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I had remembered a while back some interest in Lovetone pedals on the list.
FYI, I got this e-mail from one of the folks at Lovetone, who are
definitely
not out-of-business. It's interesting to see that they still make the
Wobulator (I had heard they weren't anymore) and now make a Ring Modulator!
Check out the info below from Lovetone themselves ...
PLEASE NOTE:
The Website is slightly out of date - this is the latest info and includes
the Wobulator and the new Cheese Source (Big Cheese/Brown Source combi)
pedal:
LOVETONE GENERAL...
Lovetone is based in England making an exciting range of analogue effects
inspired by the classic sounds of the 60's and 70's but designed for now.
We are not "retro" and even though our fx are developed to sound coherent
with the finest vintage gear, they are all totally compatible with modern
set-ups and can actually breathe new life into them. Our pedals are
extremely versatile with highly interactive controls and while each has
echoes of many legendary sounds, they transcend accepted norms to open up
cosmic new possibilities....man! The idea that funky invariably means old,
noisy and unreliable is hopefully a thing of the past (ha, ha).
Lovetone pedals are hand-built using all metal construction and the highest
quality close-tolerance components selected for maximum sonic integrity,
reliability and virtually noiseless performance. True to this philosophy
all four fx have negligible loading of the straight signal in by-pass. Our
aim is to incorporate the best of vintage and new technology, and be the
bridesmaid at the marriage of art and science. Our sounds have attracted
great support from many top musicians, engineers, bands and producers
covering a huge span of musical genres as well as many bedroom stars of the
future. They are eminently suitable for all manner of signal processing
applications from the not-so-humble stomp box to outboard studio use. The
pedals work together extremely effectively as well as interfacing
powerfully with existing equipment. All Lovetone pedals can be used either
with a 9V battery or a standard 3.5mm jack 9V (or 12V) D.C. tip positive
power supply. Also for blissfully easy battery access they feature a flip
up control panel with not a screw in sight.
THE PEDALS...
NEW PEDAL ALERT!
Its ringy - its stingy - it'll blow your pants off!!
You wanted excess, you wanted weirdness of unimaginable proportions! As it
happens, we've been wanting to make this one for some time. It represents a
whole new level of interactive complexity (as well as a whole new can of
worms) and we can say with that ring of confidence that never has so much
mayhem potential been crammed by so few into so little. But be warned, if
you've been bemused, befuddled and bamboozled by our previous creations
then this is not the pedal for you!
So here it is at last, defying all known boundaries of taste and decency -
bells with balls (but definitely not the belle at the ball) -
the big, fat, smokin', trouser-defying
Ring Stinger
ring modulator/fuzz octave doubler/repeater/dirt box/optical synth
CLASSIC TRANSFORMER MATRIX MODULATOR (NOT THE UBIQUITOUS MODULATOR CHIP)
FOR THAT DISTINCTIVE VINTAGE RING MOD SOUND & 60'S GERMANIUM DISTORTION
klangs, bells, metallic fx, pseudo vocoder fx, dalek noises, sci-fi
atmospherics, spooky warbling, trem arpeggios, tonal toggling, touch
sensitive keying, pitch crossfiring, microtonal + atonal fx, evolving
drones, digeridoo fx and not least the meanest graunchiest octave fuzz ever
- and these are just for starters!
Amazing on guitar, bass, keys, synths, drums, studio applications -
anything at all in fact! Stunning in conjunction with the other pedals -
especially in the Meatball loop!
Featuring:
* sine/triangle/sawtooth/square VCO with range down to LFO frequencies for
repeater/gate fx
* CV/external pedal input for VCO frequency
* VCO insert point (VCO output available for creating unique synth noises -
spooky!)
* triangle/square wide-range LFO to modulate VCO frequency or VCO pulse
width or octave drive! (goes up to audio frequencies for FM FX)
* LFO depth control - don't knock it till you've heard it!
* external pedal input for LFO amount - nice!
* footswitch for LFO enable (handy - or is it footy?)
* timbre control
* blend contol (great for retaining bottom end on bass sounds - octave mode
gives fat, edgy germanium distortion but with added bass!)
