Eleca copies of EH pedals

Saturday, 29 September 2007 15:04

Eleca is a line of music instruments and accessories made in China. Included is a line of guitar effects, a couple of which look suspiciously like Sovtek/EH pedals. These are the EBB-1 “Bass Distortion” and the ESD-1 “Distortion Pedal”. The entire Eleca pedal line can be foundĀ here.

Who would’ve thought we’d see a copy of the EH Bassballs, let alone the Sovtek version? It even has the “TWIN DYNAMIC FILTER” caption written on top. What does EBB stand for? Maybe it’s Electro-harmonix Bass Balls? Actually, all 3 of the Eleca pedals shown on the box have an “E” prefix so it may be Eleca Bass Balls.

Eleca EBB-1
Eleca EBB-1
Eleca EBB-1

The Bass Balls all the way down to the 2 trimpots for adjusting the filters.

Eleca ESD-1 (EH Sustainer-Distorter?)

The ESD-1 is a pretty close copy of the Sovtek Big Muff. The controls are the same, the layout’s the same, and it even says “Distortion/Sustainer” on the top. Looking inside, I found that it’s the same circuit as well. It is a little smaller than your standard Big Muff, as you can see from the photos. Notice the US flag on the box. Are they trying to fool us into thinking it’s US-made?

The Original Big Muff vs the American Reissue

Saturday, 29 September 2007 16:09

Electro-Harmonix has been big into reissues for a while now, capitalizing on the demand for their vintage units.  Unfortunately, their choice of copying the exteriors exactly has led to many people selling what are claimed to be, whether accidental or intentional, vintage units that are actually well-used reissues.  This is the first in a series of articles to help prospective sellers and buyers identify whether their unit is vintage or reissue.

The Big Muff was the first reissue for the EH company, being originally built in Russia. Eventually an American-made version was reissued. Logical choice as it was one of their original pedals and pretty much built the company. The American-made reissue borrows heavily from the original 3rd generation Big Muff with it’s red and black graphics. There are a few differences, though, that immediately make it recognizable as a reissue. Take a look at the pics below. On the top, a 2002 reissue. Below it, an original 1981 EH Big Muff, Model EH-3034. How many differences can you find?

Let’s start with the obvious, the reissue has an LED on the left, below and between the VOLUME and TONE controls. True, it could be added to a vintage model by an enterprising modifier, but there’s more. Look at these pics of the rear of the pedals.

Notice that on the back of the reissue, there’s only the INPUT and AMPLIFIER jacks, as well as the AC adapter jack, whereas on the original there’s also a slide switch plainly labeled on the top panel as TONE-BYPASS. On some original models, it may just be labeled as ON-OFF because it was a power switch, a holdover from the 2nd version models. At any rate, on vintage models there should be a rectangular hole w/ 2 screw holes for the switch.

Inside the reissue the wiring’s fairly neat, with a 3PDT footswitch already installed (note: early reissues used black SPDT switches, not the blue 3PDTswitches). Notice the circuit board of the original has 3 large solder pads on the right, just below where the VOLUME control is soldered (follow the arrow). These pads were used when this circuit board was used in the Little Big Muff Pi. The Little Big Muff Pi had it’s VOLUME control soldered to these pads and the SUSTAIN and TONE pads had resistors soldered across them to preset the levels. Other Big Muffs of this vintage may have different circuit boards, such as the infamous op-amp Big Muff. Also, you may notice that the reissue has pots with solid backs on them whereas the original had open back pots. In the center hole of the original, you can see the interior moving part of the pot (the wiper). There’s also a slot on the wiper that allows turning with a screwdriver.

Knobs on both these units are what I refer to as “cylindrical” knobs but both vintage units and early reissues had the black pointer knobs as well.

To sum it up, the easiest and quickest way to determine if the unit is vintage or reissue is to look at the back for a slide switch.  If it’s not there, it’s a reissue.  If it is there, look at the position of the AC adapter jack.  On the vintage units it sits a bit closer to the amplifier jack.  You might check this to make sure a slide switch wasn’t added to a reissue as a mod or to purposely deceive the buyer.  Of course, if it’s original there should also be labeling on the top for the switch.

