tmf714
2143 posts
Oct 28, 2013
4:53 PM
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Looks like a new anti-feedback unit has entered the market.
Hopefully a user vid will surface soon-
tmf714 on Oct 28, 2013 4:58 PM
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tmf714
2145 posts
Oct 28, 2013
4:58 PM
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For those that like the technical details...
The Squeal Killer is a patented, tube driven feedback eliminator that operates on a 120v to 6v transformer (included). Customers that require a different wall voltage can request so in the notes.
Each order contains the following:
•Hand wired and assembled
•12at7 (installed)
•Carbon Comp resistors
•Sprague capacitors
•Switchcraft jacks
•120v/6v transformer (hard wired)
Given the very low voltage on the tube and if properly cared for, it is likely to last a lifetime.
Why is the tranny hard wired? Simple, rarely do other pedals operate on 6vdc. I wanted to make sure that you would never have the chance to accidentally ruin your investment.
The Squeal Killer is built by Stella Vee Amplification in Louisville, KY.
Questions and any and all comments are welcome. You can expect as long or short of a conversation depending on your needs as a customer.
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Rick Davis
2605 posts
Oct 28, 2013
5:02 PM
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Click here for more info
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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Rick Davis
2606 posts
Oct 28, 2013
5:51 PM
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Rockin' Ron's will be a dealer for these. I have requested one to test and compare to the Kinder pedal.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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1847
1243 posts
Oct 28, 2013
6:02 PM
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ok a show of hands....
how many of us are already considering tube substitution? rotfl.
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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blueswannabe
327 posts
Oct 28, 2013
6:16 PM
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Interesting simplistic design. Looks like the type of circuit that could be incorporated into an amp.
Last Edited by blueswannabe on Oct 28, 2013 6:17 PM
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Rick Davis
2607 posts
Oct 28, 2013
7:38 PM
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Here is the page at Rockin' Ron's Music
I'm really curious about this thing.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Last Edited by Rick Davis on Oct 28, 2013 7:39 PM
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Jehosaphat
577 posts
Oct 28, 2013
9:07 PM
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Well if it lives up to its blurb it could be a game changer for amplified harp.
How many of us have owned amps that sounded great at home but that turned into Deef monsters in a real life situation on stage.
Looking forward to the first video demo.....
Last Edited by Jehosaphat on Oct 28, 2013 9:08 PM
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bigd
494 posts
Oct 28, 2013
10:43 PM
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From 3-4 to 8-9 on the volume dial!!! I hope you get a demo Rick because that sounds like magic to me
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Facebook
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Kingley
3234 posts
Oct 28, 2013
11:07 PM
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There's two audio clips on the website,. One using a Gibson GA-8 and one with a Fender Bassman RI. If the clips haven't been altered in any way and the band was at "normal" volume then this piece of kit sounds very good. Here's the link: The Squeal Killer
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Mojokane
726 posts
Oct 29, 2013
12:04 AM
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I was just lamenting to a friend....how much better I would sound...LOL!
But really...when you have tried nearly everything.
I look around and I see alot of pro players with feedblocking add-ons to their amps. I gave up trying to find the famous "feedblocker" 10 years ago.And I am now realizing why they pack em. It's the only way to get BALLS out of your amp...without feedback.
ANyway...my feeble attempt to solicit anyone who has one too many, and may want to sell me a Feedblocker.
Attenuators are different.
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Why is it that we all just can't get along?<
Last Edited by Mojokane on Oct 29, 2013 12:05 AM
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HarpNinja
3559 posts
Oct 29, 2013
5:55 AM
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The harp clip on the site sounds good. Feedback killing is a double edged sword, and I'd be interested in hearing an A/B demo with the pedal inline and out.
IMO, most rigs sounds best right on the verge of feedback. I've been able to get some amps cranked by either using a Kinder, eq, noise gate, moving across a room, etc.
IME, you can reach a point of diminishing returns where while the amp is technically louder, the tone suffers as a result. In the Bassman clip on the site, the tone doesn't sound like it is coming from an amp on 8-9. Generally, on a Fender, the amp just gets more distorted in that range - not much louder.
Hopefully this unit works as advertised. That'd be awesome for a lot of people!
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Rick Davis
2611 posts
Oct 29, 2013
9:25 AM
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It is impossible to make any judgement based on the sound clips at the website.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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Rick Davis
2613 posts
Oct 29, 2013
9:55 AM
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I'll have the Squeal Killer device in about a week. Rockin' Ron's is loaning me one short term; it is not a gift. If I decide to buy one I pay full price. There won't be any conflict or any influence for me to weight my evaluation of the pedal.