* footswitch for ring mod/octave
* light sensitive jack adaptor for Theremin-like fx or random ambience
modulation (can also be used on Meatball, Doppelganger and Wobulator
instead of passive volume pedal!)
* Bypass footswitch
We are currently offering the Ring Stinger at the amazing pre-order price
of
£259 (approx $427) + carriage.
Deliveries are due in June/July '99. Orders will be on a strictly
first-come first-served basis (with full payment up-front) and the usual
money-back guarantee applies.
MEATBALL
The Meatball is an amazing new envelope follower/triggered filter - the
funky blue alternative to a high fibre diet that has put a smile on a lot
of faces! Because of the large number of controls, and because changing the
position of any one affects the way in which the others will interact, this
offers a truly vast array of sound possibilities (from the sublest effects
to frightening untamed excesses!) and means that the Meatball can be "tuned
in" to dance the most intimate tango without treading on your toes or just
wave its arms in the air and let it all hang out. (The filter frequencies
can also be tuned precisely to allow laser guided goosing of high gain
distortion). While the Meatball is capable of the most gratuitous
"auto-wah" funk abuse and visits the promised land of Bootsy "You won't
need any spaghetti with this Meatball it's real phat" for fun, this
represents but a mere fraction of its potential which includes totally
unique new sounds. The large frequency and dynamic range makes it equally
suitable for bass, guitar, keyboards/synths, samplers and general studio
use - in fact any audio signal whether a single sound source or programme
material. By treating simple waveforms it can become an analogue synth in
its own right, or it can be used as an aural exciter to add sparkle and
depth particularly to lifeless samples. The external trigger facility
enables the filter to be triggered by a completely separate audio source
which can be another instrument, pulse or click or even touching a lead
connected to the input! A great way to exploit this is to use one aux send
on your mixer for the sound source and another one for the trigger so you
can literally trigger anything with anything which as you can imagine can
give rise to some pretty freaky effects.
Featuring:
Sensitivity control.
Attack and Decay controls.
Range control (which doesn't affect the triggering) and can be used to
fine-tune the frequency response and create subtle effects.
Resonance control.
Blend which mixes straight signal with effect creating a whole new palette
of sounds.
Pedal facility which allows the use of a standard passive volume pedal to
create wah-type effects.
FX loop - insert octaves and distortion for some real 70's cheese, or use
for external trigger facility.
Up and Down response curves.
High, Low, and Band-pass filter modes.
Four selectable filter frequency ranges.
Triggering off full or half bandwidth and trigger off - useful for instance
as a static tone control or for adding or scooping tone with blend.
LED showing filter response.
LED showing effect on/off.
DOPPELGANGER
The Doppelganger is a twin oscillator phaser/vibrato but being in the
grand Lovetone tradition it offers a whole range of classic uses never
previously available in one unit, as well as many new sounds. Its trademark
is an unparalleled purity and transparency of tone and harmonic richness
making it a real texture machine. The subtle yet ever-changing way the
controls interact has a truly mesmerising effect which speaks directly to
the sub-conscious mind (as well as the stoned mind!). It covers the whole
spectrum from mellow and virtually subliminal, to Hendrix-y, to crunchy and
chomping (reminiscent of the ubiquitous 70's phase sound), to swirling
rotary-type fx. On more subtle settings (especially in vibrato mode) it
gives movement and life to the sound without discernible processing and
because it sounds so natural you can almost forget its there - until you
switch it off! In less introvert moments it can warp sounds into
multi-dimensional knots or whip up squeals and harmonics into a sci-fi
frenzy. It never manages to sound sickly on any setting, and in fact makes
an ideal replacement for all the sounds contained in the thesaurus of
chorus as it provides plenty of width and attack definition but without the
nauseating side effects. Vibrato mode has a very vibraphone-like modulation
and is great for moody jazzers. It is also useful for creating spacial 3D
stereo effects by panning the output opposite a straight feed off a mixer.
As well as guitar and bass, the Doppelganger can of course be used on any
instrument and works particularly well with classic keyboard sounds.
Featuring:
Two LFO's with Pedal facility for each.
Span (depth) controls for low and high frequencies (which can either be
driven individually by two LFO's or together by LFO 1).
LED's showing filter status.
