Jetter Gear Gain stage Black Update

[claptonisgood]

Howdy y'all. I have spent the last week scrutinizing the Black pre-production prototype and to make a long story short, I decided to see if I could make it better. The short answer is, wow! I have coaxed things out of this design that I really didn't expect. The essence of the Black, that was first beta-tested, is intact. This design has now been enhanced with a switch that bumps the gain up...a lot! Think of the original Black maximum gain as classic Angus Young. Think of the new Black max gain, when switched in, as classic EVH. The gain structure is choosen via a switch on the pedal. There is a second switch now that adds a moderate mid-boost that fattens up a Strat's bridge pickup and really adds girth to humbuckers. Again, the original circuit remains intact and there are still no clipping diodes anywhere in sight (no MOSFETS either for any techno-minded folks). This is one dynamic roaring beast now! I am sending out a few beta-test Blacks tomorrow and within a week or two, the production process will restart. I am guestimating about 4 weeks out.
Brad

[Guitar Josh]

That's cool to hear Brad. I like the tone of the Black but was concerned that it didn't have enough gain for me. Looking forward to getting the chance to try one of these out at some point!

[Rumblefish]

What timing! I had just emailed you about progress and some other related questions.I guess everybody wants more gain but I plan to run my Scary Face
in front of it.

[fast ricky love]

I'm real keen to try this puppy...!

[wire 247]

I was over at Brads last friday trying out the pedals. I left with the red and am awaiting the black. It is very Marshall like and it stacked well with the red. I am going to review the red on tgp but wanted to give it a few days but, I have to say it sounds great and is very chewy. The black is a definite rocker. I am planning on selling my cot 50 and replace it with the Jetter black, it is easier to control the gain on the black than the cot 50. All of Brads pedals are winners.......

[rreiser]

Hi Brad, Great review in Guitar Player for the Red. I love mine. I found it funny that they felt it didn't have enough volume. I run mine around 10:00 o clock. I can't imagine running it much higher than that. If you need a beta tester for the Black let me know. Thanks

[kingsxman]

Originally Posted by rreiser

Hi Brad, Great review in Guitar Player for the Red. I love mine. I found it funny that they felt it didn't have enough volume. I run mine around 10:00 o clock. I can't imagine running it much higher than that. If you need a beta tester for the Black let me know. Thanks

Whatttt? I havent seen that review yet but for GP to say it didnt have enough volume is ludicrous. Who do they have testing things over there...? They must be looking for lead boost only. I run mine at unity also which is about 10:00 for me. (gain at 2:00). I love it.

[claptonisgood]

It has been a while since I have provided an update on the Gain Stage Black. The main reason is that I have been spending a lot of time reevaluating the performance and features. I think that the time and effort has really paid off! The Black is now finalized and just about ready to proceed to production!

I want to give some details now about the pedal and, importantly, what to expect from it. The physical layout is idendical in size as the Red and the Blue. The Black sports Volume, Gain, and Presence controls plus two switches (same layout as the Blue.) Under the hood, the Black is different from a lot, if not most, dirt pedals in that it doesn't use any clipping diodes...nada, none, zip! Also, there isn't a MOSFET to found in it either!

I really put on the thinking cap with this one and pursued unconventional paths to get what I was after. The Black has two distinct modes of operation; one being the Marshall-type overdrive/distortion and the other a pretty versatile boost with special sauce. I'll start with the Mashall-type mode as it is pretty straight forward and easy to explain.

I should mention that the sound, tone and feel of clips that are on my website (done with the original Black prototype) are still produced by the final version. What has changed with this mode is that there is now a whole new realm of gain on tap that pushes the Black to early EVH or JCM800 territory. One of the switches controls the overall gain structure of the pedal. Roughly speaking, one position might be thought of as classic JTM45 gain, the other JCM800. Low and High gain in other words.

With humbuckers, the Black will positively scream at max gain settings. Because there are no clipping diodes, you can use the volume control on your guitar just as though there were no pedal between it and the amp. When you turn the guitar down, the pedal tracks smoothly in a linear fashion all the way down.

The Presence control is just that: I purposely designed the Black with the "tone" of the pedal maximized to what my ears consider the critical guitar voice range. The presence control therefore, just as it operates on an amplifier, is in the neutral position fully counter-clockwise. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH! What the Presence will do is add "cut" and "bite" to the overall tone of the signal. This is the most evident when you switch to the boost mode.

