Blackstone appliances/ anyone heard these??/LINK

[Mike Nichting]

hey aLL,
I came across this and wondered if anyone has heard it or if it is like the circuits that Jack builds and designs??
It looks cool, but I don't care for the way you have to adjust the controls with a screw driver or penny or something like that~!!
I dig the mosfet tone and what Jack has done with it so I wonder about this pedal.

http://www.blackstoneapps.com/

Mike

[Paul Marossy]

I've seen that website and like the little Dist. 101 page. I don't know anything about them though. I kind of like the screwdriver adjustments. When you have little ones running around the house, they can't mess with any knobs. Since I find the sound I like and leave it there, it would appeal to me.

[troubledtom]

i met him at the namm show , he's very nice but a bit shy. he shared a booth w/ some one but he had no way to let me plug in and play. i've heard NOTHING but GOOD things about his device. i believe there's no schemo on the web.
               peace,
                  - tom

[Ed G.]

He's one of those guys that I don't believe we should be pursuing uncovering what he's got. He's a real nice guy and that distortion box is his only product as far as I know.
I can tell you that I inquired to him how to quiet down a mosfet stage b/c I was overdriving a couple stages with a mosfet front end and it got noisy.
I think he told me that he doesn't use a mosfet in the front end. Maybe an op-amp driving a mosfet stage?
Some of you industrious guys with a breadboard could probably cook something up like that pretty easily. Think opamp driving a mosfet stage, with or without diodes, and then a tone control of your choice.

[mike darling]

It looks cool, but I don't care for the way you have to adjust the controls with a screw driver or penny or something like that~!!

Personally, I REALLY like the way he does the controls/labeling, and it looks like a first class product. The marketing pitch is also pretty good, avoiding the "fire proof resistors, gold plated jacks, ultra RARE alpha pots, etc..." spin that saturates so much of the botique pedal market while focusing on why the device sounds the way it does. Talking about the harmonic content of distortion may be over the heads of 90% of the guitar buying population, but we know better  

IIRC, a guitar pick will also turn the pots' which makes things a hell of a lot less traumatic than using a screwdriver or coin. The interior controls are probably multi turn trimmers, or something similarly small.

Not having knobs that get caught on stuff in your gear bag (or in the back of your amp) while in transit is nice - especially for those of us that don't have to lug around pedalboards to get the tones we need. Like ron popeil says "set it, 'n forget it!"

BTW, I have a couple surplus pots with mounting hardware like that, but have been keeping my eye open for some fresh stock for a while. Any one know a manufacturer/series #?

[Peter Snowberg]

As utilitarian as it is, I really LOVE that case design.

The black on chrome on a black crinkle box looks oh so "50's medical lab equipment".

Sharp indeed. The controls are just great. They look so well integrated.

I'm a nerd, but the asthetics of that pedal strike me more than any other I've seen. Clean, technical, scientific, but rugged looks.

I wish him the best of success.