The Fulltone/AMZ mini-boost thing is well known: AFAIK ZVex gives credit where his work is derivative or anything like that.  For example, he didn't design one pedal (Machine?) and it says so in the pedals demo video and on it.

Add to that that ZVex is a valued member of this forum and others, whereas if anyone hears from Fulltone it's either spam or him throwing his weight around.  Won't buy Fulltone products myself, I have no respect for the guy and his ways of doing business regardless of how good some of his gear might be.

Respectful or jerk, manufacturer or builder, big or small, none of these things have any bearing. There is no special treatement given to anyone here. This has been addressed before so do a search if you need too find out more. Anyone can come here and ask for their products to not be posted. Some forumites have requested this. Mr. Vex is not the only one either so lets not go there please. Mike Fuller has not come here to request this. Thats all that would be needed.

I think the OP has had their question addressed.

Andrew

cd: clearly!

tone god: I'd like to agree, but i really feel it should work in reverse, i.e. people coming in here with an attitude like Jeorge of WayHuge: "Go nuts reverse-engineering, but please don't post my layouts." I don't think it should be up to the owner of some IP to hunt down every venue for its dissemination. Mr. Teese for example, clearly did not want his schematics bandied about, but didn't know of the forum's existence until it was pointed out to him...

I just read the first post on this thread and I can't wait to respond so I will respond now and then read all the other posts.

First of all, SCREW HIM!!! He ripped off the Fat Boost and then ripped on "Hobbyists" in the ad for it. To protect yourself simply use FOOLTONE. Even though that should be the company name it's not. I'm sorry to be all jacked off like this but that guy pisses me off. Anyway, When I read the rest of the posts I'm sure you were told this and a ton of other good advice over and over.
      As for the letter he sent you, if I had the money I'd pay for you to put a full page ad in every music publication in the world offering the SD-1 with the mod for half of what FOOLTONE is charging and I'd pay the difference if that was too low of a price to advertise. THEN I'd spend day and night on the rest of his line only I, unlike him, would admit it. (In some sort of legal way of course).

OK, one more comment before I read these threads: Let's think about how he got wind of this mod. You know he didn't simply "hear" about it. He was scanning the net (EVERY DIY EFFECT SITE) for more knowledge while writing his new ad about the DIY/Hobby guys going back to there day jobs in a year. :evil:

Listening to the sound clip they sound like two different pedals to me.  That's not a bad thing... I prefer the SD-1 mod!  The FullDrive with the comp in has always sounded like a sum of a clean compressed signal and a distorted signal.  I don't hear the clean component in the SD-1 mod.

Like everyone else already said, he's probably just upset with the use of the name.

I have a FD2 and love it. I've also read Fuller's posts where he talks rather explicitly about somones wife and I think he's a super ultra major jerk.

I recently watched a friends court fight in California involving similar things and I came away realizing being right or having the law in your favor doesn't matter much in courts, you win by putting the most money in it.

That said many lowlife punks like the aforementioned send out bully letters like this just, well, to be a punk. A real C&D letter should have very specific things to stop doing, does yours?

I would guess (and remember I'm gambling with your money here) that this letter is BS and he will not risk massive countersuits while his is so shaky it could easily be dismissed. Possibly as a SLAP suit (a term worth googling).

If you don't mind I'd like to hear what specifically he is asking for.

Mike has to know that the damages he can get in court from a tiny business will be far below the court costs if you postpone one or two dates and make a few motions he has to pay his lawyer to respond to.

Good luck, and remember, never trust free advice on the internet, except that last part

Quote from: Ben NBTW, my take on the clip is that the SD-1 does sound better.  So, Brian, I'm guessing you upgraded some components for noise (the hiss in my SD-1 drives me nuts), switched to symmetrical clipping, and...?

Ben

Hi Ben,
I'll post the specific mod here, for you folks -- give it a try, you might like it! Chris Leuzinger (of Garth Brooks fame, nashville session cat) had the fulldrive 2 and a/b'd my sd-1 with it. He then asked me if I wanted to trade for his fulldrive (I didn't, of course). But, he said he liked it better than his fulldrive.

