This B Stock pedal has some metal bending irregularities and some slight alignment issues on the case. It's a little "rough around the edges," like maybe you wouldn't want to take this pedal home to meet the parents without having a conversation to prepare them first. It functions 100% as it should and carries the same satisfaction guarantee as other Wrought Iron pedals. And it's 75 bucks cheaper than the regular one!
********INTERNATIONAL BUYERS: if you are having trouble with paypal or with a regular credit card purchase, shoot me a message at wroughtironeffects@gmail.com and we will sort it out. Paypal is still giving me occasional problems for international orders.********************
(Likely the last run of the popular N-1 Germanium Carrier Rocket, as I am running out of vintage Soviet meters.)
Long Story Short: The N-1 is a 4 Stage Germanium transistor Fuzz with a crazy oscillation switch. It feature NOS Soviet Transistors and ammeter with acid-etched graphics on a medium weathered Cold War Red powder coated enclosure.
Each N-1 is almost completely hand-built. I start with laser cut aluminum plate, but from there, I do everything myself in the Wrought Iron shop. Metal prep, acid etching of graphics, powdercoating, bending the plates to shape, sanding the graphics, polishing, waxing, building & wiring the circuits, pedal assembly, and final testing and tweaking. These are truly hand-built pedals.
Note: Due to the extreme hand built nature of the N-1 Germanium Carrier Rocket pedal and the fact that each enclosure is individually acid etched, your pedal will be unique. Some have a little more aggressive etch, some have a little less aggressive. If that is not a variability you are okay with, this probably isn't the pedal for you.
Longer Story:
The Soviets rushed the N-1 moon rocket, with its 30 separate nk-15 rocket engines!! onto the launch pad as the Americans were preparing for the manned Saturn V launch. They hadn’t had the time to even test the individual stages of the rocket. They just built the whole thing and launched it. And due to “pogo oscillation”, it exploded 100 meters off the launch pad. Back to the drawing board for some rushed modifications, supervisors silencing engineers’ concerns, and another hurried launch attempt. This launch led to the biggest man-made non-nuclear explosion in world history! After 4 failed launch attempts, the N-1 program was eventually disbanded.
In the tradition of its namesake, the N-1 Germanium Signal Carrier uses an array of vintage (NOS) low gain, Soviet-built, germanium transistors to power its fuzz tone. The American Fuzz Face used 2 med to high gain germanium transistors? Then the N-1 will use 4 low gain Russian-made ones! And we arrange them in Darlington fashion to multiply their gain! “We will bury you!!” With single coil guitars you have access to everything from a really great medium gain overdrive to a classic fuzz sound. Put some humbuckers, or, heaven help us, P-90s in front of the N-1, and now you’re into some heavy, saggy, fuzz tones.
“So, what’s the “Pogo Oscillation” switch do?” Thanks for asking: just like its namesake, it sends the circuit into chaotic oscillation. You can manipulate the oscillation sound with your guitar volume and tone controls for lots of weird sounds that will totally turn your audience off. Or…if you manage the amount of Thrust and the amount of Oscillation (side knob), you can actually add just the right amount of positive feedback to your signal to get an amazingly harmonically rich drive sound. But that’s for people who have “self-discipline”.
The NOS ammeter on the face of the pedal, like the transistors, is also Soviet built. But that is where we leave the Cold war theme and use a top of the line DeMont smooth-click footswitch for the main switch, Taiway miniature switch for the oscillation switch, US made PCB, original design aluminum enclosures laser cut in Minneapolis, MN and folded in the Wrought Iron shop. The graphics are all acid etched and the finish is powdercoated with some vintage wear in “Cold War Red”.
The N-1 carries the Wrought Iron Satisfaction Guarantee: contact us with any issues and we will make it right.
common questions:
1. Does the N-1 use Germanium clipping diodes or N1 Carbon tunneling device?
NO! It doesn't use any clipping diodes or devices!!!! Just 4 Germanium transistors in 2 pairs of Darlington configuration smashing into each other and everything around them.
2. Does the meter do anything or is it just for looks?
The NOS Soviet meter indicates signal strength. The harder you play, the harder it drives the meter.
3. Does it need to be first in my signal chain before any buffers?
Yes, unless the sound you are looking for is a hideous raspy gated terrible sound. If that's the case, put it anywhere.
4. Are you a communist?
Nope. This pedal does not intend to pay homage to Communism or the Soviet Union, it is merely
a snapshot in history: a study of technology, not a monument. The rocket it is named after was a failure of tremendous proportions.