Lookin' forward to it!
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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KeithE
216 posts
Oct 29, 2013
10:05 AM
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timeistight - I was just trying to post a question about the patent. I was not able to find a patent related to this when I searched for "Stella Vee Amplification" or "Jason Lockwood" as the inventor.
I thought it might be a way to learn more about the design.
The page here still appears to say "patented" but perhaps I'm looking at a cached copy?
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Slimharp
21 posts
Oct 29, 2013
10:10 AM
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My question, how much is " much louder " as mentioned in the ad. I can crank to very loud with my Kinder AFB +. Depending on the mic and settings at some point will still get some feed back. The only rig I have never gotten any feed back from is the unit built in the Harp King. I hope the Squeal Killer works without changing tone. Kinder adds tone but not necessarily bad tone. Looking forward to hearing more on this unit.
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timeistight
1411 posts
Oct 29, 2013
10:44 AM
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@KeithE: You're right. The "tech" page still calls it "patented". I've edit my comment above.
I don't see any patent number reference, though. I 'd also like to learn a bit about the design and how this device works.
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Rick Davis
2614 posts
Oct 29, 2013
10:58 AM
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I first wondered if it was another noise gate like the LW Harp Shield, but without any knobs or controls I don't see how that would work. I'm guessing it is something else.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
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tmf714
2150 posts
Oct 29, 2013
11:07 AM
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Joe Doyle will have one is a few days,and will be posting a review on his facebook page.
Last Edited by tmf714 on Oct 29, 2013 11:08 AM
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Milsson
85 posts
Oct 29, 2013
12:06 PM
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I´m pretty sure it´s a band stop filter or notch filter. He´s using a tube with negative feedback in stead of an op amp. The lack of adjustment shows that it will only work for one type of sound.
IF he has built a device that can sense a feedback loop and cancel it out with a phase inverter with only a few analog components he´s going to be a really rich man, i believe.
My guess are that the tube could easily be replaced with a more modern component. And that it´s going to be a few harrison harmonica type threads here for a few months.
BUT i really hope i´m wrong.
Last Edited by Milsson on Oct 29, 2013 12:09 PM
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jukelemon
1 post
Oct 29, 2013
12:13 PM
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Hi all. Jason here from The Squeal Killer. You are all asking very good questions as I would expect from a group of knowledgeable players.
I welcome any and all questions but I will answer the few that have come up recently.
1- Why no video? Well, because I just released this product to open public. I have been selling them locally/Regionally and word of mouth had created enough hype to keep me busy. At this time, I wanted to expand more so the video will be coming. It sounds like others may beat me to it. Which is fine. I welcome an A/B against any pedal.
2- Use of "Patent". The patent is applied for (PAF) which is why you cannot search for it/find it. I assure you it is there. I didn't want to frankly but I was convinced by others to do so to protect the circuit/invention.
3- have the site clips been altered? - No,they have not. They were recorded live in one take and straight into a SM57.
4- Will this SK change your tone? - To me and the many others who have heard and bought this pedal, it is the most "natural" sounding of any feedback device. Will it change your tone a little. Sure it will. Physics will dictate that as it is something else in the signal chain. As well and what I remind folks is that this allows your amp to turn up more-significantly more than average and as such your amp will sound different by virtue of the harmonics/compression/etc resulting from your power tubes at a higher level. Will this effect please everyone? Of course not and I will never state it will. However, what I suggest it this: be open about new settings, tube choices (for example you will never need a 12ay or 12au again) and mics. But keep in mind this was designed for stage volume i.e. it was tested for hours on a 59 Bassman. Will it work for other amps? Absolutely but at some point you are not going to get the same effect out of a 10 watt amp as you are a 50 watt amp.
5- Warranty/Returns - Was this asked? No but I wanted to hit on the subject. I stand behind what I make. These are hand made by me. Soldered by me. I believe in the device because I have heard its effect on my customers' amps/tone/stage volume. I use to build boutique amps and did so for 10 years. I have also played Blues semi professionally for 20 years. I have had the opportunity to share the festival stage with many of the greats (in my opinion at least). I am not saying this to name drop. Simply, I am not a backseat spectator or someone who does not have experience with gear/stages (very big and very small) and what I think is great Harp tone.
I welcome any level of dialogue about the device or amps in general. But in the end, if you don't like the Squeal Killer, No problem. I offer a refund policy.
