Line 6 toneCore pedal docks....is there anythign in there?

[sjaltenb]

So, I have run across the opportunity to buy a few modules at a cheap price, that work. And I have seen on eBay a store that sells all kinds of line6 tonecore pedals for $10, but they don't work.

I am guessing that all the electronics are in the module, and that the interface simply connects the correct pin to the 9v, ground, in, out, etc. Does anyone know if there are other parts inside the pedal?

Otherwise, I figure I can snag up some of these docks for cheap on eBay and simply buy some working modules. I'm only interested in the verb and echo park. Any hints would be great!

[Mark Hammer]

Actually most of the pedal is in there.  The modules simply provide the "personality" in eprom form, plus the pots and switches.  All the DSP, and interfacing is inside.

The switching system is interesting.  There are two switches.  One is a soft-touch momentary that responds to light presses of the treadle.  The other is set ever-so-slightly lower, and requires a harder press to briefly make a convex piece of spring steel concave and depress a second momentary switch, yielding an audible and tactile "click".

Funny anecdote.  When Jeorge Tripps sent me a gift-pack of about 6 or 7 of those suckers (the scrap-metal profits will pay for my retirement), one of them just wouldn't work at all.  So, I took it apart to see what I could do.  Turned out that during manufacture/assembly, two of those little thin spring-steel discs had stuck together because of the viscous residue on their surface from the fabrication process.  It was very hard to see, but they formed a much stronger "layered" disc that would simply not budge to strong pressure.  I was able to pry them apart and re-insert one of them, and the pedal worked flawlessly after that.

If you can, get the stereo docks.  For me, much of the fun of these pedals lies in using the stereo capacity to re-process.  Plug into A, run a cable from A output to B input, and use the B output for your amp.  Here's an example of "re-echo" using an Echo Park: http://hammer.ampage.org/files/Re-echo.wma (NOTE: The soundclip illustrates two of the possibilities. It starts out with a short riff using the "reverse" program in the normal way. I have it panned 100% wet so you only hear the reverse. From there it switches to a re-echo whereby I plug into A, run A output back to B input, and send B output to the amp. You can hear a lovely shifting overlapping sound. Note as well that when you reverse what has already been reversed, you get it forwards again...sort of. Really interesting texture.

The second half of the sample illustrates the same once, then twice, processing of the "sweep" program. This is a program in the Echo Park that imposes a kind of wah sweep on each iteration. You'll hear it normally (again, 100% wet to emphasize the sweep), and then reprocessed. Note the lovely rhythmic emphasis feel to it. Also note that I have simply hit one note to produce all that.)

Jeorge also hipped us to an "easter egg" in the Otto Filter.  The stock unit is sold with a mono dock.  But in stereo, the two formants of the "talking filter" are fed to separate outputs.  because the one sweeps upwards, and the other sweeps downwards, when heard in stereo, the filter sweep appears to "move" across the stereo field.  Great fun.

[soundcity]

esse o esquema técnico do dock dos Tonecore - schematics for repair - http://l6c-acdn2.line6.net/data/6/0a06434c149ca520beb4c09cdc/application/pdf/TCDDK%20Hardware%20Guide%20(%20Rev%20A%20).pdf

[Mark Hammer]

Gracias! 

[moid]

Thanks very much Soundcity, I have two Tonecore pedals and both have died (Flanger and the Otto Filter) - Mark what you said about the Otto filter makes me want to get that working- I think my flanger is a stereo base... hmmm just need more time

[stenio]

I know this is a bit old but i have two stereo docks but they are different inside. i took both apart hoping to identify the problem but they are not the same now i am lost... does anyone offer repair service for pedals?

[Mark Hammer]

When Jeorge sent me a box of Tonecores, some 15 years back, one of them would not switch properly.  I opened it up and found the problem in the switch mechanism.  The mono and stereo docks use a staggered-level switch arrangement.  Softer presses actuate the "taller" witch for tap tempo or mode-change.  A harder switch actuates a lower-seated switch, and makes an audible and tactile "click" for bypass purposes.  The click comes from a thin concave metal disc that bends and bounces back out when pressed.  It's basically just like one of those little toys you may have had when you were 5 or 6, that your parents or teacher had to take away from you because the constant clicking was driving them crazy.  In this instance, whatever oil or other substance was used to keep the punch-press running problem-free, as it stamped out thousands of these discs, had coated a disc and led to a second one sticking to it.  One disc will bend easily in response to foot pressure; two not so much.  I pried them apart, reinserted a single disc, and the dock worked fine again.

If whatever issue you're having with the dock is DSP-based, then I think your SOL.  But as my episode illustrates, not all issues with these docks are electronic.

[stenio]

thanks i'll try anything.. i've never had any issues with it for over 10 yrs i have three, well two now, with 7 modules. i figured they were built super rugged and heavy tanks nothing could go wrong but i was mistaken   now i am looking to buy another one or two and maybe complete the module collection and get the remaining ones i dont have..