A prototype is a preliminary model of something. Projects that offer physical products need to show backers documentation of a working prototype. This gallery features photos, videos, and other visual documentation that will give backers a sense of what’s been accomplished so far and what’s left to do. Though the development process can vary for each project, these are the stages we typically see:

Check out the official Klein Bottle demo by YouTube channel Knobs!

This is a summary of our stretch goals. Click here to learn more.

The Klein Bottle was designed for the noise makers, soundscape artists, endless tinkerers and tone wizards. This epic pedal starts by splitting the input signal into three FX loops. Each FX loop has dedicated controls for pre-gain, HPF/LPF (bandwidth filters), and main mix level. This allows you to send different parts of the signal to different effects, and blend them all back together to create new tones out of your existing pedals.

But wait, there's more! The magic happens when you use the independent feedback controls to send the signal from one FX loop into another...and then back again! Keep your existing tone intact with the DRY knob, while layering a cornucopia of sonic goodness on top.

$30K STRETCH GOAL REACHED - NEW GRAPHIC AVAILABLE

The new graphic is still a work in progress, but we made a mockup of where we are at right now. We'll continue to update the graphic and preview image as we finish and perfect it. The artwork is being created by an amazing high school artist and VFE intern Tiffany Howell. This new color & graphic will be an option at the $159, $329, and $349 reward levels.

A preview of the new graphic, still in progress, which is inspired by the beautiful fluidity of a kelp forest. This graphic will be available at the $159, $329 and $349 reward levels.

The graphic printer doesn't print translucent pixels, so Tiffany is using pixel-by-pixel shading techniques to create the allusion of translucency in some parts of the graphic.



How the Klein Bottle came to be - PART ONE

Back in 2011, VFE founder Peter Rutter and his brother Joe had the same crazy idea. What if there was a pedal that allowed you to overdrive the bass, mid and treble frequencies separately, and then mix them back together? What if you could tune the frequencies sent to each drive section? What if you could use your favorite overdrive, distortion, and fuzz pedals?



Peter had a number of other crazy ideas, but not the cash or experience to design such an ambitious product. This concept lead to the design of a multiband distortion pedal called the Triumvirate. This pedal split the signal into bass, mid, and treble frequencies, each with dedicated gain and mix level controls. It was a unique pedal in its own right, but made major compromises on the original vision.

In October 2012, Peter began development of that original idea - which took 3 years to develop! This pedal was called "Rainbows, Unicorns, Puppies", or RUP. It was a crazy, complex pedal to build. After playing with it again & again, Peter concluded that the real power of the pedal was in its FX loops. Using the FX loops, he could create really unique effects by blending delays, reverbs, fuzz, modulation, etc.

The problem was that the built-in distortion added a ton of cost, size and complexity - the pedal retailed for $499. Peter believed that he could bring the cost way down if he removed the internal distortion, and let the player connect their own effects.

How the Klein Bottle came to be - PART TWO

When Peter started developing the RUP in October 2012, he also began work on another pedal idea. A customer asked him to create a reverb, but as an analog designer, his options were limited. Peter decided to see what would happen if he designed a pedal with multiple delays that could feed back into each other. He called this pedal the Möbius Strip dual delay. Just like the Triumvirate, it was a unique pedal in its own right, but was not complex enough to meet that original vision. A few years later, he also designed a parallel delay/reverb called the Yodeler, which was one of his first forays into parallel ambient effects. Both these concepts led to the next evolution of the Klein Bottle story.

In the spring of 2015, after successfully designing the final version of the RUP, Peter began on a project to take the Mobius Strip concept to the next level. He called this project "Klein Bottle", which had 3 independent delays - each with 3 separate feedback controls to feed the delay back on itself or any of the other 2 delays. While it was truly incredible to play with, the lack of tap tempo and excessive cost - it would have retailed for $600 to $700 - led him to scrap the original concept.

Instead, Peter decided to focus on the real power of the Klein Bottle & RUP - the 3 FX loops - in order to design a pedal that could combine the functionality of both ideas. The result is a pedal that's smaller and less expensive to build, but with more functionality and flexibility because the internal effects were removed.



VFE = Taking Pedals to School

In December 2015, Peter and his family decided that he should return to teaching full time. Launching VFE had been an amazing experience, but his growing family needed more financial stability than VFE could offer. Peter spent the next several months clearing out inventory and preparing to transition the company back into a hobby...and then something awesome happened.

