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Does anyone know where to source a 3PDT switch to replace the original in the TS-808HW? A friend asked me to replace his broken switch and the original isn't "normal". The sides of the shaft with the threads is cut. The pedal won't accept a circular "normal" switch because the hole isn't round. I'll try to post a picture as I'm sure my explanation sucks.

Are these switches any good? (I can't find a direct link to the actual switches on the Mammoth website.) I need to order a bunch, as well as other components, and would like to save money, but not at the cost of quality.

Hello all- just wondering where you guys buy your pcb boards for etching. Are there brands/boards that are better than others? I'm looking to do several builds in the near future and have wondered if a fabbed board sounds better or different than a home etched board. Any and all opinions welcome and appreciated.

Hello Madbeaners! I don't expect anyone to remember me, but I've been away for quite a while. Life is crazy and I'll leave it at that. I'm excited to get back to building some pedals and hopefully contributing to the forum however I can.

I would like to say that I've been loving a lot of the Madbean builds. I had the opportunity to buy a Zendrive. Man, that's a killer overdrive. I a/b'd it with the Serendipity and to my delight I returned the Zendrive. The serendipity is that good. There was a very subtle difference in the high-mids, but to my recollection I had to fudge a few resistor values. I'm going to build another for a friend. Anyway, just wanted to encourage anyone looking for a great OD to build it. I believe it's in the extra projects forum somewhere.

Happy building.

Has anyone built the Tonepad Ross Phaser? What are your thoughts compared to the MXR? I have a Phase 45 which is up and running and I like it with some crunch, but it doesn't quite have enough for cleans. I'm thinking about building the Ross clone and doing the extra phase stages. If anyone has experience with this I'd be interested in your opinion.

TIA, Brandon

Are any of you using these types of modeling programs for home recording or just for fun? I'm looking into them as well as impulse response programs for Logic Studio and just thought I'd ask people's opinions that I can count on vs. the pissing matches found on other forums.

So far I've been impressed with amplitube 3 with IRs that I've heard on YouTube. any thoughts based on experience?

I'm starting to try and target my future builds and find pedals that work well with my amp, an Allen Encore (Fender Vibrolux topology). So far, my EgoDriver, Serendipity, Glitterrati, Krankasaurus - particularly the boost, LaVache, and bYOC od2 all sound great. The higher gain pedals like the uproar and Rainy Day leave a lot to be desired (but they sound killer on other amps). It makes sense that those would sound better through a high gain amp.

Anyway, I came across a massive shootout on gearslutz and thought I'd share. This guy plays mainly boutique pedals that we're all wanting to clone. It gave me some direction with future build ideas.
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/instruments-guitar-bass-amps/575070-35-overdrive-pedal-shootout-new-klon-premier.html

If anyone has good dirt pedal suggestions for a Vibrolux type amp I'm all ears. Or if you want to recommend higher gain pedal friendly amps I'm going to start checking those out too. I'm thinking of building an 18 watt clone, but will research more first. The illness will never end!

I'm in search of website that have good backing tracks, either for songs, or just grooves to improvise over. I just started searching and came across this one for songs. Some are really cheesy midi files, but I've found some good Pink Floyd, Dire Straights, etc.

http://www.guitarbackingtrack.com/

So I've built 10-15 pedals now and am finishing up a couple more and I thought I'd better get around to actually playing guitar and rigging up a pedal board. I threw some scrap 1x2's I had laying around and cut it to fit into an old case I had laying around used for a GT-10...long gone now.

I've been reading about the wah/fuzz dilemma and thought I'd bounce my proposed chain off you guys.
I'm thinking of going like this:

Guitar - Compressor - Mangler FF - CAE MC-404 Wah - Qtron - Low Rider Octave - Overdrive Pedals - Distortion Pedals - Pork Barrel - Phase 45 clone - Treumulus lune - Styrmon Timeline - Amp.

It's mainly the front end of the chain that I'm concerned with as I've never owned a comp, fuzz, or octave pedal. The rest of the chain seems pretty standard. I'll try it a few ways and see what sounds best to my ears, but thought I'd ask you guys.

I'm hoping the Timeline's buffer will be sufficient, but I can build one to put at the front if needed. I've read that a buffer in front of the FF isn't good though. I'll do some A/B to see how the tone holds up without a buffer in the front. Assuming it needs it, where would you put it? I'm planning on having 15-20 pedals on my board. I'll get it all wired up and take a pic if anyone's interested.

