Dunwich Amplification General Discussion

socialleper

socialleper

Bringer of doom and top shelf beer
Supporting Member
May 31, 2009
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Canyon Country, CA
#1
I just got a sudden case of GAS this morning when I discovered there is a company named Dunwich Electronics that makes a pedal called the Volt Thrower. (I don't spend a lot of time looking at boutique brands or pedals in general.) This combines the works of one of my favorite authors (HP Lovecraft) with one of my favorite bands (Bolt Thrower).
I've taken the bait you diabolical marketing fiends; damn your souls!

If you have this pedal tell me about it. What do you use it with, how versatile is it, how much is it, how hard is it to get, everything. Nudge me into a precipice of eldritch indebtedness.
 
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#4
socialleper said:
I just got a sudden case of GAS this morning when I discovered there is a company named Dunwich Electronics that makes a pedal called the Volt Thrower. (I don't spend a lot of time looking at boutique brands or pedals in general.) This combines the works of one of my favorite authors (HP Lovecraft) with one of my favorite bands (Bolt Thrower).
I've taken the bait you diabolical marketing fiends; damn your souls!

If you have this pedal tell me about it. What do you use it with, how versatile is it, how much is it, how hard is it to get, everything. Nudge me into a precipice of eldritch indebtedness.
Click to expand...

Here if you need direct answers.

The story behind this pedal was that a bassist wanted a dedicated bass rat. He had tried a bunch of rat pedals but had common/similar complaints about the original design (for bass that is)

So I took the basic RAT design and designed it to be as bass friendly as possible. Things I did include:

1. Increased power supply headroom, if a 9V supply is used then the total voltage swing is 18V, if an 18V supply is used the total voltage swing is 36V (ideally)

2. Adjusted to clipping diodes to match the increase in headroom. The clipping diode selections are not just different types of diodes but I staggered the +- threshold voltages for clipping for a range of clipping levels.

3. Scrapped the Filter control (it sucks IMO) and changed the circuit over to a 2 band passive EQ with bass and treble controls.

4. Added a second LM308 to make up some gain (maybe some mojo 2)

5. Adjusted the shelving cutoffs in the circuit a bit for less low end cut

So it can be a bit hard to get our pedals because we only do preorder runs that tend to fill up quick. Only like 20 or so VTs exist out there. We will have another run soon so keep your head peeled if you want one.
 
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#7
dunwichamps said:
Here if you need direct answers.

The story behind this pedal was that a bassist wanted a dedicated bass rat. He had tried a bunch of rat pedals but had common/similar complaints about the original design (for bass that is)

So I took the basic RAT design and designed it to be as bass friendly as possible. Things I did include:

1. Increased power supply headroom, if a 9V supply is used then the total voltage swing is 18V, if an 18V supply is used the total voltage swing is 36V (ideally)

2. Adjusted to clipping diodes to match the increase in headroom. The clipping diode selections are not just different types of diodes but I staggered the +- threshold voltages for clipping for a range of clipping levels.

3. Scrapped the Filter control (it sucks IMO) and changed the circuit over to a 2 band passive EQ with bass and treble controls.

4. Added a second LM308 to make up some gain (maybe some mojo 2)

5. Adjusted the shelving cutoffs in the circuit a bit for less low end cut

So it can be a bit hard to get our pedals because we only do preorder runs that tend to fill up quick. Only like 20 or so VTs exist out there. We will have another run soon so keep your head peeled if you want one.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.
I guess that answers my question about how hard they are to get. Do you typically not publish pricing as it may change based on availability of parts/labor?
Did you go with the name Volt Thrower because of the power stepping?
 
#8
socialleper said:
Thanks for the info.
I guess that answers my question about how hard they are to get. Do you typically not publish pricing as it may change based on availability of parts/labor?
Did you go with the name Volt Thrower because of the power stepping?
Click to expand...

The pricing is fairly well defined at the moment, they were $220 on preorder last time. I dont plan on that changing much this time.

Yea its a clever play on Bolt Thrower that a guy in the Stoner/Doom Talkbass thread came up with when I was crowd sourcing for names.
 
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#9
dunwichamps said:
The pricing is fairly well defined at the moment, they were $220 on preorder last time. I dont plan on that changing much this time.

Yea its a clever play on Bolt Thrower that a guy in the Stoner/Doom Talkbass thread came up with when I was crowd sourcing for names.
Click to expand...

\m/ You have earned a mantle of awesomeness.
 
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#14
Maybe we should start a "Do you remember when you ordered" thread for boutique pedals.

"I remember is was a cloudy Thursday morning in the Antelope Valley. The air was still a little cool as I took my 15 minute break to go out side and check my smart phone. And there it was on Facebook! The glorious moment I had been waiting these long months for. The moment distorted goodness was at hand. Victory would finally be mine. Did I dare say anything before ordering mine? Gods no! In this matter there would only be the quick and the pedal-less."

Ya know, something like that.
 
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#17
PICS!!
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tmp_20291-20150812_174755623673710.jpg


Videos to come after I've played with it for a while.
 
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