So I'm a little vain, just got my Christmas present to myself. It was done by Canadian artist Shannon Hemmett, you should definitely hit her up if you're looking for awesome pedal-themed artwork. Shannon Hemmett • Artist
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The Sushi Box FX Secret Society
- Thread starter kranahan
- Start date
Nahhh - if you were really vain - it would be " NathanBox Effects " or you'd be putting your pedals up for sale at random times in a predetermined 24 hr time frame at your whim . Personally , I prefer the preorder " buy a slot - wait - then get a pedal " approach - it just seems more reasonable . Again that's me and a lot of folks don't care or don't see things the same way so it is what it is . No matter what you deserve a very nice Christmas for how much effort you put in to your second job no less - to keep us informed and as happy as can be .... Keep up the good work and remember to enjoy your youngin's as they will grow up a lot faster than you expect .... Kelly
So I've decided that officially announcing things I'm working on is a bad idea as it leads to way too much pressure, so I'm going to switch over to dropping occasional cryptic hints until something is ready for release.
As such I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of "The Westinghouse Project." (details sometime 2021Q1)
Also I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of "Operation Gondwana." (details sometime 2021Q2)
As such I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of "The Westinghouse Project." (details sometime 2021Q1)
Also I can neither confirm nor deny the existence of "Operation Gondwana." (details sometime 2021Q2)
Hey SB - maybe you can simply say I am looking into " X " and with luck it'll make it into production . That'll save me from having to buy the Edison now !..... LOL - Wasn't aware Mr Edison had anything to do with the " Westinghouse Corp " but I will be checking into it right away . If that's not the intent of that project then - are you making a very tiny tube powered refrigerator that will keep one can of beer cold for those of us who imbibe while we peruse this thread ? That'd be very considerate of you and definitely fill a niche need we all didn't know we needed ..... Kelly
Ahhh I did my research into Westinghouse and now I KNOW what you have planned - as many of you no doubt already know - Westinghouse was famous for making the first steam powered generators - hence the new SB project must be a steam powered pedal . So no more wall worts or adapters to worry about ! Just tiny bits of coal or wood and away you go playing to your hearts content . Well at least as long as you keep stocking up the boiler .... Sorry for the early morning silliness - carry on with the regular programming - Kelly
Smart. Very smart.
And more than what you get from Josh of Broughton Audio. He has a policy of virtually total ‘radio silence’ when it comes to responding to: PMs (he doesn’t), new products, current products (except for tech support), precise release dates, or actual units that will be available for sale.
You can’t hardly blame him if you follow the super thread dedicated to BA stompboxes either.
However, as the owner of a few Broughton boxes I can say they’re definitely worth whatever hassles you need to endure to score one. Even if I can’t see myself getting up very early on Friday mornings, going to his website, keep hitting F5 until something comes up for sale, and then frantically speed typing to get my order in before they run out. And it usually only takes a minute or two to be sold out. So sorry…that isn’t really my style, and I’ve pretty much given up on BA. Especially now that it seems the flippers have become aware of the feeding frenzy surrounding Broughton Audio boxes and are now routinely demanding 30% (and more) above what they paid if you want a “previously owned” one.
So that said, I greatly prefer and appreciate SB’s ordering model. I’m going to be getting my first SB sometime in January. And I’m totally chuffed!
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Same. I went through the waiting in line and buying things at a markup in the craft beer world like ten years ago, and I'm mega over it and the associated fomo. Would much rather pay and wait.
You're on the right track, sort of
I've hinted at this one a little before, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to give a little more direct hints. From Wikipedia:"Early on, Westinghouse was a rival to Thomas Edison's electric company."
