Help Me Name Some Pedals

[Tom Bomb]

3) Sunn Model T preamp pedal with 6N21B tubes. Working title: "Sunny T Lite"

aurora (mericana)

 

[Tom Bomb]

7) HiWatt Dr103 preamp pedal with 6N21B tubes. Working title: "Wraith Dt103"

slywatt

 

[Tom Bomb]

4) Orange AD200B preamp pedal with 6N21B tube. Working title: "Rhymes With Orange"

saffron

 

[Tom Bomb]

2) Ibanez TS808 with the input and output buffers replaced with 6N21B tube stages. Working title: "Electric Potato"

overlord

 

[Sushi Box FX]

So I may end up cutting this off earlier than originally planned, I'm getting way more ideas than I expected, I'm up to like 30 suggestions per pedal between all the places I posted

Question - have you ever experimented with the NuTube?

I have not, mostly because of the restrictive price. I can get a 12AX7 for $8 or so, a 6N21B for $4 or so, and a NuTube for $40. But price aside I also feel like they're not ideal for overdrives or preamps because of their low gain, which is around the same level as a 12AU7. 6N21B is a little lower gain than a 12AX7, but not much.

 

[JimmyM]

So I may end up cutting this off earlier than originally planned, I'm getting way more ideas than I expected, I'm up to like 30 suggestions per pedal between all the places I posted



I have not, mostly because of the restrictive price. I can get a 12AX7 for $8 or so, a 6N21B for $4 or so, and a NuTube for $40. But price aside I also feel like they're not ideal for overdrives or preamps because of their low gain, which is around the same level as a 12AU7. 6N21B is a little lower gain than a 12AX7, but not much.

I'm a little surprised more people in amp and pedal design don't use those Russian tubes. A Designs uses a 6n1p in the REDDI and I see them used in home audio a lot, but other than the REDDI, you just don't see them in our world. I wonder why that is. Can't be the price.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

It's mostly the current draw and microphonics. Not all types of them are microphonic, but a lot are more prone to be microphonic than full size tubes. Also they pull more current for the heaters, the 6N21B pulls 360-430mA at 6.3V (per the datasheet) whereas a 12AX7 only needs 300mA.

 

[JimmyM]

It's mostly the current draw and microphonics. Not all types of them are microphonic, but a lot are more prone to be microphonic than full size tubes. Also they pull more current for the heaters, the 6N21B pulls 360-430mA at 6.3V (per the datasheet) whereas a 12AX7 only needs 300mA.

Makes sense all around. So knowing all that, what is your attraction to them?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Makes sense all around. So knowing all that, what is your attraction to them?

1) They're little
2) They sound like a 12AX7
3) They were originally Soviet military tubes so they were designed for tight tolerances and have a long lifespan

That's pretty much it I've always liked the sound of tube pedals, that's obviously why I started building them, but I also love the 1590B enclosure size. It's pretty hard to squeeze even a single 12AX7 inside a box that size, let alone 2 or 3. You can of course mount them on top and just try to be careful not to step on the tube, but you can imagine how that normally goes.

So I like being able to safely tuck multiple 12AX7 workalike tubes in small enclosures. And while you can't swap them as easily for a change in tone, I like that the tight tolerance means that every 6N21B will sound like every other 6N21B, so I get consistency.

 

[jbybj]

Bite me
Chew me
Swallow me
Floss me

 

[JimmyM]

1) They're little
2) They sound like a 12AX7
3) They were originally Soviet military tubes so they were designed for tight tolerances and have a long lifespan

That's pretty much it I've always liked the sound of tube pedals, that's obviously why I started building them, but I also love the 1590B enclosure size. It's pretty hard to squeeze even a single 12AX7 inside a box that size, let alone 2 or 3. You can of course mount them on top and just try to be careful not to step on the tube, but you can imagine how that normally goes.

So I like being able to safely tuck multiple 12AX7 workalike tubes in small enclosures. And while you can't swap them as easily for a change in tone, I like that the tight tolerance means that every 6N21B will sound like every other 6N21B, so I get consistency.

Okay, now I remember ... Those are the little tubes that you solder onto a board. For some reason I was thinking they were socketed tubes like the 6n1p.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Okay, now I remember ... Those are the little tubes that you solder onto a board. For some reason I was thinking they were socketed tubes like the 6n1p.

Yup, these are the little ones, sometimes called "pencil tubes" as they're about the thickness of a pencil. A 6N1P is similar to and can often replace a 12AU7, and I've seen a handful of people use 6N2P in place of 12AX7, as they are a direct replacement. I actually use 6P14P (6П14П) in my amplifier as they are a direct replacement for EL84.

 

[roller]

Certainly understood. Please circle back and drop us a note with the names you land on.

Thanks again for the opportunity!