6- Could this be made into an amp? Yes. Funny you mentioned that. It is actually how the SK got started. It was a design I made for a customer's amp several years ago. It was a 59 Fender Pro. At the time, I really didn't think about making it a pedal. But I received more and more requests to do so so the end result was the pedal.
Happy to meet you all and again, I welcome any questions/concerns/comments/etc.
Last Edited by jukelemon on Oct 29, 2013 12:48 PM
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Billj60
1 post
Oct 29, 2013
12:18 PM
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I have a Squeal Killer. I have had it for a month or so, but have only gigged with it once, haven't had much opportunity to play around with it.
In the interest of disclosure, Jason is a good friend of mine, he built the bandmaster clone I have used and we have played together for many years. I did pay full price. I have heard Jason and others play through it live and can attest that it sounded great!
It definitely allows me to get up to 9 or so on the volume with my 3/10 bandmaster. Harp played through it sounds great, fat and very natural. I gigged with it on a very loud bandstand, no feedback and could be heard. I would not say it is totally transparent, it definitely changes the tone of my amplifier but in a very natural way and I think for the better! One thing I have found it that I need to experiment more with the tone controls, I was initially running it with bass full on; at high volume this was overkill and I think I can get better sounds by actually adding some treble. I still need to spend some more time with it before I actually attempt to review it but my initial experience is very positive. I am not as experienced with playing amplified harp (primarily a guitar player)as most on this board so I look forward to hearing other's impressions.
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HawkeyeKane
2122 posts
Oct 29, 2013
1:17 PM
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I really do like the simplicity of this thing. Plug-n-play is always a plus in my books. Here's a question...
Say I use a small amp with a speaker driven line out, like one of Greg's Zoos. It's not powerful, but has great tone. If I were to run the line out to a PA channel, could I put the SK in the line, crank my 5W amp to desired volume and tone, and then put myself in the monitors without risk of feedback?
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Hawkeye Kane
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timeistight
1412 posts
Oct 29, 2013
2:15 PM
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Hi jukelemon and Billj60. Welcome!
I'd really like to know how the Squeal Killer works. Is it a notch filter, a noise gate, a frequency shifter or some combination of those anti-feedback techniques?
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5F6H
1686 posts
Oct 29, 2013
3:09 PM
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It claims to be patent protected, so much of what you refer to would fall under prior art and prevent a patent being granted. If it is protected, then encouraging others to circumvent protection is bad form.
A little something I learned...recently...;-)
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www.myspace.com/markburness
http://www.facebook.com/markburness
Last Edited by 5F6H on Oct 29, 2013 3:26 PM
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jukelemon
2 posts
Oct 29, 2013
3:47 PM
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Hawkeye:
Good question and honestly I am not sure as I have not tried it.
What you are essentially asking is whether or not the SK would solve a monitor issue with feedback. Correct?
The challenge with that concept, at least in mind, is the following: how do you isolate that monitor from the rest of the PA? What I would suggest to try, and again I have not tried this as it is not part of the design concept, would not to run the SK between your line out and PA input BUT to run the SK in between the monitor and PA speaker output. That to me is where you need the effect.
But perhaps I misunderstood.
Timeistight: Hi. Thanks for the welcome. Although I really cannot go into too much detail about it, I will say that that in current state it cannot be defined in a way that would make it analogous to anything exactly. The closest word to describe it which I had to use in the patent application was an "attenuation through a vacuum tube". Other than that, the topology and actual happenings get very complicated and fall into complex Miller Capacitance equations.
On a different note, I am finding this works very well with stand up bass i.e. the effect on microphones and their amplified signal can be used to benefit the Stand Up/Acoustic bass player. Kind of cool and interesting. I figured that/thought of it while I was testing the SK with an old Shure mic that predated the SM57 but of similar qualities. I was blowing harp through it just to test something different than an Astatic or Turner or the like.
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tmf714
2157 posts
Oct 29, 2013
4:34 PM
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Yes-welcome jukemelon and billj-and good luck with your latest endeavor. I am glad I started this thread after seeing the facebook post.
P.S.-I have a standup bass player in mind to test the unit when you are ready-
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jukelemon
3 posts
Oct 29, 2013
5:55 PM
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Hi TMF. Shoot me an email and your friend and I can chat. Then he can get his pedal through Rockin Ron!
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Slimharp
22 posts
Oct 30, 2013
10:26 AM
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Look forward to it. I ordered yesterday morn through Rockin Rons. He had already taken 3 orders by 10:30 am pdt. so this thing is poppin. One thing that sold me is the return policy, in short, within 20 days you dont like it, and dont screw it up, pay the shipping and you get your money back.