In the spring of 2016, Peter learned about a new school opening in September called IDEA - Industrial Design, Engineering and Art. This high school was making hands-on and project-based learning the core of its approach. IDEA was not just looking for great teachers to innovate new curriculum, but also for business partners. These partners would work with and within the school to give students real world opportunities to learn professional skills and applications.

Peter spent the past 18 months re-making VFE into a company that supports this vision. VFE Pedals has built out a circuit design studio, prototyping and production spaces, with plans to invest more into the classroom space this year. VFE launched an internship program for students to be able to learn about circuit design, manufacturing, accounting, marketing, business planning, and more. In just the first year, students have re-designed the VFE logo (twice); developed and manufactured a unique, resonant fuzz pedal; taken stock product photos; designed graphics; developed a new, hand painted graphic process, and created a Kickstarter video (the one at the top of this page).



Rewards

$379 - Klein Bottle designed by Knobs

$499 - Hand painted art by Tiffany Howell

You will be supporting an amazing high school artist (Tiffany Howell), while getting a custom, hand-painted Klein Bottle. Tiffany will work with you directly to design an amazing work of art that you will be proud to display on a pedalboard or in the studio.

Examples of hand painted pedals by Tiffany Howell. Hand painted, custom Klein Bottle graphics are available at the $499 level.

Along with the hand painted graphic, you can choose from 8 paint finishes.

There are 8 color options that work with hand painted graphics - anodized red/orange/yellow/blue, textured almond, satin white or black, and bare metal

$179 - Get a VFE original!

VFE discontinued my entire lineup in August 2016 so Peter could focus on teaching. We have had countless requests to purchase one of VFE's original pedals in the past year. Due to time and cost restraints, we can't do one-off requests - but in this Kickstarter exclusive, we am making them all available. Peter has scheduled a time to build a batch of original VFE pedals during his winter break at the end of December. See available pedals at vfepedals.com/originals

NOTE - You will be able to choose the effect you want after the campaign is over (and successful). We will send out a survey to gather that information. Also, if you want multiple pedals, just pledge at $179 times the number of pedals you want. Shipping is a flat rate fee, so international customers only need to add $20 to the total, no matter how many pedals you want ($15 to Canada).

Demo Clips

Here's a walkthrough of the Klein Bottle prototype. Peter refers to some quirks and noises the pedal was making. These issues were solved in another prototype that was sent out to YouTube demo channel Knobs. You can listen to that demo near the top of this Kickstarter page.

Technical Specifications

All specs are estimated based on the components used in the design.

DIMENSIONS - 6.2"W x 5"L x 1.6"H - 2.2" with knobs (158 x 127 x 41/56 mm)

WEIGHT - About 2.5 lbs (1.1 kg)

POWER - Accepts industry standard 9VDC, all the way up to 18VDC. We recommend using 18V if you plan on using the Klein Bottle with line level sources.

CURRENT DRAW - 50ma @ 9V, 100ma @ 18V

One Kickstarter, Many Goals

This Kickstarter will not provide funds to put the Klein Bottle into production, but also much, much more. Here is what you are supporting when you back this project.

Synth Workshop - In January, Peter will partner with two other teachers in a 16-day workshop on DIY synth building. Students will work in teams to create CV-controllable synths from scratch, and even learn how to create a manufacturing and marketing plan for the synth they create. If this Kickstarter is successful, VFE will be able to purchase Eurorack cases, allowing to students to learn how to build modules for this new synth format.

Entrepreneurship - Peter is teaching a unique entrepreneurship course this year, and the students have been preparing for this Kickstarter since the start of the school year. Teams formed around finance, marketing, customer service, human resources, and product design. New teams were formed at the beginning of this Kickstarter, so students get real world experience from various aspects of business.

While the curriculum this semester is centered around the Kickstarter campaign, next semester students will work on teams to help their classmates launch their own businesses. Your support of this Kickstarter would mean VFE could offer seed money to young entrepreneurs to get their business off the ground.

Circuit Design - Peter also teaches a circuit design course. In this course, students will work with a recording studio to design and manufacture audio gear specifically for their needs. A successful Kickstarter campaign means VFE can purchase more supplies and parts to fund the prototyping phase of this course.

Student Internships - VFE launched student internships last year, and has also offered students paid opportunities to develop and use their unique skill sets and interests. VFE has already paid out $1200 to students for their work in the first year, and plan to triple that number in the 2018-19 is this Kickstarter campaign is successful.

