The pedal world has been my second home for quite some time , and I personally can ’ t recall a bigger paradigm shift in the world of effects than the shaming and ousting of the Freekish Blues company . Without wringing any more blood from that old stone , I ’ ll sum it up : Freekish Blues was caught red-handed selling Joyo Ultimate Drives in brand new Alpha Drive shells . After this was revealed , the fire sale and massive PR dumpster fire ensued . The guitar community ’ s pride endured quite a bruising during this period , and guitar players everywhere quickly began to concern themselves with componentry and honest pedal manufacturing . Since then , guitar players fawn over “ gut shots ” of pedals , but it ’ s more of an eyetest for prospective buyers . Because the nuts and bolts of analog signal processing is hardly at the forefronts of the minds of us players , it helps to know what you ’ re looking at when you gaze upon the innards of your gear . Help me help you .
The resistor is the lowly component that most frequently litters any given circuit board , characterized by its colorful stripes , and it may be the most familiar component of all , since any stompbox resistor is shaped like a tube , and 99 percent of them have the telltale stripes , which tell us the value of the resistor , measured in Ohms . With that said , even if a manufacturer uses unbanded
resistors , the resistors can always be identified as the most plentiful component on any board .
A resistor , well , resists the flow of electricity , or current . Imagine the wires and component leads of your pedal are highways , and the electrons flowing among them are cars . A regular wire will offer no resistance , or “ infinite lanes ” for lack of a better term — traffic flows freely
FIG . A and unimpeded . Resistors decrease the number of lanes , constricting traffic and slowing the flow . This is helpful for circuit feedback , oftentimes a big feature of stompbox distortion .
Resistors come in several different types , and most of them are denoted simply by what they ’ re made of . Most older resistors are “ carbon composition ” types , also known as “ carbon comp .”
The pedal world has been my second home for quite some time , and I personally can ’ t recall a bigger paradigm shift in the world of effects than the shaming and ousting of the Freekish Blues company . Without wringing any more blood from that old stone , I ’ ll sum it up : Freekish Blues was caught red-handed selling Joyo Ultimate Drives in brand new Alpha Drive shells . After this was revealed , the fire sale and massive PR dumpster fire ensued . The guitar community ’ s pride endured quite a bruising during this period , and guitar players everywhere quickly began to concern themselves with componentry and honest pedal manufacturing . Since then , guitar players fawn over “ gut shots ” of pedals , but it ’ s more of an eyetest for prospective buyers . Because the nuts and bolts of analog signal processing is hardly at the forefronts of the minds of us players , it helps to know what you ’ re looking at when you gaze upon the innards of your gear . Help me help you .
RESISTORS
The resistor is the lowly component that most frequently litters any given circuit board , characterized by its colorful stripes , and it may be the most familiar component of all , since any stompbox resistor is shaped like a tube , and 99 percent of them have the telltale stripes , which tell us the value of the resistor , measured in Ohms . With that said , even if a manufacturer uses unbanded
resistors , the resistors can always be identified as the most plentiful component on any board .
A resistor , well , resists the flow of electricity , or current . Imagine the wires and component leads of your pedal are highways , and the electrons flowing among them are cars . A regular wire will offer no resistance , or “ infinite lanes ” for lack of a better term — traffic flows freely
FIG . A and unimpeded . Resistors decrease the number of lanes , constricting traffic and slowing the flow . This is helpful for circuit feedback , oftentimes a big feature of stompbox distortion .
Resistors come in several different types , and most of them are denoted simply by what they ’ re made of . Most older resistors are “ carbon composition ” types , also known as “ carbon comp .”