New from Area 51 - "The Box" Unity Gain Signal Buffer pedal.  I've received many requests for a stand-alone buffer pedal over the past few years.  Some of those requests have been from players who have valuable vintage wahs that they don't want to modify.  Others have been from players who want to drive a long cable from their pedal boards back to the amps when playing the big stages.  And yet others who want some way to control either the level of a hot P90 equipped guitar into some effect, or to control the level of a particularly hot effect.  And of course, there are those situations when two effect pedals just can't seem to get along.  Sometimes this is related to impedance loading, and other times it's related to signal levels.  In any of these cases, The Box may very well be the perfect solution.

Another excellent use, which I discovered in the design process, is that of a "Clean Tone" pedal.  Many players, myself included among them, like to play pretty much direct into a cranked tube amp.  To get a clean tone, we'll roll the guitar volume back some.  Just set the amp for the desired overdrive level - and use the guitar volume knob to go from clean to dirty.  The Box can be used to do this also.  Just set the Level control on the The Box for the desired cleanliness, and step on the true bypass for your straight-up dirty tone.  It's designed in such a way that you don't lose treble like you do when rolling your guitar volume back, so it's even better.

There have also been cases where our buffer board mod is not compatible with some wahs unless some fairly extensive modifications are done to the wah.  Such is the case with the Fulltone Clyde Deluxe, Crybaby 535's, and some others.  This pedal is the perfect solution.  It's level control is critical in allowing your wah to work properly with a classic type fuzz.  The Box is placed in the signal chain after the wah, and before the fuzz.  Adjust the level control to the point where the wah response is smooth (just a small amount, not enough to notice a perceptible drop in the wah's level), and you are there.

Here's a list of some of the features and benefits:

•     Extremely transparent and low-noise circuitry.
•     Can be used between a wah and fuzz, or between any two effects that don't operate well together due to impedance or level issues.
•     Single Level control
•     Can be used as a "clean tone" pedal.
•     It can drive very long cables, due to it's low output impedance.
•     Use it in front of a Fuzz, to increase treble and note definition. It gives your Fuzz another "voice".
•     Can be powered with your pedal board power supply, 9 volt wall-wart, or 9V battery.
•     Blue LED indicator.
•     True Bypass switching.
•     Top shelf parts, including metal "old style" Switchcraft jacks.
•     High-reliability construction.
•     Gold hammertone powder coat finish.
•     Each is handmade right here in the USA - at our shop in Newaygo, Michigan.