# Diamond Pedals - What's up?



## switters (Dec 19, 2011)

Anyone have any contact with anyone at Diamond lately?


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I have emailed about a couple of things over the last year but they don't seem to answer emails anymore.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Have you tried calling them: phone (902) 832-7139


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

I want a Memory Lane so I just phoned my fave music store and they assured me that Diamond was still a go. Diamond prefers to deal with their retailers and they don't undermine their retailers by selling directly to the public.


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## switters (Dec 19, 2011)

Yeah, phone number doesn't appear to be in service anymore. No email response either. Have a dead MLjr and was looking for support.

Ummm....thanks KapnKrunch?


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

My wife and I are planning to go to Halifax this autumn to visit our son. Last time I was there, I dropped into Diamond, over in Dartmouth, and spent a pleasant hour or so with Aimish the manager. I look forward to doing so again. I'll report back if it comes to pass.


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## KapnKrunch (Jul 13, 2016)

switters said:


> Have a dead MLjr and was looking for support


Ouch. Not good, Diamond. 

This is why I have a "favourite" music store four hours away. Family-owned. They will take care of me. But it doesn't matter where you got it, you need the support...


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## switters (Dec 19, 2011)

To be clear, I killed the MLjr. No fault of Diamond. Accidentally plugged the power supply of the ML into the MLjr. Poof.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

If the dysfunction arises from plugging in the wrong power source, that information would provide clear guidance to any qualified electronic repair person in the Saint John area or where to start troubleshooting. Doesn't even have to be a music gear repairman. If there is one of those "dinosaurs" - a TV & stereo repairman anywhere near you, they could _probably_ fix it. The subcircuits that people build in to designs, to protect against what you did, are pretty generic and use pretty generic parts. The hurdle to be cleared is that the MLJ appears to use surface-mount components, which some repair-folks are prepared to work on and others not so much. I know I try to stay well clear of SMD/SMT.


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## switters (Dec 19, 2011)

mhammer - Yeah, that's basically where I'm at. It's all SMD, and as far as I can tell from my experience over the years, there's nobody local who's going to touch this. The root of the problem is the power for the Memory Lane is 24v centre positive, and MLjr is 9v centre negative....... same plug geometry. Moved a couple pedals, not paying attention and grabbed the wrong plug.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

So there is going to be a protection diode somewhere in the vicinity of where the power jack connects with the circuit board. The $64,000 question is "If there is more than one, which one IS it?". Surface-mount boards have the wonderful-but-annoying quality of often being double-sided. While that's great for conserving space, it makes deciphering what goes to where a royal pain.

That diode is there _precisely_ to protect the rest of the circuit against what you did (and many others before and after you did or will do).

Once upon a time, pedals that provided for external non-battery power used a 1/8" mini phone jack. It's virtue was that the tip was ALWAYS positive. Its flaw was that if you plugged the wallwart into the wall socket before you inserted the mini phone plug into the pedal, the plug could easily short out against the internal jack contacts, resulting in terrifying sparks and potential damage to the adaptor. So, after Boss went for the 2.1mm barrel jack which couldn't short out like that, others saw that advantage and followed suit.

The trouble was that the changeover happened at a time in appliance-power history where it was the manufacturer's choice to make the tip positive, or make it negative. If the device could be run off a battery, then the tip was always negative and outside positive, because the outside was always the portion that disconnected the battery and connected the outside power source. IF, on the other hand, it was a device that ONLY used an external power source, with no internal battery to turn off/on, then the manufacturer could use whatever plug polarity they wanted. And, as the ML supply demonstrates, some made the tip positive.

Why do that? Because, for safety reasons, if a person is going to be holding the power plug in one hand, and potentially touching ground somewhere with the other, it's a good thing for the part of the plug they may be gripping to also be ground, rather than positive.

All of this confusion is why so many manufacturers insist that one use THEIR power supply. It's simply less problematic than providing info to consumers on what to look for in a suitable supply and taking the risk that it won't result in lawsuits or returns for repair. Of course, as your own case so aptly illustrates, that logic does not completely avoid problems.

I will say that the protection diode frequently goes to ground from the power input. Frying it may (though not always) result in the equivalent of a permanent very low resistance path to ground. This means nothing in the rest of the circuit gets damaged, but the rest of the circuit will never get the power it needs to function. That includes bypass, because I think the ML and MLJ use relays and a momentary switch for bypass. Removing the fried diode eliminates the low-resistance path to ground, and restores the ability of the power to reach the rest of the circuit. It is unwise to operate *without* that diode, for the very reasons you've experienced, but as a temporary solution it can work.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I will add that forum member zdogma brought me his Memory Lane to repair a few years ago. It made a terrible annoying whine. I exchanged several e-mails with the tech-support person at Diamond, and it wasn't until I eventually mentioned that the whine didn't start until after about 5-10min of use that it triggered his recall of what the problem likely was. He told me that in an early run of MLs, they had received a shipment of bad 3-pin voltage regulators. The ML uses 3 of them for different voltages, one being for +9V. The 9v regulator "worked", as per spec, to regulate voltage, but the heat-sink fin on it was *much* thinner than spec. As a result, and because the pedal has no ventilation and the regulator fins are not thermally coupled to the enclosure, heat would build up in that regulator over the course of 10 minutes, at which point it would misbehave. I replaced the offending regulator with one having a proper thickness, and the pedal was right as rain.

It was one of those problems that no one reasonably expected. You order your inventory from a trusted supplier,/distributor and the supplier orders their inventory from a trusted manufacturer. Everyone involved has a history of doing and providing the right thing so you just install the part as per usual without questioning. It happens.


