Lovetone

Lovetone is the name of a manufacturer of analog effect pedals in England in the 1990s. The effects were created by Vlad Naslas and Daniel Coggins, and their pedals were noted for their tongue-in-cheek names like the "Big Cheese" and the "Ring Stinger".

Most Lovetone effects replicate a popular vintage analog effect in part, but usually implement the effect in ways not previously seen in smaller so-called "stompbox" effects units. Many Lovetone units are noted for the ability to control multiple parameters of the effect through the use of low frequency oscillators (LFOs), expression pedals, or control voltage (CV); features more commonly found in analog synthesizers and synthesizer modules. This ability to create extremely unusual sounds have made the pedals highly regarded by musicians and producers. The company was able to attract a diverse list of notable musicians and producers to use their effects, including the Beastie Boys, Metallica, Radiohead, Nellee Hooper, Chris Kimsey, and Alan Moulder.

History

The sale of Lovetone pedals began in 1995. Production was generally inconsistent, and so after a given pedal's initial runs, it might become unavailable for a period of time. The Meatball was always quite popular and available fairly consistently. Still, some models would go out of stock for long periods of time.

In 2001 the company announced that they would cease production of all pedals. This led to an explosion in price of existing units. For a period of time, it was common to see Lovetone pedals on the second hand market at prices nearly double their original sale price.

In 2003 the company announced that they would again be making the Meatball and Cheese Source pedals, to be sold through Daniel Coggins's newly formed company Dinosaural, which became the primary point of contact for Lovetone technical support and repairs.

As of April 2008, Dinosaural has stated that Dan Coggins is no longer part of the Lovetone business. The Dinosaural website also states that they "are now only doing occasional repair work strictly for Lovetone and Dinosaural's product legacy."

Units Produced

* Meatball - envelope filter/follower
* Big Cheese - fuzz
* Brown Source - overdrive
* Doppleganger - dual LFO phaser/vibrato
* Wobulator - dual LFO tremolo and stereo panner
* Ring Stinger - ring modulator, octave fuzz, simple analog synthesizer
* ? (Flange with No Name) - stereo flanger, multi-function time/stereo modulation effect, simple analog synthesizer
* Cheese Source - combination of the Big Cheese and Brown Source in one unit

External links

* [http://www.lovetone.com Lovetone website]
* [http://dinosaural.com Dinosaural website]