Tonehunter Ralf Reichen

[Markus Kersius]

As title says, does anyone here know anything about him and/or his pedals?
I'm in need of some help..

 

[Markus Kersius]

 

[darwin999]

Tonehunter amps, pedals, pickups

Tonehunter amplification and effects pedals Ralf Reichen has worked as a self-employed amp technician since 1989. In that time he was service manager for VOX, Jim Dunlop, MXR, Electro Harmonix, Simmons, Trace Elliot and more. He developed the legendary Petersburg P50 / P100 and Novik 602

jedistar.com

Inh. Ralf Reichen
Grengeler Mauspfad 183
D-51147 Köln
Germany

 

[Markus Kersius]

Tonehunter amps, pedals, pickups

Tonehunter amplification and effects pedals Ralf Reichen has worked as a self-employed amp technician since 1989. In that time he was service manager for VOX, Jim Dunlop, MXR, Electro Harmonix, Simmons, Trace Elliot and more. He developed the legendary Petersburg P50 / P100 and Novik 602

jedistar.com

Inh. Ralf Reichen
Grengeler Mauspfad 183
D-51147 Köln
Germany

Thnx!
I've surprisingly acquired 15 Tonehunter pedals and some enclosures from this brand, all seated in a box gathering dust from a guy who's a radio and amp builder.
He bought this stuff in a sale with all kinds of radio/musical equipment, but never did anything with it.
Got it for cheap.
2 Aren't working, the rest are in perfect working order.
I've never heard of the brand or Ralf.
Unfortunately I found out Ralf past away in 2024...
But it seems, after checking Google etc that his work is highly regarded!
He build stuff for some well-known guitarists including Larry Carlton.
I wanna fix this Blueline overdrive that came with it, but nowhere a schematic or clear gutshot available ..

 

[darwin999]

Yes i saw that his stuff is very highly desirable, you really scored on a valuable find!
So you'll be doing him a service by respecting his pedals.
Poor Ralf, however...

 

[darwin999]

The Dumble / Blueline seems to be very sought after

 

[darwin999]

So PLEASE lend some to @Robert for him to review and generate PCBs!!!!!

 

[Markus Kersius]

Half of them are all handwired point to point
There are 2 marked "prototype" and 1 "custom" and one "tonehunter mod".
I'll make some better pictures later today.
Also empty enclosures were on the box.

 

[hamerfan]

I have heard the name Tonehunter. This is an obituary.

Till & Tone: Ralf Reichen – ein persönlicher Nachruf!

Krebs ist ein Arschloch. Der Januar auch. Der erstgenannte, weil er meinen Freund Ralf „Tonehunter“ Reichen umgebracht hat. Natürlich im Januar, wenn die Tage dunkel, die Feiertage längst vorbei sind und es jeden Tag nur regnet. Darum muss sich der Januar beschimpfen lassen, auch wenn ich ihm in...

www.gitarrebass.de

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[hamerfan]

@Markus Kersius : The Blue Line Overdrive was the Pedal of Larry Carlton. Kinda Zendrive / Dumble pedal variant. You see it on Reverb for some hundred bucks.
Seems a great idea to share it and maybe others with @Robert.
This is a great way to preserve Ralfs heritage for the Future.

 

[Markus Kersius]

If @Robert wants, I can ship the pedal.
It's a long way from the Netherlands to US of A though.
Mind, it doesn't work, and it seems like there's been someone who tried and fix it already.
It's missing a transistor and there are some other issues.
It passes signal in by bypass, no signal once activated.
LED works.
It does have faint static/hum and the volume pot works to make the hum louder once turned.
Also the toggle switches seems to affect the frequencies of the hum, but no audio.

 

[hamerfan]

I wonder what the black cross meant. Maybe not working?

 

[hamerfan]

If @Robert wants, I can ship the pedal.
It's a long way from the Netherlands to US of A though.
Mind, it doesn't work, and it seems like there's been someone who tried and fix it already.
It's missing a transistor and there are some other issues.
It passes signal in by bypass, no signal once activated.
LED works.
It does have faint static/hum and the volume pot works to make the hum louder once turned.
Also the toggle switches seems to affect the frequencies of the hum, but no audio.

Robert does not have to see it in flesh. He needs some clear pics from every side (maybe you have to put it out of box) and answer of some questions concerning not clear parts and connections.

 

[Markus Kersius]

Here's the pedals that work.

https://imgur.com/a/WBgBJZ6

The point to point wiring is literally point to point.
The last 2 photos are of the blueline.
The "Pusher" boost is a keeper!
It's on my board now, one of the best "clean" boosts I've heard

 

[darwin999]

 

[Markus Kersius]

So I've got:

2 Spawn"s: seems like treble boosters.
1 Pusher: Clean Boost.
1 pedal saying "Preamp".
1 pedal single big knob no-name, seems to be a "dirty" boost.
1 Hot Tuna: high gain pedal, reminds me of a RAT. (always good!)
1 London 67: med/high gain pedal a bit "marshally" would be my description
1 compressor 3 knob no name (seems a prototype? )
1 pedal called "ATS" seems a active EQ pedal, says "prototype", controls works backwards.
1 pedal that says "Reamp Pro" serial number says "Custom"
1 Pedal says 'True Bypass" is active and does what it's called.
1 pedal is a "Y" splitter
1 pedal is a A/B box with a jack to connect an external switch.

 

[hamerfan]

Markus for you info: i just recieved a pic from inside a original Blue Line. It looks like Hermida Audio Zendrive (PPCB) with 2 switches instead of Tone pot. So the Trannies could be 2N7000.

 

[Markus Kersius]

The one that is still in it is a BC550C.

 

[Markus Kersius]

The empty enclosures:

 

[hamerfan]

Then i would try another BC550C.
I had some messages with a guy who visited the widow of Ralf Reichen and saw the pedals in a big cardboard box. He checked those which looked ready, but said they all lacked ‚the final tuning by Ralf‘. Sounds a bit like sprinkling of magic fairy dust to me, but some could be rejects or returns.