rwl
Well-known member
- Build Rating
This is a report for the Cannon Fodder MkII, based on the Caroline Wave Cannon MkII. I built it because it seems to be a fairly popular and well-regarded distortion/fuzz pedal that I'd seen mentioned in a few places.
Inspiration
I was kinda struggling with this for a while. A lot of the pedals I've built have a seabird theme, and the Wave Cannon name of course lends itself to that. But the sound and everything else about the pedal doesn't really fit that theme, and I'd rather leave seabirds for vibrato/etc.
I had the opportunity to travel to Panama City for work, where I saw three Keel-Billed Toucan in a city park: a mother and two juveniles. It's definitely one of the coolest, most unique birds I've had a chance to see.
In a taxi back to the hotel it was if I was struck by a bolt of thunder, a once-in-a-lifetime inspiration: Toucan -> Toucannon! And it even fits the MkII name. In my head I could see the cannons on the back of Blastoise firing in the air. I'm very happy with how it materialized. I'd probably tweak the vines and the cannon shell color a bit if I were reprinting, but the design is basically what I'd hoped for and it fits great with the magenta Tayda enclosure and knobs.
The Build
The build was straightforward and parts easy to source, but I found it quite noisy (more below). So I ended up replacing the input and output jack wires with insulated cable, a first for me. I thought the insulated cable would be harder to work with than it actually was (I quickly figured out a routine for stripping the outer and inner insulation separately), and I've now been using it for anything gainy. It really seemed to make a difference for this pedal.
It's been a while since I boxed this, but I think I got the knob positions slightly wrong on the layout (I think I subtracted the middle two knobs from a 6-knob layout, which is somewhat wider than the 5-knob layout with a switch in the center). Luckily it's not hard to bend pots a few mm.
I do wish there had been a build doc, but we can't have everything.
The Pedal
Ok, first off I have to give props to the manual. I really like manuals that have a few sample settings (EQD does this as well). And it's easy to love sample settings with labels like “We love plagues, sorcery, and ancient empires, so yes, we do write love songs.” or “Our galactic emperor would like to order your special ömelet. With extra ümläüts.”
My favorite thing about the pedal is the "havoc" switch, although it's somewhat inconsistent. For about half the combination of settings/frets/etc it doesn't really do much, but half the time it adds a ton of weirdness - like PLL tracking error weird - while the pedal is on. I like that the weirdness is unpredictable, but wish you'd consistently get it. I want to be able to stomp in the middle of a solo and have something crazy happen. So it's a little frustrating when you want to kick things up and you get nothing.
The pedal itself has a lot of settings - the focus knob in particular seems to make a big difference. I've found with guitar volume turned up or a boost in front if it, the pedal is pretty hard to use (lots of trebly grit for me), but with volume rolled off it's controllable. And in spite of the wires I used, it still has a lot of noise if gain is above noon. Luckily, there's plenty of gain even at noon, and I think that's the way I'll typically play with it.
So in the end, I want to like the pedal more than I do. I do like it like it and can see myself using it in the future, but it's not going to be a permanent fixture on my board. Shame because I'm really happy with the design.
Firsts
Pedal rating: 3/5
Inspiration
I was kinda struggling with this for a while. A lot of the pedals I've built have a seabird theme, and the Wave Cannon name of course lends itself to that. But the sound and everything else about the pedal doesn't really fit that theme, and I'd rather leave seabirds for vibrato/etc.
I had the opportunity to travel to Panama City for work, where I saw three Keel-Billed Toucan in a city park: a mother and two juveniles. It's definitely one of the coolest, most unique birds I've had a chance to see.
In a taxi back to the hotel it was if I was struck by a bolt of thunder, a once-in-a-lifetime inspiration: Toucan -> Toucannon! And it even fits the MkII name. In my head I could see the cannons on the back of Blastoise firing in the air. I'm very happy with how it materialized. I'd probably tweak the vines and the cannon shell color a bit if I were reprinting, but the design is basically what I'd hoped for and it fits great with the magenta Tayda enclosure and knobs.
The Build
The build was straightforward and parts easy to source, but I found it quite noisy (more below). So I ended up replacing the input and output jack wires with insulated cable, a first for me. I thought the insulated cable would be harder to work with than it actually was (I quickly figured out a routine for stripping the outer and inner insulation separately), and I've now been using it for anything gainy. It really seemed to make a difference for this pedal.
It's been a while since I boxed this, but I think I got the knob positions slightly wrong on the layout (I think I subtracted the middle two knobs from a 6-knob layout, which is somewhat wider than the 5-knob layout with a switch in the center). Luckily it's not hard to bend pots a few mm.
I do wish there had been a build doc, but we can't have everything.
The Pedal
Ok, first off I have to give props to the manual. I really like manuals that have a few sample settings (EQD does this as well). And it's easy to love sample settings with labels like “We love plagues, sorcery, and ancient empires, so yes, we do write love songs.” or “Our galactic emperor would like to order your special ömelet. With extra ümläüts.”
My favorite thing about the pedal is the "havoc" switch, although it's somewhat inconsistent. For about half the combination of settings/frets/etc it doesn't really do much, but half the time it adds a ton of weirdness - like PLL tracking error weird - while the pedal is on. I like that the weirdness is unpredictable, but wish you'd consistently get it. I want to be able to stomp in the middle of a solo and have something crazy happen. So it's a little frustrating when you want to kick things up and you get nothing.
The pedal itself has a lot of settings - the focus knob in particular seems to make a big difference. I've found with guitar volume turned up or a boost in front if it, the pedal is pretty hard to use (lots of trebly grit for me), but with volume rolled off it's controllable. And in spite of the wires I used, it still has a lot of noise if gain is above noon. Luckily, there's plenty of gain even at noon, and I think that's the way I'll typically play with it.
So in the end, I want to like the pedal more than I do. I do like it like it and can see myself using it in the future, but it's not going to be a permanent fixture on my board. Shame because I'm really happy with the design.
Firsts
First insulated input/output wires
First magenta pedal
Pedal rating: 3/5
