1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

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Nick
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1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by Nick »

Have gleefully shown this one off to a few friends in the past already, but it's one of my top-favourites in obscure old fuzz, and is worth documenting!
It's also nice to put the pictures out there before that chunk of flaking paint just about clinging precariously to the case around the jack cable inevitably flakes off.

We don't know exactly when Pepe Rush started building pedals, but here's a rough timeline of relative-certainties:
  • August 23rd-27th, 1965: "Watkins" presented the "Pep Box" at a trade fair in London
  • April 2nd, 1966: the silver, wedge-shaped Pep Box is pictured in an advert in Melody Maker (but this ad might have been printed in earlier issues - idk, because I have lots of gaps between 1965-66)
  • April 13th-14th, 1966: Beatles are famously photographed (at least three times) using a silver, wedgie Pep Box during the 'Paperback writer' sessions
  • May 26th, 1966(?): Jimmy James & the Vagabonds are photographed performing on RSG, with silver Pep visible on the floor (note: I was told that they're using the Who's equipment here, incl. Entwistle's Danelectro Longhorn but I'm uncertain about the date of this picture because supposedly Entwistle had stopped using those back in 1965...)
  • June 4th, 1966: the long red WEM Pep Box is pictured in an advert in Melody Maker
  • July 26th, 1966: the Animals are photographed using a long red Pep, at a concert in Winston-Salem, NC
So, this shit is murky to say the least, and it's unfortunate that the wider interest in all of this stuff came much too late for Pepe himself to be of much use as a source, as he'd forgotten these smaller details of the 1960s.

I'm also still unsure about the exact relationship between Rush and WEM. The four known surviving silver Pep Boxes do look rather WEM-ish in their parts selection. My pedal was missing one of its knobs, and it turns out that this type of knob would be utter-fucking-unobtanium, if not for the fact that they were occasionally fitted on Copicats and other WEM amps. The two known silicon-transistor wedges also have their PCB stamped with an ambiguous symbol, that we've seen before in other WEM products (e.g. the Project V, years later).

Because of this, I had speculated for a while that we hadn't actually seen one of Rush's builds before (whilst simultaneously begging jerms to trade me his) - that the construction of these things was perhaps taken over by WEM during the silver wedge phase. The fact that the Beatles' pedal looks different to the known surviving pedals only added to the murk. I am, however, a little more certain now that the silver ones were Rush's (or at least, I obviously like to think so), because mine came from someone who turned out to be an acquaintance of Pepe's, himself. At the time, the previous owner of this Pep was running a coffee bar (reportedly known for being a bit of a musician's hub, w/ regular live music etc) either next door, or very close to Rush's basement studio on Berwick Street. He seemed to believe that this pedal was a prototype (as we all like to), but while it does have some unusual features, I think he may have only thought so because he was already conscious about the later, 'long red' version of the Pep Box. There's a fun anecdote behind my pedal - apparently Tony Sheridan once used it to demonstrate some fuzz licks :party:

Pedal sounds really gnarly and ripping though! It only works properly atm with croc clips - by itself it's a fartfest, but that's due to a problem with the battery connector. I'm not brave enough to attempt to fix even just that...


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daCod
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by daCod »

loverly :badlove:

was lucky enough to play Jim's OG Wedge PEP a few years back. good shit!
if you're ever in the shit, grab my tit
i like pedals when you know they're on
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redeyeflight
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by redeyeflight »

Ah nice!!! Another one surfaces! These are amazing sounding pedals. Super versatile.
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Doc Holliday
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by Doc Holliday »

Loving that we’re getting a bit of vintage back on the forum
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Philip
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by Philip »

Yes, thanks Nick for bringing back teh vintage. :freakout:
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rafmax
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by rafmax »

Philip wrote: Mon Mar 30, 2020 9:53 pm Yes, thanks Nick for bringing back teh vintage. :freakout:
Yep, was about time ! :chillin:
Good point :tu:
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simonm
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by simonm »

Good to see this one Nick!
Just looking at the insulation on the transistor legs - is there any wonder people thought Pepe was Italian? :roll:
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Handmade, high-impact, great-looking radical queer germanium fuzz. A different approach to 1960s-inspired fuzz pedals, no clones, check them out at https://goodfuzzysounds.com or on YouTube https://tinyurl.com/GFS-YT
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Philip
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by Philip »

Hah, good eye.
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fernieite
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by fernieite »

Crazy looking transistors! Shall we name them "flying saucer" or "thumb tack" trannys? :badteeth:

Or - maybe they should be called "pizza pie" trannys, because of the shape, and the insulation is the Italian colours... :hihi:
Great deals with: Stu, Graham, Sickle, Devnulljp, SteveG, peps1, paine, fuzzface6669, jetofuj, sciencefriction, jerms, rafmax, Bigfoot2000, whiskeyfuneral, monolithfuzz.
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redeyeflight
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Re: 1965(ish) WEM Rush Pep Box [DATA DUMP]

Post by redeyeflight »

Busted out my Jerms Pepbox replica today after drooling over Nicks pics in this thread. It had been far too long since I've used it. Fucking love this circuit. Will post a few quick vids in instagram in a bit.
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