Table of Contents
Advertisement
Overview
In September 2017, after months of gathering and
searching through the internet, we were extremely
lucky to find and buy an original VOX UL730 with serial
number 3042, the amp The Beatles used on Revolver.
After a careful restoration, layout tracing, and further
circuit analysis, we developed the Dr. Robert pedal. It
was the closest replica we could create of its unique
sound and amazing saturation, caused when you
turned the amp's volume all the way up.
We packed a lot of features into the pedal, including
inner EQ controls and the Mach Schau! switch. An
extra gain boost for solos and heavier parts, making
the Dr. Robert a super versatile overdrive, perfect for
nailing those Revolver guitar tones.
But the amp had another hidden gem...
The UL amp series was the first Vox amps to
feature a built-in "distortion" circuit controlled by a
footswitch, one of the first ones to use shunt diodes,
also known as hard clipping to saturate the guitar's
signal Although they named it distortion, the resultant
tone was closer to a fuzz than what we understand
nowadays as a distortion pedal.
When we got our own UL730 working after restoring it,
we tried to match tones found in the Revolver album,
but we couldn't find a similar one using the internal
fuzz. It sounded kind of gated and spluttery, which was
4
Advertisement
Table of Contents
