You are most welcome...
I had fun with it too.
Edit:I am working on my statement of why I selected these pedals, and/or why I placed them were they are in the chain.
TWA 'Little Dipper' Envelope controlled vocal formant filter:I wanted 1 fun funky pedal on my board. The Little Dipper was my selection.
The very first time I found it on youtube, I knew that some day, it would be mine. I think it's charming.
www.godlyke.com/news-twa-little-dipper"The Little Dipper is an envelope-controlled vocal formant filter based on a classic 70’s circuit. Its dual filters react to playing dynamics, creating peaks and notches that simulate the vowel sounds of human speech. The Little Dipper allows the user to emulate talk boxes, auto-wahs, filters, and phase shifters, as well as creating strikingly vocal wah-sounds. A built-in fuzz circuit emphasizes harmonics for a more dramatic effect while dry blend and noise-gate trim pots offer a full-frequency response with ultra-low noise operation.
The Little Dipper features a 16-gauge bent steel chassis with heavy-duty powder coating and eye-catching LED display. The Little Dipper also features mechanical true-bypass switching and comes with a three-year manufacturer’s warranty".I love the lights too.
Sound check:
and
Talk Box (little dipper) BluesWhile reading on the net, I discovered...
An envelope filter works in relation to the output signal strength of your guitar, within a certain range of sensitivity.
Too much signal, or not enough will greatly limit their effect.
This already includes your pickups, your pick attack, and the guitar's current volume setting.
Any box you put in front of your envelope filter will take away some amount of playing dynamics.
Especially a compressor!
A compressor may even-out the signal so much, that the filter will have no envelope to follow...
Just A good thing to keep in mind when running filters.
I did see a few posts that liked a Fuzz pedal in front of their envelope filter, to make their sound stand out better in the mix, but still preferred their Overdrive pedal behind the filter.
I believe running a Clean Boost or Overdrive pedal in front of an envelope filter, if set too high, would limit the filters effect. It might end up only getting fed a hot or high signal.
I don't have a fuzz pedal, but the Little Dipper does have some fuzz already built in (Diffraction), so I should be good there too. (I hope)
Knowing that everything in front of your envelope filter has an effect on it, and possibly may limit it's filtering ability, I opted to put it directly behind my true bypass tuner.
I am going for max playing dynamics, and trying to give the Dipper the purest input signal to operate on, that I can. Do your funky filter thing baby!
FYI - I did also call TWA, and asked if they had a strong opinion on the best spot for the Dipper in the chain. The guy who answered the phone told me, "Let me ask one of the guys who made it".
While he was still holding the phone in his hand, I head another man yell "Early in the chain, the earlier the better".
He asked me, "Did you get that?" ;D
Then congratulated me on having a Little Dipper.
That's good enough for me. I have heard the voice of the Dipper's creator himself!! (From a distance, over the phone.)
Note that the Little Dipper requires a 9v 500mA power supply, or a Voodoo Lab PPP1 cable (Parallel cable) to combine the 250mA currents on outputs 5 and 6, with their DIP switches set in the NORMAL position. She is a current hungry beast.
The Little Dipper uses an internal voltage doubler which traditionally demands a huge current spike at start up to get running.
The classic 70’s circuit that the little Dipper is based on, is the Colorsound Dipthonizer:
That Dipthonizer is one big puppy!
The Visual Sound 'Open Road' Overdrive:I wanted an Overdrive pedal, that would not sound too close to the same as my OCD. I thought the Open Road would give me that, and have A much more 'Open' sound to it. Go figure...
I also was impressed by this video:
Visual Sound: Myth Buster #1: True BypassTo me, the un-buffered sound was more dull, even over the internet.
My gut tells me that those Visual Sound boys are on the level too, with their testing methods.
They seem to do allot of research, and simply want to make us the best pedals they can. I respect that. ;D
I wanted a Visual Sound Pedal early in the chain, with it's Pure Tone buffer circuit to minimize my Guitar Cable Capacitance.
Right after the Little Dipper is where I figured the Open Road needed to go. When my true-bypass Tuner and Little Dipper are off, this Visual Sound box it the first thing my guitar signal will hit.
Visual Sound mentioned in one of their videos, that the Pure Tone buffer doesn't care weather it gets fed a low impedance, or high impedance input signal. It does equally well with both.
I'm not sure what type of signal the Dipper will put out, but do know the Open Road will be able to make the best of it.
The Pure Tone buffer is in all the Visual Sound V2 pedals, and is active even when the pedal is bypassed.
Even if one of the Visual Sound pedals is first on your pedalboard, it will help the whole signal chain.
I know the V2 Series pedals all have RF Blocking built in too, so your amp won't be playing whatever is on the areas strongest radio station.
That is a nice feature to have on one box, early in your chain.
www.visualsound.net/index.php/products/guitar_effects_pedals/v2_open_roadCurrent Draw: 11-17mA
The Open Road sounds darn good too...
Visual Sound say that they designed this Overdrive pedal to have "glassy highs, and deep lows, with less of an emphasis on midrange".
They also were going for a more 'Open Amp Sound'. I think they succeeded.
The Open Road with Humbuckers:
BBE Boosta Grande:The guy at GC was highly recommending this pedal, and I had 30 days to bring it back if I didn't like it.
Turns out I do like it very much.
I also was shocked to find out that it won a GuitarPlayer Pick Award...
www.bbesound.com/products/stomp-boxes/boosta-grande.htmNice job BBE.
It only requires a tiny 3mA to operate:
www.stinkfoot.se/andreas/diy/power/brands/other.htmReading the reviews posted about the Boosta Grande here:
guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/reviews?base_pid=157037&sc=date&so=descMost of these boys were saying that the Boosta Grande does best in the FX loop, and many are saying to put it dead last.
That is exactly what I did, and find I like it there allot.
I think it makes my FX loop effects sound more rich and fuller.
A volume boost for leads, is exactly what this pedal is intended for on my board.
I find that it does that well.