The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[Sushi Box FX]

Also two days into September seems like a good time for an August batch update:

All enclosures have been milled and all circuit boards have been populated. Boxes need to be powdercoated and printed, boards just need tube sockets added, then I can move on to final assembly. The plan is to powdercoat/print tonight and do final assembly Friday, so I can get everything shipped out Saturday, which only puts me 4 days behind the ideal schedule.

I talked a while ago about stealing a tech from the local Morley shop, and he came over to work on boards for a couple hours Tuesday night. I also sent him home with a bunch of boards from the September batch, so while I'm working on August enclosures, he's getting a head start on September.

 

[jbybj]

I talked a while ago about stealing a tech from the local Morley shop, and he came over to work on boards for a couple hours Tuesday night. I also sent him home with a bunch of boards from the September batch, so while I'm working on August enclosures, he's getting a head start on September.

And just like that, it begins………..

 

[Sushi Box FX]

And just like that, it begins………..

Yup, he's already talking about bringing in a fellow tech as well. I'm paying him by the board instead of by the hour, so I don't care how many people are working on it. The eventual goal here is that with more hands I can get production ahead of ordering so I can build up stock like a real store. The pre-order model has been really great for getting the company up and running, but I understand it's difficult for new customers to take a risk on a $200 pedal they've never heard when they have to wait 2 months to get it.

So I think down the road I want to have mostly pre-built and ready to go pedals that I sell direct from the shop, and I'll do a small number (maybe 10 or so) of custom builds every month for those that are okay waiting if it gets them more customization options. If I end up doing that I would be more willing to make these complete one-offs and offer more powdercoat and knob colors like I did before.

I don't have a set schedule for when I want this to happen, it's basically just "whenever it makes sense."

 

[Lowendtech]

Crank it up

 

[Killing Floor]

Next thing you know it’s Boss by Sushi Box and TC by Sushi Box and the Sushi Westwind gets a new paint job and before long their spending Saturday doing mandatory SFDC training because HR thinks every salaried employee needs to know how to develop user apps in Lightning. But those fees get out of control fast so now you’re stuck with crap coffee in the break room to cut costs.

 

[bassbrad]

Next thing you know it’s Boss by Sushi Box and TC by Sushi Box and the Sushi Westwind gets a new paint job and before long their spending Saturday doing mandatory SFDC training because HR thinks every salaried employee needs to know how to develop user apps in Lightning. But those fees get out of control fast so now you’re stuck with crap coffee in the break room to cut costs.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Next thing you know it’s Boss by Sushi Box and TC by Sushi Box and the Sushi Westwind gets a new paint job and before long their spending Saturday doing mandatory SFDC training because HR thinks every salaried employee needs to know how to develop user apps in Lightning. But those fees get out of control fast so now you’re stuck with crap coffee in the break room to cut costs.

I was actually relieved when he asked to get paid per board instead of hourly so he can work on things at home instead of at my place, because now I have even less motivation to look at expanding to an actual office space. Also he said it would be easier for him from a tax perspective to have him work as an independent contractor than as an employee, so that makes things easier for me. I'm still a company of one, I just contract out labor.

 

[bassbrad]

I was actually relieved when he asked to get paid per board instead of hourly so he can work on things at home instead of at my place, because now I have even less motivation to look at expanding to an actual office space. Also he said it would be easier for him from a tax perspective to have him work as an independent contractor than as an employee, so that makes things easier for me. I'm still a company of one, I just contract out labor.

Much easier to keep track of your payments and issue a 1099 than to do all the figuring, withholding and quarterly deposits and such for you or your accountant or CPA. Also much easier to factor that into your budget. The only issue now is QA may become more challenging, that is never fun if there are issues.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

The only issue now is QA may become more challenging, that is never fun if there are issues.

I actually like QA tests a lot more now, it's a lot easier for me to judge somebody else's work than my own. When I did it I know I did it so I'm less likely to expect to find something wrong. But when I know someone else soldered something I'm more likely to look at it critically. So I'm still inspecting every single board he does (there have been a couple spots that need work, but I have 20 years of soldering experience and he does not), and obviously I will continue to personally test every single unit before it goes out the door. I'm just getting help with the boring parts

 

[mmbongo]

Next thing you know it’s Boss by Sushi Box and TC by Sushi Box and the Sushi Westwind gets a new paint job and before long their spending Saturday doing mandatory SFDC training because HR thinks every salaried employee needs to know how to develop user apps in Lightning. But those fees get out of control fast so now you’re stuck with crap coffee in the break room to cut costs.