Colour (resonance) control.
Blend control.
LFO 1/Dual LFO mode foot switch.
Phase/Vibrato foot switch.
True and Spectral (filtered) bypass modes.
BROWN SOURCE *(see "CHEESE SOURCE" below)
The Brown Source is pure overdrive and, as its name suggests, an instant
flash-back to that dynamic, singing, BIG late 60's / early 70's brown sound
that is associated with countless classic records spanning the whole
musical spectrum. It offers unparalleled purity and touch sensitivity and
an uncannily warm "valvey" grunt with the absence of the unnatural fizz
associated with most overdrive pedals. There is also a very tangible sense
of electricity (remember that!?) as it piles on the pylon factor. It
responds extremely well to filter changes (producing a throaty "voice box"
type distortion) and consequently works an absolute treat with a wah in
front - and will make any new guitar sound 30 years older! Because of its
large image size irrespective of volume, and natural communicative response
it makes an ideal recording tool or "desert island" companion. Three
classic ways to use the Brown Source with a guitar are for snap crackle and
"pop" into a clean amp, dripping fat into a cooking amp and controlled
feedback with singing harmonics into a driven amp. In the studio it can
perform amazing transformations on the most unlikely time travellers, or
blended in with the straight signal it can be used to add a touch of dirt
to those unfashionable clean cut sounds!
BIG CHEESE *(see "CHEESE SOURCE" below)
The Big Cheese is a loving homage to the nasty, buzzy yet gorgeous and
harmonically rich early fuzz. While having many of the classic
characteristics that every fuzz fan will relate to it goes beyond to create
an absolutely distinct character of its own. Its innovative and interactive
controls can take it from almost "gated" break-up to overkill of shred
proportions. Far from being just a guitar pedal however the Cheese is
eminently useful for seeing to any sound with the temerity to be naff or
boring (with particularly amusing consequences in the lower regions). To
lovers of that extraordinary spectacle known to some as "furrrzze bass!" it
offers terminally thunderous, ripping yet glitch-free and buttock-clenching
mayhem that can only be described as Larry Graham on steroids (as
demonstrated to devastating effect by the man himself!). The Big Cheese
works exceptionally well in the fx loop of the Meatball creating some of
the squelchiest curdled sounds ever - particularly true of the "cheese"
setting which gives the signal huge dynamics thus cutting through a mix in
a manner not unlike early analogue synths. Coupled in this way with an
octaver it can perform an uncanny impersonation of a guitar synth with no
delay or tracking worries.
*CHEESE SOURCE
The Big Cheese and Brown Source are no longer available. However, we have
so many people asking for them and because they work together very well we
are making a run of the Cheese Source, that will combine both fx (with
identical circuitry as before) in a large format (same as Meatball size)
case. The Cheese Source will have 2 footswitches, 2 inputs and outputs
(although the "Cheese" output will be "normalised" into the "Source" input
thus not requiring an external connection).
It will also have LED's!
Please see ordering info for details.
WOBULATOR
The Wobulator is a super-psychedelic twin-oscillator stereo
tremolo/vibrato/panner and is as you would expect much more than an
ordinary trem pedal. Although of course it is more than capable of mono
trem effects such as those associated with classic amps it goes much
further due to an abundance of modulation possibilities. Also, being stereo
it can create numerous spatial effects either in the studio or with two
classic amps - YES!! Its warm, smooth and flexible sound has made it a
favourite mixdown tool for treating everything from drums to vocals not
forgetting yer standard classics like guitar, electric piano etc.
Featuring:
stereo outputs
2 LFO's
multiple waveforms
4 modulation modes
sync facility
pedal input
special smooth sound!
The Wobulator has 4 basic modes:
1 TREM - both Left and Right move up and down at the same time, but with a
"cross-over" effect where Left is low pass filtered and Right is high pass
filtered.
2 PAN - Left and Right move in anti-phase without a cross-over, akin to a
normal "figure-of-eight" auto-panner.
3 VIB - same as TREM but in anti-phase, creating subtle phase cancellation
(and therefore pitch and volume change) effects.
4 DUAL TREM - this again uses the cross-over but brings into play the
second LFO. Left is now driven by LFO 1 and right by LFO 2.
