Frayed Knot Electronics

[Dandolin]

Bicycle v. Belladonna coming up

Kinda curious about who might have scarfed that Zippery Slipper....

[Dandolin]

Filed to 2019 goals: understand the practical difference between frequency shifting and frequency modulation (which is different than FM synthesis, yeah?) mo betta.

[Dandolin]

So, I have a *lot* to post about Frayed Knot. First, I got a Belladonna, and I love it! I had recently caved and scored a Bicycle Delay, which was also happy happy joy joy time, but the two pedals have some similarities, so I was on the fence about the Belladonna.

I ended up snapping on the Belladonna because I thought it was on sale for a sure-to-be-rare price of $200 direct from Frayed Knot. Truth told, I was a little worried that Frayed Knot might be closing up shop and clearing out stock... Turns out I just hadn't gotten the memo about the permanent cross-the-board price drop; all the pedals that were previously $260 are now $200.

Welp, either way, I'm super happy I jumped on it

Whether because of the differences between frequency shifting (Bicycle) and frequency modulation (Belladonna); circuit design; DSP platform; algorithmic design; analog components; or, most likely, a combination of all and a fundamental difference in design intent--these two things are not the same.

In brief, I find the Bella Donna to get far crazier in extreme settings, and Belladonna has the range on its fm oscillator to get well-chewy trem/vibe sounds in the lower frequency regions, which the Bicycle doesn't. Both produce beautiful bell tones, but they have different tonal qualities in those areas. They both can be set so that the pitch of the effected signal shifts. Not sure how the Bicycle accomplishes this, but Belladonna has an envelope following circuit that adjusts the modulator frequency so that, depending on the center frequency and the three offset controls, you can dial in pitchshift or accelerating/decelerating pulses that interact with the delay time and feedback controls ftw

I don't do demos because I am too scattered and busy to pull together a decent sounding recording rig and plan out a coherent presentation that serves the pedal being demoed; and more critically, on any given day, my house is full of 10-20 boisterous critters that react in unpredictable and loud ways to my caterwaul. Still, during a recent session with Chankgeez, the Belladonna (and at one point Belladonna and Bicycle together) was sounding so fine that I asked Chank to record a few wayward snippets, which I'ma link here, with the usual caveats that my playing wasn't at all planned, considered or good, and that the phone-youtube nexus doesn't do anything like justice to the sexiness of the sounds in the room. Still--these might be useful for peeps that are wondering whether the Belladonna can be dialed in to the less crazy end of the sound spectrum.
Here ya go:

[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]
[youtube][/youtube]

A coupla more things:

1) I really enjoy the control scheme--yes, it is quite likely to drive the devotedly organized and analytical to distraction--but I found that after just a brief time with the concise diagram/manual, I was able to find my way to predictable results without the need for labels. The color-schemed knobs definitely help in that regard, though I pretty quickly came up with an idea of how I might swap a couple of knobs to work mo betta with my brain problem situation. The design privileges intuition/listening over analysis and that def worked for me in this case

2) I just got through what is undoubtedly the best customer service interaction I have ever had with Frayed Knot's Francois. He was pleasant, helpful, super-fast in both communication and putting my pedal right, and he showed both a commitment and a well-organized method to understanding my individual pedal's problem and the possible implications for other Frayed Knot pedals out there in the world. All of this was on his dime and without certain knowledge that he wasn't dealing with an idiot that idiotically fried his pedal.

The takeaway for me was definitely not "be concerned about the durability/serviceability of Frayed Knot pedals," but, unreservedly, "buy from Frayed Knot with the utmost confidence that your awesome new pedal will be taken care of in the odd event something/anything brings it to ground."

I plan on checking out the Tremolopolis and Marma next, and if there's enough interest for Francois to make more, the Zippery Slipper

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it

[Chankgeez]

I like that a *lot*.

(No birds were harmed during the filming of those videos. )

[Dandolin]

Does anyone on here have a Zippery Slipper?

[adamajah]

Nice write up and clips.

These pedals have always looked so great to me. Good to know they sound rad and the builder is a good fellow.

[Chankgeez]

I thought they looked good on screen, but the Bella-Donna Dandolin got looks even better in real life.

I love both the Bella-Donna and the Bicycle Delay, but they sounded best stacked together.

[Dowi]

Well, this is surely helpful and GASsing
Nice write up, you have clarified a lot and, if a couple weeks back I was thinking about grabbing a Marma, now I'm seriously interested in the Belladonna too.
Will check the videos later.

[Dowi]

K, checked the videos: DIG the Chymberlaine sort of ringmoddish sound, and the modshift squad is more like the trippy endless spiral squad
was the pitch-bending effect provided by the Belladonna or was it a result of the sum of all the things?

[UglyCasanova]

Clips gave me mad OG Silent Hill vibes. Nice!

[Jwar]

If I didn’t have my Atmosphere this would be a killer option for the sounds you’re getting in that first video. It does something pretty similar but slightly different.

I dig it! Maybe I’ll be able to grab a few of these this year.

[Dandolin]

Thanks guys!

Dowi--on the Modshift clip the pitch movement stuff is really Bicycle--the Belladonna is set up for some low bell tones occasionally downshifting to fast pulses--it's right on the edge between frequency modulation and vibe, but it's a little hard to hear through everything the Bicycle is doing and the birds, which were going apeshit for that sound

I'll try to grab a clip or two showing more of the oscillator shift this weekend. You can definitely hear that in Francois' demo....

As for that Bicycle--it really is pretty awesome, as I'm sure Cas will attest--check his best-on-the-web demo for more on that one

[UglyCasanova]

Yeah, bicycle delay is cool as hell, but I found the ascending/descending knob's sweet spot very difficult to set as I found most of the useful settings between like 15 to and 15 past 12 o'clock on the dial. Very, very small increments.

[Dandolin]

Agreed--maybe I need some more mind expansion to appreciate the rest of that knob's range, lol....

[Dowi]

Yeah, bicycle delay is cool as hell, but I found the ascending/descending knob's sweet spot very difficult to set as I found most of the useful settings between like 15 to and 15 past 12 o'clock on the dial. Very, very small increments.

Just checked your demo on YouTube, I wasn't even aware of the existence of the Bicycle guess at the time I was settled with delays.
Anyway that ascending sound is something I'm trying to achieve with my current setup but can't seem to do it properly, so I'm probably going back to the good old PS-2 and find some space on the board.

Back to Dandolin video: I strongly recommend you to record those birds and use them as soundscape because they sounded sooooo good paired with the delay madness

Looking forward to hear more if you record some clips of the oscillator.