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Tim Hitchcock Is Insane

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Here at Paizo, we understand that our fans, friends, and contributors (and the sizable cadre of folks who combine all three categories) are a little different than most companies' communities. It's not uncommon for Paizo fans to send us pizzas out of the blue as a thank-you gesture, or offer to buy us drinks when they run into us somewhere in the city. (Both of which initially confused us—you're giving us presents for selling you books?—but we aren't complaining.) We've seen a room full of Paizo trivia champions, Paizo cosplay, and a whole darn Paizo theater performance from an extremely talented grade school (and their supremely cool teacher). It's humbling and awesome at the same time.

Tim Hitchcock, however, may have just taken the cake, at least for me personally. You see, a while back, Tim and I were talking about music in the Tuesday-night Paizo Chat. Tim, a musician who retired from touring in order to become a teacher, was asking me about the bass rig I used in my metal and hardcore band, Shadow at Morning, and my opinions on distortion pedals. I said that I thought they were cool, but I'd never gotten around to picking one up.

"Why don't I build you one?" he asked. Apparently Mr. Hitchcock knows a thing or two about electronics.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but it's not every day somebody offers to build you custom gear. I said sure, and promptly forgot about it for about six months.

And then today, I got this in the mail: proof positive that Tim Hitchcock is totally insane, in the best possible sense of the word. (When I originally opened the package, the glowing light made Wes think Tim must have finally had enough and decided to send us a letter bomb.)

Photograph by Christopher Carey. Goblin illustration originally by Kyle Hunter.

Without question (at least until I get it home and plug it in), my favorite part is the little goblin that Tim etched into the steel of the faceplate. (And in case you're wondering, the goblin is referencing the classic Big Muff bass pedal, upon which Tim based the electronics.)

Though Shadow at Morning unfortunately disbanded a few weeks before the pedal's arrival, I'm already in the process of recording with a new project, and you can bet that when we're ready to hit the stage, Tim's phenomenal creation will be front and center...

James L. Sutter
Fiction Editor

More Paizo Blog. Link. Tags: Community, Goblins, James Sutter, Kyle Stanley Hunter, Monsters, Tim Hitchcock
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Pathfinder Adventure Path, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules Subscriber

Cool!

And yes, I did do a double-take upon reading the goblin's dialogue and am thankful for the explanation, as well as relieved.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Comics Subscriber

I find your entire post amazing (and that's an understatement).

Such fan output is just incredible. Come on... a STAGEPLAY??? If someone did a stage play of something I'd wrote I think I would just RETIRE happily. What more to achieve in one's lifetime?


That is so friggin' cool.

Cheliax

That, is by far, most coolest pedal I have ever seen!

And, I suggested to our acting-group (I'm actor) that hey, I have a cool play called SIX TRIALS OF LARAZOD, lets do this! Unfortunately, our teacher dont agree and we are goig to make some Kalevala-rip off. Geez.

Taldor

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Heheh, awesome. Well done, Tim!


That pedal is incredible.
You really did an excellent job, Tim.
That etching must have taken forever to complete.
d20's as knobs...genius.

Do you have any custom pedals for sale?
A Tube Screamer replica would be awesome.


Pathfinder Campaign Setting Charter Superscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Card Game, Comics Subscriber

That just rawks. Tim deserves some serious kudos.


The blog didn't answer the question though: do you have muff or not?

Osirion

Tim Rocks!
That is so rad!


Pathfinder Modules Subscriber
Shadow13.com wrote:

That etching must have taken forever to complete.

d20's as knobs...genius.

That's what I thought as well....impressive detail and the d20's...amazing.


Mistral wrote:
Such fan output is just incredible.

Fear the might of Paizo Fans United under a single cause. :)


Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Modules Subscriber
Lilith wrote:
Fear the might of Paizo Fans United under a single cause. :)

Truth!

PS: Awesome work, Hitch! :D

Qadira RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

Whoah!


Pity about Shadow of Morning, but this is awesome!!!

Andoran

Wow!

I'm also a bass player (haven't played in a while though)and that is really cool!

Are the d20 knobs actual dice???

Paizo Employee Senior Editor/Fiction Editor

Marc Radle wrote:

Wow!

I'm also a bass player (haven't played in a while though)and that is really cool!

Are the d20 knobs actual dice???

Yup! According to Tim, drilling them out for the knobs was the hardest part. O_o

Qadira RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

I think it's right that the top face is "20". But there's a little part of me that wishes the top face were "11".

Andoran

Chris Mortika wrote:
I think it's right that the top face is "20". But there's a little part of me that wishes the top face were "11".

Hehe, but 20 is even louder!


Githzilla wrote:
Chris Mortika wrote:
I think it's right that the top face is "20". But there's a little part of me that wishes the top face were "11".
Hehe, but 20 is even louder!

Everything louder than everythng everything else!

Grand Lodge Contributor

Shadow13.com wrote:

That pedal is incredible.

You really did an excellent job, Tim.
That etching must have taken forever to complete.
d20's as knobs...genius.

Do you have any custom pedals for sale?
A Tube Screamer replica would be awesome.

It's not like I have a a pile of tube screamers lying around- well, I do but not for sale. If I do a pedal, its a something I build upon request. I'm not going to lie though, Tube Screamers are a fun build- I can put a lot of tweaks in them. I usually start with a classic 808 circuit and go from there. If you're serious about a build shoot me an e-mail.

Grand Lodge Contributor

Chris Mortika wrote:
I think it's right that the top face is "20". But there's a little part of me that wishes the top face were "11".

I really should've...

Actually, I think the d12 I put inside the pedal as a battery holder might be on 11. I can't remember though. James probably won't find that until he needs to change the battery. The 12 sider is from an old red box set I think. So even though its not a vintage pedal- It has a vintage die.

Paizo Employee Developer

That looks awesome, Hitch!

James, how's it sound?

Cheliax

Tim Hitchcock wrote:


Actually, I think the d12 I put inside the pedal as a battery holder might be on 11. I can't remember though. James probably won't find that until he needs to change the battery. The 12 sider is from an old red box set I think. So even though its not a vintage pedal- It has a vintage die.

Skill, style and attention to detail? It's wrong. Just pure wrong.

Taldor

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Companion, Modules, Comics, GameMastery Maps Subscriber

Great job Tim!

But back to the title of the post, yes, Tim Hitchcock is insane! ;)

Angus

Paizo Employee CEO

Adam Daigle wrote:

That looks awesome, Hitch!

James, how's it sound?

I saw James yesterday to see the pedal and he said he already has it at home and that it sounds sweet! I'll let him chime in with more.

-Lisa


Lisa Stevens wrote:
Adam Daigle wrote:

That looks awesome, Hitch!

James, how's it sound?

I saw James yesterday to see the pedal and he said he already has it at home and that it sounds sweet! I'll let him chime in with more.

mp3s or it didn't happen.

Paizo Employee Senior Editor/Fiction Editor

It really does sound excellent... it's the classic Big Muff sound, similar to the tone I used on the bass for the Paizo Fight Song (which will undoubtedly be the subject for another blog post at some point). But needless to say, the pedal sounds as good as it looks, and it's supremely easy to use and tweak.

And as it turns out, I *did* discover the d12... it came loose in shipping, so I took off the back plate to see what was rattling (and to ogle all the wires and things). This just confirms Tim's nerdXcore status.

Things are still pretty busy around here, but the first recording I do using the pedal, I'll be sure to post a link so folks' can behold its majesty!


Tim Hitchcock wrote:

If you're serious about a build shoot me an e-mail.

There's no email address listed on your profile.

Here's our email address:

Spoiler:
web@shadow13.com

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