Stones, Clones, and Muffs – The Electro-Harmonix Story

Thursday, 29 January 2009 20:33

Stones, Clones, and MuffsThe Electro-Harmonix Story

By Ronald C. Neely II
continuously updated

The Electro-Harmonix Company was founded in 1968 by Mike Matthews. Until its demise in 1985, it was one of the biggest manufacturers of effect units for guitar. It was recently ressurected by Mike Matthews and is once again creating its own special niche in the music world.


Introduction

The Electro-Harmonix (EH) company was one of America’s most innovative musical accessories manufacturers. Founded in 1968 by Mike Matthews with $1,000 cash and a $5,000 bank loan, the company grossed annual sales of 5 million dollars by 1978. EH survived opposition from labor unions and others, but finally succumbed in 1985, only to re-emerge in the 1990’s under the New Sensor/Sovtek name. The EH name has since reappeared on a line of reissued effects while the original models have become collectors items.


The Founding

Mike Matthews, the founder of Electro-Harmonix, had a rich and varied history. A native of Brooklyn, he attended Cornell University and graduated with an MBA and a BSEE. Ten years later he received notice that his five year BSEE had been commuted to a Master’s. While at Cornell, he promoted rock ‘n’ roll shows and also sat in on keyboards with the Isley Brothers; at one point he was asked to join the band full-time, but he declined in order to finish school. Upon graduation he worked three years as a computer salesman for IBM.

Mike had tried marketing an Alpha Neon Resonator which relaxed the brain and promoted creativity by use of small flickering bulbs, but the product sold poorly. Later on, he built Foxey Lady fuzztones, which bore more resemblance to his later Big Muff Pi distortion in both appearance and construction, for the Guild guitar company. Now he was ready to start his own company.

In October of 1968, Mike Matthews started the EH company and introduced his first product,  the Axis fuzz.  Essentially the same unit as the Foxey Lady pedal he sold to Guild, the Axis gave Mike a good start and paved the way for his next product: the LPB-1 Linear Power Booster. No other company at that time was selling a comparable product and this became the first in a long line of completety original products. Along with the LPB-1 and its companion, the LPB-2, was a line of filters that included the Screaming Bird Treble Booster and the Mole Bass Booster.

With the new company came the famous EH logo, which has been variously described as a “ram’s head” or “lamb’s head.” According to Mike, the logo was designed by a female artist and “I liked it so I just used it as a logo, something to attract attention to the ad. It didn’t have any special meaning other than I thought it was distinctive.” (Neely)

Lesser known products from EH were the ones designed for the stereo enthusiast: the Linear Stereo Boosters LSB-1 and LSB-2, the Stereo Tone Expander, and the Stereo Pulse Modulator – which, according to sales literature, was designed to “literally get you stoned electronically.” In the late 70’s the Ambitron, which converted a mono signal to stereo and was capable of being used on guitar as well, was introduced but quickly disappeared.

While displaying his LPB-1 at the NAMM (National Association of Music Manufacturers) show in 1968, Mike unwittingly changed the design of amplifiers by demonstrating to everyone that pre-amps could be placed in series to create distortion. One of the first to realize that this effect could be built into an amplifier was Hartley Peavey of the Peavey Electronics Corporation, who was also at the show and purchased an LPB-1 to learn its secret (Howse 15). Not long afterward, many manufacturers were building the cascading pre-amp design into their amplifiers.


The 1970’s

In the early ’70’s, Electro-Harmonix released what has become its trademark product, the Big Muff Pi distortion. The Big Muff Pi became popular with guitarists for several reasons. First, it was cheaper than other distortions available at the time. Second, it allowed guitarists to play single notes or chords with the same clarity of sound. Though it was originally offered at the price of $39.95, or in kit form at $26.95, early examples are now selling for upwards of $200.00. The Big Muff Pi has been used by such musicians as Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Carlos Santana, and others. Before the company’s demise, the Big Muff Pi passed through several incarnations and the family was expanded to include other versions such as the Muff Fuzz, Little Muff Pi, Little Big Muff Pi, Deluxe Big Muff Pi, and the Crying Muff fuzz-wah. In the ’90’s, it was manufactured in Russia and re-released under the Sovtek name.

