GEAR REVIEW
GOODWOOD AUDIO JUNCTION BOXES | Michael Hodge
KEY FEATURES New Generation of Junction Boxes DMS™ Dual Mode Summing
Ground Lift , Phase , Master Mute & More
Problem Solvers for All Pedal Boards Custom Wired Pedal Boards
If you are searching for the ULTIMATE tone and pedalboard , this review could be a game changer . This month I ’ m excited to show you several magical boxes you never knew you needed , but once you get them , you ’ ll never be the same .
The Interfacer , Underfacer , Output , Isolator , Audition , Buzzkill , and a remote switch RMT .
BACKGROUND Way down under in Sydney Australia , are a couple tone gurus , Grant and Mikey . They have a unique full service pedal board company called Goodwood Audio . These guys build the coolest custom pedal boards via the mail for top players anywhere in the world ( several of them worship guitarists ). You send them your dream board specs , and then they assist you with a custom layout . They wire it up virtually with same size pedals , and mail it right back to you ! You can also send them your own pedals and switchers , but the virtual way saves a ton on shipping . The good news is , these guys also sell their specialty Junction boxes that do things Pro guitarists need , and now you can get your hands on them too .
Goodwood is still the best-kept secret here in the USA . They have a few dealers and the buzz is growing among the ultimate tone junkies . Their unique Junction Boxes are rock solid , featuring Burr Brown Op Amps , and highquality jacks & switches that are built for abuse . At first glance , you might be confused on why you need them , what exactly do they do or how they work . If you ’ re like me , once you get the “ aha “ moment it ’ s all so obvious . For instance , how do I run my stereo rig into a mono amp ?
INTERFACER / UNDERFACER w / DMS Dual Mono Summing is pure genius ! These are the two flagship units . They ’ re meant to be first and last on your board .
The difference is that the Interfacer goes on top and Underfacer goes underneath the pedalboard . The Interfacer has both Buffered and Passive inputs with a Mute / Sum switch , w / LED on top . The Underfacer has a buffered input and because it ’ s under the pedal board , it uses the RMT Remote switch jack for Summing & Mute . Both also have a TX ( transformer ) version that adds an audio transformer for Ground lift and Phase . The Fuzz output goes into the Buffered input of Underfacer . The Underfacer mono out goes to a BOSS ES-8 switching system with loops for all my pedals . Then the Stereo Out from the ES-8 goes back into the Underfacer Stereo input . The Underfacer stereo out goes to my stereo amp setup . For the studio I also take the buffered Tuner out straight into my ProTools rig .
The Underfacer allows your stereo rig to be summed in mono . This is a huge problem solver when you only have one amp . Or if one of your amps dies in the middle of a gig , you can quickly switch to mono . I hate having to unplug a bunch of cables when I go mono . Underfacer gives you the option of two identical Summed Mono Outs so you still get all your panning delays etc but summed in mono . It ’ s a must have when you play live . I also really love it in the studio when I want to stack two mono doubled tracks . It ’ s amazing . I tried another thing , where I played a part with mono summing on the verse & went true stereo for the Chorus . If you run a mono pedal board or a two amp setup with one amp wet and one
66 June 2018 WorshipMusician . com