The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[mmbongo]

Hi all! First post on TB.

Last month I got a HW Slampegg and I adore how it sounds. Gigged with it last week through a Little Mark Vintage and it was killer. I ordered More for this month, and it got here today! Sadly, it's bringing out a lot of serious issues in the Slampegg that I initially swept under the rug.

When both are in the signal chain together, I get some awful ringing noises that only get worse with either pedal on. I have isolated power (Cioks 8), and I tried giving one of them a separate wall wart line (enough current as well, it has 500mA), no dice. With either one in the chain by themselves, there is no issue, no noise, no ringing.

When at home, I've just been going straight out of the Slampegg into a mixer; with the pedal on and the gain + master cranked, I notice a significant volume drop strangely. I've tried the Slampegg as a preamp in my guitar rig, and with buffers before and after it (I think that's what is helping, buffers maybe?) it sounds huge! Tons of gain, very loud. Straight into the mixer, very quiet. I also noticed that the mixer reads a relatively high db input when the Slampegg is on and I am not playing, but the audible noise floor remains quiet similar, so I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the output stage of my pedal? It seems like there is either inaudible noise it's generating or loading the preamps in some strange way, not sure. To further explore this, I disconnected the input of the Slampegg and just sent the output to my mixer, and the pedal turned into a really loud oscillator! I could change the pitch by moving the pots. It was awful, I heard my downstairs neighbors say "oooo" out loud with contempt; I tried the same thing with More, but it just boosted the background noise that you get when nothing is in the input jack. Something seems wrong with my Slampegg. I know More is a brand new pedal, but it doesn't seem to be the culprit here. Using it by itself (no Slampegg in the chain), zero issues; it's a boost, and a great sounding one! Only when the two are together. Oh and I get terrible popping noises when engaging usually silent pedals if the Slampegg is on.

This has all been fine since the Slampegg still sounds great, even with a volume drop. Now however, with More behind it, there is this terrible ringing noise and nothing I've tried has gotten rid of it. I'm curious if anyone else here has had any similar issues, or if you might have input to try and remedy this. Thanks!

tl;dr - awful ringing noise when using HW Slampegg with More, slampegg volume drop, turns into a synth oscillator with no input

Welcome to TB! I can't offer you much help as I fought the same thing. The whining, the popping, all the noise so I don't think there is anything 'wrong' with your pedals. It's just something that happens when using more than one in a chain. I've tried buffers, isolators, everything. Sometimes they help but sadly I just can't take a chance on those noises showing up on a gig so even though the Slampegg into my UA sounds glorious, I just can't use them both. I now use the UA on my main board and the Slampegg on my small board and had to get other non-tube pedals to use with them.

 

[FronTowardEnemy]

Hi all! First post on TB.

Last month I got a HW Slampegg and I adore how it sounds. Gigged with it last week through a Little Mark Vintage and it was killer. I ordered More for this month, and it got here today! Sadly, it's bringing out a lot of serious issues in the Slampegg that I initially swept under the rug.

When both are in the signal chain together, I get some awful ringing noises that only get worse with either pedal on. I have isolated power (Cioks 8), and I tried giving one of them a separate wall wart line (enough current as well, it has 500mA), no dice. With either one in the chain by themselves, there is no issue, no noise, no ringing.

When at home, I've just been going straight out of the Slampegg into a mixer; with the pedal on and the gain + master cranked, I notice a significant volume drop strangely. I've tried the Slampegg as a preamp in my guitar rig, and with buffers before and after it (I think that's what is helping, buffers maybe?) it sounds huge! Tons of gain, very loud. Straight into the mixer, very quiet. I also noticed that the mixer reads a relatively high db input when the Slampegg is on and I am not playing, but the audible noise floor remains quiet similar, so I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the output stage of my pedal? It seems like there is either inaudible noise it's generating or loading the preamps in some strange way, not sure. To further explore this, I disconnected the input of the Slampegg and just sent the output to my mixer, and the pedal turned into a really loud oscillator! I could change the pitch by moving the pots. It was awful, I heard my downstairs neighbors say "oooo" out loud with contempt; I tried the same thing with More, but it just boosted the background noise that you get when nothing is in the input jack. Something seems wrong with my Slampegg. I know More is a brand new pedal, but it doesn't seem to be the culprit here. Using it by itself (no Slampegg in the chain), zero issues; it's a boost, and a great sounding one! Only when the two are together. Oh and I get terrible popping noises when engaging usually silent pedals if the Slampegg is on.

