[sdiy] Marginally OT: Boss Pedal question

[media.nai at rcn.com]

>> I've noticed that people always point out on ebay if their boss gear
>> is from japan, and I'm wondering what difference it makes?

Maybe Boss now has manufacturing in some other Asian country as well.

>Now I'm in a similar dilemma because I want a Big Muff. The Russian
>version has the same ridiculous chicken-on-sticks pots.

"Turning the knobs is like poultry in motion."

>The US version looks much better (telling from a picture), but it's
> much more expensive.

I have one of the first-generation Russian made re-issues.  The knobs are
round, but I have never opened it up.  Even though the jacks have plastic
nuts, the build quality seems fine.  The stomp switch is oversized and
feels very solid.  The chassis is ridiculously heavy, even heavier than
Frostwave.  If you threw it at a Doepfer modular, it would tear through it
like tissue paper -- not that tells you anything, but I'd thought it might
be something you would like to imagine :)

Sovtek got a bit silly with the whole Russian marketing gimmick.  They were
silk-screening "CCCP" onto tubes in Brooklyn, New York just to make them
look "Soviet".

Even though the original EH pedals were not built very well, I have had an
original Stereo Memory Man and Electric Mistress for many years, and
neither of them has ever needed any sort of repair.

>I guess I will rather build this myself now. Then it will be even more
>expensive than the US version (;->), but it will at least have true bypass
>and a mains power supply.

Some of the EH BBD devices (eg. Stereo Memory Man) had mains power
supplies, but afaik, none of the versions of the Big Muff Pi did.  Since
you don't play guitar (neither do I, btw), I'm wondering why you would need
a bypass.

>I really, really love what you can do with a physical modelling synth
>when you treat it with analogue effects (just like you would with
>a real phsical guitar).

I've been saying that for years, that the output of an analogue pedal is
analogue even if it has a digital input.  I run my TX-7 (a Chowning
doorstop) through pedals all the time.  Of course that might be due more to
the ergonomics of the situation :)

My favorite distortion pedal is the Marshall DRP.  Does anyone have a
schematic or know how it works??