Description
Paint it black…or white…or add the best switches and jacks money can buy. Saturnworks custom alchemy transforms your pedal into both a personal creation and the highest quality device possible.
Please note: The prices listed are per part. Please see the ‘how to order’ section below for details.
We can add a variety of custom upgrades to your pedal project including…
Bass Mod
The bass mod is a mod we can add to our active pedals: active splitters, active volume controls, buffers, etc. that makes the circuit more bass friendly. The bass mod allows more lower-range frequencies to enter the circuit. The mod doesn’t cut any highs and therefore can also be used with guitars. If you would like your active pedal to include a bass mod, simply add this mod to your cart as you check out. Please note that our active summers and mixers already come with the bass mod. Also note that this only applies to active circuitry. Passive circuits are not guitar/bass specific.
Active Mixer Aux Mod
The active mixer aux input mod replaces one of the standard TS inputs on our active mixers with a 1/4″ TRS input jack, A10k dual gang pot, and a 1/4″ to 1/8″ adapter. The aux mod does not add additional inputs to a standard mixer design. Note: the aux active mixer mod applies only to our active mixers, not our passive mixers. This mod allows you to input stereo line level signals, such as those from a phone, tablet, or computer, to an active mixer in order to combine those sounds with your guitar gear. Please note that the output will be mono. The active mixer will mix all the inputs, including the stereo aux input, to mono. Adding the aux mod will not make the mixer stereo.
The price for the active mixer mod is per channel. So if you’re ordering a 4-channel active mixer and you want two of the inputs to have the aux mod, you will need to add two active mixer mods to your cart.
Soft-Click Latching Switches
Customers looking for quieter switching sometimes contact us asking if we can substitute standard latching switches with ‘soft touch’ switches. Soft touch switch setups typically combine momentary switches with active relays in order to work like latching switches. This makes otherwise passive pedals require power, can often make the pedal require a larger enclosure, and can be pricey.
Enter the soft click latching switch.
Only recently available on the market, and only in small quantities, soft-click latching switches have the softest click of any mechanical latching switch available on the market. Manufactured in small batches in Japan, soft click latching switches are quiet, have a buttery smooth action, feature gold lugs, and are rated for 200,000 cycles (regular latching switches are rated usually between 5,000 and 15,000).
Check out a soft click latching switch in action compared to a regular latching switch and a soft-touch momentary switch here.
Please note: The soft click latching switch is a 3PDT switch, which makes it incompatible with a handful of 4PDT applications. 4PDT applications include our order swapper, looper + amp switch pedals, and stereo looper pedals. We can do those pedals with the premium switch; however, you will need to forgo the LED(s). If you add a soft click switch to a 4PDT application, such as an order swapper, we’ll reach out to you and figure out what you would like to do.
Black Latching Switches
Our black latching switches are similar to our standard latching footswitch, except painted all black and with a black washer — for the ultimate blackout look!
Latching glow switches
Our latching glow switch has LEDs built into the switch, which creates a cool glowing ring effect around the switch. The switch replaces standard latching (not momentary) switches. Please only add glow switches to pedals that already have LEDs. If you add a glow switch to your custom project, we will forgo installing the regular LED. The glow switch’s LED will therefore become the pedal’s LED.
Please note: as the glow switches are a bit larger than standard switches, they may not work for applications in which the components are extremely close together. We will reach out if we have concerns about installing a glow switch in your specific project.
Powder Coated Enclosures
Available in several sizes, our black enclosures add a dark aesthetic to your pedal — like that mysterious goth girl in the corner.
We have two types of black 1590A and 1590B enclosures. Our regular black have a matte or semi-gloss finish. Our Hammond brand black enclosures have a textured finish. We’ve found that our vinyl labels don’t adhere very well to the Hammond textured finish. Therefore, if you select the Hammond 1590A or 1590B black textured enclosure, your pedal will not include a graphic.
Our white enclosures add a sleek look to your pedal — like an old school iPod, but for your feet.
