The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[Real Soon]

The Smoke Signal evolving into a whole new, from scratch design is the kind of thing that, bear with me on the puns and ironies, drives innovation in vacuum tube technology. I have a warm fuzzy feeling that it's going to be a landmark dual-channel preamp, and one that I will swipe my new Delta Skymiles Amex card for.

Sounds like my kind of trip. pun intended.

'Twas *fabulous*! I've discovered that, while Delta Skymiles are awesome, Delta-8 Skymiles are positively transcendental. Also: when I bought a sweet 5-panel cap at the Moog shop, I inadvertently left in that shop a few books I'd bought down the street in downtown Asheville, and when I called them up to try to find a solution, they ultimately shipped my books to my home at no charge.

I'm sort of a poser, as the only Moog gear I own is an expression pedal, but that great treatment + the exposure to the latest, greatest stuff they've been making has me thinking I need a Minitaur in my life....

 

[Real Soon]

This thread, and as a result the Secret Society, will be two years old this Sunday, and by my records I've sold close to a thousand pedals in that time. This is mind boggling to think about, so I try not to. Being a one-man operation running this in my basement during my free time isn't always an ideal business setup, but it has allowed me to make changes more quickly than I would be able to as a big corporation. The result being someone buying a pedal today wouldn't even recognize the products that I was releasing two years ago, and someone two years ago would be shocked by what I'm releasing today.

I'm continually proud of what I've been able to achieve, and I credit the fine folks of the Secret Society, Talkbass in general, and bassists as a whole with how much I've been able to grow. I've always tried to do cool things and give people what they want, and that's what I'll continue to do as long as I am able (which will hopefully be a good long time).

I'm extremely happy and grateful to have been able to take part in witnessing these developments!! Were I a customer not part of the Secret Society, I WOULD be shocked by the latest releases, but getting to furthermore witness the evolution of things in realtime after my first SB pedal purchase is simply impressive and flabbergasting. Also this thread is proof that bass players are cool.

Fun fact: while on a three-gig stint in Athens, GA this past weekend, a drunkenly good-natured guy (who I correctly guessed was a fellow bassist) asked me very specifically what my always-on "secret sauce" pedal is for my tone. I had my big ol' board with me for this one, so I pointed squarely to my Slampegg Bee Pre, which he photographed, then remarked that it must be something special, because I was sounding pretty great. And I was, and yes, the Slampegg was a key reason lol

 

[Sushi Box FX]

I'm extremely happy and grateful to have been able to take part in witnessing these developments!! Were I a customer not part of the Secret Society, I WOULD be shocked by the latest releases, but getting to furthermore witness the evolution of things in realtime after my first SB pedal purchase is simply impressive and flabbergasting. Also this thread is proof that bass players are cool.

Fun fact: while on a three-gig stint in Athens, GA this past weekend, a drunkenly good-natured guy (who I correctly guessed was a fellow bassist) asked me very specifically what my always-on "secret sauce" pedal is for my tone. I had my big ol' board with me for this one, so I pointed squarely to my Slampegg Bee Pre, which he photographed, then remarked that it must be something special, because I was sounding pretty great. And I was, and yes, the Slampegg was a key reason lol

Well thanks man, I really appreciate it. I will never stop enjoying hearing that people are enjoying the sounds they get from my pedals, especially when they get a chance to use them in live performances

 

[all_sixes]

If you're looking for something that will be used on both bass and guitar I would probably recommend Elementary. UA is excellent and (in my incredibly biased opinion) hard to beat as a clean preamp for bass, but I find Dr. Wattson (and thereby Elementary) to have a more useful range of tones for guitar.

Good to know! I play bass primarily and guitar much more rarely so I’ll just have to think about it. Just from what I’ve read it sounds like the UA/SH are just so special, and seemingly a landmark design of yours thus far.

There are still 19 slots open for October open, I haven't closed ordering yet as I was hoping to get a few more orders in. I'll probably close on the 7th again so I can get parts orders placed, so you still have a few more days to get in on the October batch.

Honestly I was just holding out for November for that dealers’ choice pick you said was going to be ‘the coolest ever’. I’m a huge sucker for cool finishes… Otherwise I’d order now!

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Honestly I was just holding out for November for that dealers’ choice pick you said was going to be ‘the coolest ever’. I’m a huge sucker for cool finishes… Otherwise I’d order now!

Okay, that's fair

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

That's the one bummer and set back to me. I miss all the cool finish options, led colors, and knob choices. I'm really glad I got in with my deep dish compressor before it all got cut down to mini options

 

[revd]

Agreed.

For me there’ll never be a prettier SB pedal than my OG Space Heater, full colour, gold knobs and purple LED.

*chef’s kiss*

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

The no more purple LEDs hurt the most purple is my favorite

 

[lomo]

A simple question from an electronically naive owner of multiple s-box preamps: will the newest pedals (Oct going forward) that have remedied the "grounding incompatibility issue" (apologies if my description is inaccurate) play well only with other newer s-boxes, or should they, in theory, also avoid the noise issue when in a chain with an older s-box??
From my limited comprehension, the it seems like the former will be the case. Also, will the few "in stock" pedals yet to be posted on the site (UAs and such) have the grounding issue fixed? Thanks in advance.

 

[sears]

I put an ANOS RCA 12ay7 (from a trusted dealer) in the regular Finally. With a 12ax7 I always had the gain near 9:00 but adjusting it was touchy for a hotter instrument. Now I have it around 11:30. It's clean. I use it after an HX Stomp. It's got that tube thing that's hard to put in words, not exactly compressed but it launders the spectrum from string to string. I recommend trying one.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

That's the one bummer and set back to me. I miss all the cool finish options, led colors, and knob choices. I'm really glad I got in with my deep dish compressor before it all got cut down to mini options

The intention is still to get back to that, I just have a few things I need to figure out first, namely outsourcing enclosure for SMD builds. The intention is to only have one option for SMD builds that I can stock up on so I can sell SMD builds as always in-stock, then build a smaller (20-ish) number of "custom shop" handwired builds with a dozen or so finish and customization options.

