Neon Distortion Experimental Bench Rig | Original YouTube Build | Tagboard, Transformer and Controls

Description

Description of Product

This is the actual experimental bench rig I put together for the Hello Sailor Effects neon distortion video.

The idea behind the experiment was to see what would happen if I could generate enough voltage from a pedal supply to make a neon lamp conduct, and then use that behaviour as part of a guitar distortion circuit.

I was never really trying to turn it into a production pedal. It was an experiment for the video, and I have now taken it about as far as I personally want to take it.

Rather than dismantle everything and put the individual parts back in the drawers, I thought it might be considerably more interesting to leave the whole setup together and let somebody else carry on with it.

You will receive the physical components and wiring setup I used during the experiment, including:

• The populated tagboard
• Transformer
• Pots
• Wiring
• Input jack
• Output jack
• On/off switch
• The associated parts that make up the bench rig used for the video

This is not a newly assembled kit or a recreation of the circuit.

It is the actual experimental setup that was sitting on my bench while I made the video.

As you would expect from something developed while experimenting, it is not a neat production build. Components, wiring and values were changed as I worked through the idea, and it should be regarded as a starting point for further experimentation rather than a completed design.

There is potentially quite a lot more that could be explored with it.

Different neon lamps, transformer arrangements, gain structures and ways of driving the lamp could all take the circuit somewhere different.

Someone who understands electronics could modify it, rebuild sections of it, develop the circuit further or simply keep it exactly as it appeared during the original experiment.

I have no intention of developing it into a production Hello Sailor Effects pedal, so this seems a much better home for it than taking the whole thing apart.

What You Are Buying

This is an experimental electronics bench assembly.

It is:

• The original setup used for the neon distortion video
• Built on tagboard
• Supplied with the transformer, controls, jacks, switch and wiring used during the experiment
• Sold in its current condition
• Intended for further experimentation, modification or collection

It is not:

• A finished guitar pedal
• A production Hello Sailor Effects product
• A complete DIY kit with instructions
• A guaranteed working effects unit
• Something intended to be plugged straight into a pedalboard and treated as a normal stompbox

Important Safety Information

This should only be purchased by somebody who understands electronics and is competent to assess what they are working with.

Part of the original experiment involved generating voltages considerably higher than those normally encountered inside a standard 9 volt guitar pedal.

Anyone choosing to power, modify, rebuild or continue developing the circuit is responsible for assessing the circuit and working safely with the voltages involved.

It is sold as an experimental assembly in its present condition, with no guarantee regarding future operation or suitability for any particular purpose.

Why I Am Selling It

Quite simply, I have finished experimenting with it.

I could cut the wires, pull the components off the bench and put everything back into the parts drawers, but that seems a slightly disappointing end to something that became the subject of an entire video.

There is only one of these because there was only one original experiment.

If you watched the neon distortion video and fancy continuing where I stopped, having a mess with the circuit, modifying it into something completely different or simply owning the actual bench rig that appeared in the video, this is the one.