When in boost mode it is VERY IMPORTANT to understand that the pedal is operating very differently! THE NEUTRAL POSITION is with the Gain OFF, Presence OFF and the Volume ALL THE WAY ON! You then bring the Gain control up to achieve the level of boost desired. One very cool thing that everyone who has tried the pedal noticed about the Boost mode is that it makes single coils just jump...in other words, it makes a Strat sound like a super Strat! Fans of SRV and Blackmore will find some very cool tones here! That Boost mode switch can certainly be used in the Marshall-type mode, it is just going to be very aggressive as the gain increases.

I have had more than one person tell me that it is really two pedals in one box and, for that matter, two very different pedals as far as operation. The suggestion has been made several times that I should seperate it into two pedals. I am not going to do that because I think most players will figure it out pretty quickly!

What I wanted to achieve with the Black was the immediacy and dynamics of a great tube amp and one of the defining characteristics of those amps is the output stage being pushed hard, not the preamp. That in-your-face slam of some really cooking output tubes. As a result of this, the Black may interact with some amplifiers differently that other pedals because of its dynamic capabilities. I have found less than pleasing matchups with overly bright balanced, mid-scooped amps that incorporate under-filtered power supplies and also combo amps with whimpy-ass speakers. This all goes back to something that is a mission statement of sorts with all my pedals: Designed at and for professional volume levels (at least bar-band volumes.)

Obviously, I don't have access to every amp in the world but here are some that I have played the Black with with great results: Marshall JTM45, 1974X, 1959, 1987, 1986, Bluesbreaker combo, JCM800; Fender Twin Reverb, Super Reverb, Vibroverb, Blues Jr, Pro Jr; Fargen Miniplex, Machless DC30, Custom Audio Amplifiers OD100, OD 50; Budda Twinmaster,Stringmaster; Soldano SLO 100; Peavey Classic 30, Classic 50, Bandit 65, Special 130. That is the latest! I am in the process of getting production going and currently have boxes out for fabrication.

[Guitar Josh]

Well Brad, I guess I have to buy one now after that write up. Darn you.

[Macaroni]

I've got the latest prototype unit and it's all that for sure. One of the nicest most powerful boosts I've played, and I love the power amp OD tones - it really sets it apart from other OD pedals.

[BillyK]

Brad,
It'll be on my X'mas list for sure!
-bk

[muddy]

less guestimating, more gesticulatin'!


ml

Originally Posted by claptonisgood

I am guestimating...

[Macaroni]

Muddy - you will absolutely love the GS Black!

[TRW]

Hmmm I smell a black and red in my future...that sounds cool.

I'm pretty sure about the red but the black has just popped up on my radar now I realise it has a dedicated boost function. Initially I was thinking two reds or I saw Mr. Jetter mention the possibility of a dual red type pedal maybe with switchable boost/channels. However I'm thinking black and red could be cool.

Would buying it for the boost mode be like buying a ferarri and driving it at 30MPH everywhere? I'm not after the heavy OD as such but the boost sounds enticing...seems like a lot of pedal for boost only. Does the boost remain kinda clean or will it get really overdriven too - without being in Marshall mode?

In terms of stacking a red and black - are you guys liking the black first?

Can you set the red for mild/smooth lead tone breakup and spank the front of it with the black to get it into higher gain territory for big lead push without the whole shebang getting too 'balls to the wall' heavy?

Thanks a lot
-Tom

[Macaroni]

Would buying it for the boost mode be like buying a ferarri and driving it at 30MPH everywhere? I'm not after the heavy OD as such but the boost sounds enticing...seems like a lot of pedal for boost only. Does the boost remain kinda clean or will it get really overdriven too - without being in Marshall mode?

Just using it for a clean boost is limiting yourself. But there is a nice range of clean boost before it gets too gainy. You can set the boost for very clean and it is super, your clean tones will be like BOLD CAPS! If you increase the Gain, you can push your amp's front end accordingly. Amazing SRV cleanish on the edge type tones.

In terms of stacking a red and black - are you guys liking the black first?

I didn't try much stacking, but I would put the Black before the Red and goose the Red. I sent my Black prototype back to Brad today to get it updated to the final specs.

Can you set the red for mild/smooth lead tone breakup and spank the front of it with the black to get it into higher gain territory for big lead push without the whole shebang getting too 'balls to the wall' heavy?

Sure. But wait until you hear the Black's med-high gain tones! This is not like any other pedal I've tried or heard. It's pure power amp OD, not saturated preamp OD. As such, it remains detailed, clear, IN-YOUR-FACE, liquid molten glass tones that are really inspiring to play with.

My guess is that once you play it and discover its full range of capabilities, you will be inclined to use it in more than one mode.

I encouraged Brad to consider making it a dual pedal, as did other testers, because I'm willing to be that lots of people will want 2, for direct access to both modes.