DingoTone VSW Swell Guide

SWELL
VSW
This professional effects pedal was hand made
in North America from premium components.
Thank you for your purchase.
Effect pedals. Reinvented.

www.DingoTone.com © 2012 v6
Setting up and using the VSW Swell (“VSW”) pedal
Plug your guitar directly into the VSW, and plug the output of the VSW into your amplifier. Do
not put any pedals between the guitar and the VSW. Power up the pedal correctly and turn it
on (LED lit). Turn on the amplifier.
Attack
Sensitivity
9VDC power jack
(center negative
“Boss style”)
Turn the sensitivity knob to minimum (fully counterclockwise)
and the attack to maximum (fully clockwise). At this point
there will probably be very little sound going through the pedal
– this is normal.
Slowly pick staccato notes while turning the sensitivity knob
clockwise a little at a time. With the sensitivity knob at about 8
o’clock or perhaps 9 o’clock you should hear the swell effect.
This is completely dependent on your rig – hotter pickups will
start to swell earlier, low output pickups will start to swell later.
Once the basic setup is complete and the swell effect is present, adjust the sensitivity and
attack to taste. For best results, set the sensitivity as low as possible and use harder picking
with short mutes between the notes.
About the VSW
Take the heart of an SG-1, wrap 3PDT true-bypass around it, and upgrade the capacitors and
buffer transistors to modern specification. What you get is a transparent, usable swell pedal
that will give you violin sounds like no other!
Your VSW pedal was designed in North America by fellow musicians. Our certified engineers
also know how to make pedals that are tough, reliable, and easy to use.

www.DingoTone.com © 2012 v6
All DingoTone pedals are hand built in our factory in North America using premium parts
sourced extensively from North America and Europe. We use vintage design and
manufacturing techniques wherever possible, and we purchase vintage specification
components where available.
About your pedal:
•The VSW would normally be the first pedal in the chain. Putting it after another pedal will
not harm anything, but the swell effect may be harder to dial in. If you are having trouble
getting consistent swell, try putting compressor/limiter in front of the VSW.
•Inserting a lead into the input jack will turn power on. With a lead inserted the pedal will still
be using power even if the LED is off. If using a battery, please unplug the input lead when
the pedal is not in use.
•Assuming the pedal is correctly powered and a lead is plugged into the input, the pedal is
in true-bypass when the LED is off. True-bypass will work even if power is lost (the LED
doesn’t work if power is lost).
•The pedal will operate from an internal 9V battery or an external 9VDC power supply
(center negative). The battery can be accessed by removing the base-plate screws. If the
pedal is not used for an extended period, please remove the battery.
•When changing the battery please be careful!
Knocking your fingers on the circuit board can damage your fingers or the circuit
board assembly (not covered under warranty).
Excessive force on the battery snap can damage the snap (not covered under
warranty).
•Note that some external power supplies may cause hum or noise. If this happens, please
switch to a regulated supply or battery.
CAUTION
The external power supply must not exceed 12VDC – if the supply exceeds 12VDC the protection
circuitry in the pedal will operate and the pedal or the power supply WILL be damaged.
Note that some unregulated power supplies with a nameplate rating of 9VDC give out in excess of
12VDC. If in doubt, please measure the actual voltage on your power supply.
•The VSW pedal is proper (3PDT) True Bypass. All True Bypass pedals may make a small
noise when switched – this is normal and does not indicate a fault in the pedal. Your
DingoTone pedal has been carefully designed to minimize this.
•The pedal has a set-point/bias control trim-pot mounted on the circuit board. This has been
calibrated in the factory using specialized test equipment and should not be adjusted.
Moving this trim-pot will degrade or eliminate the swell effect. Re-calibration is not covered
under the warranty.
A tribute to the Boss SG-1
This pedal is a tribute to the vintage Boss
a
SG-1. It sounds just like an SG-1. Every VSW pedal is hand
calibrated with a purpose built test rig then tested against an untouched 1980 vintage SG-1.
A few things to note about the VSW:
•The VSW is true-bypass. There is no FET switching as in the original
•The VSW uses modern components where appropriate – the signal path contains all metalized
polyester capacitors unlike the electrolytic capacitors in the original, and the small-signal transistors
are all modern low-noise specification. This makes no difference to the operation of the swell effect,
and it does open the sound up a fraction.
a
“Boss” is a trademark of Roland Corporation
.

www.DingoTone.com © 2012 v6
•The two hearts of the beast (the vintage specification 2SK30A FET and
741 opamp) are completely genuine and unchanged.
•Our sincere thanks goes to Roland/Boss for making the original of this
cool pedal all those years ago, and to everyone who has made it
collectable!
The “mystique” of the vintage pedal
SG-1 pedals are rare because nobody bought them way back when they were made because
they were “different”. Here’s why…
Only one of the knobs changes the sound of the pedal.Only the “attack” knob is designed to
change the sound of the pedal. The “sensitivity” knob is used to match the pedal to the output
level of the instrument connected – it is essentially a set-once-then-forget kind of control, it is not
a control that you would use dynamically to change the character of the sound. This is normal.
The attack control is somewhat limited.The attack only goes out to about 300ms which
gives a nice bit of a swell, but not as much as you might expect (300ms is about the time it takes
to say the word "and" if you say it quickly). Additionally, it is hard for the ear to tell the difference
between 300ms (knob fully clockwise) and 150ms (knob at 12 o'clock) - so the attack control
seems like it doesn't do much. This is normal.
Held notes decay “strangely”. If you hold a note, the decay of the note gets “lumpy” when it
starts to tail off. This is normal.
The tracking might not be as good as you expect.Longer attack times will require slower
picking, possibly with gaps between the notes. When using longer attack times, careful
adjustment of the sensitivity will be required to get the best results. Strong, even picking will be
required. This is normal.
The pedal is slightly noisy – there is a hint of fizz or “hash” that can be heard along with
the decaying note.The vintage pedal behaves like this… but through careful design, the VSW
is much less noisy. Additionally, because the VSW is true-bypass, the fizz is completely gone
when bypassed (this is not true of the vintage pedal).
So, some finesse and perseverance are needed to get the most out of this pedal, and although
it seems a bit “different” at first, it does sound really interesting if you stick with it.
Put a delay pedal after it and it you will be amazed at the sonic possibilities…
Warranty
This pedal is covered by a 12 months replacement warranty. As long as the pedal is not physically or electrically
damaged but has a fault due to parts or labour within 12 months of the initial purchase date, we will replace the
pedal at no cost to you. Shipping to DingoTone is at the owners cost. No warranty claims will be accepted
without a Return Authorization (email us for details).
The warranty is void if any modification or repair is done by anyone other than DingoTone, or if the pedal has
been disassembled. There are no user serviceable parts inside.
Under no circumstances will DingoTone be responsible for consequential loss or damage. At all. Ever. We’ll
replace your pedal if it fails because of a defect. But that’s it.