HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 It isn't a guitar, but guitar related nonetheless. This is the NOS Boost (nitrous oxide for those that don't recognize the logo). It is an 18v jfet based boost of my own design that delivers over 30db of boost. It is as transparent as I could possibly make it and is true bypass. I'm getting some decent exposure with this one as George McConnell from Widespread Panic just picked one up along with the guys from Day of Fire, Vulpine, and a few other people I can't mention yet. This is an old photo so the pedal has slightly changed since they were taken. They now have an aluminum knob and the artwork is slightly different, but still close enough to this. My website is being rebuilt right now, but will be back up very soon. Thanks and enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GodBlessTexas Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 (edited) I hope you licensed the NOS logo from Holley Performance Products, since it is their trademark. Other than that, I dig it. I like the valve cover look. Since your site is down, how much do you ask for one? Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas... Edited August 11, 2005 by GodBlessTexas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 I think the marketing/design idea there is terrific! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted August 11, 2005 Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 That is some very cool product design. You said some changes had been made, and maybe the trademarked logo is one of those changes, but for the market the "big block" brand is perfect. Along with the look that you can stomp the hell out of it and it's going to last. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2005 (edited) I hope you licensed the NOS logo from Holley Performance Products, since it is their trademark. Other than that, I dig it. I like the valve cover look. Since your site is down, how much do you ask for one? Liscensing is in the works as we speak.... I charge $125 (USD) shipped for the boost. It includes a limited lifetime warranty... as long as I'm alive, I'll replace it (no cosmetic or spilled beer repairs! ). The circuit board is completely covered in epoxy to protect my circuit design and to keep people from trying to "make it sound better" then selling it as original... can't have my image damaged by folks that don't know what they are doing. I have 2 other designs as well. The Glass Pack Overdrive, which is based on a Marshall JCM800 preamp. And, The Rotary Valve Phaser with the added bonus of tremelo and vibrato... so it gets anything from phaser/chorus/flange/tremelo/and Univibe type sounds. Hell... it can even get a little "fake" reverb if set up right. I will also be offering a custom shop service very soon... I'll build whatever you want as long as it's analog, but it will cost ya'. I think the marketing/design idea there is terrific! Thanks man... I've spent over 2 years coming up with the concept, names, artwork, designing and testing circuits, obtaining copyrights and liscensing agreements, and all that jazz.... Then I redid it all over the past 6 months. They were originally going to be named after muscle cars and painted the same colors as the original cars with racing stripes and flames and crap.... too much time and money. I still have some in the works based around the cars though. But, thanks for the kindness man.... means alot coming from someone that actually knows what they are talking about. Any fan of Roy Buchanan is cool in my book. That is some very cool product design. You said some changes had been made, and maybe the trademarked logo is one of those changes, but for the market the "big block" brand is perfect. Along with the look that you can stomp the hell out of it and it's going to last. The "Big Block" name was the only name I ever thought of from the start. I love muscle cars and guitars and have always wanted to combine it somehow. I haven't met too many musicians that don't love cars... whether its rice burners, classic cars, or real American muscle. So far, I've gotten no bad words about the design or the sound... so maybe I'm onto something. As for the changes, they are just subtle changes in the artwork and the knob. I didn't want to use a knob that is referred to as the "Boss" knob.... they are competition after all. So, I spent a veeerrryyy long time trying to find the perfect aluminum knob. It actually resembles a lug nut. Very cool! Thanks for the good words and I'll keep you posted on the website development. It's not going to be the traditional pedal site.... we have lots of very cool features in the works. Edited August 12, 2005 by HeavnerGuitarWorks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Are they all $125., or is that just the NOS Boost? I almost never buy pedals, as I'm pretty well set, but I'm actually interested in the other 2. I almost always use EMG Afterburners, so the clean boost is already on-board for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 yeah that tremolo/phaser thing sounds really neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Are they all $125., or is that just the NOS Boost? I almost never buy pedals, as I'm pretty well set, but I'm actually interested in the other 2. I almost always use EMG Afterburners, so the clean boost is already on-board for me. The Glass Pack Overdrive is $145 and the Rotary Valve is $185 (bigger enclosure with way more components,knobs, and switches).... But I would definitely be willing to work something out price wise for ya' if interested. Maybe a trade of some sort??? Thanks for the interest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Welt Posted August 12, 2005 Report Share Posted August 12, 2005 Sounds awesome! I would be interested in getting a pedal or two from you. That NOS pedal is one of the coolest looking pedals I've seen. