00:00it's an unforgiving thing to do it's not
00:03like if you were like you know writing a
00:06book this is David Ranger maybe you've
00:10maybe not with electronics it just
00:12doesn't work just doesn't work and you
00:15try something and you go for days with
00:17nothing nothing and then suddenly do so
00:20he's a creator an artist and a pedal
00:23designer from London I luckily he's like
00:26a lot he invented this and this these
00:30and this guy I found myself slowly
00:34becoming obsessed with his pedals and I
00:37had to find out who is Ranger effects so
00:41how did you get into this into building
00:44pedals I was I mean that what I actually
00:48to be to the very start I don't really
00:52know why I was interested in them but I
00:54think it's just because it made me sound
00:56like oh the rock god and and then the
01:00little while after that I was working as
01:03a journalist through musicians magazines
01:05reviewing them okay a lot set and that
01:07means you eat all these amazing stuff so
01:10this is five years this would be late
01:13eighties to early 2000s brother so maybe
01:17your job you're literally being handed
01:19this this new pedal put a whammy pedal
01:22by digitech the editor of the magazine
01:25knew that um what I was into in anything
01:28new that he got a whiff of he would send
01:32my way you know so I was trying out all
01:35kinds of stuff you know and really got
01:37to see amazing things you know I think
01:41did you take a fantastic the space
01:43station yeah yeah and so I would just
01:51collect these and and use them and
01:55modify them and I would have people who
01:59I could adapt them and with cooter data
02:01for me you know and I would use them on
02:03I was doing a lot of sessions recording
02:05and stuff and so I would drag all these
02:08down I would use some of the sessions
02:09things I mean the guys who were adapting
02:11for me are words then I started to say
02:14can you make me one that does blah blah
02:16you know and and they would and after a
02:20while I thought can I do that I don't
02:23know and I've got a book out the library
02:25and I I was in a I had this part-time
02:27job where I had big chunks of spare time
02:29that I was paid for so I would just work
02:32my way through the these text books
02:34really as in the time-honored fashion I
02:38downloaded a circuit off the internet
02:39and to produce together and it worked I
02:42couldn't believe it it was a diagram a
02:44diagram and I needed to connect these
02:46things up and it was the Elektra fuzz
02:48and I couldn't believe it it worked I
02:51was I was so in such a thrill and so
02:54then you go well what else is there and
02:56you like download something else and it
02:58doesn't work and you why didn't the
02:59other one work why doesn't this work you
03:01know and that's what I'm doing right now
03:14so this is pressure it is expressing
03:18what control it's really in effect just
03:23turning this domain over tannoy
03:32this is the Spanish like a sunset it was
03:36like the if Darth Vader and r2d2 that
03:50was the single best ten seconds I've had
03:53with a petal under a year that's good
04:03it's well the Eagle thing is I'm yeah I
04:06think like everyone knew people very
04:09often want to control their sound in
04:11real-time while they're playing yes
04:13definitely and I thought I want to do
04:15that but I just didn't want to carry
04:16expression pedals around
04:18I just they're just huge and they weigh
04:21a ton there's nothing inside them yeah
04:23and I just it's got to be a better way
04:25so it's not as accurate as a rocker
04:27panel you know but sure but it's a way
04:30of just getting some expression as
04:46what's the first Ranger puddle
04:49it was the original doctor freakin Stein
04:51okay there was this circuit that was him
04:53that I I found online by John Hollis the
04:56crash sink and it just sounded great and
04:59then I adapted a few parts in it here
05:02and there and I think it was based on an
05:03mxr blue box okay part of that because
05:07it had that weird low octave okay in
05:11some on some settings and so I missed
05:13about with that and I found this amazing
05:15enclosure plastic enclosure that looked
05:18like it was one like a one-sixth scale
05:21Barbie doll console from a lab in like
05:25buffing green you know yeah and and with
05:29and I found a nice switch and you put
05:31the nice switch on it and it was an
05:34electrocution control console yeah I'm a
05:38tail and you think wow every child needs
05:41this I will make a whole load of these
05:43and em and so I made three of them and I
05:47went down to Denmark Street and and I
05:49went into the the shop that I shot by
05:53knew down there and the guy trying to
05:54answer great yeah I'll take all these
05:56and in the day phoned up says have you
05:59got another 10 and I said yes I'm
06:02quickly render somewhere user insulin
06:07space yeah yeah and and it went on from
06:12there's but I remember when when people
06:15did start to to buy them I was so
06:18touched I was just so amazed that
06:21someone want to buy this and I would
06:23like hand solder and why all the tinning
06:27everything and all the careful that like
06:31so many hours into each pedal and these
06:33pedals are just really intricate and I'm
06:36amazed they worked because I just
06:38couldn't believe someone will buy them
06:39would actually it was interesting what I
06:41was doing and I mean I love them it was
06:43late but I had no idea the end him
06:46the best feeling yeah yeah and that's
06:48and so that's where I'm now I'm doing
06:51and I'm amazed people into them and so
