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The Sushi Box FX Secret Society
- Thread starter kranahan
- Start date
Parallel would probably be better, but series would still work as long as you do some math. The only caveat that I would add is that when you're running multiple LEDs in parallel it's considered best practice to give each its own current limiting resistor. So depending on what you're trying to do, it may get a little messy as my pedals have the CLR on the cathode (negative) leg of the LED and they're on the board, so to do it "right" you would basically have to float one leg of your LED so you're not inadvertently sharing the existing CLRs.@Sushi Box FX while we're talking about soldering things inside our SushiBox Pedals, I've been wondering something....I'm wanting to experiment with LED's. Is there any issue with paralleling multiple (like 3) LED's? Would series be better? Or should I just put my pedal back together and shutup?
- Nov 12, 2006
- 2,224
- 1,699
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- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist:Ernie Ball / mike lull
So this repair is only if you are using more than one pedal?
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Basically it's only if you're having problems, which are more common when using more than one Sushi pedal. If I remember right (I don't keep great records) the fix became standard in the last half of the September batch, so everything from October onward has it and half of September does as well.
I need to stop staying up until 2AM when I have work in the morning. Either that or I need to stop working in the morning.
I obviously don't know you, but based on your posts, perhaps an intermediate term plan to change your day gig might be a happy medium between not sleeping and eating less, neither of which is usually a recipe for sustainable happiness. Big life changes may require extensive planning, but are often worth that investment. My wife and I have a "summit" once every year....to discuss what works in our lives, what needs to change, etc. It has worked very well for us over our 33 years, and has stimulated adaptive changes in job routine, moving across borders, etc. Just a thought on a Friday morning, as I await my Glass Butterfly.......
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I mean it kind of sounds like you know me
That is something I'm looking at more and more. I have a good friend that lives a few hours away that also builds pedals, and we talk often about setting up a shop together and going into business. He's in Indiana, which is a business-friendly place and has more affordable warehouse space, so the gist of our talks is getting a warehouse out there and combining our businesses. He doesn't do anywhere near the volume I do right now, but he's a sharp dude and knows his stuff, so the intention would be to have me move my equipment over and train him up on how to use it, then he would run the shop initially to get momentum behind the business while I continue to work my day job (but get more sleep) until it makes financial sense for me to quit my day job and switch to full-time pedal work.
I have talked to my wife at length about this, but it being a huge change affecting our whole family it would need extensive planning, as you said. It still needs more discussion and certainly more numbers involved in the planning discussion, but it's something that gets discussed regularly.
Yeah-when other mouths are depending on you, it's complex and requires care. Another, intermediate option would be to maintain a day (non-pedal) gig, but transition to one that's less time consuming/demanding, allowing you to maintain 1 foot on a stable rock and not have all your eggs in 1 proverbial basket.....this free .02 being worth all it costs, coming from a 60 year old who sort of cyber knows you
I’ll take it. You’ve got my address.
Pedal building full time... Does that come with a 401k contribution and health care ? oh.. I see. The romance is blown...
You're a wise man. If your wife is happy, then everyone is happy. Lesson learned after 22 years of marriage.I mean it kind of sounds like you know me
That is something I'm looking at more and more. I have a good friend that lives a few hours away that also builds pedals, and we talk often about setting up a shop together and going into business. He's in Indiana, which is a business-friendly place and has more affordable warehouse space, so the gist of our talks is getting a warehouse out there and combining our businesses. He doesn't do anywhere near the volume I do right now, but he's a sharp dude and knows his stuff, so the intention would be to have me move my equipment over and train him up on how to use it, then he would run the shop initially to get momentum behind the business while I continue to work my day job (but get more sleep) until it makes financial sense for me to quit my day job and switch to full-time pedal work.
I have talked to my wife at length about this, but it being a huge change affecting our whole family it would need extensive planning, as you said. It still needs more discussion and certainly more numbers involved in the planning discussion, but it's something that gets discussed regularly.
Honestly if health/dental/life insurance wasn't a factor I 100% would have quit already and Sushi Box would be my full time job. It wouldn't take much to get my post-taxes Sushi Box income to match my take-home pay from work, but I get excellent benefits from work.
And I should clarify, I don't hate my day job, it's actually a very good job as far as day jobs go. Pay is good, benefits are great, my commute is reasonable, my manager genuinely cares about me as a person and wants me to succeed, schedule is moderately flexible, working overtime requires special permission (my manager's exact words: "I'll make sure you get paid for every hour you work, but go home. Have a life.").
But I've always been told what you think about when you don't need to be thinking about anything is what you should be doing. I like my job, but I'm not passionate about it. On the other hand I literally dream about making pedals*. My dreams of becoming a rockstar have faded away with reality, but I love that I still found a way to be a part of the music scene, and possibly in a bigger way than being a musician would have afforded me. At last count, Sushi Box pedals have been shipped to 32 countries across 5 continents, which blows me away to think about. Turning Sushi Box into my full-time job would be a literal dream come true, but as a moderately logical person I understand the risk involved and the need for it to be a gradual transition, as I'm past the point in life where I can throw caution to the wind and plunge into ventures with nary a care of the outcome.