Switchcraft Jacks
Both our Neutrik and Switchcraft jacks are high quality. Neutriks are high quality beefy jacks that grip like crazy and are a great bang for your buck. Switchcrafts feature a higher quality metal allow and are generally considered premium-level jacks. High end guitars, such as American Fenders, usually include Switchcraft jacks. Switchcraft jacks are made in the USA whereas Neutrik 1/4″ jacks are made in China. So if where they’re manufactured is important to you, Switchcraft may be your choice. Based on technical specs from the manufacturers, Neutrik jacks are rated for 5,000 insertion/withdrawal cycles while Switchcraft jacks are rated for 10,000.
As far as TS vs TRS, TS jacks are the standard mono jacks most pedals use. Alternatively, some stereo, double switch, and expression pedal applications use the two-channel TRS jacks The pedal listing itself should indicate if the jack or jacks are TRS.
Please note: A small handful of our pedals use Lumberg jacks. These pedals, such as our A/B looper, are not compatible with Switchcraft jacks.
Aluminum Knobs
Our current metal knobs are 15.5mm x 12.5mm. Stay tuned for more metal knob options.
Black Switch Washer
Go for a cool blackout aesthetic by replacing your standard white switch washer with a black switch washer. Our black washers fit standard switches (1/2″ inner diameter) and are made in the USA.
Chrome LED Holders
Add a ring of class with a chrome LED holder.
Please note: The chrome LED bezels are not compatible with the bi-colored LEDs we generally use for A/B applications.
How to Order…
These listings are not to purchase the parts by themselves. They are a la cart upgrades to pedal purchases. Also, the prices are per part. For example, if the pedal you want normally has four knobs that you would like to upgrade to metal knobs, please add four metal knobs to your cart. Similarly, if the pedal you want has two switches that you would like to upgrade to two soft click switches, please add two switches to your cart.
To order upgrades, simply add the appropriate number of switches, jacks, knobs, LED holders, etc. for the pedal you’re looking at. We will then install the upgrades to your pedal. If you’re ordering multiple pedals, please add specific instructions, if necessary, in the ‘notes’ field of your order. Note: if you check out with Apple Pay or Google Pay, the notes field will not appear. However, you can contact us after you check out with pertinent order info. When contacting us about an order, please reference your order number. Please contact us with any questions. Adding custom upgrades may add 2-3 business days to the processing time of your pedal. That is in addition to our regular 2-4 business day shipping turnaround time.
If you happen to select parts that are not compatible with your project, we will inform you and issue refunds and/or offer alternatives to upgrade your pedal.
If you’re not sure which enclosure is applicable to your pedal or how many jacks, or other parts, the pedal may have, please contact us and we can help you out.
Choosing the correctly sized enclosure…
We have an enclosure comparison chart on our graphics page that should help you select the correct enclosure size.
Please note that we can’t make pedal designs smaller by a customer simply selecting a smaller custom enclosure. We know that most players are looking to maximize pedalboard space. We therefore already build our pedals in the smallest enclosure possible. If you choose an enclosure that is smaller than the standard enclosure for a given pedal design (adding a 1590A size enclosure to an order for a pedal built in a 1590B size enclosure, for example), we will send the enclosure pictured in the listing. When selecting a custom enclosure (black, white, red, etc.), you’re choosing a finish/color, not determining which enclosure size you would like the pedal to be built in. If you’re just not sure which enclosure to choose, feel free to reach out and we can help.
If you’re wanting an enclosure that is larger than what is pictured in the listing, we can likely accommodate that. Extra costs may apply. Please contact us for details.
For reference, below is a pedal in a 1590A (3.6” x 1.5″ x 1.2”) enclosure:
Below is a pedal in a 1590B (4.39” 2.4″ x 1.24”) enclosure.The 1590B is the size of a standard MXR pedal. The 125B enclosure is similar size-wise (4.8″ x 2.64″ x 1.58″), mostly deeper. We use the same graphics for the 1590B and the 125B.
This is a pedal in a 1590LB (2″ x 2″ x 1.3″) ‘micro’ enclosure:
Custom sales are final
Please note: Our return policies do not apply to custom work. Adding custom upgrades to your pedal makes your pedal wholly custom work. Custom work cannot be cancelled, returned, refunded, or exchanged. It’s like when you buy luggage and have it monogramed or a watch and have it engraved. Once you customize it, it’s yours.
Despite custom upgrades making your pedal not returnable, custom work is still covered by our 1-year limited warranty. See our FAQ page for warranty terms and conditions.