The ’70’s were the peak years for the EH company. It released many products including its best-seller, the Small Stone phase shifter. According to Mike, the factory couldn’t build them fast enough to keep up with sales of nearly 7,000 units a month. Almost as popular as the Small Stone was the Memory Man series of analog delay units, the first low cost echo unit available at the time. The EH company wasn’t content to just produce effects, though; it also created a line of amplifiers for guitar, bass, and p.a. that were available in the consumer’s choice of AC, AC/DC, or DC power. Another sideline was its line of drum machines like the DRM-15, 16, and 32 and electronic drum effects including the Rolling Thunder, the Space Drum, and the Crash Pad.

Mike had never been content to confine his work to the United States; in 1973 or ’74, the EH company was the first American business contingent to China. Then in 1979, Electro-Harmonix became one of two American companies displaying products at the Consumer Goods and Fashions Exhibition in Moscow. The EH exhibit proved very popular with the Russian people and large crowds gathered around listening to the Electro-Harmonix Work Band, which was composed mainly of EH factory employees demonstrating the products that made EH famous. New products were also demonstrated at the show, including the Mini-Synthesizers and the Guitar Synthesizer. Mike distributed copies of the Electro-Harmonix Work Band album, 50,000 EH stickers, and 20,000 copies of articles about the EH company. The high point of the trip was an invitation to a July 4 party at the home of the US Ambassador to Russia (Levine, Life).


Union Racketeering

In 1978, Mike Matthews had been named New York State Small Business Person of the Year. While Mike was honored to be chosen for this award, it proved to be a turning point for the company. Officials of the Plastic, Moulders’ and Novelty Worker’s Union, Local 132 of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union called Mike and told him they wanted to install a union shop for workers. Mike turned them down, but organizers from the union set up outside the factory and attempted to persuade the employees to join the union. The employees refused and eventually the organizers left. They returned three years later and accused Mike of abusing and exploiting minorities. Once more, they tried to get employee support for a union, but again they were rejected. The workers remained loyal to Mike.

Despite the allegations of the union, Mike was a very fair employer. He followed a philosophy of promotion by merit instead of seniority in the workplace, and showed it by hiring unskilled workers at minimum wage and allowing them to advance to high paying positions. All employees had insurance, paid vacations, and received on-the-job training as they advanced in the company. They were on a first-name basis with Mike and often joked with him. He reciprocated by shutting the factory down on several occasions and taking all the employees to Long Island for a picnic, hardly examples of employee exploitation.

Monday, August 10, 1981. As Mike Matthews attempted to enter the EH factory, he was attacked by five union toughs. Employees were offered money for lunch and asked to sign union cards. Those who refused were threatened with bodily harm and, even with the police setting up barricades, few were able to get through the union blockade and enter the building. The racketeers ambushed employees leaving work and on Wednessday, August 19, Mike closed the factory down to protect his workers. That night, TV news reports showed footage taken by hidden cameras of union racketeers threatening workers and Mike was asked to give his side of the story on the Live at 5 show.

On Thursday, August 20, Mike and about 60 workers marched to the factory in defiance of the union and got back to work. Though the picketers eventually left and Mike, along with about 40 employees, struggled to keep the company afloat, the death knell was sounding. According to Randy Fitzgerald (1982), for five months “Matthews and about 40 employees hung on valiantly in an effort to save the company and their jobs” (pg. 113). Finally, in January of 1982, just a week after the National Labor Relations Board issued a “cease and desist” order to the union, Mike closed the doors of the Electro-Harmonix company and filed for bankruptcy. The company was without power and phones, and the employees, like Mike, were broke. Mike’s financial backer was certain that EH would not survive and had pulled out earlier; other financial backing could not be found.


The Resurrections

Mike immediately set about raising the capital to buy back his company and in March 1982, he purchased most of his assets back off the auction block. Within weeks, he was back at work and letting everyone know that EH was not one to go down so easily. The EH company was baqck on its feet.

Finally, in 1984, the EH company met its demise. Ironically, it had survived union terrorism but went under due to Japanese competition. The EH company had placed orders for chips from a supplier to complete millions of dollars in product orders, but the supplier backed out and diverted all chips to Japanese manufacturers. The EH company was sold to another businessman who sold the EH products through the Broadway Computer Corporation. By 1986, the Broadway Computer Corp. was out of business and Mike regained ownership of the EH trademark, but he didn’t release any more products at the time.