The no more purple LEDs hurt the most purple is my favorite

The problem with the purple LEDs was that they pulled too much current and weren't bright enough so I was frying LEDs, that's why I stopped offering them.

Recently though, a friend of mine showed me these "pink" LEDs that look purple and pull much less current but are significantly brighter. It looks like my supplier is well-stocked enough that I could start offering these going forward.

A simple question from an electronically naive owner of multiple s-box preamps: will the newest pedals (Oct going forward) that have remedied the "grounding incompatibility issue" (apologies if my description is inaccurate) play well only with other newer s-boxes, or should they, in theory, also avoid the noise issue when in a chain with an older s-box??
From my limited comprehension, the it seems like the former will be the case. Also, will the few "in stock" pedals yet to be posted on the site (UAs and such) have the grounding issue fixed? Thanks in advance.

This is a good question. Ideally the fix would be performed on all pedals so there wouldn't be any issues. I will have to check to be sure (I still have plenty of non-fixed pedals on hand), but I don't expect a fixed issue running in line with a non-fixed pedal to cause any issues. I'll try to remember to confirm tonight when I get home.

All September builds and builds sold as in stock in September had the grounding fixed and everything going forward will have it, including all pedals that are sold as in stock. I started making the fix halfway through the August batch, so a good chunk (but not all) of the August builds have them.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

I meant to post a picture of the pink LEDs. I think they look great, I have them in a couple personal builds now.

 

[mmbass21]

I meant to post a picture of the pink LEDs. I think they look great, I have them in a couple personal builds now.

View attachment 4833400

Ooooh I want that, anyway to get that LED on my October Elementary?!?!?

 

[lomo]

Ooooh I want that, anyway to get that LED on my October Elementary?!?!?

If the pink LEDs are an option for Oct I might be weakened to the point of caving & ordering (if slots remain).....

 

[watt]

nathan,

your doc watson boxes, are they based on the el-84 hiwatt amps or the kt-88 ones? pardon me if you already answered this...

curious watt

mike watt's hoot page

i had both the SMD and Handwired versions of the DR Watson

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Ooooh I want that, anyway to get that LED on my October Elementary?!?!?

Sure, anyone in the October batch, PM me with your order number and I can change your LED to the pink if you want it.

If the pink LEDs are an option for Oct I might be weakened to the point of caving & ordering (if slots remain).....

Easy enough, pink LEDs are an option effective immediately, just added it to the site (all by myself, @Sonicblaze will be so proud). Still 19 slots open.

nathan,

your doc watson boxes, are they based on the el-84 hiwatt amps or the kt-88 ones? pardon me if you already answered this...

I don't model the power amp at all, this is just the preamp, but I use the preamp of the 70s model Dr103 which is 100W 4x EL34.

 

[watt]

nathan,

understood... I had no idea both these lines of hiwatt amps had the same preamp stuff - or do they?

still curious watt

mike watt's hoot page

I don't model the power amp at all, this is just the preamp, but I use the preamp of the 70s model Dr103 which is 100W 4x EL34.

 

[fivestringgecko]

I'll check over the design to make sure I implemented the ultra high and ultra low switches as they were in the original schematic, but to my ears they just didn't sound better. The ultra high switch is subtle to the point that I don't hear a difference whether its on or off. For the ultra low switch I tried a three-way switch like the original, so you have normal, low cut, and ultra low. Normal sounds great. Absolutely excellent. It definitely has what I consider the SVT "growl". Low cut mode sounds completely anemic. My exact words when I tried it were "yuck, I don't like that one." Wit the low cut on there was absolutely no setting I was able to find that made it sound good. With the ultra low there was a very audible accentuation of the bass and a huge drop in highs and upper-mids, but the drop in gain was so immense that it becomes impossible to get a grindy growl out of it even with gain dimed. There's a similar drop in gain in Slampegg with the ultra low switch, but this is way worse than that.

Could be worth a second look if you decide to include them. The Ultra switches have been around for 50+ years, and Ampeg probably would have dumped them long ago if they didn't do anything. (Whether or not they make the amp sound "better" is personal preference, of course.) I have a 1972 V4B and a PF-500, and while neither have a low cut option, I personally wouldn't describe the Ultra switches the same way as above. Just thinking about it makes me want to bring the V4B out, because it sounds amazing and smells like an old pinball machine, but dang... It's 70lbs and weighs more than my entire main rig. Part of the reason I've been following the development of the SVBT.

The problem with the purple LEDs was that they pulled too much current and weren't bright enough so I was frying LEDs, that's why I stopped offering them.

Darn. My mini tube Slampegg has a purple LED (inspired by my PF-500), so hopefully it doesn't fry out.

5sg.

 

[GR7G5TER]

I don't model the power amp at all, this is just the preamp, but I use the preamp of the 70s model Dr103 which is 100W 4x EL34.

I would love to see someone create a pedal sized Tube poweramp!

 

[lomo]

Darn....I must simply accept that I lack discipline and am shallow of mind..... I wanted to wait until I sold my PJB Cub Pro/C2 ext before buying MORE, but the dealer's choice deep green/ pink LEDs/ silver knob was too nice to resist. Can someone remind me where to get one of those cartoon mega knobs from? Are they the Tesi 20mm jobbies?