Electro-Harmonix, guitar pedal engineers, vintage sound gadgets

Boing Boing Video archives:
http://www.boingboing.net/boing-boing-video/

Joel from Boing Boing Gadgets explains:

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After we noticed the Voice Box FX pedal from Electro-Harmonix, I noticed that they were based in Long Island City, just a short train ride away from my place in Brooklyn. Since I'm getting ready to move to Oregon—Hello, Eugene!—I figured I ought to get up there and check out one of the last family-owned music gear companies in America.

Turns out that EHX also manufacturers a huge percentage of the world's vacuum tubes in its factory in Russia, which are then sent back to New York for testing and pairing before being sold to vintage and high-end audio fans, as well as manufacturers like McIntosh.

I had a really good time checking out the factory floor to see the hand-made vacuum tube testing machines, as well as talking to the engineers that sit around all day and try to figure out how to get the ideas for new FX processors out of their crazy boss's head and into working hardware.

And thankfully for you, [Wes and Derek on the Boing Boing Video crew] edited out all the footage where I was wanking around with FX boxes, looking mournfully at the camera and whining that "Hey, this box doesn't make me sound as good as it does when people with talent use it. What gives?"

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Full post with comments here:
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/01/27/bb-video-inside-elec.html

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• guitars
• gadgets
• vacuum
• tubs
• music
• analog
• electronics
• rock
• boingboing
• boing
• electro-harmonix
• joel
• johnson

[NurseDischord]

This video has a lot to do with porn..

[GlennnD]

Workspace is a mess !! Love it !

[TheFuggedaboutit]

Nice I live in queens! I never knew tubes were made in long island city... Russia and china can kiss my ass

[jma111000]

Who else would love to work as a petal tester...

[24KINGLV]

yes! ask mr otto

[67jandoedel]

I have never seen such a mess in my live. The boss doesn't know what burning-in the tubes is good for, an engineer designing equipment in a kind of junkyard. This doesn't look like a quality enterprise at all.Now I understand why all Elektro-Harmonix tubes I've tried were either dead on arrival, malfunctioning or dead after a short period.

[willievega]

@patsaxon A lot of Jazz guitarists do use solid state amps, but for most everybody else, only tube amps deliver 'the' sound.

[18266609]

bought two pedals from ehx an electric mistress and a holy grail. The electric mistress broke in 31 days (figures just a day after i could return it). The holy grail failed in two months and stopped working. Contacted ehx and they never answered their phones or my emails so i could redeem my warranty on the pedals. I thought i was gonna get quality pedals but all i got was crap. Their pedals might sound cool, but their quality sucks, their tone suckers, and produce a huge amount of hum.

[steadfastcoward]

@TheMetalmaniac94 Footjob specialist

[MovieTech]

@victor2cutube Guitar amps and high-end audio gear mostly.

[stabinferno]

I thought oompa loompas were working in that factory, and singing

ommpa loompa, doompadee doo,

ive got the perfect pedal for you.

[paulj0557]

@patsaxon Pat, hey...what's an organ dude like me doing over here in pedal heaven(LOL)? I was going to ask about whether EH would ever consider making an organ. You should know from organ electronics electrolytic capacitors are the big problem after years of drying out. You say,'diode tubes'. Actually, most tube amps have done away with diode tube rectifiers, but some players prefer the tube rectifiers because they 'mush' the attack of the note. My dad broke my 5U4 tube & soldered in 2 diodes