Each LFO has a Rate control and an option for Triangle or Square waveforms.
(LFO 2 operates in a higher range and goes up to audio frequencies which
creates some unusual if subtle frequency modulation effects.) The square
waveform gives a "gated" effect which can get pretty weird in stereo. LFO 1
also has a Pedal input for controlling Rate (as on the Doppelganger) as
well as a Trigger Input!! which resets the waveform each time it receives a
suitable pulse or click. This feature can be used to sync the LFO to a
particular tempo, or to create "burst" or "ramp" effects for example. Both
Left and Right outputs each have a Depth control and an "Enable"
footswitch. Disabling the modulation on either one so that the other is
moving against the straight signal opens up a whole new world of rather
scary sounds!
All the above effects are available in mono where they are summed to one
output. (If you only have one amp but with two contrasting inputs you can
use both Wobulator outputs to really bend some sound!)
ORDERING INFORMATION...
LOVETONE PRODUCTS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE DIRECT BY MAIL ORDER SO DON'T BOTHER
LOOKING ROUND YOUR LOCAL MUSIC STORES.
MAIL ORDER IS EASY - WE SHIP STUFF TO THE U.S. ALL THE TIME!!!
The pedals are built in small batches and there may be a waiting list. If
this is the case then orders are accepted on a first come first served
basis. CONTINUED AVAILABILITY OF PEDALS CANNOT BE GUARANTEED.
All pedals come with a 12 month guarantee and because we only sell direct
we also offer a money back guarantee. We will refund your money (less
shipping) if not satisfied provided you return the goods within 10 days of
receipt in original condition and in the original packaging.
WE REQUIRE PAYMENT IN POUNDS STERLING (BRITISH POUNDS)!!!!
(Please note - if you're paying by credit card it automatically gets
converted at your end so there's no hassle.)
Please refer below for prices of pedals and shipping to the USA and Canada.
The current exchange rate is in the region of 1.65 US dollars to the pound.
The APPROXIMATE dollar equivalents are given in brackets. THIS IS ONLY A
ROUGH GUIDE and Lovetone cannot be held responsible for any fluctuations.
Pedal Air Mail UPS
(7-14 days) (1-2 days)
Meatball 199 (328) 20 (33) 44 (73)
Doppelganger 219 (361) 20 (33) 44 (73)
Cheese Source 229 (378) 20 (33) 44 (73)
Wobulator 239 (394) 20 (33) 44 (73)
* PLEASE NOTE:
The Cheese Source is not yet available. We are taking pre-orders which
will operate, as usual, on a strictly first come first served basis with
full payment up-front. Delivery is expected in Spring '99. Since the Brown
Source and Big Cheese were phased out earlier this year there has been an
ever increasing demand for these unique pedals. If you're interested please
let us know as soon as possible - we anticipate that these won't hang
around too long.
Shipping for multiples of pedals is given in the table below.
Air Mail UPS
(7-14 days) (1-2 days)
2 30 (50) 57 (94)
3 36 (60) 66 (109)
For any other quantities please ask for a quote.
FOR THE LARGER QUANTITIES WE WOULD RECOMMEND UPS.
PLEASE NOTE: ALL PAYMENT MUST BE IN POUNDS STERLING AND PRICES ARE SUBJECT
TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
We accept Mastercard and Visa and American Express. Please forward your
credit card number with expiry date, the card holders name and address, and
a daytime telephone number. ALL GOODS MEST BE SHIPPED TO THE CARDHOLDER'S
ADDRESS. International Money Orders/Bank Cheques should be made payable to
Lovetone and sent by registed post for proof of delivery.
For more information please contact:
Lovetone
P.O. Box 102
Henley-on-Thames
Oxfordshire
RG9 1XX
England
UK Tel/Fax: 011 44 1491 571411
e-mail: lovetone@channel.co.uk
internet: http://www.channel.co.uk/lovetone
For those of you that get confused about these things and want to phone us,
we are 8 hours ahead of Western time and 5 hours ahead of Eastern time, so
call before noon (your time) and you should get a result!
Our web details may be changing in which case please contact us for
details.
Lovetone has a non-endorsement policy.
© Lovetone 1999