Thursday, July 18, 2013

Black Bolt Tap Tempo

I grew up reading Silver Age Marvel comics. I'm not entirely sure why I paid for college, as there seems to be a priceless collection of vintage books in my parents' attic. In any case, I fell in love with the ham-fisted Shakespearean stylings of Stan Lee and, in particular, with the future-retro art of Jack Kirby. 
This is an acid etching I did of a Marvel character. The pedal itself is simple enough--a configurable NO/NC wiring scheme with a momentary switch. The idea is that it synchronizes up to 6(!) time-based effects. Some, of course, read the tap pulse on the "break" of the stomp, while others read the "make," but I only use pedals that do one or the other, so this works great. 

The enclosure art is what I'm most proud of. I've built a bunch of fuzz pedals and other circuits; having an artful way of presenting them is as satisfying as the sounds I make with them!