Route 66 Mods

[enigmur]

I just got a Route 66 and would like to hear any suggestions for where to attack in it.
I think it is a really good pedal, I think it could possibly do with more high end in the tone control, and the ability to remove more gain in the OD section - LED's for clipping perhaps?

The main problem I have with it, is it's bypassing. I think I read it has a buffer, which I can notice in one of my amps, it puts out a brighter signal than is actually coming from my guitar. I can work around this by setting the tone lower on the amp, but I can't put my Double Muff after it, because it makes it just a distortion pedal and takes away all of it's muffyness. If I put it before the Rt66 in the chain, it sounds fine. This means I have to have my OD/compressor at the end of the chain, which is weird to me.

Is there a way of true bypassing this pedal? I really don't trust the fact that if the battery dies or the powersupply fails, that I will loose all sound (it won't bypass the signal if there is no power to the pedal).

Cheers for any insite.

[Dragonfly]

You could build a TB box...but the buffer is a very good one, IMO.

The 66 is a well engineered pedal. Look through the TS808 / TS9 mods for info on "dialing it in" for your needs though.

[R.G.]

The main problem I have with it, is it's bypassing. I think I read it has a buffer,

It does.

which I can notice in one of my amps, it puts out a brighter signal than is actually coming from my guitar.

Actually, that buffer response is dead flat from below guitar to above audio. What's not flat is your guitar. The buffer removes any further loading from your guitar signal and lets the guitar put out whatever it would put out if it weren't loaded. Anything past the buffer does not eat treble. This is true of all buffers unless they are deliberately dirtied down.

I can work around this by setting the tone lower on the amp, but I can't put my Double Muff after it, because it makes it just a distortion pedal and takes away all of it's muffyness.

That's probably because your Double Muff is a bigger load on the guitar and knocks some treble off with it's input loading, just as a guess. This is similar to the Fuzz Face loading being part of what makes an FF sound "creamy".

Is there a way of true bypassing this pedal?

There is always a way to do anything if you have enough time, determination and money. The simplest and probably least invasive is to use an external true bypass box.

I really don't trust the fact that if the battery dies or the powersupply fails, that I will loose all sound (it won't bypass the signal if there is no power to the pedal).

That's dead right.

Just out of curiousity, how often has that happened to you?

[enigmur]

Cheers for the info guys! I had a quick look at the mammoth PCB inside, and I think the stompers are connected directly to the board, meaning that using my 3PDT's there would be tricky.
It's a very usable pedal how it is, im very impressed actually, the compressor is fantastic compared to the CS-3 I had once. The overdrive is really nice too, infact is going to replace my Rat. I like how even at max drive setting, it isn't flabby distortion.

To answer your last question, I have gone dead on stage once, which was the time I decided to sell my Boss ME-50 and move away from digital effects and multi processors.
I was playing a small gig, and someone kicked my power adaptor, seeing they are so big it fell out of the power socket really easily.

When that thing lost power and turned back on, it would be back at patch bank 1. So I lost my sound, and then had to mess around with finding the patch I was using for the song.
Plus the fact that using an effects unit like that on stage makes you look stupid when playing classic rock tunes, it looks like something Muse would use or something. It was really good for playing around with, but it was just too over the top, and not that useful for me.

I'd rather not have that happen again! I don't use power adapters for pedals, I'd rather just keep buying batteries when needed.

I do like to keep things pretty simple for myself as I sing and play guitar (we are a 3 piece). The double muff was really for my fuzz needs, but I totally love the closed-mouthed sort of sound it gives solos with the compressor.

The Rt 66 will be a bit of an effort to pull apart and have a good look, but I think I'll have a look in there, maybe socket the clipping diodes and have a play around.

It's good to know its basically a TS circuit in the OD side, I wouldn't touch the compressor I don't think.

[soulsonic]

You could potentially mod the Muff to give the same sound as when you just have the guitar plugged straight into it. That seems to be the easiest thing to me. Tim Escobedo talks about additional elements added to his circuits to make them sound the same whether you have active or passive pickups driving them or if it's preceded by a buffered pedal. It looks like it would be VERY easy to do to the Muff as opposed to the mod you're talking about trying with the RT66.
Also, if you're using batteries, you shouldn't have to worry about it just "cutting off" if the battery dies. Batteries don't just die suddenly, they decay over time and what you'll hear is a gradual degradation in sound that'll tell you to change the battery long before it actually cuts off.

[aron]

What is the difference between buffered and non-buffered with regards to the signal? If it's simple more highs, then will a cap to ground be enough to "degrade" the sound enough to be OK?

[Ben N]

I had a Double Muff on my board for a while, and the only place it was at all usefull was as the first pedal in the chain. Which is fine, as it is true bypass. If you want something heavier after the Rt66, consider a different pedal, like maybe a Big Muff Pi, or a 386 based distortion.
JM2C