If you’ve ever played in a live band and seen someone place their beer a little too close to your pedalboard, you know the panic that comes with drinks being near equipment but one company is flipping that idea on its head.
A new overdrive pedal from Rainger FX called the “Minibar” is designed with a small container on the top for players to pour a drink into so they can control the distortion levels.
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The Minibar doesn’t actually work until a drink has been poured inside the container so you can’t just run it dry.
The container, which says “pour liquid here” inside of it, has a green LED light that reads the liquid poured in determining the sound.
The ease with which it conducts a guitar’s AC signal determines the gain while the liquid’s opacity sets the treble and bass. Essentially, the pedal will give different sounds depending on what drink you pour in so a beer could have a very different sound than something like a milkshake.
Beyond the liquid container, the pedal hardly has any controls aside from a volume knob and a power switch.
Interestingly the company has a note about olive oil not producing a sound at all in their frequently asked questions section for the pedal. According to the company, they “donโt fully understand the chemistry going on here, but there are a few liquids that donโt get any kind of responseโฆ. Donโt know why โ but olive oil seems to be one of them. Remember โ this is an experiment!”
They also note that dissolving salt in the liquid increases the gain setting.
The pedal is available here and can be picked up for ยฃ99.17
What do you think of this guitar pedal that requires pouring a drink into it before it works? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.