Maybe there were patent infringements or it was just too costly to build - hopefully as time goes by we will get answers to the questions this remarkable pedal throws up!!
Unless people responding to this thread can shed some further light on it (my deepest hope) - We will just have to include it amongst those seemingly crazy anomalies - dead ends if you like - in the evolutionary development of excellent fuzztone - to my mind (and ears) it's exactly up there alongside the Burns Baldwin Buzzaround in its being an inexplicably unexploited opportunity.
Like some of our most beloved (and in the long term most influential) guitarists - those whose fame burnt oh so brilliantly for such a desperately short time and yet live on in our hearts - this is one of those pedals that in my humble opinion had the potential to make its mark on the entire history of British Rock music.....
I fully appreciate that these are extreme terms of praise and descriptive honorifics - I also hope most sincerely that I am not given to just throwing such praise about freely - at least I truly hope that my recommendations and opinions on these earlier fuzz pedals are not considered too freely given - or worse yet inaccurate by you guys who get to read them. Amongst the hundreds of pedals I have been lucky enough to own or play through, there have been only a mere handful of pedals that have had such an impact on me and really only two - this one and the Buzzaround which defy my ability to explain their apparent commercial failure.
I will make it a particular aim of mine to ensure that this pedal is put into the hands of someone here who can provide a decent recording or two so you guys can see what I am banging on about - because frankly the chances of ever finding one for yourself are effectively zero - I have seen two of the Pepe Rush pedals which come in the same hugely elongated case (13 x 4 inches) and managed to buy one of those - the pictures are already posted here (I'll have to check - if they didn't make it over from the old site then I will correct that error). With the Pep version I was taken aback by the tiny size of the board itself and the surplus of "real estate" that surrounded it - this one is the exact opposite - its a real job to get the case apart things are so tightly packed inside!!
I intend to place more than the usual number of pictures up here as I am really hoping that some of youtechnical types can make some observations on the design - in many ways it resembles (tonally at least) some of the earlier Shin-Ei fuzzes or some of the earlier output of the Italian Pescara factory - but those "Drive" and "Edge" sliders open up a whole different world!!
I believe I know my way around early British Fuzz pedals pretty well and also think that I have a working knowledge of much of the early American and Japanese "competition" as well as some of the mainland European (mainly Italian) fuzzes - but must say this chap eludes me....
Doubtless there will be more to come - I have found out quite a lot about it - and its relationship (to an extent) with the "Project Four" and Guitar-Organs that Charlie Watkins and his people put so much effort into.
This afternoon I had an interesting phone call with a delightful lady called June - Mrs Charley Watkins that is! and despite being enormously busy with running their still thriving Accordion business - she was only too pleased to put up with my demands on her time! - Charley himself is unfortunately
not around until the end of the month but I have arranged to have a "chat" once an opportunity makes itself available. I am also following down other leads of people who she suggested would be in a position to help me in my "quest" - I don't mind telling you all that I was absolutely chuffed to bits after that phone call!
Hopefully it also goes without saying that as I discover more I will (unless asked to maintain confidences) share such info here - as well as in my "hoped for" fuzz book!!
Well here are some pics to be getting on with - I will save comments on them until afterwards.
Cheers Graham
