"Liquidity" Overdrive Pedal Unveiled

[Ch0jin]

Sydney, 18 November 2008. Jaded Vision FX are delighted to take the wraps of the much anticipated "Liquidity" Overdrive guitar effects pedal. Several months in the making, this somewhat controversially finished overdrive is based on the venerable "Tube Screamer" pedal. Used, and abused by guitarists the world over. Obvious 'vintage' touches include the use of a JRC4558D chip and synchronous silicon diode clipping for authentic Tube Screamer tones. There's much more than that in the belly of this beast however. Twist on the black anodized selector dial and wind up the volume for some seriously old school germanium booster sounds that can be dialed up to near fuzz like drive. Flick the Ge Mode switch to Asynchronous and that fuzz gets looser and meaner. For a time machine quick change to modern times, try the 'ReDLed' mode for big loud, punch in the face grind. There's also a Clean Boost mode if all you need is a little more level, but with the ability to sculpt the tone too. If your still looking for 'your' sound, try kicking in the 'Phat' mod for a serious boost to your bass. Finished in special 'adults only' edition livery with a thick epoxy resin coating, the Liquidity Overdrive from Jaded Vision FX is a must have for any serious lovers of guitar tone.


So yeah, I finished my latest pedal project, hope ya dig it.

As I indicated above, it's got three germanium diodes so I can switch synch/asynch clipping with those, it's got two silicon diodes wired synchronous mode, it's got two red leds (synch again) and a clean boost mode as well as the standard "Phat Boost" mod. I specifically chose those clipping mods after days of testing different combinations to see which ones I dug the most.

(I was going to do sound clips, but I was showing a guy at work today and he asked if he could use it for a gig so I agreed in exchange for his opinion of it)

Umm so I should say, just like my "Re:Animator" delay I linked here once before, this artwork does feature mild nudity, so if thats offensive, no clicky for you.

Pic 1 (http://members.iinet.net.au/~ch0jin/stuff/Liquid_OD1.jpg)
Pic 2 (http://members.iinet.net.au/~ch0jin/stuff/Liquid_OD2.jpg)
Gutz (http://members.iinet.net.au/~ch0jin/stuff/guts.jpg)
Pic 4 (http://members.iinet.net.au/~ch0jin/stuff/top%20sort.jpg)

So yeah. Gut shot is pretty messy and I need to heatshrink the diodes on the switch and replace the slightly melted wires u might be able to spot. (drunken mods=fail) too, but I'll do that after I get it back :) Overall though I'm real, real happy with how it turned out sound, and finish wise.

[Kazz]

Just like the Re:Animator.....it looks very cool Cho....can't wait to hear clips.

[oldguy]

Nice pedal, Ch0jin......looks like you're keeping abreast of the pedal build thing.

[duhvoodooman]

Sweet looking pedal, Ch0! If it sounds as good as it looks, it'll be something special!

GGG board, I see, which are handy for diode switching. Just curious--how do you have the symmetric/assymetric GE switch wired? I think I see 2x1 Ge diodes on the board; do you have a single off the board that switches with the onboard double to go to 1x1, or switches into series with the onboard single to go to 2x2?

BTW, when I refer to a "naked build", I mean one that I haven't decaled & painted. But your pedals have me rethinking that nomenclature.... ;) :D

[Robert]

I see something that starts with nip and ends with ples! :)
Sweet looking pedal. That would have everyone staring at the floor when you gig!

[tunghaichuan]

Looks great! Plus it has a nekkid chick on the enclosure :AOK: :D

Looking forward to hearing a clip.

tung

[Ch0jin]

GGG board, I see, which are handy for diode switching. Just curious--how do you have the symmetric/assymetric GE switch wired? I think I see 2x1 Ge diodes on the board; do you have a single off the board that switches with the onboard double to go to 1x1, or switches into series with the onboard single to go to 2x2?

Its really easy. Yes, there are three Ge Diode on the GGG PCB (well spotted) wired Asynch with 2+1. I then ran wires from the cathode and anode of one of the diodes in the paired side to the toggle switch you see in between the input socket and the DC jack. Switch open = Asynch, switch closed shorts the diode and therefore removes it from the circuit giving Synchronous operation.


Thanks for the kind words from all of you. Someone asked me last night about the artwork and no, It's not mine. I basically just look at hundreds of designs from photographs to sketches to digital renders and so on until I find images that "pop". When I first decided to build this box I had no idea what was going to be on the cover, then I saw that drawing and went "Thats it!!" I added several layers in PS to get all the control labels (here's a little trick, I used drop shadows on the text so when it's covered with the clear resin the text looks 3D) resized and stuff to get it all to fit. That's how I cover all my pedals, it just so happened that for this one and the Re:Animator, the images that struck me had a little nudity. I do actually have more pedals without cartoon boobs than with though, just in case you think you are seeing a theme here :) I've got a few of mine out on loan at the moment including this one, but I'll definitely do so sound clips, or maybe just a video demo of my pedal board when I get them all back next week.