...and then for $39, Amazon will start selling a 'Skin Roll Nuclear Assassinator' with 'real faux tube technology'.

 

[macmanlou]

Question about the Finally DI - I'm assuming that it will be an "active" DI, so will it be able to handle passive, active, and piezo instrument inputs, as well as line level inputs (like from preamp pedals)?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

...and then for $39, Amazon will start selling a 'Skin Roll Nuclear Assassinator' with 'real faux tube technology'.

"Finally" Tube DI has now been renamed Nuclear Assassinator Tube DI (pending board approval).

Question about the Finally DI - I'm assuming that it will be an "active" DI, so will it be able to handle passive, active, and piezo instrument inputs, as well as line level inputs (like from preamp pedals)?

I'm assuming you're referring to the Nuclear Assassinator

So yes and no. When I hear "active DI" I interpret that as solid-state DI, which utilizes an op-amp circuit to get the desired output impedance. The DI portion of Finally is passive (just a transformer), but is fed by an active preamp circuit with gain and level controls, so you can feed it any kind of signal and it should be able to take it. Input impedance will be around 1Mohms, it will have unaffected dry pass through, and DI output impedance will be around 600ohms.

Generally, based on my subjective opinion of tone:

No DI < cheap transformer DI < solid-state DI < quality transformer DI

 

[macmanlou]

So yes and no. When I hear "active DI" I interpret that as solid-state DI, which utilizes an op-amp circuit to get the desired output impedance. The DI portion of Finally is passive (just a transformer), but is fed by an active preamp circuit with gain and level controls, so you can feed it any kind of signal and it should be able to take it. Input impedance will be around 1Mohms, it will have unaffected dry pass through, and DI output impedance will be around 600ohms.

Thanks. Sounds good to me (and I'm sure it will).

 

[Pedalnetics]

I'm assuming you're referring to the Nuclear Assassinator

Planning to make it phantom power-able or not?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Planning to make it phantom power-able or not?

As cool and convenient as that would be, I looked up phantom power standards (IEC 61938:2018, pretty good read) the maximum allowable load is 15mA on a 12V phantom supply or 10mA on a 24V or 48V supply, nowhere near enough to run a tube. So I could build it to be able to be powered that way, but the chances of a non-custom built phantom power supply being able to actually power it are slim.

 

[macmanlou]

So I could build it to be able to be powered that way, but the chances of a non-custom built phantom power supply being able to actually power it are slim.

And watch to see if it might let the smoke out of the FOH mixer.

 

[mmbongo]

"Finally" Tube DI has now been renamed Nuclear Assassinator Tube DI (pending board approval).

 

[NKBassman]

"Finally" Tube DI has now been renamed Nuclear Assassinator Tube DI (pending board approval).


I'm assuming you're referring to the Nuclear Assassinator

So yes and no. When I hear "active DI" I interpret that as solid-state DI, which utilizes an op-amp circuit to get the desired output impedance. The DI portion of Finally is passive (just a transformer), but is fed by an active preamp circuit with gain and level controls, so you can feed it any kind of signal and it should be able to take it. Input impedance will be around 1Mohms, it will have unaffected dry pass through, and DI output impedance will be around 600ohms.

Generally, based on my subjective opinion of tone:

No DI < cheap transformer DI < solid-state DI < quality transformer DI

This sounds great. What kind of tube will you be using?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

This sounds great. What kind of tube will you be using?

TBD, but definitely something in the 12A*7 family. I'll start with 12AX7, but I want it to be pretty clean so I'll also play with 12AT7 and 12AU7 and see what best does what I want.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Bad news in August batch land:

So I'm finishing up powdercoating and getting into printing tonight, and I'm having a hell of a time getting the Violet Sparkle to stick to the boxes. Rainbow's End went on fine, so I have to assume the problem is with the powder and not the gun or the boxes. I will be reaching out to everyone in august with pictures of their enclosure to ask if they will take it as is and get a discount on their next order, or if they want me to make a new enclosure with a different finish.

Some of them are okay and the powder is just light in spots, others have areas where there is zero powder adhered to the enclosure and the bare metal is exposed.

So far none of the other finishes have been affected, but I'm also not done yet, so I'll keep everyone posted if any other colors give me trouble.