Anyway, here is the exact mod -- its very simple:
Location   Mod value   
C2   .022 uf   
C3   .1 uf uf   
R6   2.2K resistor   
C6   .022 uf   
C10   1 uf film   
      
D4   Germ. And 1n4001 series   
D5   1n4001   
D6   Germ. And 1n4001 series   

Note: Germ implies 1n34a germanium diode.

Thanks,
Brian

Brian, were you advertising the above mod as a F******** mod?  Cuz those aren't even the right values.

Quote from: cdBrian, were you advertising the above mod as a F******** mod?  Cuz those aren't even the right values.

Do you mean the right values as to what they are on the f*lldrive, or the correct values for my mod?
I know they aren't the same schematically, but tonally they sound very similar with those changes.

Thanks,
Brian

What a roast!!!! Do i care that no one like fuller? NO. He hehehe. He could have been cool about it. Was he? I dont think a C/d letter is the right way to go. Dont he realize that word to mouth can make/break a small company? Whampcat- This is all just too funny. I say ROCK ON!  I agree w the others and call it the Fooltone II. I dont know much about the guy so i cant really say a lot but i think we went about it the wrong way.

Sounds like the guy is a real dirt bag. Thats unfortunate, esp for being in him line of work where name has a lot to do with sales ect...

I do remember the wierd thread where Teese came here to defend his stuff--Just fckn wierd I thought. Esp the part about having to feed his handicap child and wife- I still give him respect though_ hes really earned it! But, i call it like it is too.

Thanks Brian!  I'll have to give this a go on my Chinese SD-1 clone.

I wonder if an SD-1 could be turned into a Bass Drive?

Quote from: cdBrian, were you advertising the above mod as a F******** mod?  Cuz those aren't even the right values.

Maybe they give the same sound as a PhullDive?  Would just transferring the different Fooltone values into an SD-1 work?  I was going to try that the other day but the Fooltone schematic gave me a headache lol.  Adding the extra "boost" pot with a little toggle switch wouldn't be too hard either I wouldn't think.

May I also add that I'm neutral on the whole cloning/schematic posting/whatever subject because I only make pedals for myself and would never have enough spare cash to blow on a boutique pedal anyway.  I'll leave the ethical debate up to those with $$ at stake.

Quote from: Samueltone god: I'd like to agree, but i really feel it should work in reverse, i.e. people coming in here with an attitude like Jeorge of WayHuge: "Go nuts reverse-engineering, but please don't post my layouts." I don't think it should be up to the owner of some IP to hunt down every venue for its dissemination...

I wasn't stating my posistion just the one that has seemed to make everyone happy and keep the peace around here. My personal stance is actually stronger. I don't think we should post anything without EXPLICT permission. Thats just me though. No need to argue about it folks.

I do like the attitude of Jeorge. Its pretty much the way I would go about it if I was in his posistion. If you do the work then go ahead just don't post anything copyrighted.

Andrew

Quote from: wampcat1Do you mean the right values as to what they are on the f*lldrive, or the correct values for my mod?

The former.  If you're going to advertise as a FD, shouldn't it have the right values?  Even if it does sound similar or better?  You're not using the same values, so you can really call it the Wampcat mod or whatever.  Why saddle yourself with the resulting C&D hassle.  It's your own mod, it sounds better than a FD, go for it.  Anything else seems strange to me.

I think some of y'all have the wrong image of Fulltone.  They are NOT a small time, boutique company.  Not on the level of BOSS or DOD, but I'd say they're probably closer to MXR than say, Barber.  

As for posting schematics... as I understand it, if I trace something out and draw an original schematic of it, there's nothing stopping me from posting it wherever I like, other than ethics (i.e. the spirit of this board, builder's wishes, etc.)

Quote from: bobbletroxThanks Brian!  I'll have to give this a go on my Chinese SD-1 clone.

