This is a clone of the Red Llama by Way Huge- a definite point of interest for any fellow tone-seekers on the holy quest to possess 'just the right' drive pedal for any situation. Compared to a TS-808, whose sound we all probably know like the taste of chicken, the Red Llama has got more of a treble boost than the TS808's mid boost, and overtones that I can only describe as "glassy." The Red Llama did not earn a spot on the board that I use in my loud 5-piece band- despite the treble boost, it seemed to get lost in the mix where the TS808 would cut through, however, in a smaller band (one without a second guitar player) I can imagine the Red Llama could really be an awesome, unique overdrive sound.
I've run my Squire Bass VI through the Red Llama with spectacular results. The Red Llama adds a sharp, hair-raising characteristic to the attack of the notes that I've not run into using any of my other drives, however, not as much low-end gets through as I would like. I'm excited for the upcoming "Snarkdoodle" project- I plan on doing some breadboarding with the aim of creating a second Red Llama better suited for bass. I'll start by going with some larger input/output caps, but beyond that, I'm rather clueless, so if anyone's got a bass mod idea they'd like to share, I'd be willing to attempt it and post my results.
PCB: Das Llama, Musikding.com
https://www.musikding.de/The-Llama-pcb-Overdrive
1590B with etched graphic
FACE:
(https://i.imgur.com/CICHg6c.jpg)
I remember putting this together wondering how the
clipping was happening without transistors and diodes..
GUTS:
(https://i.imgur.com/RCp4bkx.jpg)
Thanks for looking!
looks good, like the etched enclosure. I built a GGG llama last year. It really does get glassy, to much with a bright amp for my taste. With a darker mid focused amp its killer.
Cool stuff! The thing I like most about the Llama is at really low gain settings it delivers a very "dimensional" sound: slightly scooped but with some added harmonics (IMO).
Great build! Super neat guts and I love that enclosure!.
-Mike-