His earlier experiences in Russia encouraged Mike to start a new company, the New Sensor Corporation. Although its primary business was as a supplier of vacuum tubes, it did release at least one product: the Soul Kiss, a derivative of the popular talk box effect for guitar. In 1990, he started the Sovtek company and released a Big Muff Pi II which was made in Russia. Currently the Sovtek/Electro-Harmonix line also includes a reissue of the Small Stone phase shifter and a reissue Deluxe Electric Mistress flanger with the Memory Man slated to make a reappearance in the near future. A line of Russian-made tube guitar amplifiers continues to be popular among guitarists everywhere. .

Though the EH company has come and gone (several times, in fact), its products remain dear to the hearts and guitars of many people. In this age of digital clarity and sophisticated manufacturing, the EH company’s analog products are selling as well as ever and have reached the collectible stage. With over one hundred products to its name (THE EH LIST) and millions of units sold, Electro-Harmonix will be with us for a long time.

The EH Product List

Last Updated 23 Feb. 2010

For your pleasure and interest, I’ve compiled a list of EH Model #s and products.  It’s by no means complete so please contact me with any new details you can add.

Electro-Harmonix Products

Model#       Description
EH-0225      Slave Amp 200w rackmount
EH-0250      Stereo Micro-Amp
EH-0300      Vocoder rackmount
EH-0400      Mini-Synthesizer
EH-0410      Mini-Synthesizer w/echo and glide bar
EH-0500      Dual Analog Delay rackmount
EH-0909      Power Patrol 6100 voltage surge suppressor
                    (Broadway Computer Corp.)
EH-1001      LPB-2 power booster
EH-1003      Hog’s Foot bass booster
EH-1005      Screaming Tree treble booster
EH-1008     Little Muff Pi
EH-1009      Little Big Muff Pi
EH-1010      Switchblade channel selector
EH-1222      Queen Wah (circa 1976-77)
EH-1300      RTG random tone generator
EH-1307      Deluxe Memory Man echo/delay (4 knobs)
EH-1309     Memory Man solid state echo/analog delay line
EH-1311      Echoflanger
EH-1313      Mike Matthews Dirt Road Special amplifier w/phase shifter
EH-1314      Talking Pedal speech synthesizer
EH-1315      Slapback Echo
EH-1316      Soul Preacher compressor/sustainer
EH-1317      Clone Theory
EH-1318      Deluxe Electric Mistress flanger (circa 1978)
EH-1322      Little Big Muff Pi
EH-1322      Big Muff Pi
EH-1325      Deluxe Octave Multiplexer (4 knobs)
EH-1330      Deluxe Big Muff distortion/compressor (Blend switch)
EH-1334      Electronic Metronome
EH-1334      Mini-Mixer
EH-1335      Hot Tubes overdrive simulator (circa 1978)
EH-1336      10 Band Graphic Equalizer
EH-1338     Memory Man echo/chorus (boost input)
EH-1341      Freedom Brothers amp (mahogany
EH-1342      Bass Balls (circa 1978)
EH-1347      Pet Lite (circa 1980?)
EH-1349      Full Double Tracking Effect
EH-1700      Silencer (circa 1978)
EH-1976 (?)      Giant 1976 Bicentennial calendar
EH-1977      Giant 1977 calendar (circa 1977, of course)
EH-1977      Electro-Harmonix Work Band album  “State of the Art Electronic Devices”
EH-2001      LPB-1 power booster (plugs into amp)
EH-2002      LPB-1 power booster (plugs into instrument)
EH-2003      Mole bass booster
EH-2005      Screaming Bird treble booster (plugs into amp)
EH-2006      Screaming Bird treble booster (plugs into instrument)
EH-2007      Ego microphone booster
EH-2008      Muff Fuzz (plugs into amp)
EH-2008      Muff Fuzz (inline w/double plug)
EH-2009      Muff Fuzz (plugs into instrument)
