0. Warning and disclaimer

Performing the tasks depicted and explained below may (will?) void your warranty. There is also the possibility that you can permanently damage your Tonelab LE rendering it useless. The amount of knowledge required to perform the tasks below are minimal, however if the thought of ruining your $400 pedal scares you, stop, do not proceed. The author accepts NO RESPONSIBILITY for any damage you might cause. The author does not imply or guarantee the correctness of the information below.

Proceed at your own risk.

Don't do this if you are not comfortable with electronics.

You've been warned...

Still with me? Great!

1. What's covered

In this article we will remove the back cover of the Tonelab LE, remove the expression pedal, locate the pedal tension adjustment screw, locate the allen nuts that hold the pedal pivot rod, remove the board that the tube and the fuse are mounted on, remove the tube and finally re-assemble.

There are three reasons I can think of to take your pedal apart.

1. The expression pedal is loose. This happened to me after a couple of hours of use. The pedal would just flop forward freely with no resistance.
2. Replace the tube. If you want to experiment with different brands/makes of 12AX7 tubes (valves), you will need to follow these steps to gain access to the tube.
3. Fuse burned out. There is a fuse connected to the power input jack. If it's burned out, your pedal won't work.

The analogy I use to describe this pedal is it's built like a Chinese Tank. Meaning, it's made in China, feels pretty sturdy, but when you start removing and replacing screws, you'll notice the metal is not of the highest quality. It LOOKS GREAT though! So take care when removing and replacing screws. DO NOT force anything. If something feels like it's going to break, it probably is.

Go slow.

Be careful.

2. Pedal disassembly

First things first. Clear an area to work. Gather the tools you'll need (phillips head screw driver, adjustable wrench (if removing tube or fuse), cup to place screws in. I put a towel down to avoid scratching the finish.

Turn the unit upside down and place towel/table.

Ground yourself. Use one of those wrist straps that people use when working on computers (well, that they're supposed to use).

Carefully remove all but one or two of the screws that are pointed to by the black arrows. Place them in your parts cup (you do have a parts cup, right?). Remember, righty tighty, lefty loosey (sounds goofy, but it works). As mentioned, leave one or two screws in place (but loose).

NOTE: If you only need to adjust the tension of the expression pedal, you DO NOT have to remove the bottom. The red arrow in the picture above points to the hole just above the adjustment bolt. You will need an allen wrench of the correct size to adjust the tension. Sorry, I don't know the size, I always figure out allen wrench sizes by trial and error.

Remove the two black screws on the right and left side of the rear of the unit. These are pointed to by the black arrows in the picture above. You will need to remove more hardware on the back panel later if you want to replace the tube or fuse, but for now just remove the two black screws mentioned.

Remove the screws in both the left and right side panels. As you remove the screws, the side panels will come off the unit. Set them aside.

Flip the unit onto its face with the rear facing away from you (the rear is the one with the jacks, power, etc...) and remove the remaining two screws on the bottom (the ones you loosened but didn't remove). The bottom cover is now ready to be removed.

Carefully lift the bottom cover while pulling towards you. The cover should lift off easily. If it doesn't, check and make sure there are no screws still in place that you were supposed to remove. Don't force anything. Go slow.

The above picture is of the unit with the bottom panel removed. It also shows a close-up of the screws you need to remove in order to remove the expression pedal. You can also see the pedal tension adjustment screw better in this image.

To remove the expression pedal, remove the four screws pointed to by the black arrows. You don't need to touch the tension adjustment screw. These screws have washers on them - don't lose them (place them in your screw cup!).

Once the four screws are removed, gently lift the left side of the unit and the pedal will come off (see picture above).

If your pedal has gone floppy as mine did, you will need to tighten up the allen bolts pointed at by the red arrows in the picture above. Tighten them snugly (but not overtight)!

Once your pedal is repaired, you should replace the expression pedal by inserting it in the opposite order it came out. Replace the four screws and washers and tighten them snugly.

To continue on to the tube and fuse replacement you are going to have to remove more hardware on the rear of the unit.

Remove the jack nuts pointed at by the red arrows in the picture above. They are plastic - don't use pliers. You can use an adjustable wrench (spanner for those across the pond) but do so carefully. Remember, righty tighty, lefty loosey. Put the nuts in the screw cup. Below is a picture to use as reference.

Remove the screws pointed at by the white arrows. There are two on the power supply jack, one between the midi jacks and one on the SPDIF. Be careful, things will be getting loose inside the unit at this point.

Flip the unit back over, there is one more screw to remove...

The picture above shows the location of the last screw to remove. It is on the left side of the board. Unscrew it.

Now, carefully lift the board from the middle/right side. The left side will be a little snug due to the wire harnesses. Be gentle, but firm. It will come out.

The fuse is located on the left side, near the top. The arrow in the picture above points to it. You would think I would have been smart enough to look at the fuse and write down its value so I could tell you here, but I didn't, and I'm sorry about that! Please email me the value if you know it.

The picture above shows the tube. To remove it, pull out the foam shim, then wiggle the tube lightly to loosen it and finally pull it out. Replace the same way... put the foam shim in there - I doubt it's needed, but it will probably prevent the tube from getting loose over time.

3. Pedal assembly

At this point you've got the tube uncovered and you're wondering how to get this thing back together. No problem. I should caution you: take your time, things fit together snugly. Go slow, make sure everything is in place before tightening down the screws. The method I typically use is to put all the screws in but don't tighten them, then make sure everything is where it should be, then tighten the screws.

Replace the tube board. You will have to wiggle it in from the rear. Make sure the jacks go in the correct holes and everything is lined up correctly. Replace the one screw that holds the tube board in place. Don't tighten it too much yet though.

Replace the plastic jack nuts next, not too tight. Replace the two screws on the power jack, the screw between the midi jacks and the screw that goes into the SPDIF (be careful, this one is tricky).

Once you've got the hardware in place, tighten the screw inside that holds the board down. Then tighten the stuff on the rear panel. Don't overtighten anything (remember the Chinese Tank analogy above). If you are inserting a screw and it's really tight, loosen it and try again - it's probably cross-threaded.

You're now ready to but the bottom panel on.

With the bottom exposed and the rear of the unit facing away from you, place the bottom panel in place. You might have to start it back a little and slide it in place. Go slow, it will fit.

With the bottom panel in place, insert all of the screws on the bottom panel but do not tighten them.

Insert the left and right black screws on the rear of the unit, but do not tighten them.

Replace the left and right side panels with the proper screws but do not tighten.

With everything in place, but not tightened, wiggle the bottom panel a little to make sure it's in the right place. Tighten up the right panel, then the left. Tighten up the two screws in the rear and finally all of the screws on the bottom.

That's it! Time for a smoke test....

4. Smoke Test!

Plug in the power supply to the wall, then plug it into the Tonelab LE.

No smoke?

Turn on the unit.

It should power-up normally. If it doesn't (or starts smoking), you've got problems (real serious if it's smoking)! Turn it off and unplug, re-read my disclaimer above. Then take the unit apart and try to see what's wrong. Did you leave a screw driver in there, did you not tighten everyhting? Forget the tube or the fuse? There's really not too much that can go wrong, but you never know.

At this point you should have a working pedal and be back to playing music. I hope this has been helpful to you.

5. Errors, omissions?

If you have found any errors in these instructions, please send email to: admin at tonelab le dot com (put that all together for the actual email address).