What is the Evil Pumpkin?
The Evil Pumpkin is a tabletop instrument & synthesizer. It is a noise machine to be used for drones, fuzz, synth, distortion & glitch effects.
What's up with the new (double) format as seen on the Evil Pumpkin Ghazala?
The idea of the additional block is the same as a patchbay on the synth (Moog synths for example). It is much more logical and user friendly. You can easily see the positions of the switches, manipulate & document them effortlessly and systematically which provides a much better experience compared to the previous models.
How many sound combinations are there in the Evil Pumpkin and are all of them usable?
There are 12^3 combinations which makes it 1728 possible variations.
Not all of them are usable, definitely. This is a part of a design since the project has a circuit bending roots.
How do I remember the settings I like with all these switches?
It is easy! Each Evil Pumpkin comes with the blank patches sheet where you can mark the settings you found & like.
We are also making them available for a free download in PDF format so that you can print them out anytime you want.
What do the switches do?
The switches should be approached as a patchbay of a synthesiser. Practically, they are connecting different components of a circuit, establishing the new connections, not intended by the original DS-1 design.
You can not tell that switch 1 is for fuzz and switch 2 is for overdrive. Rather switch 1 connects R1 to R3, but what effect it will give in combination with the other switches - it is impossible to tell.
Is it a true bypass?
No, we removed the true bypass and reverted to the original Boss bypass.
We found out that the true bypass limits the sound palette the pedal is capable of (gate fuzz, sub bass drones, etc).
For the true bypass you will need a Boss LS-2 or a Keeley true bypass pedal which are affordable and very useful for many applications.
Some switches kill the sound, is it normal?
Yes, it is normal and is a part of a design. The Pumpkin is a chaotic patching philosophy based on an existing design that has beed heavily circuit bent. It is quite natural that some combinations will produce no sound or will act as a kill switch.
I can hear a popping sound while clicking some of the switches?
Yes, it is normal. Again, this is a circuit bent design with its corks and features.
Is it sturdy enough?
Yes, the design is quite robust, but we would still recommend to interact with the instrument with more care compared to the regular guitar pedal. It has a lot of connections, solder joints and switches. So extra care will not hurt.
Will the Evil Pumpkin work with bass?
You bet! We absolutely love how it sounds with bass.
You say the Evil Pumpkin is a studio/tabletop instrument, can I use it live?
Yes, it is possible. The best way is to use it in combination the with Boss LS-2 or a true bypass looper like the one from Keeley. These quite affordable but super useful pedals worth having for various creative things.
Even bypassed the Pumpkin changes the sound or doesn't let the sound through. Is it normal?
Yes! With some combinations of switches the Pumpkin will alter the sound or even kill it. This is design related. Use a Boss LS-2 (or any true bypass looper) or set all the switches into "2" position and the Pumpkin will work as any standard pedal.
With some combinations of switches the knobs become inactive, is it normal?
Yes! This is a derivative from a circuit bent nature of the instrument. With some combinations of switches on the patchbay you may disengage the knobs on the Pumpkin.
Can you add a true bypass and master volume?
Yes, we can and we have had it on previous iterations of the Evil Pumpkin. However, we found out that adding a true bypass will limit the sounds palette omitting some nice fuzz and drone settings.
For this reason we recommend using a Boss LS-2 or a true bypass looper with the Pumpkin.