Effects Connection Gear Review Blog

Parts Sourcing for Effects, Amps, Electronic Projects

LongJohnny — Thu, 21 May 2009 14:50:27 +0000

I am always trying to cater to my customers needs a little better. One of the new ways I am trying to do this, is to get obsolete, or hard to find parts for my customers. I have several new suppliers, and connections for parts and am trying to get all my customers the news about sourcing parts for upcoming projects.

The best way to let me know that you need a special part sourced, or manufactured is to copy and paste the section below into an email, and shoot it to me at info@effectsconnection.com

Parts Source Request:

Type of Part(capacitor, resistor, switch, etc.):

Manufacturers Part Number:

Quantity Needed:

Future Availability required:

How soon do you need this part:

Special Instruction(drawing, schematic, special connection, or additional description):

NEW SECTION COMING SOON

LongJohnny — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:33:28 +0000

Hey all,

I am in the process of putting a new section up on my website. It will be for buying bulk items, and items that I can not stock on my website. I may not be able to stock items on my website, due to being out of production, or a good buy I made through my electronics broker deals.

I will also put some of my personal items in there, such as old pedals, guitars, customer returns, and non-effects related stuff. This is sort of a bazaar for people that like to hunt for items that arent found in other places. I am sure it will start small, but get a little more in depth as I get a bigger pile of items that I get.

This also helps me keep my parts drawers clean an up to date.

March 20th-June 1st Announcement

LongJohnny — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:08:37 +0000

Hello All,

I would like to take this time to thank you for your patronage of my store. On Friday, March 20th, I will be going in for my 4th neck surgery. I have had a really bad time with the previous 3 surgeries, and this will hopefully be the last one, and the one that fixes everything.

Due to the surgery, my assistant Whitney and my Dad Chuck Lewman will be taking over the day to day operations of effectsconnection.com. I will not be doing anything for approximately 1 week, which wont affect shipments, but will affect the information emails. I encourage you to call my business number or my cell phone if you have any questions. Email will be answered for common questions, but technical questions will take a little longer.

If you have any concerns with service, please feel free to contact me before the 20th, and I will be happy to help out.

AGAIN, SERVICE WILL NOT BE AFFECTED!!!

Just some info,

This is my 4th neck surgery in 6 years. I have a 3 level fusion, that did not fuse. They will be going in posterior and fusing the neck. They will then turn me over and remove the previous plate that was used, through the front. This is actually 2 operations done at once.

UPDATE: I am doing very well, as it has been almost 8 weeks since I had the surgery. I have come a long way from having 10 out of 10 on the pain scale right after my operation. Before I had the surgery, I was about a 4 or 5 out of 10 pain level all the time. Now I can say that my "normal" level is about a 1 or a 2. I thank all of you that have prayed for me, and sent good mojo. I am getting back into the full swing of the business part of running effectsconnection and waking up happy to face the day.

thanks for your understanding,

John Lewman

Some pics of the surgery site, if you want to see some really nasty stuff

Capacitance Conversion tables

LongJohnny — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 20:38:14 +0000

Here is a helpful little table for converting between uF(MFD), pF, and all the others…

http://www.effectsconnection.com/images/capacitanceconversiontable.xls

Always looking for stuff-pedals, amps, guitars

LongJohnny — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:58:00 +0000

I was just thinking about putting my X-mas list together, and was trying to think about what I really want:

Japanese Telecaster, Mid 80’s-Early 90’s, Humbucker in the neck, with an olympic white finish, or some other light finish. I have been dying to get one of these since I sold one about 4 years ago

Triangle Big Muff- I have also been looking for one of these to play around with. I love the sound of the older muffs a lot better than the newer production models. I have several Skreddy pedals, and they come as close to this sound as I have heard, but I still want one of them..

Tele style hollowbody- Japanese is preferred, but a partscaster is OK also, same specs as the earlier one. I love me some Japanese Guitars.

Old synth type pedals- I have been playing around with a few circuits, and would love to get any sort of old cool synth guitar pedals.

Old Kent/Teisco/Airline guitars- Any kind is good, but must have a straight neck and original working pickups

If you have any of these, let me know. I can paypal money or send parts as payment. I would prefer to send the parts, that way I dont have to explain it to my wife….

