FIRE BOTTLE (Magnetic Pickup Booster)

This unique booster pedal features an alltube signal path, modified ‘Harvard’ style tone control and selectable input impedance specially designed to enhance the tone of magnetic guitar pickups. The Fire Bottle can improve clarity for a bigger , bolder tone or fatten up the sound of a single coil pickup to give it the characteristic warmth of a humbucker pickup. Gain is continuously variable from 0dB (unity) to a huge 30dB allowing the Fire Bottle to operate as an audiophile unity gain buffer , clean boost or push a tube amp into overdrive.

Effectrode's Fire Bottle is designed for flexibility , simplicity and outstanding sound quality. Audiophile grade components and silver solder are used throughout the circuit with precision metal-film resistors for lownoise and stability , polyester coupling capacitors for their ability to resolve fine signal detail and groundplane layout. The result is an outstanding booster pedal that exhibits a level of purity and natural tone not found in solid-state germanium or silicon designs.

The Fire Bottle is a tool that can be used to tailor the resonant frequency , gain and tone of a magnetic pickup to alter the fundamental timbre or character of an electric guitar. The resonant frequency determines how fat or thin the sound is - a lower frequency sounds fatter and a higher frequency sounds thinner. The resonant peak determines the character of the sound. A higher peak sounds more ‘edgy’ and a lower peak sounds smoother. For example, Stratocaster™ single coil pickups have a bright sound because of their high resonant frequency with a high peak. Les Paul™ humbucker pickups have a mellower, warmer tone because the resonant frequency is lower with a more damped peak because of the increases coil resistance.

The resonant frequency of most magnetic pickups in conjunction with a typical guitar cable lies between 2 to 5KHz. The human ear is most sensitive to frequencies in this region. Subjectively , boosting frequencies in the 2KHz region sound warm and mellow; at 3KHz have more presence and at 5KHz more brittle and thin. The height of the peak also alters the quality of the sound - a high peak produces a “lively” sound, whereas a low peak produces a weaker sound. The resonant peak amplitudes of most magnetic pickups range between 0 to 12 dB, being dependent on the composition of the magnetic material in the coil, external resistive load and metal case shield.

Effectrde's Fire Bottle should be placed first in the signal chain to allow the input circuitry to interact with the guitar magnetic pickup.

• The Vari-Z switch is designed especially to work with single coil pickups of the type installed in Stratocaster™ or Telecaster™ guitars. With the switch in the ‘centre’ position the resonant peak is unaffected. In the ‘down’ position the resonant peak drops down about 2KHz giving single coil pickups a warmer tone similar to a vintage humbucker. In the ‘up’ position the resonant peak drops even further down (around 4KHz) creating a much fuller and fatter sound.
  
  
• Footswitch allows selection between effectified (compressed) and non-effectified (dry) signal. Silent true bypass switching ensures there are no ‘pops’ or ‘thump’ when engaging the effect and that there is absolutely no loss of tone from your guitar to your amp when the effect is disengaged. Additionally , the tube signal path in this pedal is built to demanding audiophile specification to ensure hi-fidelity and signal integrity at all times - the benefit that your guitar tone always remains pure and intact.
  
  
• Boost knob controls the level of the Fire Bottle’s tube gain stage, which is electrically identical to the vintage Fender® amp input stages. Rotating it clockwise adds gain ranging from 0dB (unity tube buffer) to a substantial 30dB. Electric guitar players can utilise the Fire Bottle as a tool to add "punch" to solos or push a tube amp into creamy overdrive. Additionally , acoustic guitarists, bassists, NS and Chapman Stick players can add some subtle volume lift (3 to 6dB) and warmth for soloing. This audiophile quality boost pedal can add clarity and definition to many instruments and other audio sources. Studio engineers can take advantage of the warm and natural boost capability to augment the recording levels of various instruments and microphones.
  
  
• Tone knob can be used to tailor the character and body of the signal. The tone control is based on the classic 1940s Fender® ’Harvard’ tube amp tone circuit, which controls the critical frequencies for electric guitar and is a very usable control. Additionally an internal trimpot allows further adjustment of filter ‘Q’ to balance high and low frequencies so that Effectrode's Fire Bottle integrates into practically any amp/guitar rig.