I wonder if an SD-1 could be turned into a Bass Drive?

Quote from: cdBrian, were you advertising the above mod as a F******** mod?  Cuz those aren't even the right values.

Maybe they give the same sound as a PhullDive?  Would just transferring the different Fooltone values into an SD-1 work?  I was going to try that the other day but the Fooltone schematic gave me a headache lol.  Adding the extra "boost" pot with a little toggle switch wouldn't be too hard either I wouldn't think.

Yes it can -- Stick a 1uf cap in both c2, and c3, and you'll have a very cool bass overdrive pedal. (of course, you can do other changes to it as well).
If you want really smooth bass, I like adding a 220 pf cap in parallel to d2, and d3, and then adding a .001 cap onto c4. For a jagged, more assymetric clipping,  stick a led @ d2, 2 1n34a's (germanium diodes) in series @ d3, and a led and 1n4001 in series @ d4.

Not sure about the schem stuff -- I rarely use them -- I just adjust w/ my ears! A bit of a trial and error modder, I guess! hehe!

For the boost ALA Fulltone, simply jumper the diodes I believe.

Hope that helps!

Thanks,
Brian


PS--Please don't post these changes all over the 'net, unless you put:
"Courtesy of www.guitartone.net" or something that points back to the website. Thanks much!

Quote from: cd

Quote from: wampcat1Do you mean the right values as to what they are on the f*lldrive, or the correct values for my mod?

The former.  If you're going to advertise as a FD, shouldn't it have the right values?  Even if it does sound similar or better?  You're not using the same values, so you can really call it the Wampcat mod or whatever.  Why saddle yourself with the resulting C&D hassle.  It's your own mod, it sounds better than a FD, go for it.  Anything else seems strange to me.

I think some of y'all have the wrong image of Fulltone.  They are NOT a small time, boutique company.  Not on the level of BOSS or DOD, but I'd say they're probably closer to MXR than say, Barber.  

As for posting schematics... as I understand it, if I trace something out and draw an original schematic of it, there's nothing stopping me from posting it wherever I like, other than ethics (i.e. the spirit of this board, builder's wishes, etc.)

True, true -- the main advantage is purely from a marketing perspective, though. I don't turn it INTO a fulldrive2 -- I just make them sound as similar as possible.

Thanks,
Brian

That's right, cd.   If it's his own mod, and has nothing in common with a Fulldrive except that it sounds better...then the world's your oyster!  

cheaper than a fulldrive + sounds better than a fulldrive = winner.

*EDIT*

Thanks for those bass tips Brian!  Sounds like a winner.

I should add that obviously, if a circuit is patent protected, the schematic would be useless, since that would already be covered in a patent.  But since almost no FX boxes are patented, it doesn't apply.

Brian, I suggest you read (if you haven't already) the "Is it legal to clone?" article at www.muzique.com. There's a good bit on trademarks and dilution which you should be aware of.

Attributing simple mods to your site - you can see where things start to get sticky here.  If I read RG Keen's "Technology of the Tubescreamer" and come up with the same thing (as thousands of others have likely already done) who's right since who thought of it first?  Nobody, since it's a bonehead simple thing to do and the info is so freely available.

Quote from: The Tone God
I wasn't stating my posistion just the one that has seemed to make everyone happy and keep the peace around here. My personal stance is actually stronger. I don't think we should post anything without EXPLICT permission. Thats just me though. No need to argue about it folks.

Wasn't trying to argue (at least not in a combative way ) I think you and I are on the same page, but as nice as it is to have an environment that is helpful and positive, I also think the ethics threads are valuable, until they get flame-y, to keep people thinking about the issue from as many sides as possible. No need to go diving back into it now, I suppose.

HOLY CRAP!!!  I just realized something: not only did the 'boost borrow some circuitry, but it ganked RDV's Hammerite finish.  I mean, I know you can get that stuff anywhere, but C'MON!!!  WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!?

RDV, stand up for yourself, man.  

OK, I'm kidding.  Had to do that one.