EH-2010      5X Junction Mixer
EH-2244      Electronic Metronome
EH-2300      Headphone Amplifier
EH-3000      Clone Theory chorus /vibrato
EH-3001      Clone Theory chorus /vibrato
EH-3002      Low Frequency Compressor
EH-3003      Big Muff Pi (early 70’s model and circa ’80)
EH-3004     Hare-Lip microphone echo
EH-3004      Attack Equalizer
EH-3004     Knockout Attack Equalizer
EH-3005      Black Finger sustainer
EH-3006     Crying Tone (circa 1977)
EH-3006      Fuzz Wah
EH-3007      Fuzz Wah pedal
EH-3007      Freedom Pre-Amp
EH-3009      Queen Wah w/ Triggered Filter (circa 1976)
EH-3034      Little Big Muff Pi (circa 1981)
EH-3034      Big Muff Pi (later model)
EH-3053      Deluxe Big Muff distortion/compressor (Series/Parallel switch)
EH-3054      Deluxe Big Muff distortion/compressor (Series/Parallel switch)
EH-3060      Graphic Fuzz
EH-3075      Hot Tubes overdrive simulator
EH-3106      Crying Muff fuzz wah pedal
EH-3200      Talking Pedal speech synthesizer
EH-3300      Pan Pedal
EH-3800      Volume Pedal
EH-4002      Linear Stereo Booster 2
EH-4003      Stereo Tone Expander
EH-4100      Doctor Q envelope follower
EH-4200      Zipper envelope follower
EH-4250      Bassballs envelope follower
EH-4300      Silencer line noise eliminator
EH-4500      Soul Preacher sustainer/compressor
EH-4501      Soul Preacher sustainer/compressor (circa 1980)
EH-4600      Small Clone chorus
EH-4700      Slapback Echo
EH-4750      Stereo Slapback Echo
EH-4790      Full Double Tracking Effect
EH-4800      Small Stone phase shifter
EH-4900      Y-Triggered filter
EH-4909      AC/DC 9 volt battery eliminator
EH-4918      AC/DC 18 volt battery eliminator
EH-4999      AC/DC 9 volt battery eliminator
EH-5000      Frequency Analyzer
EH-5010      Rhythm 12
EH-5100      Electric Mistress flanger
EH-5101      Electric Mistress flanger
EH-5150      Deluxe Electric Mistress flanger
EH-5200      Attack Decay tape reverse simulator
EH-5300      Space Drum
EH-5310      Panic Button
EH-5320      Sonic Boomer
EH-5330      Rolling Thunder
EH-5350      Super Space Drum
EH-5360      Crash Pad
EH-5370      Clap Track
EH-5380      Sequencer Drum
EH-5385      Clockworks Controller
EH-5390      Instant Replay
EH-5500      Solid State Reverb
EH-5600      Big Muff Pi Crying Tone (circa 1974)
EH-5701      Queen Wah w/triggered filter
EH-5800      Bad Stone phase shifter (2 knobs)
EH-5800      Bad Stone phase shifter (3 knobs)
EH-5801      Bad Stone phase shifter pedal
EH-5900      Octave Multiplexer
EH-5901      Octave Multiplexer
EH-5901      Octave Multiplexer pedal
EH-5950      Deluxe Octave Multiplexer (3 knobs)
EH-5950      Deluxe Octave Multiplexer (4 knobs)
EH-5950      Deluxe Octave Multiplexer (5 knobs)
EH-6000      Hot Foot universal pedal
EH-6001      Hot Foot universal pan pedal
EH-6001      Mike Matthews Freedom guitar amp (DC)
EH-6002      Mike Matthews Freedom guitar amp (AC/DC)
EH-6003      Mike Matthews Freedom guitar amp (AC)
EH-6022      Super Twin amplifier (AC/DC)
EH-6023      Super Twin amplifier (AC)
EH-6043      Quad amp
EH-6475      Military/Computer Phone Cable 3/4″
EH-6502      Military/Computer Phone Cable 2′
EH-6503      Military/Computer Phone Cable 3′
EH-6506      Military/Computer Phone Cable 6′
EH-6510      Military/Computer Phone Cable 10′
EH-6520      Military/Computer Phone Cable 20′
EH-6530      Military/Computer Phone Cable 30′
EH-6550      Military/Computer Phone Cable 50′
EH-6600      Military/Computer Phone Cable 100′
EH-6725      Super Heavy 25′ coiled cable
EH-6920      Japanese coiled cable 20′
