Big Jon Electronics The Machine Guitar Bass Effect Pedal Zvex Clone USA-Made

Description

Big Jon Electronics
The Machine
In the wide world of grit pedals, it's sometimes hard to find something that truly stands out...and then there's the Machine. Whereas virtually all other dirt pedals work by clipping the
peaks
of the signal waveform, the Machine works by chopping the
slopes
, making for a truly unique sound.
One of the big things about the Machine that I quickly learned with mine is that while it's usable on its own, the Machine really shines when used
in combination with other fuzz / distortion / overdrive pedals
. Whether you're looking to add some edge to your 'drive or you want to take an already crazy fuzz to the next level, the Machine will get you there.
To accomplish this, the Machine runs your tone through no less than
six
chips - two MOSFETs, two NPNs, and two PNPs, all working in noisy harmony. Both the controls and the circuit itself are set up to manage high amounts of gain, which is critical - pushing a hotter signal (from another effect) into the Machine does different things than using a milder direct (or turned-down) signal, and the "In", "Limit", and "Out" controls (in that order) help you manage the signal level at each stage. While we do use the same chips and schematic as the original, certain pedals may have individual component values tweaked to better match the gain values of the transistors...so each pedal is fully custom :)
While the usual Machine design gives you direct control over the source resistance (and therefore "drive" level) over the first MOSFET via the "In" control, we've taken things a step further and given you control over the second MOSFET drive stage via an internal trimpot. This control helps set the overall drive level of the circuit, which you'll use the "In" control to fine-tune. Pretty neat!
Down to the dirty details: this guy comes in a 1590B enclosure and uses a standard Boss-type center-negative DC jack for power (battery power can be added as an option for a few bucks more - just message me). True-bypass switching is here as always, along with a golden LED to indicate that the pedal is on (though trust me, you'll know when it's on) and some gold knobs. The controls are not labelled, but I'd be happy to label them if you'd like. As with our other pedals, each Machine is point-to-point handwired in Somerville, MA, and each pedal is one-of-a-kind! This is the only blue/silver one we've ever made, and likely the only one that we will make. We're also happy to do custom builds (for the Machine or any other design we have in stock) - I've gotten everything from "can I get a different knobs / different colored LED" to specific transistor preferences and even one-off mods - we do it all! Get in touch if you have some ideas for yours.
Big Jon Electronics pedals have not been sold new on eBay (until now!), but we've accumulated over 100 perfect five-star ratings on Reverb, and we pride ourselves on great customer service.
Thanks for reading and
Long live the fuzz!
🐦