Low Tide (Estuary)

[slowpogo]

I finished the enclosure for my Low Tide. I got a cheap metal stamp set with the intention of approximating Fairfield's aesthetic but with a more creative, conceptual design concept. So I came up with the Estuary.

An estuary, if you don't know is a term for an area where a river's fresh water meets and mixes with marine water. I used this concept to re-label the functions...Eddy, Silt, Stone, Saline, Fresh, Tide. If you squint and think about it these labels make sense functionally within the "estuary" analogy, at least in my mind.

I did some "typewriter art" to represent an estuary...it kind of looks like some weird monster too (kraken?) but that's okay. I used Testors enamel paint to fill in the text and art, then wiped the excess with printer paper. It's easy enough to read from a few feet away but is kind of hard to read from standing height, depending on the light. I may try going over with another round of paint at some point but it's fine for now.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

I absolutely love everything about that. I think I may have to steal that idea of using letter punches to create abstract images, if you don’t mind! Wow. I’m not even kidding when I say that’s something I would probably stare at for ages in a museum. Really gorgeous

 

[wintercept]

This looks really cool! The letter punch art is fantastic and I really dig the assortment of knobs. Reminds me of a riverbed or shore with all the colorful stones.

 

[fig]

This is the second time today you've flipped my switch with your creativity. I spent a lot of time in the estuaries and on the beaches from S. Florida to NC. My profile pick is a still from a video of me flying a stunt kite (another long-time hobby) at an inlet in SC.

 

[odourboy]

What a great look! I don't even care how it sounds. LOL!

 

[slowpogo]

Thanks all. I've got big plans using the letter punch art for an upcoming build.

 

[Feral Feline]

GREAT BUILD!
GREAT NAME!
GREAT LABELS!
GREAT CONCEPT & EXECUTION!

Okay, I'll stop the deluge of shouting now...




I love pedals that drift away from the norm of dried up standards "Gain" "Level" etc, it's refreshing to see control-cognomen moored with the overall theme.

Ahh I'm just seeing the KNOBS swirl into view now! All the colours you'd find along a river's edge! I was so swamped with the other details I didn't even notice them right there on the surface. They shore-up the design-theme for sure.

I've had a sea of changes to my Low Tide build's aesthetic approach, as I had wave after wave of my own ideas to begin with. Then I was heavily influenced by the steady stream of great builds popping up here from other forumites — and now this Estuary build has got new ideas flowing and I'm rethinking my pedal's design, yet again.

My build's artistic direction has been brackish at best, ebbing along from one idea to another — most recently I've changed from a rather illuvial graphic concept to a purely polished enclosure, but now direction has once more been set adrift...

It's as though I'm caught in an undertow of inspiration and, much like Ophelia, I feel that I'm drowning.



Love this build.

 

[Barry]

Wow! very cool!

 

[slowpogo]

One thing I hadn't seen mentioned about this pedal, is that it can produce very sitar-like tones. With the low-pass gate (in my case SILT) in the right spot, I get a blooming twang very similar to sitar. And the random modulator can sound like bends or slides that are typical to sitar playing (I don't actually know how sitar is played, if it's not obvious). Just a nice bonus feature.

 

[zgrav]

really great design for this pedal. now wonder it caused Feral Feline to positively gush with puns about it....

 

[Funnel]

that’s an awesome design! I’ve tried the metal punch idea… it didn’t go well. But actually using the letters as the artwork is another level. Great work!