This has all been fine since the Slampegg still sounds great, even with a volume drop. Now however, with More behind it, there is this terrible ringing noise and nothing I've tried has gotten rid of it. I'm curious if anyone else here has had any similar issues, or if you might have input to try and remedy this. Thanks!

tl;dr - awful ringing noise when using HW Slampegg with More, slampegg volume drop, turns into a synth oscillator with no input

Welcome to TB! I can't offer you much help as I fought the same thing. The whining, the popping, all the noise so I don't think there is anything 'wrong' with your pedals. It's just something that happens when using more than one in a chain. I've tried buffers, isolators, everything. Sometimes they help but sadly I just can't take a chance on those noises showing up on a gig so even though the Slampegg into my UA sounds glorious, I just can't use them both. I now use the UA on my main board and the Slampegg on my small board and had to get other non-tube pedals to use with them.

I’ve given up my favorite compressor of all, a Becos Stella, to run my UA and finally on the same board. A Dark Glass Hyper Luminal, no slouch at all, between them solved my problem.

I have also found that having a Nux mini studio turned on between them corrects my issue as well. That’s great for IEM, as I am doing almost 100% of now, but in front of an amp, the DG is the only solution that I have found to work for me.

 

[Ryan L.]

Quick announcement: I've been doing some investigations into noise issues when two or more Sushi pedals are running together and I may have found something. I want to do some more digging to make sure, but based on a test from last night it's promising. More on that to come.

Very interested to hear your findings and a possible solution.

 

[s_wood]

Had a crazy idea for Señor Sushi.

An SS, with the foundation being the DW.


First channel is one tube using both gain stages, like the upcoming Elementary.
Second channel uses both tubes, and all 4 gain stages, like the SS.

I know the DW uses 2 tubes, and three of the available gain stages.

Señor Sushi says the Elementary uses 1 tube, both gain stages, and has the DW clean side down.

A second channel, like the SS, utilizing the second tube, and both additional gain stages, would be a great pedal, in my mind.

Completely agree! That would be the perfect pedal, IMHO. Love my DW!

 

[CH Design]

You can play with the knobs here and take a look at the EQ points.

TSC in the web

Now I'm curious, how are those using a DW setting their EQ? The default example for a Hiwatt really seems to push 1K and up.

 

[morrisonhendrix]

So I got More a day early! I need More of the same! There's nothing More you can say! More is More!

 

[dedpool1052]

How's it sound?!


We want to know More!!!!

 

[morrisonhendrix]

How's it sound?!


We want to know More!!!!

Just as tubey as you'd like! Definitely love the tone and it's exactly what I had hoped it was.

 

[DrHooper]

Getting really psyched to get my DW!

Stripped down my board for a new project, and there's a bit too much room. I think HiWatt sounds will be the most effective use of said space.

 

[Ryan L.]

My More is sitting in Fargo, in a package locker in my building.

I’m in Two Harbors, MN, on vacation, until Friday morning.

 

[el murdoque]

Got thru putting the HW UA on my board in place of the UA with very satisfying results. To my ear it sounds a bit more open & deep giving a better voice to my effects heavy sounds. Can't wait to hear what the MORE will bring out.

Hey Brad,
I think I had similar results. I did expect the HW and the SMD to sound more or less so identical that only a keen ear listening for the differences will be able to make out any. My result has been that there is a more direct response in the lower mids and bass region, it sounds like it has more thump and the bass is a bit more dry, but still warm.
Driven in saturation it sounds like the file that rasps at your sound has bigger, sharper teeth.

Here's a question: My HW unit came with a different tube, I think. IIRC my UA has the standard JJ tube while the HWUA came with one of those tubes Mr. Sushi used when JJs were hard to get.
Might that be the main reason?

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Hey Brad,
I think I had similar results. I did expect the HW and the SMD to sound more or less so identical that only a keen ear listening for the differences will be able to make out any. My result has been that there is a more direct response in the lower mids and bass region, it sounds like it has more thump and the bass is a bit more dry, but still warm.
Driven in saturation it sounds like the file that rasps at your sound has bigger, sharper teeth.

Here's a question: My HW unit came with a different tube, I think. IIRC my UA has the standard JJ tube while the HWUA came with one of those tubes Mr. Sushi used when JJs were hard to get.
Might that be the main reason?

The Psvane tubes will sound a little different than JJ, but not quite in that way. My experience with the Psvane is that they are a little more emphasized in the upper mids with a tighter low end, and a little less gain overall. That's what my ears say anyway.

 

[el murdoque]

The Psvane tubes will sound a little different than JJ, but not quite in that way. My experience with the Psvane is that they are a little more emphasized in the upper mids with a tighter low end, and a little less gain overall. That's what my ears say anyway.

