We get lots of technical questions from the gearheads, so here are answers and tips for the most common ones.

Upgrading your (insert make here) wah to true bypass

Build your own easy, clean sounding A/B box.

Running 18v DC on FD2, Bass-drive and FatBoost

My Multi-amp Setup & Pedalboard

Install or adjust a pot for practically any make of wah wah (video).

Suggestions for topics? Ask Mike here.

We use True Bypass switching (with L.E.D. status indicators) in all our pedals, whenever possible. Most other pedals have a buffered output that destroys the performance of most pedals that follow in the signal-chain. Don't be fooled by the claims of "Pure Bypass," "Hard Bypass"...etc. These are just catch phrases to divert your attention away from the fact that those pedals are not true-bypass. I designed and manufacture the Fulltone 3PDT , the world's only Super-Duty Triple Pole Double Throw footswitch.

I have manufactured my own custom Potentiometers because what has been offered as "Industry Standard" has a 20% failure rate within 2 years...not acceptable. To see how we do things click here.

All Fulltone pedals are handbuilt & tested by us at our shop in Southern California using full-sized top-notch components. In the Choralflange, a rather complex pedal as analog designs go, there are NO miniature surface mount chips, capacitors, or resistors. I have our wire custom-made, and it's 22 gauge copper stranded with no tin-coating, so it stays flexible over the years without breaking. You might not know or care about components, but you'll certainly hear the FAT, Clean, Warm results. And I practice the same philosophy on all my other pedals. Overkill? Maybe. But this is something you'll keep the rest of your playing days. It's actually amazing that we offer our pedals at comparable prices.

Here's an interview with Mike Fuller from late 2007 done by Guitar Center's Platinum Magazine

Check out the user reviews of Fulltone pedals on Harmony Central. (Note: you need to filter by "fulltone".)

Q: The OCD has the brightest LED I've ever seen, it lights up my entire pedalboard, but there is NO POPPING sound like on my other booteek effects...is the OCD true bypass?

A: Yes it is true bypass, and thanks for noticing the "no pop thing." I invented an active anti-pop circuit (not simply resistors to ground ;) that eliminates almost all the snap, thump, and pop you're used to getting at higher volumes with true bypass pedals.

Q: The OCD is huge sounding, wide open sounding, why does it make my other Overdrives sound like there's a blanket over the speakers in comparison?

A: Because 99% of all pedals use clipping diodes to achieve their distortion, and the net result is you are lopping off the upper frequencies (harmonics) and most of the lower frequencies, leaving mostly only Midrange.

Q: You're right, but why don't I hear it with other overdrives?

A: Because your overdrives filter out (Lop off ) the upper harmonics, the upper frequencies, and mask your amp's fizziness. Just turn down the OCD"s Tone control, which only affects those upper frequencies....or better yet, fix the amp.

Q: Is it ok to run the OCD higher than 9 volts?

A: Yes, you can run 9volts DC, 12volts DC, up to 18 volts DC, just make sure that the Center Pin of the adapter is "Negative." BTW, you can't hurt the OCD by using the wrong adapter because it has special protective circuitry...if you use the wrong adapter it just won't work or it will hum, but you can't hurt it.

Q: Can I buy one direct from Fulltone, I can't find one anywhere in any stores?

A: They are at many of the Fulltone dealers. But if you want one NOW really cheap and don't mind a slight finish flaw, then visit the Fulltone Blems and Seconds page.

Because I can, because I use and love them, because many people "get it." But I absolutely HATE selling them to a newbie and going through all the time/drama that unfolds when they inevitably start complaining about things that do not (and should not) bother true tape devotees.

You should not buy a Tape Echo unless you have past Tape echo experience.

You should not buy a Tape Echo as your "gig echo" unless you have experience with tape echos as your "gig echo." You most likely do not understand how to operate it, how to maintain it, and most importantly, what to do when something goes wrong... it's like someone saying: "I want a real Tape recorder in my studio"' and then they buy a tape machine and soon the reality sets in that you have to adjust it, align it, clean it, maintain it, understand how it works, etc.

We make between 4 & 7 TTE's per week, it is not my bread & butter, I do not want it to be my bread & butter, it is a low profit item for me.

Have you ever complained about a wah wah making a "hissing noise when you sweep through the range? Yes? Then the TTE's not for you.

Ever emailed someone that your "Fuzz is too noisy?" Then for sure you are NOT a candidate for a Tube Tape echo.

