Vistual sound H20 mods?

[JasonG]

Does any one know if there is enought room in a visual sound h20 enclosure for a true bypass switch? Or any good mods for it ?
                    Thanks.
                          Jason

[Mark Hammer]

The recent Dave Hunter effects pedal book came with a CD that packed some 90 sound samples.  Included in those sound samples were examples of bypass, using buffers vs no buffer.  The Visual Sound buffers sound damn fine, let me tell you, even better than the sample of "true bypass".  It did so because there was a typical length cable between the guitar and pedal, and another between the pedal and the amp.  This is simply one of those cases where there is absolutely nothing to be gained by modding and adding true bypass other than the possibility of using the pedal during battery failure in a gig situation, without having to unplug and reroute the signal.  If that's super-critical to you (though I don't know why a gigging musician would be so concerned about such precautions yet NOT power the pedal with an external supply is beyond me), fine, go for it.  But there seems to be no real sonic reason to entertain such a headache.

*ALL* chorus pedals are amenable to having their delay range, and sonic feel, changed by altering the small value capacitor (usually <470pf) sitting beside the clock chip.  The H2O has a variable delay time, so that part is already taken care of for you.

*All* chorus pedals are amenable to producing vibrato by lifting the dry signal from the mixing stage.  You can do that with the H2O, but I have no idea what the implications are for switching (doing this in the simplest way will result in no sound during bypass in Boss pedals) nor any idea where the specific components are located.

*ALL* chorus pedals are amenable to having the chorus intensity reduced by increasing the value of the mixing resistor for the wet signal at the mixing stage.  Whether it uses active or passive mixing, I have yet to see one where this could not be done.

*ALL* chorus pedals are amenable to reducing the apparent "wobble" by reducing the value of the last series capacitor in the delay path so as to roll off much of the bass and lower mids.

*ALL* chorus pedals are amenable to having the LFO speed range altered by changing the value of the cap/caps setting the LFO speed range.  In fact the Visual Sound site announced a mod to do this as part of a $30 upgrade package.

Having said all of that, the H2O is a nice pedal that likely has a good resale value...IF ITS NOT BUGGERED UP.  If you need to ask what mods can be done to it, that suggests you may not be a good candidate to carry them out without buggering up the resale.  Probably better to buy yourself a beater and get the hang of mods with that.

[JasonG]

Thanks Mark. That was all the info I needed. I have not bought an H20 yet but am looking to buy one. Some of the revues I have read say that they really color your tone even when off. Which is why I was asking around, checking out my options But that was most likely was comeing from some one who who didnt know how to put a good rig together.

[wampcat1]

Thanks Mark. That was all the info I needed. I have not bought an H20 yet but am looking to buy one. Some of the revues I have read say that they really color your tone even when off. Which is why I was asking around, checking out my options But that was most likely was comeing from some one who who didnt know how to put a good rig together.

You'll see that from some people who claim that true bypass is "the only way". 
These are the same people who plug in a buffered pedal and claim that 'it changes the tone...it ADDS highs...hear it?!"   

The VS pedals use an excellent opamp based buffer. No need to worry about True bypass unless you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to.

Take care,
Brian

[R.G.]

Dead right Brian.

True bypass - or not - is the subject of my latest column in Musician's Hotline. I don't know if it's hit the news stands yet.

The net net is as you say: 
a. there are religious beliefs on all sides of the question
and
b. buffered bypass, done well, can be as transparent as true bypass.

The idea that only true bypass can preserve tone is an old myth that might even have been true once. It's certainly not that way any more if it ever was.

[Mark Hammer]

That said, TB sure saves a batch of headaches as far as board size and complexity goes.  Plus, as "transparent" (it's okay, you can unwince now...I'm done with it for the moment  ) as buffers can be one at a time, it seems unreasonable that 6 or 8 or 10 of them in a row would entertain no cumulative bandwidth restriction or noise augmentation whatsoever.

Having thought about the matter, my stance has evolved into this: unless your guitar itself has a buffered output, there better damn well be at least ONE high-impedance-in/low-impedance-out stage ALWAYS on between the guitar and the amp.  Most non-boutique pedals are designed around the premise that pedal X might be the only pedal between two consecutive 20-foot cables between guitar and amp, hence a an always-on buffered input is simply sound planning. 

Makes sense to me.  They have no idea who you are, or what you might own/use, so plan around the worst case scenario.  Of course sometimes, planning around the worst case scenario makes no sense.  If I win $300M in the Powerball lottery, bringing 60-cent-a-tin tuna sandwiches on day-old "budget" bread to work every day in a paper bag that gets re-used and re-used, JUST so I can sock some money away for a rainy day...well, that doesn't make a whole heap of sense, in Kanada or Tejas.  If you HAVE an assured buffered path, via at least one device that always remains on, opting for TB can help to ssure that the "clean" signal doesn't change any more than you want it to, no matter how many other pedals are in line.

This does not mean AT ALL that anything after one buffered pedal is to be avoided.  Remember, a simple loop selector pedal that uses one TB switch to skip a half-dozen pedals is equivalent to having TB in all of them, whether their individual buffers are crap or not.  Ultimately, what matters is that the guitar signal be able to traverse the entire cable length travelled en route to the amp without suffering anything that takes away from the tone you bought the damn guitar for. If at least one person has made supper, then all the rest of the chefs in the house don't need to lift a finger.