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Finally* boxed up a rullywow Jordan Bosstone, populated and tested one of Ben's Voodoo Fuzzes and built a Mascis Muff. The Mascis is purple...it's just hard to photograph.

*i think it's been about 5 years since I built a pedal


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This is a Runoffgroove Ginger using a TH Custom board. Great layout on the board with mounted pots! The enclosure is a Mammoth Vintage Orange Sparkle Translucent 1590B. I know what the controls are right now, but I'll probably add some black stamped letters so I remember what's what a few weeks from now.

It sounds great! Not too much gain the way I have the trimpots set, but I'm really happy with it. The tone control is very amp-like. I think this could easily be one of my favorite overdrive pedals.

This is an Earthquaker Devices Speaker Cranker using a vero layout from Tagboard Effects. I said I wouldn't do another 1590A, so I guess I lied...haha. I tried something different this time with the enclosure. I took an unfinished box and pressed just the top surface onto my Stazon black ink pad. I let it dry for a couple days and then sprayed it a few times with clearcoat. I really like the distressed look it's got and it was really easy!

I built it on vero just to see what it was all about and I was very surprised by what it does. Even with the (one) knob all the way down, there's a slight volume boost and it rounds out your tone nicely. It's a really full sound. As the (one) knob is increased, the distortion is very warm and natural sounding...very much like the videos on YouTube. And, it's so small I can leave it on my pedalboard with no problem. I wonder why EQD makes them bigger than they need to be.

This is an Earthquaker Devices Ghost Echo on veroboard using the layout from Tagboard Effects. I got it working last month and was about to work on the enclosure design, but I noticed a big volume drop when I was testing it out. I added an LPB-1 with a trimmer on veroboard right next to the footswitch and fixed the problem. It sounds great now! It goes from simple to lush, echoey reverb with ease. Not my nicest looking pedal, but definitely a keeper on the pedalboard.

Details: Stamps with Stazon ink, lightning bolts with paint pen, knobs from Tayda, Belton Long brick.

I built a EQD Ghost Echo this weekend and it sounds great, but there is a noticeable volume drop. I built an LPB1 with a trimpot and I have it after the reverb in between the board and the 3pdt. The LPB1 calls for a 100k trimpot, but I only had a 5k on hand. It's got plenty of volume on it, so I've been able to get it to unity, but I'm wondering if there's a change to the sound or tone of the effect with the 5k trimpot. I'm not hearing a difference, but I'd like to know if I did something stupid or not.

-Kris

This is a Penny Pedals Fingerprint Fuzz with an added full gain footswitch built on veroboard using the layout from Tagboard Effects. The box is a Translucent Red 1590B from Mammoth. I tried to keep the aesthetic of the original pedal as far as knob and switch placement go. The extra switch for full gain is very useful. I really like how it sounds at lower gain settings, so this worked out well. I think it has a slightly similar sound to a Red Llama, but better to my ears. This pedal can go from a tube sound overdrive to classic fuzz to glitchy octave craziness. Super versatile pedal! This will definitely have a spot on my pedalboard.

A fun little mistake was the blue waterclear 3mm LED I used on the board is real close to the pink waterclear LED I used for the bypass indicator. When I play, the pink turns purple.

This is a Mid-Fi Electronics Demo Tape Fuzz built on veroboard using the layout from Tagboard Effects. The box is a Robot Sparkle 1590B from Mammoth Electronics. Stamps are Stazon and I actually found that little cassette tape stamp in the $1 bin at Michael's yesterday. The video demos are accurate...this is a cool sounding fuzz with a great tone control. It really goes from Jesus and Mary Chain to Neutral Milk Hotel!

On a side note; I learned to make sure I know which side of an electrolytic cap is labeled on a layout and which end should not be linked to 9v. POW! I had to go back and swap out some electrolytics from other builds. Now I feel safe and very happy to have such amazing circuits built.