Hey SB -
If you put out any ' hints ' - I believe you can expect "guesses " too - I know I couldn't resist ! So I don't know how you proceed with even that simplified approach to product development . For example - I thought you handled the ' Deep Dish " roll out well . You were upfront about your respect for the original design and explained your reasoning for dropping the third tube in order to make your own flavor . My feeling from the comments in the thread postings was that people were legitimately excited about that project but also basically , pretty respectful about not trying to pressure you on the release date . Unless of course they had already purchased a slot for the month that seemed likely to be prior to that . Then they might have come across as impatient as you rightly refused to rush the release till you were happy with it . It's not easy to figure out how to handle these types of things . Sometimes ' pressure ' can also be self induced by trying to please everybody when that really results in making your life more difficult and that is something you have some control over - or at least can mitigate a bit . On our end [ i.e. the customers ] we all want you to enjoy this ride too . As I see it you are doing us a favor with your high standards and reasonable approaches so don't hesitate to let us know how we can help - Kelly
If you put out any ' hints ' - I believe you can expect "guesses " too - I know I couldn't resist ! So I don't know how you proceed with even that simplified approach to product development . For example - I thought you handled the ' Deep Dish " roll out well . You were upfront about your respect for the original design and explained your reasoning for dropping the third tube in order to make your own flavor . My feeling from the comments in the thread postings was that people were legitimately excited about that project but also basically , pretty respectful about not trying to pressure you on the release date . Unless of course they had already purchased a slot for the month that seemed likely to be prior to that . Then they might have come across as impatient as you rightly refused to rush the release till you were happy with it . It's not easy to figure out how to handle these types of things . Sometimes ' pressure ' can also be self induced by trying to please everybody when that really results in making your life more difficult and that is something you have some control over - or at least can mitigate a bit . On our end [ i.e. the customers ] we all want you to enjoy this ride too . As I see it you are doing us a favor with your high standards and reasonable approaches so don't hesitate to let us know how we can help - Kelly
I appreciate your thoughts Kelly, and I can assure you my pressure is 100% self-induced. Everyone here has been super cool with me, nobody is pushing me at all, and the number of times I've heard "No rush" or "I'm not in a hurry" is staggering. At 1AM giving cryptic hints about upcoming pedals was hilarious to me
but after a solid 8 hours of sleep and a stomach full of food I figure I may as well give everyone a less-cryptic list of things I'm working on (still no commitment on ready-by dates though):Westinghouse - My take on the Edison preamp. I finished tracing the one I have last night so I will be working on a prototype design with a couple tweaks, most notably the plate voltage is going to have to go WAY up. I'm actually thinking about limiting the sweep of the high voltage control and making it external, so you have a knob on top that will let you sweep from 30V to 200V (I won't let it go lower or higher) so you can dial in what sounds good to you. Granted this will depend on how big of an audible difference there is between the voltages in the prototype, but it could happen.
Mirage Tremolo - I designed this months ago and it didn't work, but I redesigned it and it does now. It's a tube/optical tremolo, meaning the signal path is 100% tube but the tremolo part (LFO) is optical. Right now I just have a single prototype using a 6N21B tube, but I think I would like it better with a full-size tube, so it will be skipping 6N21B release and going straight to X series.
Unnamed dirtbox - The one everyone was talking about a few pages back. Basically a super simple tube preamp with a little bit of dirt on hand, but simply a gain and volume control to add warmth with a little dirt to your signal. I have almost a complete design in my head, just need to get it out into the computer.
Unnamed tube DI - As of this afternoon I've gained all the knowledge I need from the Noble, so I'll be getting rid of that soon. I decided the best path forward would be to do an original preamp design "inspired by" the Noble instead of a direct clone. I don't know what it will look like or when it will happen (I paid for my DI transformers but don't have them in hand yet), but I'm sure that one will be popular when it's ready.
Dr. Wattson X - yeah, it's going to happen. I can't promise any particular date it will be ready, but I've already started on it. It will be the same size/shape as the Deep Dish, which is a Hammond 1590BB if you want to look it up. More on that to come.
Operation Gondwana - still not quite ready to give a lot of details on this one, but it's the most ambitious, complicated, LARGE thing I've ever done (or likely will ever do), which is why it's an "operation" and not just "project." It's probably quite a ways off (did I mention it's complicated?) but after it's done I think I will have earned a vacation. You'll see. It's going to be neat
If there was something you were expecting to see on this list that isn't there (Brassmaster maybe) it doesn't mean I forgot, it just means it's lower priority and not a main focus for me right now.
This is the droid I'm looking for.
I appreciate your thoughts Kelly, and I can assure you my pressure is 100% self-induced. Everyone here has been super cool with me, nobody is pushing me at all, and the number of times I've heard "No rush" or "I'm not in a hurry" is staggering. At 1AM giving cryptic hints about upcoming pedals was hilarious to me
Westinghouse - My take on the Edison preamp. I finished tracing the one I have last night so I will be working on a prototype design with a couple tweaks, most notably the plate voltage is going to have to go WAY up. I'm actually thinking about limiting the sweep of the high voltage control and making it external, so you have a knob on top that will let you sweep from 30V to 200V (I won't let it go lower or higher) so you can dial in what sounds good to you. Granted this will depend on how big of an audible difference there is between the voltages in the prototype, but it could happen.
