I'm not sure if this goes here with pedals or in Pickups and Electronics as the SX "porchboard" pedal isn't really a pedal that modifies your bass tone in the usual sense. You stomp on it to create a "thump" in your amp. You know like sitting on a porch playing and stomping your foot to give a bass drum imitation.
The SX pedal:
http://www.rondomusic.com/product3659.html
Price is definitely right, but bad news is you'll get what you paid for.
Basically it's a wood "pedal" shape that takes a 9 v battery. You tap your foot on it to get a thump sound out. Inside is a humbucker pickup that feeds a tiny amp board that supposedly boosts the output. Tone is reasonable but not as deep as I hoped. These "porch board" things are getting quite popular with the blues crowd though mostly with singer/guitarists rather than bass players. Since I also play drums I commonly do often set up something I can play with a foot (especially if playing bass sitting down). Common foot things I play are a cowbell (more cowbell!) or a bongo bell or cha cha bell or a tambourine, or claves. Usually it doesnt' go beyond that which is why a bass drum kind of thing through the bass amp had some interest.
But generally this is a one-half to one star pedal!
1. Wood. Looks MUCH better in the photo. Actually rather fuzzy looking and finish thin. Definitely needs more varnish to keep from being a dirt magnet.
2. Output. Way too low even with active preamp! No way to set gain except to stomp harder.
3. Inside there is a "humbucker" pickup that provides the "thump" and it is crap. It doesn't buck ANY hum. I swear it makes it worse! (wiring reversed, perhaps?) Due to low output and huge hum, pedal is basically unusable except through a guitar amp that cuts all low end.
4. Tone. Tone not horrible, but not deep enough and clearly hidden by huge hum.
Bottom line. Forget it. I"m keeping mine though as the wood block can be finished to look really nice when I finally come up with a decent way to build one of these. The 9 volt battery holder isn't bad either. In all it makes this probably worth the money for the parts but no great buy!