If you answer "Yes" to either of the above questions, then save $1200 & stick with one of the many useful, friendly, safe, boring digital and analog delays available to you at this wonderful time in effects history.

If you are still reading this and chuckling... You might be a candidate for a TTE. If you are pissed off, I have eliminated that segment of the forum-addicted, wait-list hypnotised population that I would really rather not have to service.

I've seen comments from people desperately trying to sell their decrepit old Echoplexes on Ebay "this has huge warm sounding repeats fade beautifully, not digital sounding ike the new reissues."

(laughter)

Yah, the repeats are warm sounding because Echoplexes hissed and hummed so badly that Maestro/Gibson had to slap a .1uf capacitor straight to ground off the playback head to cut all the highs (and the hiss). So if you want that muffled sound... turn the TTE's tone "echo tone" knob all the way OFF and guess what, you get a .1 cap straight to ground and that lovely muffled old echoplex tone.

"Old echoplexes had this amazing out of tune warble to the repeats... you can't get that with the new tape echos!"

Bzzzzzzzzzzzt. Wrong!

The lovely warble was caused from the rubber roller being old, hardening, and developing a flat spot.
If you want your TTE to be "out of tune," just take a file and sand a slight flat spot on the rubber roller.... violá. TTE owners contact me and I'll send you an extra roller -- keep one round and keep one "warbly!"

There can never be too much "amperage" (common term being "CURRENT") offered by a transformer (wallwart, power supply) as a device only draws what it needs from a power supply. There can only be "not enough current," as in the transformer not having enough current to supply the demand from the pedal. Most analog pedals require only 50ma (milliamps) or less! Most adapters offer 200-500 ma or even 1000 ma (1 amp) so you're always going to be fine for that part of the equation.

What you really have to look out for is correct VOLTAGE. USA adapters all start out being fed 120 volts AC from the wall. You need to find out what the OUTPUT of the adapter is, i.e. "12V AC" (12 volts Alternating Current) or "9V DC" (9 volts Direct Current) etc. Most pedals run off a battery... right? A battery is 9 volts DC! So, you'd better make sure that the OUTPUT of the wallwart adapter reads "9V DC" and that the POLARITY is correct.

About POLARITY... does the adapter have the positive (+) going to the correct part of the plug (cable) that connects to the effect? 99% of all pedals have the NEGATIVE (-) (also called ground) going to the Center-Pin of the cable and effect's adapter port. Getting this wrong is what results in 85% of all returned/burnt-up pedals for Fulltone, and for most other manufacturers, I suspect.

Using the wrong adapter and causing damage to your effect voids the warranty and will cost between $30 and $65 plus shipping to repair.

I've found all sorts of cool stuff over the years. Here's a list of the coolest stuff and people you'll find anywhere.

Fulltone pedals are still handmade in relatively small quantities here in the Los Angeles area by myself, and around 20 employees. We work Monday through Thursday, allowing us all 3 days off per week for important things like Music & Cars. I pay my employees well and pay 100% of their Health care as well, therefore have some who have been here 5, 10, even 18 years. Just because I may change the look or features of a pedal does not mean the quality is not as good as the old days...in fact, we have less "come-backs" now than ever and our quality gets better and better as I figure out ways to make it better. That is my hobby, designing things better.
I design all the products, have no partners, I do all the books, payroll, ordering, etc. and answer to no one but my customers, IRS, and my wife.
I have turned down numerous multi-million dollar buy-out offers from large corporations and LOVE my job even more so than the day I started Fulltone in 1992.
So you can definitely call Fulltone "boutique," in fact we (arguably) invented that phrase;)

Sure. Manuals for many Fulltone products are available as PDFs that you can download here.

Fulltone products ship with California Prop 65 Warnings!

California, being one of the more “sensitive” states, has very stringent requirements for warning consumers against even the most remote possibility the presence of even trace amounts of things that they deem potentially harmful.

We at Fulltone Musical Products Inc. feel that our products are completely safe, and we have been in-compliance since well before it was required by law… by choice.

However, plastics, coatings, electronics and wiring, etc. may contain trace amounts of a chemical that could be on the growing list in California Proposition 65, aka -the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. This results in a “right-to-know warning label” for products sold in California. Since many of our products are sold in California, we decided to mark all products with an abundance of caution.

Go here for more information about Prop 65.

Sincerely,

Michael Fuller / Fulltone