Transcript
Thank you for purchasing the Rig-Talk Plank Cranker overdrive/boost pedal! Proceeds from this pedal will help pay for web hosting to keep www.rig-talk.com up and running! Bob Savage and I got together with pedal guru Joel Weaver from Homebrew Electronics (H.B.E.) with the idea to design a versatile, “gig friendly” overdrive/boost pedal to help us support and promote the Rig-Talk community. After several design changes and prototypes, we feel that we’ve landed on what could very well be the perfect overdrive/boost pedal. This pedal is really designed to be two pedals in one. The two modes (SPANK and CRANK) are extremely useful for two very different purposes. This guide is written with this in mind. The Plank Cranker is equally at home in front of a clean amp for a bluesy TS type of tone (SPANK mode) or kicking an already overdriven amp in the nuts to make it squeal like a monkey (CRANK mode.) If you can only have one overdrive/boost pedal in your arsenal, this is it. The unique CUT control lets you dial the pedal in to work well with bright or dark amps and the true bypass switching ensures that your tone isn’t affected when the pedal is off. You can power the pedal with a 9-volt battery or a standard Boss style (PSA-120) AC adapter. Combine the unique features of the Plank Cranker with the high-quality construction from H.B.E. and we have a classic in the making. We hope you enjoy the Plank Cranker and thanks for supporting the Rig-Talk community! Stop by www.rig-talk.com and let us know what you think! Bob Savage & Chris Snider
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SPANK MODE: The SPANK mode of the Plank Cranker pedal is designed to give more traditional TS type of overdrive tones. If you like dirty blues, you’ll dig the Plank Cranker into a clean amp. AMPLITUDE – This controls the overall output volume of the pedal. There is more volume available here than most traditional TS type of overdrive pedals. GAIN – Use this knob to control the amount of sweet tube-like overdrive (dirt) you want in the signal. Go from the tone of a cranked tube amp on the verge of breakup in the lower positions to full blown tube screamin’ drive in the higher positions. CUT – This is not a traditional tone control. Rather, this control lets you dial in just the right amount of cut or slice in the tone. Turn this knob to the left for smooth Santana-like butter melting goodness or bring on the sting at around 3:00 o’clock. As mentioned earlier, this unique control is what makes the Plank Cranker work well with both bright and dark amps.
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WANK – This footswitch is a subtle lead boost with interesting characteristics. Stomping on WANK increases the overall gain a tad, but the real magic is how it beefs up the lows and mids to make single note runs much fatter. The lead tones you get with this footswitch are very inspiring, especially if you’re playing a twangy guitar that typically has a thin lead tone. You may find yourself wanking uncontrollably when this switch is engaged. Have fun… ON/OFF – Uh… CRANK MODE: The CRANK mode of the Plank Cranker is designed to slam the front end of your favorite overdriven amplifier to turn it into the high gain beast needed to play teH BrEwTaL MeTuLz required by a lot of modern players. We specifically asked H.B.E. to make this mode slightly scooped, as TS pedals can be a little midrange heavy when used as a boost to get more modern tones. They nailed what we were after and we think you’ll find this to be the best sounding boost available at any price. No, I’m not joking… Seriously… Don’t believe me? Are you saying I’m a liar? Maybe I should lock your Rig-Talk account and make posts about how you used to make out with your vacuum cleaner when you were 10-years old? Wouldn’t like that, huh? Then SHUT UP and get with the program, NOOB. Anyway… AMPLITUDE: As with the SPANK mode, this controls the overall output volume of the pedal. However, please be very careful when using this control, as a ginormous amount of output is available. I think it’s like a hundred thousand decibels or something. GAIN – This controls the amount of gain or dirt in the signal, but there is a unique twist. Notice that the tone thickens considerably as this control is turned up. Not only does it control the level of gain or distortion, it also controls the thickness. Because of this, it’s very important to use the AMPLITUDE and GAIN controls together to achieve the desired level of teH bRutulZ needed for modern tones. Our suggestion is to start with the AMPLITUDE control low and increase the GAIN control to taste. Experiment with these settings to come up with the right tones for you. CUT – This control has the same function in the CRANK mode as it did in the SPANK mode. Turn it down for a smoother tone and up higher for some real slice.
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WANK – This control is even more subtle in the CRANK mode. However, you may still find it very useful in a live setting when you want to boost the distortion level just a tad for thicker leads. ON/OFF – Don’t make me slap you… SUGGESTED USES: You can use the Plank Cranker for anything. It would probably make a good hammer or wheel chock but if you want to use it for something musical, here are a few ideas: -
Use it to increase the drive and thicken up your tone when switching from humbuckers to single coils. Run your single-channel amp at crunch settings for some songs, and then kick on the Plank Cranker in the CRANK mode for high gain tones. Connect it to your amps effects loop and switch it off and on in CRANK mode for a lead volume boost. Install the Plank Cranker on your grab ‘n go pedalboard. Since it’s so versatile, you know it will work well with whatever amp awaits you at the gig.
Thanks again for supporting www.rig-talk.com and if you’re not already a member of our community, come on by and become friends with some of the best musicians around!
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