*None of the circuits I have come up with in dreams ended up as production units as all the ideas I had while sleeping either were impractical to produce or just didn't sound good
this is a great review. maybe I missed it but are you running everything thru an amp?I spent this evening playing through the Fliptop, P-15, and the Slampegg Twin using four of my basses (Rob Allen Deep 4 with the dual output - the main reason for the Twin, my 78 fretted P, my 72/78 maple fretless P, and the Blast Cult Gateway). I am going to wire up a pedalboard so I wanted to get settings for the various combos for my Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B. M+ and not have to worry about disassembling again.
I also put an older GE 12AX7 into the Twin.
Anyway, I'm not going to make this a long post because at some point I'll do a video or something because I have a LOT to say after about 4 - 5 hours of tinkering around. The three pres couldn't be more radically different even though they are all emulating essentially the same thing.
Side note: I'm really loving the C.A.B. M+. Dial in the pre tube correctly and use the right speaker and mic combo for your bass and it's surprising. Modeling has come a LONG way.
Slampegg Original (mini tube/6N21B) vs. Slampegg X
Both pedals sound really good. Kudos to Sushi. They're different so for me it depends what sound you're going for. The OG definitely cops more of the "classic" B-15 sound but with things like the Ultra High/Lo/Bright, it's more like a later model. Where you can tell the OG is more like an original is that it pairs better with the (not free) CTS IR from an older B-15 than the newer one they call WGrandBlvd (which I think is based on the modern Jensen).
Moving the gain just a little on the OG has a LOT of effect on the sound. Honestly I didn't really crank it past like 1 and I got the sound I was going for.
The X, as I expected, was tonally similar to the B-25B I used to have since it also used a 12AX7. There's much more headroom so the gain could go higher and more granular. It also sounded really good, but this time it sounded better with the WGrandBlvd IR. Again, the different voices as I kinda expected matched with a relatively equivalent "speaker".
What got me the most excited was when I used (not free) IR which Two Notes captured from the B-25B 2x15". I used to have it so I know it well. I played that for years. All I'm going to say is I now have a B-25B in a MUCH more portable rig. There's my rock tone, full stop. I'm so effing happy. Thanks, Sushi. That alone for me makes the X version worth it.
How well did it work with why I wanted the Twin? Fantastic. I could have the piezo and the mag plugged into different Slampeggs and tweak each sound. I know Sushi will never do a Twin again, but it's awesome.
Sushi vs. Broughton
All three handled both piezo (i.e. active) and magnetic (passive) pickups just fine whether the signal was hot or not. If anyone is concerned there, don't be.
Let me get this out of the way up front: the P-15 sounds freakin' incredible - and it should for the cost. Far and away it's the best of the three at nearly everything. I can't run both outputs of the RA into it, so on that level it kinda sucks for the RA. I've been using my resistance mixer but I'd rather not deal with that. It does a really good rock tone with the 2x15, but the Slampegg X with the 12AX7 gives me more of that B-25B sound as it should due to the different tube.
The Fliptop is not bad. To me, it was the "worst" of the three. Even at 24V, I had a much harder time dialing in a sound. With the P-15 and both sides of the Twin that was never an issue. It reminds me more of a real, old school 60s B-15 in overall tonality with some of the quirks of it, too. If you want a sound more akin to a "classic" B-15, it cops it pretty well once I dialed in a sound. I don't regret getting it BUT if I let go of one, it'll be this.
The Fliptop will probably need some sort of clean boost because it's not loud at all. I bought a SV-Boost to put after it thinking it would work. It didn't. That I'm definitely going to sell. Boy people aren't kidding - that think even at 9V will blow your flippin' head off by just barely touching the knob.
If I was ranking, it's P-15 > Slampegg Twin > Fliptop.
What's right for you? It's going to depend on what sound you want. Best bang for the buck is the Slampegg IMO, and if you want more versatility in a pedal, the X is probably going to give it to you. The Classic is nice, but I think the X's tonal palate might be better for rock since it uses the 12AX7. Like I said, I got my B-25B sound pretty easily which I can't do on a real or "fake" B-15 with the other preamp style.
If I decide NOT to put the P-15 on the board, I could live with just schlepping the Slampegg and not think twice but ... P-15. Both will probably live on the board.
They're all pretty worthy and we're spoiled for choice. I've said it before: the Ampeg sound DNA is similar, but know which one you want. All B-15s are not the same, and a B-15 is not an SVT, V-4B, or B-25B, either.
I haven't compared any of these to my real B-15N yet and this is the first time I've really used any of them outside of the P-15 for any length of time.
*None of the circuits I have come up with in dreams ended up as production units as all the ideas I had while sleeping either were impractical to produce or just didn't sound good
My setup for most of the past year is the Broughton P-15 pre --> TwoNotes C.A.B. M+ for 6L6 power tube sim (I do not use cab sim since my speaker is not FRFR) --> SFX microThumpinator HPF --> Jule Simone power amp --> GR Bass AT-110. I no longer have the Slampegg Dual nor the Fliptop; they're long gone. I even sold my B-15.
I did just pick up an Ampeg PF-350 for simplicity's sake if I do not want to schlep the "deconstructed B-15 head" setup which is not super heavy, just big and slightly fiddly to set up. The PF-350 is two cables - head to speaker, head to power. The PF-350 is definitely not as warm nor does it sound as good as the other setup, but it does the trick. It's got essential Ampegness.
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