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## Lef T (Aug 9, 2018)

mhammer said:


> My wife and I are planning to go to Halifax this autumn to visit our son. Last time I was there, I dropped into Diamond, over in Dartmouth, and spent a pleasant hour or so with Aimish the manager. I look forward to doing so again. I'll report back if it comes to pass.


Amish had posted in another forum that he has left Diamond,but wasn't saying what he would be up to next.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks for the heads-up. I may still drop by. Hope he moved on to something that works well for him. Nice guy.


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## switters (Dec 19, 2011)

So, according to a thread on TGP, Diamond has closed up shop. 

So..... Who fixes this type of pedal???


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## MarkM (May 23, 2019)

That is to bad, hate to see one of the more reputable shops in Canada close down!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I sent them a note and asked them to confirm/deny this rumour. Have not heard back yet.


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## jfk911 (May 23, 2008)

Ive been putting off buying a diamond Compressor as ill always have tomorrow. However I may need to rush and buy one before prices sky rocket.


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## Xevyn (Jul 14, 2021)

Wow, I'm glad I was able to grab a Comp Jr for dirt cheap earlier this year. Bought it off a guy who sold off all his pedals to pay for a Neural Quad Cortex. One of the best deals and pedals I have purchased in the last little while...


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## Tiller (Apr 10, 2018)

I drove by their offices in Dartmouth on the way to work this morning and on the way back home this evening. No cars in the parking lot.. ..and no sign of activity anywhere. It's not definitive, but it's looking more and more like they are gone!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Tiller said:


> I drove by their offices in Dartmouth on the way to work this morning and on the way back home this evening. No cars in the parking lot.. ..and no sign of activity anywhere. It's not definitive, but it's looking more and more like they are gone!


We've had no signs of them being "in trouble". I'm confident sales are good, since everyone speaks so highly of their pedals, and they've never really priced themselves out of the market. At the same time, they're not immune from staff shortages due to Covid, or supply-chain issues, like pretty much everyone else. Let's hope it's a mere hiatus.


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## scotth (Mar 26, 2012)

Oddly, the last post on their Facebook page was October 15, 2020


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## Nork (Mar 27, 2010)

just read the same thing. darn. I've got a JDrive that I keep wanting to move, but I'm on and off with that. Is a shame to see them go - they were pretty pioneerey stuff and were early "boutique". And East Coasters.


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## m7flat5 (Nov 4, 2014)

Long time lurker here: this is my first post. Man, I really missed the boat on this one!
I had noticed that not much came out of Diamond in the last five years, and so I would check their website every so often. Aimish used to be so active on Facebook, but then his posts became less and less frequent. I just checked the site recently, and it was down! In retrospect, activity started to wane when Michael Knappe stepped down from PolyBlend in 2016.
Anyway, Diamond is one of my favourite pedal companies. The Comp, Phase, and Halo Chorus have been on my main board every since they came out. I also love the Counterpoint, and the J-Drive Mk 3. I have, or have had, all of their pedals except the Cornerstone, Vibrato, and Memory Lane Jr. I even had a Memory Lane 2 and an ST-Mix.

m7flat5


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

I just picked up a NOS mljr a couple of weeks ago from a fellow forum member. Such a great and simple delay. Glad I got it.
I also have a Vibrato and a custom colour Comp se- the most useful compressor I've ever owned. It's too bad they couldn't keep things going. I've always found their approach really musician friendly in that they made quality tools that were easy to work with.


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## m7flat5 (Nov 4, 2014)

I have the Comp SL also. What a great pedal! I am really going to miss them.


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## PTO (12 mo ago)

It would be so great if they sold to another Canadian builder rather than just go under. I have a couple compressors and don’t really want a Mooer Yellow but if I come across a reasonably priced Diamond Compressor/Jr. I probably won’t be able to pass it up.


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## Amps & Ehfects (Sep 10, 2020)

Their website has been updated with the message.
"Diamond Pedals has temporarily ceased operations. This is not the end but a bright, new beginning. We are excited to see you again soon..."




__





Hello | Diamond Pedals







www.diamondpedals.com


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

That's nice to see. It's a strong brand. Hard to see that it would be entirely abandoned. Hope the "resurrection" will be able to maintain production in the HRM.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Amps & Ehfects said:


> Their website has been updated with the message.
> "Diamond Pedals has temporarily ceased operations. This is not the end but a bright, new beginning. We are excited to see you again soon..."
> 
> 
> ...


I don't own any of their pedals but this makes me very happy.


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## zztomato (Nov 19, 2010)

Great news. I found it hard to believe they would just quit. I look forward to seeing more great pedals from them.


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Great news! I have a black Comp. Wish I didn't sell my yellow one now.


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## Martvince (Sep 15, 2019)

Thanks for this update, really great news indeed! I thought it was the end for Diamond. Keep it up guys!


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## Midnight Rider (Apr 2, 2015)




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## Martvince (Sep 15, 2019)

Memory lane jr please!


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## m7flat5 (Nov 4, 2014)

That's great news!! Welcome back, Diamond!


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

Nice to see they are coming back. I haven't used any of their pedals but I'm intrigued.


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## murraythek (Jun 1, 2013)

Great news!! I guess this explains why the Diamond Vibratos prices have been dropping on Reverb.


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## JMann (Feb 18, 2007)

Good news. Always wanted to try a Memory Lane v2 (had a v1 years ago). Just too pricey at the moment. In the meantime I just picked up a Quantum Leap for a decent price so looking forward to getting another Diamond delay on my board again.


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## PTO (12 mo ago)

I’m excited as well. It would be cool to see some new projects but I hope the classics are reborn because I’ll definitely buy a Compressor/Jr.


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