@ Robert. Maybe, although the guy I lent it too did say he'd have to gaff the top of the pedal before he used it to prevent exactly that from happening. I believe he plays a few church gigs. I'm assuming thats why. :)

@ Oldguy. I see what you did there :)

[R.B. Huckleberry]

i look forward to posting my review after you ship it to me for testing. :D

[M29]

Awesome job Ch0jin! You have a nice piece there, oops did that sound right. Anyway, you do some nice work, can't wait to hear it:rockon:

M

[tot_Ou_tard]

That is a sweet looking pedal Ch0jin. Artwork aside, how do you manage such a professional looking result?

[Ch0jin]

@ R.B. Well if you lived close by I'd certainly entertain the idea. I only had it assembled 1 day before it went out loan to a colleague who mentioned he'd like to try some new drive sounds in a live environment. I'm always interested in feedback from other people on stuff I make. I was just talking to him actually and he loved it, as did the rest of the band and there was some suggestions that I should be selling these, but for now I'm just taking it as really positive feedback. It's just good to know my opinion on the sound quality isn't -too- skewed by the fact that I made them if you get what I mean.

@tot. Thanks! The only secret trick I use in my finish is a product called "Aristocrat Liquid Glass". It's a two part epoxy resin that drys to a hard, super high gloss finish. It's a little labour intensive and requires some practice to get right, but overall I think it actually takes no more time than clear coating with spray paint, and I can never get clear paint to dry with a mirror finish.

In case anyone else wants to try, this is how you do it..

1. Prime and paint pedal as usual.
2. Affix cover art using spray glue. (Note: The artwork will cover all the surface holes. leave them covered at this stage)
3. Press masking tape to the inside of the box all around making a kind of skirt. This stops the resin pooling at the edges of the pedal and gives you a much more even looking finish.
4. I then sit the box on an old spray can that sits on a large cardboard square. having the box on a pedestal like the can means I can spin it around and work on it as the resin dries and all the excess obviously drips off onto the cardboard. (here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ch0jin/2667539028/) is a pic of a pedal just after being coated, this one was made before I thought up the idea of the masking tape skirt. After this one dried I had to file and sand loads of excess from the bottom edge of the pedal to make the top match the base)
5. Mix three shots of resin with three shots of hardener and stir very well (old lunch box mixing bowl and tequila shot glass optional)
6. Using a plastic spoon, slowly pour the mixture over the box making sure you cover the sides and corners evenly. This is a bit tricky. You have to have a little practice with applying the resin as it's curing so that it's thick enough to give nice thick coating and not just run off the sides, but not too thick that it doesn't dry flat and even.
7. Once I've got as much of the resin on as I think it needs (saving a little for the base) I'll run a small gas torch over the surface. This removes all the bubbles and gives it the mirror like finish.
8. You then need to keep checking on it as it cures to fix up any uneven runs or blobs that appear on the sides and kind of tease them out with the spoon.
9. Once the resin cures firm and is no longer prone to drips (between 1-2 hours) you'll need to then set it aside for a few days to fully cure. Keep it indoors too. The first one I did I put put outside on the balcony and the next morning I had a bug securely resined into the surface. Jurassic Park anyone?
10. Remove the masking tape and using a combination of knives and files, clean up the bottom edges.
11. The hardest part of all. The massive problem with this type of finish is the delamination effects that occur if you try and drill out the holes for the controls. It's hard to describe in words, but you know when you get a stone chip in your car windscreen and there is a little hole with a larger circle around it where the laminations in the glass have separated? It's like that. No matter how gentle I am with a drill I always ended up with a horrible delamination effect around the hole that often extended past the cover of the knob and just looks awful. So the secret is to to melt it out paper and all. I use an old soldering iron. I let it get nice an hot and then very, very gently melt through the resin (and the paper under it) until I have cleared the hole. I then use a small semi circular file to very, very carefully remove the excess melted gunk (note those fumes are probably really toxic, so don't, you know, breathe them). I can then generally mount all the electrics and it's done!

So yeah thats it :) It's not exactly mass production friendly, and if you were to look closely most of my pedals covered this way you'd see they have an "oops" somewhere where I missed a run or a surface bubble or got a little to much of the delamination effect I mentioned or something, but this one did come out the best of all. I guess as a result of practice.

I think that about covers the finishing, but if you want to know more just let me know :)

I'm keen to get some of it's sounds down too for you guys. I'm expecting to get it back from loan early this week so hang in there :)