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 13, 2005 Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 Can I see a pic of the glasspack? Should I email you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 13, 2005 Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 Good thing this is in the "In Progress" section. It's totally relevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haggardguy Posted August 13, 2005 Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 (edited) I'm interested in the glasspack too, just the idea makes me drool Edited August 13, 2005 by haggardguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZiKi Posted August 13, 2005 Report Share Posted August 13, 2005 (edited) those stripes on it remind me of amp energy drink can. RANDOM Edited August 13, 2005 by ZiKi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 Good thing this is in the "In Progress" section. It's totally relevant. ← It is the "In Progress and Finished Work" section. But you're right... it is not relevant to the section. I was just showing off my finished work and people showed interest. I will keep all pricing info strictly to emails so if anyone is interested in anything more, just email or PM me. As for pics of the Glass Pack Overdrive... I don't have any pics yet... but it looks pretty much identical to this one. Imagine this pedal with 3 knobs (Level, Tone, and Drive) in the typical V layout and a Glass Pack logo where the NOS logo is. I wanted all my pedals to have a similar look so noone could mistake them for another brand. If you see the valve cover... you know it's a Big Block. The Rotary Valve is in a larger enclosure and looks a little different than these 2... but only because of the larger enclosure. It still has the valve cover appearance though. Thanks for all the kind words! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 Are the glasspacks ready to ship? I mean, you pretty much have a sale here I think, so sell the damn thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Are the glasspacks ready to ship? I mean, you pretty much have a sale here I think, so sell the damn thing! ← You've been PM'd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreamLine Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 (edited) may i ask, what would be the main differences between the SD pickup booster and your pedal. if both are true bypass, then surely there's only so much difference there can be in the circuit, if both have a single pot to control the boost level. also the SD unit has a 'modes' switch which can fatten up the sound. i'm not trying to be agressive or anything, I'm just curious =) Roman Edited August 18, 2005 by StreamLine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 (edited) may i ask, what would be the main differences between the SD pickup booster and your pedal. if both are true bypass, then surely there's only so much difference there can be in the circuit, if both have a single pot to control the boost level. also the SD unit has a 'modes' switch which can fatten up the sound. i'm not trying to be agressive or anything, I'm just curious =) Roman ← I do not have a copy of the SD Pickup Booster schematic so I can't really say what the circuit is, but I do have a pic of the circuit board.... totally different beast. I am sure it is just as good in its own way... but it is very different. First of all, the SD is only capable of 6-25 db of boost while mine is capable of 0- over 30 db (depending on the power supply voltage). If you use it with a high gain amp with the gain cranked and cut the boost knob back, it will actually cut the gain produced by the amp without cutting volume. So you can essentially use it ass backwards from the intended use of a boost pedal... use it to go from extreme amp overdrive to clean. Second, the SD operates with a 9-12v power supply while mine operates on 9-18v giving more clean headroom than the SD. Third, the SD uses a DPDT switch for true bypass while mine uses a 3PDT. With a DPDT you have to use more components for true bypass with an LED... the more components, the more likely to be defective. Fourth, I use all high quality components... Vishay/Sprague, Mallory, Panasonic, Neutrik, Belden wire, etc... while the mass produced SD uses cheaper quality components. Fifth, the SD has a Pickup Resonance switch which they claim will make your single coils sound like humbuckers. It is a somewhat useful feature, but doesn't do what it says. When I designed my boost pedal, I wanted it simple yet very functional. Why would you want to change your amps tone with a booster??? It is supposed to do one thing and that is boost! If you need tone shaping, use an EQ... if you need different pickups, use a different guitar or humbuckers with a coil split option. I'm not really catering to the guitarists that own a Squier Affinity Strat with a Gorilla practice amp.... and I've known that from the start. Before anyone drops $100-$200 on a pedal of any sort, they need to have a perfect understanding of the tone they are after to begin with. Once they know the tone they are after or have already found that tone and just wanna' goof off with some pedals... then it's cool! Sixth, SDs are built in a factory... most likely by nonmusicians... assembly line style. I've been playing guitar for 15 years, building them for 10 years, building pedals for 5 years. My pedals are designed and built by me from the ground up... from designing the circuit/layout... testing... redesigning... testing... tweaking... artwork layout... drilling.... clear