0
Shopping cart
0
Cart is Empty

Play Safe

You’re playing a gig in your local bar. The stage is the size of a postage stamp and the drummer is shoe-horned in right behind you—he’s playing too loud—nothing new there. But hey, none of that matters because the joint is rocking, the beer is flowing, and your guitar sounds sweet; you’re in the zone. But wait! The beer really is flowing: as some dude leans across your pedal-board he spills some beer; it splashes over the rim of the glass and into the intricate thermionic workings of your prized Tube-Drive pedal! Red alert!

But he’s on you radar. With lightning-fast reactions, you reach down and unplug the DC power connector from your Tube Drive. With the power removed the pedal defaults to true bypass. You turn up the volume on your amp to compensate, and the show goes on. The beer-drenched pedal will just have to wait until later.

So what does beer do to electronic circuitry? Will it damage the pedal? Well, that depends on whether the pedal’s connected to the power or not. If it’s not unplugged immediately electrolytic corrosion occurs. The metal parts, such as component legs and circuit tracks, rapidly begin to dissolve. Not good. Not good at all. Repairs WILL be expensive. Unplugging the pedal was the right thing to do. With the power removed no electrical currents can flow and electrolysis ceases. If you’re lucky, all you’re left with is a sticky mess to clean up.

We do get the occasional pedal returned because of a spillage. Often times it’s simply a matter of dismantling the pedal to remove the circuit board for clean-up. Believe it or not, we use hot water and washing detergent to clean the circuit board. A little gentle scrubbing with a stiff-bristled paint brush deals with the dried up beer and any sticky, sugary residues. We then flush the board with hot water, then with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) and finally dry it with a hairdryer. Of course the best thing is not to get beer in there in the first place, right? But how?

Gentlemen we have a solution: I give you the Patent Applied For, anti-beer-spill widget from Effectrode, aka 20mm x 3mm Viton O-ring seal! Protect your precious all-tube effects pedal from electrolytic corrosion caused by sugary and alcoholic drinks with this innovative little device. It also prevents dust getting inside the pedal too. The 20mm diameter O-rings will fit JJ tubes and the vintage Brimar tubes, which possess a slightly narrower diameter glass envelope. I really ought to have announced this before Christmas, shouldn’t I?

Happy New Year to all you good people.

Phil & Sam

Cookie	Duration	Description
_GRECAPTCHA	5 months 27 days	This cookie is set by Google. In addition to certain standard Google cookies, reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie (_GRECAPTCHA) when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	1 year	Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
JSESSIONID		Cookie used to allow the Worldpay payment gateway on the website to function.
machine		Cookie used to allow the Worldpay payment gateway on the website to function.
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
wordpress_logged_in_		Users are those people who have registered an account with the WordPress site. On login, WordPress uses the wordpress_[hash] cookie to store your authentication details. Its use is limited to the Administration Screen area, /wp-admin/ After login, WordPress sets the wordpress_logged_in_[hash] cookie, which indicates when you’re logged in, and who you are, for most interface use. WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.
wordpress_sec_	1 year	Provide protection against hackers, store account details.
wordpress_test_cookie		Test to see if cookies are enabled.
wp-settings-	1 year	WordPress also sets a few wp-settings-{time}-[UID] cookies. The number on the end is your individual user ID from the users database table. This is used to customize your view of admin interface, and possibly also the main site interface.

Cookie	Duration	Description
_ga	2 years	The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_gid	1 day	Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.

Cookie	Duration	Description
mailchimp_landing_site	1 month	This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp_user_email	1 month	This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp_user_previous_email	1 month	This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp.cart.current_email		This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.
mailchimp.cart.previous_email		This cookie is used to keep track of newsletter sign ups and client emails at checkout, Mailchimp utilises cookies to store information captured from user input for remarketing purposes.

Shopping cart