Collision Devices Debuts the Eco-Friendly Ranch Pedal

June 26, 2020 · 4 sources

Collision Devices of Sèvremont, France announced the Ranch, a three-effect guitar pedal combining a drive, a dynamic tremolo and a boost in one box¹. The maker built the pedal to respond to how hard you play: the tremolo is dynamic, oscillating faster as the signal gets louder, and the drive ranges from smooth to what the maker calls "a huge distortion"².

The story of the pedal was its enclosure as much as its circuit. The Ranch was housed in an eco-friendly enclosure made of walnut and pineapple leather: medium-density American walnut taken from trees grown in Europe to reduce carbon emissions from shipping, with a slice of Pinatex, a material made from pineapple leaf fiber, an agricultural waste product, used to recall leather without hurting animals¹². Each pedal was polished with a non-chemically treated linseed oil, cold pressed in France, and shipped with a small can of wax made from locally sourced beeswax and linseed oil to keep the wood looking fresh².

Controls

The controls on the main face all belonged to the drive section¹:

The boost and the dynamic tremolo shared one footswitch, with the left footswitch alternating between the boost, the tremolo and the off position; a short press followed by a long press turned both effects on²¹. The boost volume was set with a trimmer inside the pedal, pre-set before playing so the sound is louder when engaged².

Availability and price

The Ranch was available for pre-order at $371.94, with pre-orders shipping on July 20³. The first 25 pedals shipped with a handmade Pinatex handbag³. Delicious Audio noted the maker's advice to pass an extra oil layer on the wood each year to preserve the pedal for the long term⁴.