coat... soldering... stuffing all that mess into a tiny little box... marketing/promotion... sales... shipping... customer service.... website design and upkeep... accounting... parts orders... soundclips... merchandising... phone calls to music stores to talk them into carrying my pedals... etc... etc... It's all done by me and me alone. I've already sold 184 pedals this year alone... all by word of mouth. Not too shabby! ZVEX posted on another forum that he sold 340+/- last year. I'm not that far behind! Seventh, I offer a Limited Lifetime Warranty.... I don't know SDs warranty on their pedals, but I doubt it's that good. Eigth... Do I really need to continue? The SD pedal is good at what it does just as my pedal is.... they are just different pedals for different people. Not everyone will love my pedals... not everyone loves the SD (read Harmony Central reviews). Thanks for the question though. Edited August 19, 2005 by HeavnerGuitarWorks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StreamLine Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 thanks for the answer, it was very helpful. however not all SD booster users are beginners with Squiers.. hell my my setup has cost me over $5000 by now... in slight defense of the modes switch on the SD pedal, i found it pretty cool as it does give a nice bigger warmer sound, which is great for soloing. other than that yes, it is rather useless, but with some amp and pickup combination it might work well. i dont doubt for a minute that 'cap for cap' construction of your pedal compared to SD's is superior. i wish you very best of luck with your pedal sales and production, hell, when my finances recover I might even shoot you a PM about a pedal that interests me. however i feel i should also add, for a mass produced pedal, the SD booster is built much better than majority of digitech, new boss pedals etc. but then it does have a near-boutique price, eh... peace, Roman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 thanks for the answer, it was very helpful. however not all SD booster users are beginners with Squiers.. hell my my setup has cost me over $5000 by now... I didn't mean to imply that it was a beginner pedal. I just meant I wasn't really catering to beginners... unless of course they want to buy one! in slight defense of the modes switch on the SD pedal, i found it pretty cool as it does give a nice bigger warmer sound, which is great for soloing. other than that yes, it is rather useless, but with some amp and pickup combination it might work well. I'm sure it does have its uses, but it doesn't do what they claim it will do... and that is to make a single coil sound like a humbucker. I'm sure it's nothing more than a switchable tone control. Useful to some... pointless to others... kinda like my opinions! i dont doubt for a minute that 'cap for cap' construction of your pedal compared to SD's is superior. i wish you very best of luck with your pedal sales and production, hell, when my finances recover I might even shoot you a PM about a pedal that interests me. That is the major difference between the 2 pedals besides the circuit itself... construction technique and quality of components. however i feel i should also add, for a mass produced pedal, the SD booster is built much better than majority of digitech, new boss pedals etc. but then it does have a near-boutique price, eh... The main thing the SD has going for it is the fact that it's made by a pickup manufacturer, not a pedal company. I'm sure it hasn't been produced in quite the quantities that Boss spews out. Then again, I happen to love a few Boss pedals. I don't believe in the "everything in my rig has to be boutique hand wired point to point" mentality.... although everything in my rig is handbuilt. :^) I didn't intend to trash the company or the pedal... as I said, they are just 2 different beasts. If you owned one of mine, there is a 50/50 chance you'd love it/hate it. Different strokes for different folks. Sorry if I sounded cocky in my last post... I honestly didn't intend to. The things I stated are true comparisons of these 2 pedals. I'm sure the SD is a great pedal and has a very useful purpose, just as all pedals do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByronBlack Posted August 19, 2005 Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Heavner - cool pedal, i'm glad your doing so well with it, it's always good to hear the 'little guy' getting some success. I might be interested in your overdrive pedal, do you have any sound-samples available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted August 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2005 Heavner - cool pedal, i'm glad your doing so well with it, it's always good to hear the 'little guy' getting some success. I might be interested in your overdrive pedal, do you have any sound-samples available? ← PM or email your email addy to me and I can send you a small file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted September 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 (edited) For those interested.... this is how it looks on my pedal board... Edited September 1, 2005 by HeavnerGuitarWorks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeavnerGuitarWorks Posted September 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 The above pedal is now being auctioned off on Ebay! 100$ of the proceeds will go to the American Red Cross for disaster relief. I posted a thread on the Auction board as well. Hopefully, the mods won't have a problem with double posting this, but if you do... feel free to remove it! Thanks and God bless! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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