Effects
Vintage Effects
We here at Thermionic Studios categorize anything dated 1989 or earlier as "Vintage". We realize that this date is somewhat arbitrary. We recognize that there are electronic devices going back as early as the 1940s and 1950s that in no way resemble effects from the 1980s. Certainly, aficionados would not categorize anything from the 1950s, especially if it included moving mechanical components, along with anything from the 1980's. For the sake of this site, and for the associated practicalities, we will stick with our 1989/1990 date as the break between these two periods.
We deem this date to be significant because it coincides with two events, one economic and the other technological, that give a reasonably good cause for anything dated 1989 and earlier to be categorized as "Vintage":
- This date marks the time when Roland/Boss (at the time, the most influential music effects company) moved its manufacturing operations from Japan to Taiwan.
- Also at this time, and probably more importantly, there was a shift in manufacturing practices in the electronics industry. The beginning of the 1990s saw the introduction of SMD, or "surface mounted device" componentry. SMD manufacturing techniques accelerated throughout the electronics industry to the point now where most mass-manufactured electronic devices are manufactured using SMD techniques. Today, only a small minority of manufacturers still use printed circuit boards with discrete removable components.
Modern Effects
We categorize "Modern" effects as anything dated 1990 and up to the present; and are built using most recent manufacturing methods (printed circuit boards, SMD) that are still currently and effectively used. Occasionally, boutique builders will use older methods, like tag boards and point-to-point wiring, but this has more to do with maintaining authenticity to the original methods as a selling point. It is our expectation that moving forward, that new manufacturing techniques, like 3D-printing will, in time, become the new "line" that separates "Vintage" from "Modern" gear.
Another notable difference in "modern" effects is the advent purely software-based (as opposed to hardware or real logic circuits) nature of digital effects. There are two main applications of these digital effects:
- Realtime use in the instrument signal-line, like the Line 6 Pod "effect bean",
- Post-recorded use in Digital Audio Workstations, or "DAW"s.
In a DAW, you typically manipulate and mix a performance that has already been recorded and converted into a digital format. Once the digital file has been imported to the DAW into memory or on disk, it is a relatively trivial act to apply an already-built in effect (delay, reverb, etc...) to the file. This would be done so as to evoke different different sounds and therefore different emotions and reactions from the sound. Avid ProTools or Adobe Audition are great examples of Post-recording DAWs and are really used more for editing and production than for performance.
Effects Listings
Effects by Function
Effects listed by the function of the effect on a music signal.
Effects by Manufacturer
Effects as listed by company of manufacture.
Effects PCB Makers
So this is a bit of a different animal. There are people/companies (mostly people self-identifying as companies) that have created printed circuit boards (PCBs) and/or kits for effects that are original, or of effects that at one time were available for purchase and have since been dropped. What this means is that there exist old effects pedals and consoles that were created in the past that are no longer manufactured by a company and are no longer generally available to people who might want them. Sales of these effects may have been robust in the past, but the effect ended up becoming "the sound of an era" and dropped as musicians looked for new means of expression.
As part of our mission, Thermionic Studios has searched out as many PCB Makers as is reasonably possible. Here's a list of PCB Makers and the PCBs we've purchased for assembly into high-quality devices.
Thermionic Effects
These are conventional effects owned by Thermionic Studios and available for rental.
Resurrected Effects
These are effects that, for most intents and purposes, are no longer available. These effects were never terribly successful in their day, but as antique models of these discontinued effects are rediscovered and used by new artists to create new sounds, there is resurgent demand for them again. These effects are being researched and reconstructed by DIY-and-boutique electronic effects shops, and individual pedal makers. The PCBs for these effects are being sourced by Thermionic Studios. Eventually the effects listed will all be built, tested, and available for rental. As new effects that are actually novel are being discovered and made available, we will also endeavor to make them available.
Standalone Effect Devices
Occasionally there are standalone devices that don't seem to fit into any other category. These could be vintage effects that eventually found their way into a pedal, these could be things that have a such physical size and a such unique sound that they have been kept for future use. In many, if not most cases, these effects don't necessarily exist any more because they've been replaced with smaller, more convenient, easier form factors (again, pedals or rack-mount effects), or it could include different methods of making the sound (like changing an analog effect to a digital one).
