We’re Getting There

Andy O’Dore / @andyodore

We’re Getting There

It’s unclear when SEPTA started using the slogan “We’re Getting There.” It was somewhere in the early to mid-80s. They definitely stopped using it (probably in the late 90s?), although many people who ride SEPTA’s busses and trains still recall it fondly. As a punchline.

SEPTA stands for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, and they provide public transit for Philadelphia and the outlying counties. The dual meaning of the slogan is clear, but it’s so deeply on-brand for a Philly organization to use “we’re getting there” as a point of pride or aspiration.

This pedal is a take on the Boss SG-1 Slow Gear, which filters out the initial attack of a note and automatically swells in the volume. With “Slow Gear” as the point of inspiration, the only two options were to name this pedal after the Schuylkill Expressway or SEPTA’s greatest contribution to ad copy.

Details

The Boss SG-1 Slow Gear was only sold from May 1979 to February 1982, and an original one in decent shape is quite valuable today. Is that because it’s an essential effect to have in one’s arsenal or simply because it’s rare and collectors like having rare things? That may be for the players and collectors to duke out, but it’s definitely an odd pedal. It can do some things that a volume knob will do without having to move your pinky. It can do some things that a volume pedal will do without having to move your foot. It can kind of make some violin or pedal steel-ish sounds, and sometimes it sounds like it’s making your guitar go backwards, even though it’s definitely not. Regardless, We’re Getting There is even more rare than the original. Internally, it’s built from a BYOC Lazy Sprocket.

Vital Stats

Boutique
Je Ne Sais Quoi
Eau de Toilette
À la Carte
Déjà Vu

Audio

Add a Comment

Mind your tone. (this is a pedal joke)