Mirage Tremolo - I designed this months ago and it didn't work, but I redesigned it and it does now. It's a tube/optical tremolo, meaning the signal path is 100% tube but the tremolo part (LFO) is optical. Right now I just have a single prototype using a 6N21B tube, but I think I would like it better with a full-size tube, so it will be skipping 6N21B release and going straight to X series.
Unnamed dirtbox - The one everyone was talking about a few pages back. Basically a super simple tube preamp with a little bit of dirt on hand, but simply a gain and volume control to add warmth with a little dirt to your signal. I have almost a complete design in my head, just need to get it out into the computer.
Unnamed tube DI - As of this afternoon I've gained all the knowledge I need from the Noble, so I'll be getting rid of that soon. I decided the best path forward would be to do an original preamp design "inspired by" the Noble instead of a direct clone. I don't know what it will look like or when it will happen (I paid for my DI transformers but don't have them in hand yet), but I'm sure that one will be popular when it's ready.
Dr. Wattson X - yeah, it's going to happen. I can't promise any particular date it will be ready, but I've already started on it. It will be the same size/shape as the Deep Dish, which is a Hammond 1590BB if you want to look it up. More on that to come.
Operation Gondwana - still not quite ready to give a lot of details on this one, but it's the most ambitious, complicated, LARGE thing I've ever done (or likely will ever do), which is why it's an "operation" and not just "project." It's probably quite a ways off (did I mention it's complicated?) but after it's done I think I will have earned a vacation. You'll see. It's going to be neat
If there was something you were expecting to see on this list that isn't there (Brassmaster maybe) it doesn't mean I forgot, it just means it's lower priority and not a main focus for me right now.
The next year (or so) are going to be great. Stoked to read all this and excited to see things unfold. Hope you had a great holiday and thanks for sharing!
Great bunch of potential new releases ! If the tremelo comes anywhere near duplicating the famous Hammond organ standalone speaker you will have a huge hit on your hands . I am psyched to see a Westinghouse / Edison pedal too obviously ! Going to make the new year quite exciting !!!! ... Kelly
That's a great update right there, @Sushi Box FX... Thanks! Totally looking forward to a few things on that list!
5sg.
5sg.
Oof. There’s a lot there I’d like to try.
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Smart. Very smart.
And more than what you get from Josh of Broughton Audio. He has a policy of virtually total ‘radio silence’ when it comes to responding to: PMs (he doesn’t), new products, current products (except for tech support), precise release dates, or actual units that will be available for sale.
You can’t hardly blame him if you follow the super thread dedicated to BA stompboxes either.
However, as the owner of a few Broughton boxes I can say they’re definitely worth whatever hassles you need to endure to score one. Even if I can’t see myself getting up very early on Friday mornings, going to his website, keep hitting F5 until something comes up for sale, and then frantically speed typing to get my order in before they run out. And it usually only takes a minute or two to be sold out. So sorry…that isn’t really my style, and I’ve pretty much given up on BA. Especially now that it seems the flippers have become aware of the feeding frenzy surrounding Broughton Audio boxes and are now routinely demanding 30% (and more) above what they paid if you want a “previously owned” one.
So that said, I greatly prefer and appreciate SB’s ordering model. I’m going to be getting my first SB sometime in January. And I’m totally chuffed!
To me it's not either or; I've been lucky and got both Broughton things I wanted without paying secondhand but that's neither here nor there. I think both business models are fine, and neither can control the secondhand market/scalpers. With Sushi IMO it's harder because you're ordering a specific "thing" whereas Josh will put releases out and speculators can buy. To a degree, while it may seem screwed up, I think keeping it random for Broughton evens the playing field a bit. If it was always at X o'clock, you'd have professional scalpers lol
I bet if you proposed Sushi's business model over in the Broughton thread some would call you a heretic even though a lot of us frequent both.
The real reality: both are small boutique pedal makers who put out a quality product and have day jobs. That's a happy problem but they'll never be Roland who pumps out a crapton of Boss pedals. By nature of that there will always be a bit of supply/demand.
I'm just looking forward to receiving my Slampegg in the next few weeks and putting it through its paces.
So real quick, my Edison-based preamp just had a name change: Topsy.
EDIT: I'm leaning toward doing what I did a few months ago and asking public suggestions for names. I'll make a formal post on it when I know what all needs a name.
EDIT: I'm leaning toward doing what I did a few months ago and asking public suggestions for names. I'll make a formal post on it when I know what all needs a name.
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