top of page
FAQ:

  • Q:  Is this legit?  Is this a "real" Expandora Pedal? 

       A:  Yes!   We acquired the brand, and own the Expandora name.

​​

  • Q:  Is this new Expandora the same as the old Expandora?

  • A:  Yes and no.   The new Expandora circuit is a faithful recreation of the original Expandora circuit, with some much  needed enhancements: ​

    • The old pedal was enclosed in a bare, round, cast metal enclosure that was prone to corrosion and discoloring

    • The new Vintage Reissue pedal is enclosed in a CNC machined, aluminum, round enclosure, which has been clear coated for protection.   

    • The Expandora Squared models are enclosed in industry standard, powder coated rectangular enclosures.

    • If there was any gripe about the original pedal, it has a reputation to have some buzzy harsh high end tones.   We have tweaked the tone stack ever so slightly to thicken up those sounds.

    • We have added enhanced power filtering for less noise when using a pedal board power supply

    • The old pedal had the switches for mode selection inside the bottom cover, which required a screwdriver to open up the pedal to adjust settings. 

    • The new "Squared" models have the mode switches on the outside.   

    • The Vintage Reissue models have the dip switches inside the bottom, like the original.  Except we have provide a mode switch access port to enable access to switches without opening up the pedal. 

​

  • Q:  Is Expandora true bypass?

        A:   YES!  All Expandora pedals are true bypass

​

  • Q:  What power supply does this take​

       A:   All of the new Expandora pedals operate with a 9 volt battery, or an industry standard 2.1 mm 9 volt "Boss Style"             power supply.  

​

  • Q:  Why are you using OP07 Op Amp Chips when the original had LM308N Op Amps?

       A:  The LM308 Op Amps are discontinued and currently unavailable.   There are load of LM308's on Ebay and other

       sites, but we believe the majority of these chips to be counterfiet, and they have not passed our rigorous testing

       process.   The OP07 has been the replacement of choice for many of the pedals that were previously using LM308's.   

​​

  • Q:  I have some vintage chips.  Can I put them in my new Expandora?

  • A:  Absolutely!   If you have a pair of vintage LM308N chips, feel free to try them out in your Expandora pedal.  The OP07 chips in all of our pedals are socketed for convenient swapping without soldering.

​

  • Q:  The Expandora and the Proco Rat pedal both use the LM308 chip.  Are they the same? 

  • A:   No.   Not even close.  The Rat has one LM308 (or OP07) chip.  The Expandora has two LM308's (or OP07's), an RC4558 Dual Op Amp, and an H11F1 Opto Coupler expansion circuit.   

​​

  • Q:  What chips sound good in the new Expandora pedals?

  • A:  Chip swapping is easy, and relatively risk free if you have some light electronics skills.   You need to carefully remove the current chips from the sockets.  And you need to orient the chips correctly.  Otherwise it is very easy to do!   You also need to be aware that a few of the currently available chip sets require a different compensation capacitor, so your mileage may vary.

    • The stock OP07 chips in the current Expandora pedals have a nice tight tone, and a high amount of relative gain.​  When the LM308 chips went out of production, the Proco Rat pedals switched to the OP07.  It is a great choice for the stock Expandora!  We think the OP07 tone is the best of all the readily available chips

    • If you can get your hands on a pair of Vintage LM308N, throw them in.  The have a wee bit more warmth than the stock chips

    • LM301, CA3130, TL072.    These chips all sound great in the Expandora.   They have different levels of gain and warmth.   If you have these on hand, give them a shot!

    • TL071.   Very close to the original LM308 chips.   A very good option!

    • TL070.   These chips sound fabulous in the Expandora.   When we demo'ed our prototypes at the NAMM show, we had four identical pedals with different chip sets.  The TL070 was the only one to "fool" the vintage Expandora collectors that participated in the taste testing.   Alas, the TL070 is also discontinued and not readily available.   But we have acquired enough stock of the TL070 to supply a number of our Expandora Squared Custom pedals.  Also be aware that the TL070 is the only chip on this list that absolutely requires a different compensation cap, so your results may vary.   Reach out to us if you want more info on how use the TL070 succesfully. 

bottom of page