was only two 10uf caps, I replaced both, it made a big difference.
I have only seen pics of the Fuzz-Wah.
The Rack & Pinion gears are very different to the ones on the crybaby
wah's - they are not interchangeable, unless you change both the rack & the Pinion together.
The number of teeth & the diameters differ.
And the pinion gear on the pot is held in place with a pin through the gear & the shaft of the pot.
Note an ESR meter measures the Equivalent Series Resistance of the electo. cap, not it's capacitance, as electro. caps age, their internal equivalent series resistance rises, yet they might measure normally on a capacitance meter.
It's the only real way to measure the true condition of electros.
Regards Dr. Bob |
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shakethedevil
Copper Member
Australia
27 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2007 : 12:13:42
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| I wanna see pics! lol..... I only have visions of the before and after :) |
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A Wah is reborn