Interior Design - Peter also teaches an exploratory course on Friday afternoons to make our classrooms at IDEA more functional and inviting. IDEA is located in an old elementary school building, and it needs some work to bring it to life. Students are already working on re-designing Peter's classroom space, including designing furniture to build out creative, collaborate spaces. A successful Kickstarter campaign will mean more funds to purchase materials to make these classroom spaces truly amazing.

What happens if we don't reach $20,000?

Simply put, the Klein Bottle doesn't go into production, and all the above programs and goals are significantly compromised. VFE will remain committed to finding ways to integrate real world opportunities into high school education, but this campaign is a major part of financing all the student programs and opportunities listed above.



Klein Bottle Triple Delay Module (optional)

Since we hit our $50K stretch goal, I will begin working on a triple delay module to work specifically with the Klein Bottle. Here's a mockup of what it would look like. Of course, we'd design versions to match the other two graphic/color options.

In short, this module would have 3 independent delays with modulation, but remove the controls and features the Klein Bottle already covers (mix level, dry level, EQ, on/off switching). The jacks will align for easy connection with the Klein Bottle. By simplifying the design, it will make it much less expensive to build. My target retail price is $249 with a 20% discount for Kickstarter backers.

Because there is not time for me to develop a prototype before the end of this Kickstarter campaign, the delay module won't be available through Kickstarter. Instead, I will post an update once I have finished a working prototype and can show you how it works with the Klein Bottle. At that point, I'll also send out instructions on how to get a 20% discount.



Klein Bottle Block Diagram

I was asked to create a block diagram to illustrate the signal flow within the Klein Bottle. Well, here it is!

Here is a breakdown of the signal flow:

The Klein Bottle starts with a simple buffer circuit to prepare the signal to be split into multiple signal paths, all without loading down the input source. This is particularly important for passive signal sources, such as guitar pickups.

Next, the signal branches out into 4 signal pathways - one for the clean/dry blend, and one for each of the three FX loops. Each FX loop branch starts with a high pass filter (HPF or variable-frequency bass cut), then moves into a makeup gain stage. This makeup gain stage adjusts for the volume lost from the frequency cuts, plus adds extra gain to allow for boosting the signal into each FX loop. You can set the amount of makeup gain via an internal blue trimpot.

After the makeup gain stage, the signal goes through a low pass filter (LPF or variable-frequency treble cut), and then the volume output into each FX loop is set by the PRE knob. The slope of both the HPF and LPF is set by the 6db / 12dB toggle switch.

The signal then hits a mixer stage (more on this later), and then is sent out the FX loop - if that loop has been turned on. If the loop is turned off, no signal is sent through. FX loop #1 has a variable phase shift circuit inserted before the mixer stage to compensate for phasing issues created by blending parallel effects. You can also use it to intentionally create phasing cancellations between effects.

The signal goes through whatever you plug into the FX loop, and back in through the return jack. It hits another buffer, and is split again into 3 signal pathways. The mix knob sets how much of the return is fed to the master mix section. The two feedback controls per channel set the amount of that FX loop that is fed into the mix section I mentioned earlier. Where each signal comes from and is going to is indicated by the control label ("1to2" means the signal is coming from FX loop #1 and going into FX loop #2).

At the final mix section all three FX loops and the clean/dry signal are mixed together, and the master level control sets the output gain of this mixer circuit.

The FX loop switching part of the block diagram has been left out to make the diagram easier to follow - because that part of the circuit gets a little crazy. Here is how that part works:

In each FX loop, there are three switches - one to turn on/off the signal going from the PRE knob into the first mixer stage (SWITCH1), one to turn on/off the signal going from the FX loop return into the master mix stage (SWITCH2), and one to turn on/off the signal going from the FX loop return into the feedback controls (SWITCH3).

When the TRAILS switch is in the middle position, all 3 switches turn on/off when you press the corresponding foot switch.

When the TRAILS switch is in the SENDS position, SWITCH3 is always on, and the other two switches are turned on/off when you press the corresponding foot switch.

When the TRAILS switch is in the ALL position, SWITCH2 and SWITCH3 are always on, and only SWITCH1 is turned on/off when you press the corresponding footswitch.

OK, that may have made the pedal more confusing for some of you, but hopefully it helps you dive a bit deeper into how the circuit & signal flow works.

Klein Bottle Timeline