Dearmond - Thunderbolt (Wah/Fuzz-Wah)

[notnews]

I have a crybaby that I modded a bit, but I'm still not very happy with it.. I'm considering gutting it and filling the shell with something entirely different. I was considering the Tyco Parapedal.. but then I came across the Dearmond Thunderbolt.

Here's an HD pic I found of the OG circuitboard:


Can anyone see similarities between this circuit and another wah? The schematic isn't anywhere on the internet. An effects company called Reuss makes a Silver Balloon Wah, which is marketed as a trace-by-trace remake of the Thunderbolt. The OG Thunderbolt goes for about 400, and the Balloon for about half of that. The Youtube videos of the Thunderbolt sound nice.. not quite like any wah I've ever heard, but you guys know it's hard to tell exactly from a YouTube video.

What can you guys make of this circuit? Any thoughts?.. or anyone have any experience with it??

-Alex

[Beaker]

De Armond were one of those companies that made their own unique designs, but at various times bought in and re-badged other pedal companies products - mainly Japanese Shin Ei ones.

On that basis this could be a Shin Ei fuzz wah, but I may be totally wrong here, as I've never heard of the Thunderbolt before.

I've fitted a Pearl Vorg Warp Filter in a Dunlop wah shell before - it's in the "show your pedal guts" thread somewhere. That thing is utterly awesome - highly recommended if you are a Kevin Shields fan - it completely nails Primal Scream's "Accelerator".

[Travis]

IMO this couldn't be the Shin Ei (at least not the one that I'm familiar with). The Shin Ei was basically a Superfuzz and a transformer based wah (which doesn't sound particularly awesome), this pedal has two 741s, the multiplexer, and the CMOS

[Beaker]

Agreed, after having a good look at the photo, it's not a Shin Ei Fuzz Wah. I still would not mind betting that ths is a rare re-badged version of a more common though.

[Beaker]

Looks like I'm talking a bunch of crap here - looks totally unique, and not quite like anything else I've come across.

More of a Phaser-ish filter than a wah with a built in fuzz.

Pearl Vorg Warp Sound Filter and Parapedal might be vaugely similar?

[rocket88]

It's interesting. I can make out a bunch of the tracks through the board, so it may be traceable without a photo of the bottom. But if you find one, I'll gladly trace this sucker and make a board.

[gul]

Beaker, may I ask which layout you made of the Pearl Vorg Warp Sound?

[Beaker]

This one:

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/pearlvorg-warp-sound-filter.html

It's one of my favourite pedals. If you want to put it in a wah shell like I did, A 20k wah pot is ideal.