Aaah, I got the Expandora as a gift, because it "makes noise" <tm the pal who gifted me with it>, and I found out about the alleged ZZ Top usage afterward.

It's a neat little thing, dip switches are cool.

I got a Harmonic Percolator clone, and found that it REALLY cut my output. Is it traditionally a VERY low output pedal? When played through an amp at relatively low power, or when used direct in to the mixing board, it wasn't so bad; however, I was never able to use this pedal out at shows, because it sucked so much volume outta my rig. I tried changing the battery, and made sure that the cables were all okay and connected properly.

Swapped out with my regular distortion pedal (Big Muff), and didn't see this volume hit.

Either way--I ended up selling it on eBay a few weeks ago--couldn't afford to keep a pedal I couldn't use live...

Hi,
I bought a Harmonic Percolator clone from Chuck Collins a couple of years ago. Sad ? Possibly, but fuck it, I'd fantasised about that sound since Dutch Courage and curiosity got the better of me.

Anyway, for the same reason as TheSlack64 above I was always disappointed with it because although it sounds pretty good, unless the controls are turned up full there's a drop in the guitar volume. This was not what I'd been expecting from what I'd heard about this pedal.

Later, I read a review on Harmony-Central by a someone who had the same problem with theirs. There was also a response posted by Mr Collins stating that a very small number of his Percolators had a faulty battery connector and this could be the cause of the problem. So I contacted him and he told me that the pedal was not designed to significantly boost the signal, that there was probably nothing wrong with mine but that I was welcome to return it to him to be checked. I haven't yet because I live on the other side of the world and I didn't want to potentially waste money on shipping to and from Milwaukee only to be told that that's how it's supposed to sound.

The original spec sheet for the Percolator claims that the pedal boosts the guitar signal by up to 55Dbs. How can a pedal with a supposed 55Dbs boost sound barely if at all louder than the un-effected guitar signal, even with the controls on max? Am I missing something?

Can anybody here tell me how is this pedal actually supposed to sound? Is it the secret weapon for when you want to go a bit further, your eleven. The end of the world sound, an extreme distortion that deserves the hype. Or is it traditionally a VERY low output pedal, another of a surprising number of pedals that sound quieter than the guitar straight into the amp?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

i have a chuck collins harmonic percolator. i'm no expert on distortion but with both sliders at about 3/4 it sounds loud and distorted. no drop in volume. if you put them both the whole way up it will give you that over the top, past 11 sound. i only use it on a few songs but i like the sound. far better than the rat and big muff that i previously owned.

-ew

Thanks for that, Elisha.

So would you say that the Percolator isn't that drastically different
volume wise to the Rat and Big Muff?


MVS

MVS,
i would say that the harmonic percolator that i have has more output volume than my 70's big muff. less of a white noise type of sound as well. i use the percolator with a fender telecaster through a fender pro amp. this sounds nothing like the shellac guitar sound if that is what you are going for. when i use the pedal it is louder than the guitar straight into the amp.

hope this helps,
-elisha

I also have a Collins Percolator clone, and mine gets quite loud with the switches 60%-70% up, so I suspect you may have a problem with yours. After checking the obvious stuff like putting in fresh batteries and checking for loose connections, you could buy a new battery clip from Parts Express for $2 and see if that fixes it before you spend an arm and a leg shipping it back. Good luck.

Elisha, Offal,

Thanks a lot. That's a real help.
I'll look into it.

Best wishes.
MVS.