New (broken) pedal day!

[Pepe]

Another one saved! Exactly one week ago I received a PH-1 (made in May 1981, very shortly after my birth!) that I bought for a very good price. The seller, who bought the pedal used years ago, wasn't aware that it had once been bathing in some kind of liquid that had caused the baseplate to rust, thus also affecting the board to some degree. The battery mode didn't work as well, apparently the mechanical part of the DC switch had corroded.

I haven't seen that many cold solder joints on any BOSS circuit board. Laurie did neither, so he suggested that I should better reflow all the solder on it. I did that and it works and sounds great.

Already in the first BossArea forum I was told that the PH-1 sounded better than the PH-1R. I had the PH-1R a few years ago and I thought that the sound was okay, but the volume boost really annoyed me. The PH-1 does indeed sound even better, plus it doesn't have a volume boost. I think it's a keeper!

Here are a few pictures. It took a while to polish the baseplate with sandpaper and steel whool. The original broken Hosiden DC jack was replaced. The battery snap doesn't look great, but it still works.

[laurie]

Nice!! Great save.

Probably the best Boss phaser.

[Pepe]

To my ears this is indeed the best sounding BOSS phaser.

[bigtone23]

The PH1 is a killer phaser.

[fuzzbuzzfuzz]

What a great effort Pepe! Must be satisfying.

I had a PH-1 in Aus circa 2011, couldn't believe my luck finding it for $50 in cash converters (missing a knob), but then my signal kept clipping/distorting. I knew very little about circuitry then and it kept bugging me thinking "somethings broken in there or it needs repairing" so in the end I traded for I think $80ish and put the money towards my first CE-2, which I was very chuffed with!

Of course, I joined a few forums not long after and realised it was high output humbuckers clipping the input. Never mind, live and learn, and lightning did strike twice as I picked up another used on in Japan for remarkably the same price some years later. Now of course they are north of $200!

Anyway, I digress, good score and fix Pepe!

[Pepe]

Thank you - and also thanks a lot for the always interesting anecdotes!

[fuzzbuzzfuzz]

Thank you - and also thanks a lot for the always interesting anecdotes!

haha - you're welcome.

Those formative days of pedal hunting were quite special, and the memories are very much ingrained in the consciousness. I can remember vividly the sense of expectation going to grab the CE-2. I had a limited number of pedals then - even going so far as having my (mother-in-law mail my pedalboard over from Japan - mostly BOSS) and money was very tight. The CE-2 was a metro ride away and a small but friendly shop in the suburbs. Spotted It in the window with a handwritten tag, was rather dirty and advertised as a Japanese unit. I looked at the price and my heart sunk a little and thought I don't have that much. But after examining it closely it, and turning it over, I noticed a green label and that it was clearly a Taiwanese model. As it needed a good clean I politely haggled a good few dollars off! Walked out with a skip in my step a happy chappy! And that pedal wrote a few songs for me (still unreleased). Such a dreamy, lush shoegaze world with just a slight incremental turn of each knob. It was a pedal I never thought I'd be able to have.

I do miss shopping in real shops and the "hunt" and "heart flutters". Online it's just a button push, and a credit card bill a month later, not quite the same magic lol

[zentropa]

I had a PH-1 in Aus circa 2011, couldn't believe my luck finding it for $50 in cash converters (missing a knob), but then my signal kept clipping/distorting. I knew very little about circuitry then and it kept bugging me thinking "somethings broken in there or it needs repairing" so in the end I traded for I think $80ish and put the money towards my first CE-2, which I was very chuffed with!

Of course, I joined a few forums not long after and realised it was high output humbuckers clipping the input. Never mind, live and learn, and lightning did strike twice as I picked up another used on in Japan for remarkably the same price some years later. Now of course they are north of $200!

I remember thinking the same thing but then I remembered my BF-2s also clip with hot pickups and it was a similar type of distortion sound. I ended up selling my first PH-1 because it had an intermittent LED and I wanted one that would stay on. It took me 6+ months to find one with a late enough serial number to be sure. The second I got a previous owner must have messed with the trimpots to reduce the clipping, but it also reduced the effect level. My friend I sold the other PH-1 to brought it back so I could calibrate it to behave similarly. Back then the PH-1R was almost double the price of a PH-1.

Another one saved! Exactly one week ago I received a PH-1 (made in May 1981, very shortly after my birth!) that I bought for a very good price. The seller, who bought the pedal used years ago, wasn't aware that it had once been bathing in some kind of liquid that had caused the baseplate to rust, thus also affecting the board to some degree. The battery mode didn't work as well, apparently the mechanical part of the DC switch had corroded.

Good save.

[bigtone23]

Thank you - and also thanks a lot for the always interesting anecdotes!

I do miss shopping in real shops and the "hunt" and "heart flutters". Online it's just a button push, and a credit card bill a month later, not quite the same magic lol

That was a magical era in regards to actual treasure hunting for gear. All about being at the right place at the right time. It kind of blows my mind when I think about all the really cool stuff I found pre-internet. In addition to going to stores, how about perusing magazine ads (Vintage Guitar was key for me), newspaper classifieds, music store monthly flyers with used gear lists...

[fuzzbuzzfuzz]

Absolutely!
I'd sometimes walk out of a store expecting a staff member to come running after me after "realising their mistake!" given some of the vintage bargains I picked up.
and each moment is ingrained in the memory.

I have a hard time now thinking where or when I have obtained various items since they were a simple "button click". Somehow, they have less emotional value to me in a way.

I recall my first visit to Hokkaido and popping by a used store, and lo and behold in a case was a Roland Double Beat AD-50 fuzz wah for 5000yen! apparently a dodgy switch! I couldn't believe my luck. I've bought and sold others since but that's a keeper for ever. And If I had stopped there it'd still be a fantastic do-it-all pedal (fuzz, drive, wah, EQ).