Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
FEA fan club!
- Thread starter bongomania
- Start date
Thanks guys! I just went back in the thread to re-read some of the older posts, and I noticed that I had not personally thanked some of you for the great feedback or kind words. For those posts I have missed, thank you all very much!!!
The DE-CL will have the same silver-vein powder coat as before. The faceplates will be the same style as the new Opti-FET. They will also have the same new knobs as the Opti-FET. The new DE-CL’s will have the low-noise audio circuit that was mentioned earlier in this thread.
Thanks!!
-Frank
The DE-CL will have the same silver-vein powder coat as before. The faceplates will be the same style as the new Opti-FET. They will also have the same new knobs as the Opti-FET. The new DE-CL’s will have the low-noise audio circuit that was mentioned earlier in this thread.
Thanks!!
-Frank
Thanks Frank! My wife is going to be a little mad at me whenever the batch of DE-CLs that I'm on the list for gets released into the wild.
The original black chrome powder on the Opti-FET wasn’t consistent in color between each batch of powders. One batch of black chrome powder came out more as a very dark grey in color and I really liked it. So that’s why they are now dark grey. The powder is of the same blend as before and is just as glossy, so the quality of the finish is the same. The only difference is that with these new faceplates the enclosures don’t need a clear top coat. Here is a post that I made that explains the changes:
Thanks Chad, I totally agree about keeping the quality. Sometimes things can be changed that improves both quality and efficiency. So, its not always a quality vs quantity trade-off its more of a transfer of process time and expense.
For example: One of the changes that I have started to implement is with the enclosure. The enclosures used to be CNC machined by a local machine shop. Then they were sent to a local powder coater for a base coat. Then they came back here for the aluminum labels that were printed and hand cut in-house. The labels were then coated with acrylic UV protection for the ink. After the labels were affixed to the box, they were sealed with acrylic around their edges (using needle applicators) to prevent outgas bubbles in the final powder coat. Then the enclosures were sent back to the powder coaters for a final clear epoxy coat.
The CNC machining and the two trips to the powder coaters was fairly expensive. And all of the hands-on work after the base coat made the operation prone to defects in the final finish. There was way too many enclosures that needed to be reworked which were even more time consuming and expensive.
So last December I purchased a CNC router to machine the enclosures in-house. But I kept all of the other enclosure processes the same until June. All this did was reduce the expense of the CNC machining. A good start, but I still had all of the hands-on time and the problems with rework.
Then in June I ordered new aluminum faceplates from a company that also supplies Line6. These new faceplates are much more durable than the originals and they dont require any extra protective coatings. The faceplates arrive ready to install and the enclosure only needs one trip to the powder coaters now. This is a huge improvement in time, repeatable quality and expense.
The savings from this new enclosure method can now be spent on additional assembly help.
-Frank
The Opti-FET and DE-CL faceplates are made by a different company than the DB-CL faceplates. The DB-CL faceplates are brushed aluminum with silk-screening. The Opti-FET and DE-CL faceplates are stainless steel with black filled laser etching. All of the new style faceplates have flat (non-glossy) graphics to contrast with the shiny metal backgrounds… it should make them much easier to read in stage lighting.
-Frank
It's unfortunate that you had to change the powder coating. Especially compared to other very nice finishes you used, like on the DE-CL, this one is a lot less appealing. Oh well... at least you didn't go for neon yellow or some other garish colour. Black or grey is preferable to that any day. Though as a customer if I ordered a pedal expecting to receive the unit pictured on your site and received this new one instead I would not be pleased. I'd say it would be advisable to update your website images.
If the DE-CL will still have the same powder coat as before, would it be possible to obtain an Opti FET in a DE-CL coated enclosure?
Received a brand new Opti-Fet last week.
Wow, what a great compressor
Testing with my Warwick Thumb BO 6.
Great headroom, more than the Diamond, Empress and EBS.
And easy powering at 9v.
Perfect to handle heavy slap passages, no problem there.
Didn't had time to mess a lot with the dip switches, but so far, while it is subtle,
they do color the sound. Can go from a pretty transparent to warmer (especially
with the 12k low pass filter). Need to take more time with these.
The side chain EQ is wonderful to fine tune the sound.
I use it to compress a bit less the lows : it gives me a bigger and more natural sound.
Very quiet circuitry, more than the Empress and Diamond.
And it looks cool ! And smaller than what I expected.
Thanks you FEA ! It was a long long wait, but well worth it !
Now I must resist to put my name on the Dual Band Comp waiting list!
Wow, what a great compressor
Testing with my Warwick Thumb BO 6.
Great headroom, more than the Diamond, Empress and EBS.
And easy powering at 9v.
Perfect to handle heavy slap passages, no problem there.
Didn't had time to mess a lot with the dip switches, but so far, while it is subtle,
they do color the sound. Can go from a pretty transparent to warmer (especially
with the 12k low pass filter). Need to take more time with these.
The side chain EQ is wonderful to fine tune the sound.
I use it to compress a bit less the lows : it gives me a bigger and more natural sound.
Very quiet circuitry, more than the Empress and Diamond.
And it looks cool ! And smaller than what I expected.
Thanks you FEA ! It was a long long wait, but well worth it !
Now I must resist to put my name on the Dual Band Comp waiting list!
I just wish they were easier to find. Does anyone know someone who has one of their compressors for sale, in stock, blah blah blah?
Get on the notification list now
I waited like 6 months before doing it and I wish I had done it earlier. I did get a Cali76tx in the meantime so the notification list worked out well for me because it lets me spread out these big compressor purchases
Get on the notification list now
Just did it. I did it for the opti-fet and might do it for others.
The opti-fet is my real gas problem. I feel like I have been searching for one - hoping it would come up in the classifieds AND that the person would ship to Europe for nearly a year.
I put my list on the DE-CL as well. The dual band ones SCARE me!!!
Received a brand new Opti-Fet last week.
Wow, what a great compressor
Testing with my Warwick Thumb BO 6.
Great headroom, more than the Diamond, Empress and EBS.
And easy powering at 9v.
Perfect to handle heavy slap passages, no problem there.
Didn't had time to mess a lot with the dip switches, but so far, while it is subtle,
they do color the sound. Can go from a pretty transparent to warmer (especially
with the 12k low pass filter). Need to take more time with these.
The side chain EQ is wonderful to fine tune the sound.
I use it to compress a bit less the lows : it gives me a bigger and more natural sound.
Very quiet circuitry, more than the Empress and Diamond.
And it looks cool ! And smaller than what I expected.
Thanks you FEA ! It was a long long wait, but well worth it !
Now I must resist to put my name on the Dual Band Comp waiting list!
Thank you for that great feedback!!!
The good news is that last month was the largest production month we have had yet. We will be tweaking things as we move forward to make the cycle times even shorter.
Just a quick recap of our waiting list policy: There are no obligations from anyone to be placed on a waiting list. When you are notified you will have the chance to either purchase the pedal or pass on the offer. And thanks again for everyone’s outstanding patience!
-Frank
Thank you for that great feedback!!!
The good news is that last month was the largest production month we have had yet. We will be tweaking things as we move forward to make the cycle times even shorter.
Just a quick recap of our waiting list policy: There are no obligations from anyone to be placed on a waiting list. When you are notified you will have the chance to either purchase the pedal or pass on the offer. And thanks again for everyone’s outstanding patience!
-Frank
Just so you now, I check my junk mailbox often to make sure my notification has not ended up in there