I'm looking through the interwebs to try and find a DIY headphone amp. I've got some Ultrasone cans and want to see if I can get more out of them through my iPod while I'm at work or on the go. Has anyone built a good DIY amp that would be well suited for this application?

TIA, Brandon

I assembled the Low Rider and went to test. I turned down clean and DOCT1 and DOCT 2 and cranked UOCT1 to set the trim pot. I can faintly hear signal, but it doesn't appear to be oct up, just a raspy signal of the original source. The trim pot doesn't seem to have any effect. Turning the Doct2 all the way up produces the desired effect, but not really strong, and doct1 just sounds like same note or frequency as the clean signal.

I did the C10 and C12 mod. I'm assuming I don't need a jumper on c12, i just left it out. I purchased my IC's from Smallbear and bought the only CD4013's that he had listed. The chip itselt says GS 9534 then below that it reads CD4013B. The C kind of looks like a G though. My small bear orders have always been spot on, so at this point I'm assuming he sent the right IC.

I'm using 2n5457's. I'm trying to determine if the GSD is different than the stock 2sk30. Whether or not that even affects the problem, idk. I'm trying to figure that out as well. Is my thought process correct in thinking that this is amplifying the signal, and perhaps could be an issue? I've been trying to read what I can on the octave circuit and how it works, but damn I'm a noob.

I'm in the process of checking all the other components, but i was very careful measuring and putting them in. I'm assuming that because I have clean signal, my error lies with the IC's or the trannies.

Does anyone have any thoughts? TIA, Brandon

This is a great build. I like the distortion, but freaking love the boost! My G&L ASAT special into my Allen Encore (Virbolux typology) sounds amazing. I about pooped playing it through a ross clone>boost>EgoDriver, it sounded sweet. That boost will get put through the paces for sure. Finish is Dormant Copper.

Yikes, this thing was a PITA for me! I started this a while back on a prefab board from Tonepad. For the life of me, I couldn't get it going. I found the board to be really fragile, the solder pads. I prefer MB's all the way. After failing to debug I said screw it and etched my own board, cannibalized the other and got it running right away. Who knows. I prefer to roll my own, but will gladly buy Brian's boards when I can't or don't feel like etching.

Anyway, I'm really pleased with this build. I powder coated and decaled the enclosure a while back, didn't like how the decal yellowed and I powdered the clear too thick. I used the aircraft stripper (thanks fastocker) and took it down to metal with little effort at all. I refinished it with white powder, a clear laser decal and clear. Again, powder from Columbia. I'm super happy with the sound and finish.

This is my first fuzz, DIY or purchased and I'm really enjoying it. I was really digging into some cool Sabbath and Smashing Pumpkins type tones. I used the All American PNP's from Smallbear. I ended up adding the road rage so I don't have to worry about batteries. I'm excited to build another fuzz already...just not pay for the trannies.

The finish is Dormant Green from Columbia Coatings. I love these dormant finishes. I wish I had the photo skills to capture the sparkle and depth. I did my best.

I've been busy over the weekend trying to wrap up a few builds and get 'em stuck to my board. This pedal will get a lot of use for the harder rock stuff. I did the super duper mid booster mod and find all the switches to bring some nice diversity to the pedal.

The finish is Dormant Orange from Columbia Coatings. I'm not a huge fan of orange, but I really love this finish.

I just etched a LaVache and sat down to start populating the board and saw that this project has a TBA. Does anyone know anything about this, is the circuit changing or is it just a new Madbean produced PCB? Guess I'll start on the Rainy Day Distortion instead 

I'm finishing up the Uproar and noticed that the blue LED isn't lighting up at all on either of the three switch settings (SPDT on/off/on). The red LED's both light up as Brian describes on another post. I'm assuming that if the current is passing through the LED, it should light up, at least a little bit. Each of the three posistions sounds different. I had to leave for Thanksgiving, but will swap it out when i get back. Any thoughts?

Other than that, the Uproar is a freakin' beast. It's a definite permanent resident on the board. Happy thanksgiving to all those who celebrate.

I love this pedal! I used clear red LED's for the clipping mod. Everything else standard build. The powder is Baby Blue from Columbia.

I printed the decal on papilio inkjet white paper and used their fixative. It yellowed on me again. Kind of a shame, but it still looks good. The eyes light up on the LED clip setting, looks kinda funny.

Kept this one simple too, Black Cherry Pearl powder from Columbia Coatings. I've never owned or used a compressor. It sounds good...afaik! If anyone else has built this, how do you like to set the dials?