I am willing to make a great deal for these items, so dont be afraid to ask or send offers. I am not looking for any MIJ Squiers, or MIK, or MIM guitars, sorry.

Some examples I am looking for… I found these on the internet, and am not trying to steal anyones property in any way. These are just some examples of what I am interested in.

John Lewman

New Semiconductor(IC/Diode/Transistor) policy

LongJohnny — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:38:31 +0000

I just wanted to address some issues that have been going on lately within the IC/Transistor/Diode selling that is being done nowadays. It seems that there are several sellers on Ebay and other sites that sell semiconductors that are inferior or fake. These people are usually from Asian countries, but not limited to them. With this happening, I have instituted a new policy for my buying of these items from my suppliers.

I am requiring that any time I buy a new item from a supplier, I will have an initial batch tested for electrical characteristics. If they do not match the datasheet for the given manufacturer, I will reject them, and put the supplier on a "no-buy" list. I am beginning to establish some good partnerships with North American and European suppliers, and will put forth a concerted effort to get the best products my customers can get.

One thing that I have found troubling, and have learned from my mistakes, is that Burr Brown Opamps are very hard to get, and are almost alway counterfeit. I have found a few suppliers that will sell factory direct, and will be buying them soon. If you see a BB opamp especially the OPA2134’s, OPA627’s, and OPA2604’s and they are priced below $3, they are 99.99% of the time fake. I bought my last batch of OPA2604’s from a local supplier that was going out of business, and was able to pass on the savings.

With the clones out there of certain pedals that use the OPA2134, please test them before putting them in a pedal. They are most likely a generic opamp that has been re-labeled to look like a BB product.

I am saying Buyer Beware, as I have been burned before myself. If you see that some of my prices on rare or discontinued items are a little higher, it is not because I am trying to gouge anyone. It takes a lot of time, samples and testing to get a batch of components to be able to put up for sale. Once I am sure that the products I am buying are legit, I do an audit test on random pieces, to make sure that the whole batch is good. If you receive an item that is bad, I will refund your shipping and purchase price, or send a personally tested item to you at no charge. I do require that you send the bad component back, to use as proof to my suppliers. I will pay for all shipping involved.

Thanks for your time and consideration,

John Lewman and Family

NEW BABY BOY!!!

LongJohnny — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:05:40 +0000

I would like to introduce another member of our family. He was born on Aug. 20, 2008, at 2:55 pm. He is a busy baby boy, and his name is Jake.

Hello!! Best assistant ever…

LongJohnny — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:34:18 +0000

John recently hired a new assistant, Whitney. She is probably the best assistant in the history of the world. She went to the University of Tennessee (GO VOLS!!) and studied marketing and international business. Whitney was recently married and relocated to the South Charlotte area. If she sends you a funny message with your order, please disregard it, she is alittle crazy when she hasn’t eaten.

Really though, all jokes aside, I will be more than happy to help you with any questions you have. Don’t hesitate to email me at Whitney@effectsconnection.com

Jennifer Carla Lewman

LongJohnny — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 00:07:59 +0000

I want to welcome the newest member to my family. She is a healthy, happy baby girl. Born on March, 18, 2007, weighing 7lbs, 3oz. This is a great time for my wife and I, as we tried for 3 years to have a baby, and this is a dream come true. Anyways, Please welcome Jennifer

Newest picture, getting her started early

Skreddy Pedal Mania

LongJohnny — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 07:25:09 +0000

I have been a big fan of Marc Ahlfs work since getting to know him on the Harmony Central Effects forum. I wanted one of his imfamous Mayonnaise pedals, but they were a thing of the past before I knew it. Luckily, he had one that he put up on Ebay, and I got it for a decent price. I have 3 Skreddy Pedals right now.

First is the Mayonnaise, which is a creamy big muff sound. Very smooth and musical.

Second is the Harmony Central Effects Forum Zero, which I had made especially for me. This one is a little more aggressive, and cuts through a little better.

The 2rd pedal I got from Marc was a special Swankbox edition Screwdriver. This is a fuzz/boost pedal. I like it a lot because of the difference in sounds, from totally clean, to mayhem. Great overall pedal.

Much props to Marc at Skreddy for attention to detail and listening to his customers.