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Let me introduce myself. My name is Brad Jeter. For better or worse, I
have been a tone junkie for about three decades. My guitar playing
odyssey started when a 1959 Les Paul Std would set you back $2500; a
1957 Strat, $350, and a full Marshall Plexi stack about $700. It was a
lot of money back then but, by hook or crook, an average guy could own
this stuff. That is how I cut my teeth. My first good guitar was a 1968
SG Std for $200. Shortly thereafter a procession of 1950s Les Paul Jr's
for $225, 1968 Les Paul Customs for $350 and Marshalls, Hiwatts,
Oranges and tweed Fenders for next to nothing. I am not bragging,
rather I am merely describing how lucky I was to be a young guitarist
with all the "good stuff" readily available.
Back in those days it was perfectly normal to play a high school
dance, a small club gig or a kegger party in a neighbor's backyard with
a full stack (or more) cranked--it wasn't unusual, it was expected! So,
this is the environment I learned about tone in. And the music...well,
I don't even have to go into that!
Also at this time, not only did I want to play, I wanted to figure
out why this stuff sounded the way it did. I hate to admit it, but
there are more than a few destroyed and torn-up PAFs, various tube amps
and echo machines buried under tons of trash at a landfill in New
England. Probably a few now collectable pedals as well. Why? It was
because I wanted to tear them down and see what made them special. It
was about this time I also learned about high B+ voltages (the hard
way!) I really got into tinkering with amps!
Finally, in the early 80s, when I realized that I wasn't going to be a
rock star, I tried to figure out how I could put some of the tone and
gear knowledge I had acquired over the years to use. Bedrock Amplifiers was the
result. I designed an amp that I thought was pretty capable of
capturing a specific tone I had always admired. Specifically, what I
was after was Clapton's tone on the lead break to, "Sleepy Time Time",
off of the album, Fresh Cream. I took the amp out and some people
thought it was pretty cool. A couple friends got involved and we
started making them in the basement. I learned a lot and had some fun
with Bedrock but, ultimately, the timing just wasn't right for what we
were trying to do. Back then there wasn't an internet and there also wasn't a bunch of
tube amp hobbyists driving an industry like we have today. The early/mid 80s were decidedly not the golden
years for tube technology.
The early nineties saw me take a hiatus from the guitar--I needed to
cleanse my soul. And, after that was all done and taken care of, the
guitar was sitting there in the corner, having patiently waited for my
return. When I started getting back out there and involved with live
music, much had changed. 30 watts was considered loud and a new
standard had been established for virtuosic guitar sounds. Multiple
sounds were expected from a player---shimmering cleans and violin lead
tones, and, you had to do it with a rig that will fit on a stage the
size of a large coffee table. Hmmmm. As my obsessive compulsion
directed me, I went on (another) never ending quest for tone. There
certainly are a lot of great pedals in the world. I think I pretty much
bought and played every one of them. Almost every night that I would be
out playing, a different pedal combination would grace my board.
This brings us to the recent past. The Gain Stage OD wasn't so much the
result of a strategic plan, rather, it was just the inquisitive
tinkerer in me making me think about circuit design. I commenced to
tinkering. And tinker I did. It went on for months and months--nights
in the basement turning into day, trying just one more combination of
parts.
Let me digress a bit and tell some things I have learned over the
years. Electrical theory is a truly magnificent thing but I have never
heard numbers sound really woody or greasy. I truly believe that
obviously, theory plays into, but is a small part of the subjective
equation of sound, or, more specific to the guitarist's tone. The
designer has to have a sound in his head (along with the voices) so
defined and consistent from day to day that it truly is the
inspiration and arbiter of the tangible product of the work bench. The
tricky part is manifesting that sound from a handful of components.
There are almost infinite ways to build most anything and this
certainly applies to guitar pedals. Conversely, there are really only
a few basic topologies that a pedal can be designed around unless you
want to reinvent the wheel or, more likely, have a pedal that sounds
like ass.
What I decided to do was to experiment with a particular class of
integrated circuits (ICs) and how their fundamental operating
parameters behaved. I am also from the school of "Less is more." In
other words, get the basic tone engine correct and there will be little
need to "fix" things with additional circuitry. Once I established
what I felt was a good basic platform to design from, the real work
began, I literally tried hundreds of components in hundreds and
hundreds of combinations. I came close many times to giving up ( 3am:
did variation 11 sound better than variation 7?) This went on for
months. There were times that I thought I finally had "it" only to try
it the next day and realize that the one from the week before was
better. I not only listened in the "lab" but in the real world, on
stage. I also solicited the opinions of players that I respected.
Anyway, I am getting a bit dramatic---sure it was a lot of work but it
wasn't the Batan Death March--I enjoy doing this stuff. When it comes
right down to it, it is my passion in life--the pursuit of
tone--always has been. I am proud of this pedal and sure hope you can
find tones with it that put a smile on your face. Email us with any
questions and we will gladly try and answer them to your
satisfaction--We are all guitar players at Jetter Gear.
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