I have a Kinder pedal and it is very effective. At highter volumes it does add tone and a very slight dely type jerk pop artifact, but not necessarily a bad tone. Have a L.W. Harp Shield. Lets just say L.W. makes great pedals and this is NOT one of them. Wouldnt it be nice if the S.K. is simple,effective, and changes tone very little. On top of that Louisville is Hip. Spent a lot of time on Bardstown Road.
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JTThirty
227 posts
Oct 30, 2013
11:27 AM
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Looks like another cool tool for the likes of us. Reading Mojokane's post about going back ten years searching for a gizmo to kill feed back reminds me of the old Feedblok thingies that was on the market a few years ago. Many of you might have jumped on one. I did. It didn't work well at all. I eventually took it apart and found simply two 250k volume pots wired in series. Actually, I disconnected one and used it as an inline volume pot. Still use it sometimes.
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Ricky B
http://www.bushdogblues.blogspot.com
RIVER BOTTOM BLUES--crime novel for blues fans available at Amazon/B&N and my blog
THE DEVIL'S BLUES--ditto
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jukelemon
4 posts
Oct 31, 2013
6:52 AM
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Hey Slim. Thanks for the order and interest.
I am offering that return policy to do just that i.e. provide a mutually fair playground to test a new product. I want everyone to feel comfortable about the buy and I believe I will not see too many returns.
Regarding the Kinder pedal, I do not doubt it is a great product. His amps are very well built and I would guess if I looked inside of his pedals, that quality would continue/be seen.
I don't look to take over the market - simply add an option that I know to be effective. I envision in 5 years there being 2 players - me and Kinder with the market deciding which one work the best on XX amps.
I am bias of course, but I have not heard anything better than a SK through a 59 Bassman with a Astatic. To me, that is what people have been looking for in a Tone. But I have been around long enough and built many many amps to know that Tone is a subjective and ghostly concept. What one thinks as good tone has surprised me i.e. contrary to what I would think. And you know what, that is completely fine and what makes music fun. Again, I simply want to provide another option for folks especially in Europe where I am getting many replies/comments that they have a very hard time getting Kinder's product.
I am very much looking forward to the comments from new users!
Jason
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jukelemon
5 posts
Nov 06, 2013
8:32 AM
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Hi all.
Shipments started going out this morning.
Rick: expect yours in a few days.
Slim/Any others: expect yours Tues/Wed.
Rockin Rons will have stock on hand and a demo to try in a few days. Go check them out!
Thanks again everyone.
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1847
1282 posts
Nov 06, 2013
9:44 AM
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but I have not heard anything better than a SK through a 59 Bassman with a Astatic. To me, that is what people have been looking for in a Tone
well you, me and slim might agree
but it seems like most everyone else around here
is on the green bullet bandwagon.
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i get a lot of request when i play my harmonica
"but i play it anyway"
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Slimharp
41 posts
Nov 06, 2013
11:06 AM
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I have an old bullet and it's nice. I prefer JT 30, however the bottom line for me is the element. I have some secret weapon mics ( will not divulge the maker ) that are off the hook. Just depends what sound your lookin for. I think the newer bullets are terrible.
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jukelemon
6 posts
Nov 06, 2013
12:29 PM
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LOL. Yeah, I am not going to touch a mic debate here.
I have a Turner mic that I also like. Those seem to be not so popular - at least in my parts of the wood.
Jason
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TetonJohn
144 posts
Nov 06, 2013
1:12 PM
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Question for mr. jukelemon.
I have a a microphone with a very hot old Brush crystal element (I have to lower the volume knob by about half on most amps when I use it). Because your new device has no controls to allow "calibration" to a specific microphone, is there a chance that the atypically strong signal would not dance well with your device?
Thanks!
(I know one answer is: try it, and if you don't like it send it back -- which is very cool -- but I'm still wondering in advance.)
Last Edited by TetonJohn on Nov 06, 2013 1:14 PM
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jukelemon
7 posts
Nov 06, 2013
1:49 PM
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Hi Teton.
I have tested some "hot" mics with the SK and they perform rather well. I cannot speak specifically to your mic as I don't know the specs on the element.
What is the headroom in db's? CM or CR or ?
The SK has performed well with a lot of different mics from vintage to new Greens and Blues. Different end result (tone) of course but that is to be expected given the different mics.
The end result was still the same i.e. higher volume without feedback.
Shoot me an email and I will give you my number. We can talk through it.
Thanks.
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