Get It While You Can… Soundgas Type 636 Update

This has been quite a learning curve, and I’d like to thank those who have preordered and are patiently waiting for their units to ship: your trust and confidence has been essential to make this project achievable. We are running a few weeks behind schedule, but the good news is we are nearly ready to begin final assembly and testing of the first ten.

Dr Huw has been poring over his computer for what seems like weeks now, carefully putting together the ‘bible’ on the design and build so we have a permanent record of the process. This will also feed into the technical documents being produced to accompany the user manual. I wasn’t aware that we would need to build a production prototype as well as the original prototype, but it makes perfect sense – how else can you fine tune the internal design and layout until you have built the exact unit?

But we have it! Here it is in action with a PsyCo X Syncussion clone:

There have been many upgrades and improvements made compared to the original prototype. Dr Huw’s experience as a tech has ensured that this will be an easy unit to service/repair in future (so pretty much the opposite of an original): all the various component boards are modular and connected via socketed interconnecting cables. The design has been subject to various last-minute upgrades and adjustments and is sonically richer than our original prototype which is itself a near-indistinguishable recreation of a well-preserved original Grampian 636. 

But that distortion is what keeps me coming back to these units: insanely-addictive and filthily-glorious with almost anything. The circuit is similar to early Fuzz Faces and I can see guitarists emulating Mr Townshend and rejoicing in what the 636 brings to the crowded ‘pedal’ market. During our recent trip to London we spent some time hearing our original prototype pressed into action by Ben Baptie on parts recorded with the Dap Kings in Brooklyn: everything he ran through it sounded stunning, but it was a particular guitar part that left me uncharacteristically speechless. What already sounded like a classic recording from the heyday of Motown took on a more muscular yet nuanced fuzzy-round-the-edges psychedelia that never strayed from authentic. I’ve heard nothing else that allows you to keep dialing in more and more gain and yet still sound so smooth and ‘right’.

So this week should see everything come together with final assembly early next week. All being well, we’ll begin final testing and calibration and aim to be shipping out by the third week of October with the second build of ten units commencing in early November. While it’s possible in theory that we could produce another limited run in future, at the time of writing we have not secured enough components to make this feasible. We have other exciting new projects that we are keen to commence, so may not get around to another batch of vintage-style 636s after these twenty. At the time of writing, there are only four remaining units available to preorder, so if you want to be assured of getting one of these handbuilt twenty originals, don’t delay!

Tony Miln is the co-founder (& Head Gear Head) of Soundgas. See/hear him in action on Instagram.