EH-7002      Freedom Brothers amp (Silver)
EH-7003      Freedom Brothers amp (Mahogany)
EH-7006      Freedom Brothers amp (Black)
EH-7010      EH acoustic guitar (mahogany back and sides)
EH-7020      EH acoustic guitar (D-28 copy, rosewood back and sides)
EH-7030      EH acoustic guitar (D-41 copy, rosewood back and sides, pearloid binding and inlay, 3 piece back)
EH-7050      Mike Matthews Dirt Road Special amp w/phase shifter
EH-7100      Polyphase phase shifter/envelope follower
EH-7200      Golden Throat talk box
EH-7250      Deluxe Golden Throat talk box
EH-7300      Golden Throat II talk box
EH-7450      DRM-16 drum machine
EH-7451      DRM-15 drum machine
EH-7460      DRM-32 drum machine
EH-7470      Bass Machine
EH-7500      Memory Man solid state echo/analog delay line
EH-7550      Memory Man Deluxe echo/analog delay line (4 knobs)
EH-7600      10 band Graphic EQ
EH-7660      Mini-Mixer
EH-7700      Echoflanger
EH-7700      Polyflanger flange/chorus/slapback echo/filter matrix
EH-7700      Polychorus flange/chorus/slapback echo/filter matrix
EH-7810      Memory Man echo/chorus
EH-7811      Memory Man stereo echo/chorus
EH-7850      Deluxe Memory Man echo/chorus/vibrato (5 knobs)
EH-7860      Echo 600
EH-7870      2 Second Digital Delay
EH-7875      16 Second Digital Delay
EH-7900      Micro-Synthesizer
EH-7959      Bass Micro-Synthesizer
EH-8000      Guitar Synthesizer rackmount
EH-8001      1-10″ speaker cabinet
EH-8002      1-12″ speaker cabinet
EH-8003      1-15″ speaker cabinet
EH-8012      Celestion G12M 12″ heavy duty speaker
EH-8021      2-10″ speaker cabinet
EH-8022      2-12″ speaker cabinet
EH-8041      4-10″ speaker cabinet
EH-8042      4-12″ speaker cabinet
EH-8043      4-10″ column speaker cabinet
EH-8044      4-12″ column speaker cabinet
EH-8101      10″ speaker, 55 watts, 8 ohms
EH-8101      Carling SPDT footswitch
EH-8102      12″ speaker, 60 watts, 8 ohms
EH-8102      Military brass plugs
EH-8103      15″ speaker, 65 watts, 8 ohms
EH-8103      9 volt batteries (box of 10)
EH-8103      9 volt batteries (box of 12)
EH-8104      Double-ended male plugs
EH-8310      Instant Replay
EH-8320      Super Replay 4 second digital sampler
EH-8601      Control potentiometers, 100K audio taper, 3/4 watt (pkg of 12)
EH-8602      DPDT toggle switch, 3 amps @ 125v, 1 amp @ 250v
EH-8603      9 volt batteries (pkg of 10)
EH-8604      Knobs (pkg of 50)
EH-8605      Extension cords, 6 ft w/molded ends
EH-8606      SPDT footswitches
EH-8607      Chassis (Big Muff style)
EH-9100      9 volt adapter
EH-9203      Domino Theory sound sensitive light tube
EH-9390      3 Phase Liner electronic necklace
EH-9550      Corona Concert
EH-9620      Stereo Ambitron
EH-9650      Stereo Ambitron plus reverb
EH-9650      Ambitron mono to stereo exciter
EH-9875      6 function foot controller
EH-9900      64 Second Digital Looping Delay
EH-18100      18 volt battery eliminator (supplied w/Rhythm 12)
The following items do not have model numbers yet. If you can provide them, please contact me.
EH/Brody acoustic guitar
EH 12-string electric/acoustic guitar
Electro-Harmonix Guitar Radio
Linear Stereo Booster 1
Mike Matthews Freedom Bass amp (AC, AC/DC, DC)
Mike Matthews Freedom PA amp (AC, AC/DC, DC)
Pulse Modulator
Stereo Pulse Modulator
 
Super Twin reverb amp
Tape Reverse Simulator
UMI Wireless Wizard (distributed by EH)


In addition, you may have noticed some items listed more than once. That’s because EH often changed the model numbers as new products appeared or new versions were released. Check your EH pedals for numbers not appearing here.