06:54really really delighted
06:56I love branding it's my favorite part of
06:59and you have such a clear branding I
07:03know so many great pedals and designs
07:06and all these things and sometimes the
07:07company won't have a branding yeah I
07:10just loved the branding so so when I see
07:12your stuff it's like I know what that is
07:14instantly know what it is like that's
07:17great yeah how did what how'd you get
07:20there with your look and your branding
07:21and the feel of it unlike the future of
07:26the past I like what people in the past
07:29thought in the future see that the NASA
07:31font from like that 1970s yes I like
07:37bright colors and I like things to
07:40attract me yeah and I don't want to make
07:44anything unless it's cute and I get
07:46obsessed with it and I want to carries
07:48her in it and I just want in it I just
07:50want to pick it up all right man yeah
07:51watching TV or something rather and I
07:55think the look is all part of that
07:57working with rich DeMeo from Staten
08:00Island New York who's been doing amazing
08:03stuff with the graphics and is a an
08:06important resource really in
08:10finding out how to help to make a
08:12peddler crack come across in its
08:15strongest way it speaking of the
08:17branding on a pedal so this right here
08:21I'm very jealous it's amazing yeah tone
08:24vendor by Ranger effects yeah the solar
08:27Sam freakin bended notice color sound
08:30British company color spelt in the
08:33American Way yeah but you know what they
08:35did that why don't I do that to get some
08:37cool American they wanted American
08:41that's it I just won't ever seem to be
08:42not American yeah but not it work for me
08:45I pull the petals so you know the tone
08:48manner in my opinion I think it's the
08:50most important petal every it's not the
08:53first fuzz but it's the second it's an
08:56insanely cool story what does that feel
08:58like I mean it's it's really incredible
09:01I mean I I bought the here's my original
09:04tone bender so that's your first yeah
09:07yeah yeah and I you see I bought this in
09:101980 from makaras where they come from
09:12in Charing Cross Road and I just loved
09:15it and I used it on tons of recordings
09:18and everywhere gigs and everything for
09:20forever after yeah and then after a
09:24while Macari started when I started
09:27making pedals in 2009
09:29Makara started selling the pedals and
09:32antony Macari the the sun yeah a big guy
09:35that sold the lineage of door of that
09:38they'd exactly yeah yeah he said they
09:40always do collaboration and i was like
09:42yeah yeah thinking but if I think of
09:46something that's any good I'll do myself
09:48alright but I could tell you know
09:51actually but it would be pretty neat to
09:53have a do some of the conversation yeah
09:55and he one time he said used to
09:57collaboration cuz you're freaking sign
09:59it takes over where our tongue meander
10:03I thought what a brilliant why don't we
10:05ever knob that does that you turn up the
10:07drive knob of atonement and right at the
10:09very last bit it just flips over to
10:11being frickin Stein yeah
10:13but the trick is you've got to have all
10:15the controls all flip over as well you
10:17can't have anyone have to switch any
10:19switches you want it just a naturally
10:22suddenly be you know the monster comes
10:24alive and it moves into this new weird
10:28gated yeah fuzz thing so it's a two very
10:32very contrasting fuzzies that tone
10:35memories like is it diodes and
10:38transistors being just mistreated and
10:40stuff yeah it sounds huge and QC and
10:43chunky and then you go over to the M to
10:46the frickin Stein side of it and it
10:49sounds unnatural and it has to be
10:52listened to it won't be ignored it will
10:54cut through anything
10:55yeah but in front of it's amazing and
10:58that's that sounds like a a handy
11:10okay take it to Franken land
11:15Wow it really clicks over yeah yeah
11:30and you plug in the ego that so it it
11:40should that commonality of the bleep
11:50oh man yeah so it's everything old and
11:56everything unworldly new yeah it's a
11:59simple thing and that's just great it's
12:18so can you imagine when I took so I did
12:22the prototype of this Antony loved it
12:24and we you know tweaked a few things
12:27here and there when I took the first of
12:29the of these this range of pedals down
12:31to the shop and it's a great great and
12:33in the window he moved the range of the
12:37tone Mendes apart and put that our
12:40huddle in there I couldn't believe it
12:42yeah my name was on it using the window
12:45you are forever tied to one of the most
12:49important stories in the history of
12:52guitar it's amazing yeah I'm so
12:56delighted and it's so amazing I often
12:59say there's a pedal out there for
13:01everyone and David proves this to be
13:03true whether you're into minimal
13:06features lots of controls to dial in or
13:09you want to make your guitar bleep like
13:11a robot there's something out there for
13:14you as different as David and I think
13:17about how we design our effects
13:19I love his approach he inspires me to
13:23think differently to do something a
13:25little crazy I think it's important to
13:27do I mean to push him like you know to
13:31do them to try and do new stuff and
13:34sometimes it may fall flat and sometimes
13:36it might work you know yeah at the end
13:38of our conversation I asked David what
13:41do you want your legacy to be and he
13:43said this to inspire someone to do it
13:46would be really brilliant it's in I
13:50think that's good you know David Ranger
13:53mission accomplished