Okay, so it is Handwired against SMD - and Handwired is much better.

 

[NKBassman]

I'm eagerly awaiting More feedback.

 

[Thumper]

I was using my HW Finally at practice last night, and for the first time with my Crybaby. It gave off a strange background tone, quite a bit like a Theremin. I should probably put it last in the chain (it's currently after the wireless, tuner, and 2 TC Sparks, but before the POG, Empress EQ, volume pedal, Crybaby, and LPF/HPF. It did sound kinda cool, if not a little distracting.

 

[XLunacy]

I can give a quick update on the August batch while I'm here. I'm in pretty good shape to finish well before the end of the month, and depending on how much else my wife has for me to do I should be able to get a solid chunk of the batch completely finished this weekend. A couple highlights:

• All enclosures have been finished. That's CNC milling, powdercoating, and UV printing. Completely done.
• 1 pedal has been completed, tested, and shipped (special circumstances)
• 10 pedals (all More) have been completed and are awaiting testing
• I expect to complete the remaining Mores today and get them all tested

When I have a to-do list, I tend to gravitate toward low-hanging fruit. If it's easier for me to do, I'm more likely to do it first. In monthly batches this means the SMD pedals will almost always get built before the handwired pedals, simply because they take a lot less time to build. All the boards have been completed for the Mores and I just need to get the last handful wired into the enclosures, then I'll move on to the remaining SMD pedals in the batch (DW, UA, JCE, LR, and Finally) before getting into the handwired builds.

The handwired builds range in complexity and parts count (Space Heater being the least parts and easiest build, Lab Rat being the most parts, Finally being the most complex to assemble), but for handwired builds I typically start with the circuit that has the most orders and go from there. This month HWDW and HWUA are tied at 4 orders each, so I'll start from there and move down the list until everything is done.

I have Friday off work for my day job so I was able to stay up Thursday night until 4AM working, if I have another night like that I'll be in pretty good shape to get all the SMD builds done Friday night, then get a good chunk of handwired builds done Saturday and Sunday. So I can't promise I'll finish everything this weekend, but I'm going to do as much as I can this weekend.

Any update regarding August's orders ? Seeing all those gorgeous MORE everywhere makes me impatient

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Any update regarding August's orders ? Seeing all those gorgeous MORE everywhere makes me impatient

They're coming along, all the remaining board assembly was finished last night, and all potentiometers and tube sockets have been installed. All that's left is adding footswitches and wiring up the input/output/power jacks then sticking them in the enclosures, but I hit a snag last night as I ran out of solder. I already ordered more and it was supposed to arrive yesterday but was delayed, so I'm hoping it will show up today and I can get the remaining pedals finished in the next couple days and shipped out by the weekend.

 

[bassbrad]

Hey Brad,
I think I had similar results. I did expect the HW and the SMD to sound more or less so identical that only a keen ear listening for the differences will be able to make out any. My result has been that there is a more direct response in the lower mids and bass region, it sounds like it has more thump and the bass is a bit more dry, but still warm.
Driven in saturation it sounds like the file that rasps at your sound has bigger, sharper teeth.

Here's a question: My HW unit came with a different tube, I think. IIRC my UA has the standard JJ tube while the HWUA came with one of those tubes Mr. Sushi used when JJs were hard to get.
Might that be the main reason?

The Psvane tubes will sound a little different than JJ, but not quite in that way. My experience with the Psvane is that they are a little more emphasized in the upper mids with a tighter low end, and a little less gain overall. That's what my ears say anyway.

The different tube could certainly account for some of the difference I am hearing, regardless I really like it in this context as it was a problem in my recording set up.

My MORE has just arrived so more testing is in order. Plan is to move the MORE into my recording set up in place of the Finally where I don't really need a DI anyway and to use the UA + Finally with my Ibanez UB804.

 

[bassbrad]

@dedpool1052 & @NKBassman our tube fiend @Sushi Box FX has created yet another tasty pedal to add to our combo plates of sonic mayhem. The MORE is that extra ting-tangy warm and gooey tube goodness that is next to impossible to describe but once your ear experiences a taste you must always add it ala carte`. On it's own it is a warm transparent boost but give it something to work with and it just makes it MORE. As our Cajun friend Justin Wilson might say it makes things More Better.

 

[eeyorebass]

As our Cajun friend Justin Wilson might say it makes things More Better.

Please let us know when you have a change to compare it to the Finally. I'm very curious about how they each behave as a signal tuberizer, more-better-er.