Acousticimaginearing - QuantumDrive Overdrive/Distortion pedal

[grygrx]

Just because I like to share the things I stumble upon while wandering...





http://acousticimaginearing.com/

Introducing the QuantumDrive Overdrive/Distortion pedal.
The first and only pedal to use the principals of quantum mechanics tunneling!

Use the Overdrive and QuantumDrive channels independently or chained together!

The Overdrive channel gives everything from subtle sweetening to TS-style drive to heavy crunch, all while retaining your playing dynamics.
The Quantum Drive channel gives an over-the-top unique distortion rich in dynamic harmonic content - after all it's based on quantum physics!

and I enjoyed this section

Faq

Does the QuantumDrive have "True Bypass"?
Yes.

Does the QuantumDrive really use quantum menchanics tunneling to achieve its sound?
Yes.

Should I buy one?
Yes.

and

Reviews

Tony Levin (King Crimson, Liquid Tension Experiment, Peter Gabriel, etc.)

As a bass player, I'm very particular about how fuzztones work with my sound, and have only found a few through the years that I could work with. So it was great to find that Acoustic Imaginearing's QuantumDrive fits the bill just right. A very cool, well designed effect.
[Tony used the QuantumDrive on the latest King Crimson tour]

[katri]

What is quantum mechanics tunneling??

Looks nice and they seem to have a pretty good sense of humor which I always like to see with pedal builders.

[Swimming Bird]

Originally Posted by katri

What is quantum mechanics tunneling??

One of the most common examples in quantum mechanics is a particle inside a potential well. The easiest to work with is a 1-D potential well, so I'll talk about that. Imagine a simply drawn well (a rectangle without the top whose sides stretch up infinitely). A particle moves as a wave traveling parallel to the bottom of the well, but the wavelength (and obviously the size of the well in relation to the wave) determine how many times it will go up and down inside the well. Now, under the strictest example, the walls of the well go straight up, which indicates an infinite potential energy outside the box, so the wave stops dead at either side of the well.

The next simplest idea of this has you drop one side of the box by about half, maybe slant the well wall. In this setup the particle wave won't just stop as it hits a wall, but instead will be dampened and peter out. Now, add another section with zero potential on the other side of the short slanted wall. There's a good chance (if the area with potential is small enough) that the wave will exit through the next wall and cross into another area with no potential -- it'll be unhindered once again, but moving in the way that it exited the well.

This is a very common and useful phenomenon, but is still pretty abstract. It's somewhat similar to light going through different mediums. A ray of light is going through the air, hits a plane of glass and changes direction, then hits air again and changes direction. Except here it is an electron going through a medium, briefly hitting another medium then returning to the first. The differences are that the distances we can use it for are very small and that we can't see an electron. As such, it appears that the electron teleports from the first medium to the third. This apparent teleportation is called tunneling as the particle 'tunnels' through a medium it shouldn't be able to get through.

The main use of tunneling is in measuring extremely small things, such as in an electron tunneling microscope. I can't quite imagine how you would use it in a pedal though...

Well, given their literature (if they're being serious and truthful), the tunneling bit seems to be part of the clipping mechanism, perhaps even doing the clipping itself. I guess that if you tunnel an electron through a medium, the wave shape (your instrument signal) will be mostly intact, but shortened and squished a bit. I suppose that could sound good/interesting if you got it to work. Also, they don't claim to have a patent on it which means it's either really easy to do, relies on an already existent patent, or is BS.

[grygrx]

I assumed it was a joke

[B.C.]

Originally Posted by grygrx

I assumed it was a joke

Well ya never know since technically all circuits deal with electrons quantum mechanically.

I like the tunneling idea though, must delve into this more

[whoatherechunk]

cool paint job.

[nad]

Hey that doesn't look ugly, yellow, and boring! I have no interest in something new! Oh wait.

all while retaining your playing dynamics

It seems that dirt box after dirt box, the ones I love do this the best. I would like to examine one of these at closer inspection some day.

EDIT: The sound sample system is really neat, just needs a bass on there. Sounds good so far though.

[FreaqyFrequency]

I prefer the sound of the Prunes and Custard.

[grygrx]

Originally Posted by FreaqyFrequency

I prefer the sound of the Prunes and Custard.

and this is related to this thread how?

[Mark Olson]

Excellent find! Tony Levin gives it the thumbs up... and I know he's got pretty good taste in effects... very cool.

[Akeris]

Meh, apparently I heard it live. It was ok.

[FreaqyFrequency]

Originally Posted by grygrx

and this is related to this thread how?

Well, I listened to the clips available, and I found the sound comparable to that of the P&C, and while it's neat, I'm just saying I prefer the sound of the P&C. Not trying to troll.

[nad]

If this thing sounds like a Prunes and Custard, then my chorus pedal is akin to a Noise Box.

[FreaqyFrequency]

Originally Posted by nad

If this thing sounds like a Prunes and Custard, then my chorus pedal is akin to a Noise Box.

Hmm...perhaps I misjudged the samples.

It does sound interesting, mind you. Again, did not mean to be a troll.

[markjazzbassist]

Originally Posted by whoatherechunk

cool paint job.

+1

after the paint job and quantum physics bit i think i'm already sold on this pedal

seriously though, it looks and sounds pretty cool

[whoatherechunk]

i'm going to bump this since i'm interested in this pedal.

[IPS]

As am I, has anyone used one/ heard one on bass yet?

[whoatherechunk]

hey grygrx.....is this one on your list of testing out?

[grygrx]

I don't have one, but I'm keeping an eye out yeah.

[TimmyDX]

i was so tempted to buy one the other day, just because how different it is intrigues me.....

but then i had to ask myself, is this new method of overdrive going to be $235 different :P