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I have a line 6 ux2 and I've found I get the best sound if I use some sort of clean pedal before plugging into the interface. Lately it's been either an Xotic SP compressor or my Ego Driver (ocd) with the gain down.  Maybe it's because I'm used to the way the guitar reacts to those pedals as opposed to the circuitry in the interface.

A while back I read up on various circuits used over the years in the JC amps and learned that at different points the preamp has been composed of discrete transistors or opamps. I believe the discrete versions are known for the classic JC sound over the opamp versions. If you buy used it would probably be worth being aware of the difference.

I believe I have the same foot switch that's been out of service for years. Perhaps I'll crack it open and see if I can't figure something out. I'll let you know if I have any luck.

Great info. I think I'll build an ET with all the bells and whistles to see what i like and then pare down the options before boxing if i find i can do without some.  I'll put the Pork Barrel in a temporary enclosure and try it with various comps over the next few weeks while I build that ET and finish the final enclosure.

Thanks for pitching in Jon. I just found your mini layout for the Engineers Thumb. I think Im going to build one to try it out. I'm impressed by how quiet the circuit is at idle in demos. Sitting right in front of a chorus that would help reduce swooshing sounds during rests. I see there are two resistors that can be replaced with pots for longer attack and shorter release. Those together would allow me to dial in a bit more pop on the transients in quick funky rhythms or intricate fingerpicking, is that correct?

To summarize at this point: I don't think I'll worry about running the comp at a higher voltage, and the compressor sound I'm looking for is more on the bright and snappy side.  My Xotic SP covers the classic squash sounds.

Another comp question: Am I right in thinking that the Afterlife has a longish release while the Orange Squeezer's release is comparatively short?  That's what my ears seem to be telling me. How does the ET compare?

Thanks Clayford for the input. Of course like you say 9v is still an option. I'm wondering if running a higher voltage compressor could add some clean headroom to the whole box. I'd like to build this as versatile as possible, since it may also see use with my acoustic in the fx loop of my lr baggs padi.

Taking a look at the Road Rage PDF I see you can use the regulated 15 volt out and the 18 volt out simultaneously. So I have the option to run my compressor section at 18 volts if I find a suitable comp.

The Demeter comp looks interesting, but am I right in thinking it would be more subtle than the Afterlife? If anything I'd like to go with a comp a bit more pronounced than the Afterlife to add a bit more attack pop.

Can the Afterlife run on 15 volts?

I've built but not yet boxed a Pork Barrel chorus. I'd like to box it with a road rage to run at 15v, plus a compressor so I'll have one stomp shopping for 80s cleans.  I'll be using a small bear bare box for my enclosure so I'll have plenty of room. What compressor would you guys suggest to pair with the Pork Barrel?  Is there a compressor I can run at 15 volts since I'll have it available from the road rage?

Extra info: I already have an Afterlife, an Orange Squeezer and an Xotic SP. I tried out the PB and Afterlife together which is what inspired this idea. If I can't come up with another good option I'll just order another Afterlife board. Any idea if that can run on 15v? I'm also interested in the Engineer's Thumb if I can find a layout small enough to fit in the biz with all that other stuff. A three way switch for chorus only, comp and chorus, comp only would be cool too.

Very nice build, and the use of 1/4w resistors doesn't spoil it one bit. I love how you managed to fit three knobs ans two switches in a 1590A. Do you have a link to these submini switches at smallbear? I took a look, but I'm not sure which one is the right size.

Here you go:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=42

And the description in case the link dies:

   SPDT (On-On) Mountain 10TC410
(On-On) Sub-miniature, high-quality panel mount for power and control switching.

Those controls are impressive. Well done

By box knife, do you mean a stanley knife?

Yup. It definitely wasn't the safest way of doing it, but I took it slow and escaped unharmed.

Ah yes, I forgot to mention those are submini switches from smallbear.  They didn't need any trimming to fit.

Here's my first 1590A build, a Runt with two extra switches for clipping diodes and Ruetz mod.  The "engraving" was done with a box knife then filled with sharpie and sanded.

The guts:

I built it with 1/4 watt resistors stood up on end.  If I do another little board like this I think I'll take the time and effort to track down smaller resistors

The video:

The green and gold pedal upside down on the right is my Egodriver build, and the orange one peeking in the other corner is my 5 knob fuzz built on a Hipster board.

I wired up the mod switches by using a little 2x3 bit of perf, much the same way as the pots are wired per the baby build guide.



The clipping diodes bend over below the filter knob.



Solder side:



All in all I like this pedal. I think it will end up with the mod switches flipped on most of the time. I don't really have a use for the standard Rat tone, awesome as it is.  This will end up being a low to mid gain color pedal for me.  But it's good to know the raw Rat tone is there when I  need it.

Totally fixed! All boxed up and working with my PP+.  The problem appears to have been that when I soldered the in/out/ground leads to the switch, the solder on the pcb end melted and shorted.  Just something to watch out for when you're soldering a really short length of wire I guess, the whole thing will heat up to solder melting temp real quick.

Alright, the problem is solved with my test rig, let's see if it stays solved when I box it up again.