So I may end up cutting this off earlier than originally planned, I'm getting way more ideas than I expected, I'm up to like 30 suggestions per pedal between all the places I posted

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Certainly understood. Please circle back and drop us a note with the names you land on.

Thanks again for the opportunity!

Will do! I'm planning to keep taking suggestions through the weekend and making my final decision sunday night. Between TalkBass, TGP and facebook I have a bunch of good ones.

 

[Real Soon]

If no one's suggested for #4 "Ultra Violence", (Clockwork Orange reference for those of you who don't own any electronic devices), I'll throw that in the ring.

Oh and for #3, "Drive By". (Since the Model T is, well you know)

I'm probably revealing a psychological profile here. Heh

Really, I'm here for the entertainment factor and to lament that I WILL be spending more money for more of these pedals. My Particle Accelerator is already bouncing between two pedalboards haha

 

[keatz]

I already posted this on facebook, but the folks of TalkBass have been really cool to me so I thought I would ask:

For those that don't know me (I'm not famous, but bassists seem to know me better than guitarists lately) I'm a small-scale pedal builder working out of my garage. I do it 100% for fun, it is not how I make my living as I have a solid day job. Anyway, I have a bunch of new designs I'm waiting on boards for, and I could use some help naming them. I have working titles for all of them, but I don't love the names I came up with. I posted this on Facebook as a contest, so it would only be fair to offer the same prizes here, anyone that gives a name that Iend up using will get a laser engraved plaque that says "I NAMED A SUSHI BOX PEDAL, BOW BEFORE MY GREATNESS" with your name, the pedal's name, and the Sushi Box logo.

So here's what I've got:

1) Ampeg B-15 preamp pedal with 6N21B tube. Working title: "Amp Egg"

2) Ibanez TS808 with the input and output buffers replaced with 6N21B tube stages. Working title: "Electric Potato"

3) Sunn Model T preamp pedal with 6N21B tubes. Working title: "Sunny T Lite"

4) Orange AD200B preamp pedal with 6N21B tube. Working title: "Rhymes With Orange"

5) Hybrid tube optical compressor with 6N21B tube. Working title: "Tubey Squeezy"

6) Tube tremolo with 6N21B tube. Working title: "Tubey Whirl"

7) HiWatt Dr103 preamp pedal with 6N21B tubes. Working title: "Wraith Dt103"

1. Port Knox

2. Sister Green

3. sTunn gun

4. Orangutan

5. Rice Squeezer

6. Tube DUI

7. Dr. Who-What

 

[cnltb]

There seem to be a few clones in the list; for those I‘d suggest their actual name with a ‚clone‘ added to them...as those who designed them initially have done all the thinking for you already I‘d stick to the names they gave to their designs.

For the others, I‘d go with something easy to remember, that references what they actually do.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

There seem to be a few clones in the list; for those I‘d suggest their actual name with a ‚clone‘ added to them...as those who designed them initially have done all the thinking for you already I‘d stick to the names they gave to their designs.

Well yes and no. Preamp designs are modified to use 6N21B tubes instead of 12AX7 (or 7025, etc), and the power supply was designed from scratch to run proper tube voltages from a 9VDC supply instead of mains power, so I'm pretty proud of that.

Also if every Tubescreamer clone in the world was just called "Tubescreamer Clone" things would get a bit confusing

 

[cnltb]

Well yes and no. Preamp designs are modified to use 6N21B tubes instead of 12AX7 (or 7025, etc), and the power supply was designed from scratch to run proper tube voltages from a 9VDC supply instead of mains power, so I'm pretty proud of that.

Also if every Tubescreamer clone in the world was just called "Tubescreamer Clone" things would get a bit confusing

Fair points!
Many TS style pedals are more derivates than straight up clones. no?
Those are in the clear and can have ‚proper‘ names !

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Alright, the moment we’ve all (more or less) been waiting for: I’ve finally made my decision! It was a long and difficult process that involved reading a suggestion, chuckling to myself, nodding in approval, then moving on to the next. I know I said I would post these Sunday night, but it’s a school night, so early Sunday evening it is. And now without further ado:

Ampeg B-15 preamp: Slampegg Bee Pre

Tube-driven TS808: Glass Clover

Sunn Model T preamp: Sunnday Drive

Orange AD200B preamp: London Underground

Tube/Optical Compressor: Optipus

Tube Tremolo: Mirage

HiWatt Dr103 preamp: Dr Wattson

The closing on my new house got pushed back a week so I still haven’t moved in and don’t have access to my laser yet, but I will be reaching out to the people that made these suggestions to get the info for the plaques so I can get them made when the workshop is set up and the laser is running again.

Huge thanks to everyone for helping out, I wouldn’t be able to do this without you all!

As a side note, 4/7 of these came from TalkBass, the other 3 came from TheGearPage, 0 came from Facebook.