Pearl

Pearl effects seem an oddity. While appreciated by some they never seem to get the credit they deserve. Some got some kind a collectible status, making em a little more desirable, some are hyped through the roof making em unaffordable and others are still widely available and can be obtained dirt cheap. The cool thing with Pearl pedals is that the seem to be rather original designs and not just another redesign of a competitors pedal.

While information on Pearl pedals starts to surface this is usually about the so called Sound Spice series which are from somewhere in the eighties (I should look that up). In this series especially the "double" pedals have become collectable. Fact about these 18 volt adapter powered pedals is that there is a 3 legged 7812 voltage regulator inside that will be destroyed when the supply voltage is reversed. So, after having done so, please DON'T THROW THAT PEDAL AWAY!!!
Way more rare is are the activities by the "Pearl Musical Instrument Co" before that time. One of the brands sometimes seen is the Vorg brand, also famous for the tape delay which was sold under that brand. The pedals sold as Vorg were also available as Pearls (or the other was around) with slightly altered cosmetics. These are from somewhere around 1974 in which all models start with a "F" followed by a number. F-603 for the EQ, F-605 for the Anlog Delay etc. These pedals are so rare that it seems impossible to make even a guesstimate on a possible value, other than collectors value ofcourse. I don't have the impression that these early Pearls were ever exported to the US since I haven't ever seen em mentioned on any US based webpage other than directly traced back to a European source..

Phase Shifter F-601
Graphic EQ F-603
Flanger F-604
Analog Delay F-605
Flanger FG-01
Compressor CO-04

Phase Shifter F-601

Analog Delay F-601

Hard as these pedals are to find (even Google doesn't give too much relevant hits) This one was generously given to me by Frits van Mourik from Geluidsstudio Het Pand in Vlaardingen, the Netherlands. Thanks a million for that Frits!

This is a 6 stage phaser built around allpassfilters with FET's. It could use a cosmetic cleanup as it wasn't used for years but did gather dust during that time.

Graphic EQ F-603

Graphic EQ F-603

Five (!!) band graphic EQ with level control.

Flanger F-604

Flanger F-604

The Flanger!!
At the moment I bought this one the only one I knew in existence. I've only seen 2 or 3 after that time. Tech details: SAD1024 based. More later

Analog Delay F-605

Analog Delay F-605

My tech Bitch. The pedal contains a highly poputated PCB as well as an extreme load of wires for all the controls and settings. It seems to me that the thing was not intended for guitar as it's close to impossible finding a good level setting for that purpose. In the current state the thing does work... kinda. It seems the BBD clock driver is not too stable which will cause the delayed signal to be out of tune. I should spend more time on this baby.

Tech details: Based on one MN3005 BBD

Compressor CO-04

Compressor CO-04

This compressor was the warning for me that Pearl pedals aren't that quiliy built as is often claimed. Without daring the statement that build quality is bad I'd say it varies. This one was extremely poor soldered causing it to break down intermittently.

Flanger FG-01

Flanger FG-01

Don't ever be fooled with the "RARE" quote when this pedal is mentioned. Some Pearl pedals mey be rare but this one definitely is't. I've seen more of these for sale than any other Pearl. It's a good flanger by the way.