This is a Crowther Hotcake built on veroboard. The box is a Cream 1590B from Mammoth. I used Stazon ink for the stamps. The layout is from Tagboard Effects and it sounds great! Between the TL071 and the LM741, the TL071 was a tiny bit quieter, but I went with the LM741. It just sounded better. A little more jangly and dynamic. I LOVE this pedal. I really wish I had found this pedal about 20 years ago. It's an easy build and extreme worth it! If you haven't already, go and check out tagboardeffects.blogspot.com It's amazing what Mark, Mirosol, and now John, are doing! The 1976 is from two things. It's the year Crowther designed the original Hotcake and also the year I was born.

Here are a couple of my builds from this week. First up is the GuitarPCB Stage 3 Boost. My first 1590A!! My last 1590A!! Yikes. I don't know how you guys do it. This seemed like a relatively simple build, but getting it all crammed in there seems ridiculous. I'm not really hearing a difference between the 2 switch positions. I'll have to play around with my Gibsons to see if humbuckers make a difference. I do like how it sounds, though. A little sparkly with a huge, very clean boost. It definitely goes to 11. I don't have any desire to build another 1590A, but I have to admit that I am intrigued by this tiny pedal thing.

Next is the EM Drive from a Tagboard FX layout. I had 5 minutes, so I practiced some vero skills. Worked right away on the test rig. I played around with a bunch of transistors and found the 2n5088 sounded crappy, the 2n3904 was a little better and the 2n2222 sounded the best to my ears. No mojo here, but it has a really warm, amp-like overdrive. And plenty of volume! I thought a rubber stamp of an atom would look really cool on the enclosure, but I was feeling impatient. Got to use that little asterisk stamp, though!

Pretty much a straight clone of the Fulltone OCD Version 3. Another build with waterslide problems. Nothing went right with the label. The ink faded, I lined up the text poorly and it attracted all kinds of dust and crap while the clear coat was drying. Now that it's done, it feels a little odd that I labeled it just like the original. Luckily I f'd it up. Apparently I don't have OCD. Yeah.

The sound of this pedal is incredible. I first tested it on bass and it was extremely dynamic. On guitar it's an excellent sounding overdrive! I tried it at 9, 12 and 18v. There's a very noticeable difference. It feels less compressed as the voltage goes up. I'm leaning toward leaving it on 12 volts.

I decided not to use the extra clipping options because it was one of the first 1590Bs I worked on and I wasn't sure of my space management. Plus, I have an extra board I could try that with.

This is Dwarfcraft's The Great Destroyer in a 1590BB with waterslide and clear coat. Still not sure if I have the right IC for this, but it's close to the demos and I love all the different sounds I can get out of it. The waterslide I have didn't work out so well with this and 3 other pedals I'm working on. Not sure where I got it from either :/ It was my first attempt at a veroboard layout almost a year ago and I just finished the enclosure this week. The wiring is not my best, but I feel I've done much better since. Now onto more challenging vero builds...like the EM Drive 

Oh, and the artwork was found through a google search. Dr. Teeth from the Electric Mayhem (Muppets) in case somebody doesn't know.

This a GuitarPCB Mastodon (Woolly Mammoth clone) I built for my wife to use on bass. The footswitch mounted board is a pretty cool thing. It made for a very easy build in my first move from 125B to 1590B. I used a bare enclosure and sprayed it with some Krylon Posh Pink Glitter Blast from Michael's followed by about 5 coats of PlastiKote 1000 Clear Coat. Stamp is also from Michael's with Stazon Ink. LED is a 5mm pink diffused from Mammoth Electronics, because why not more pink?

I've never played an original WM before, but I had read it's supposed to be an excellent choice for bass. Once I finished the board and tested it, I was pretty sure my wife would love it. Lots of fuzzy sustain or splatty, gated, torn speaker, fat fuzz! Sounds huge with guitar, too. This one would have been hard to get rid of if I wasn't so proud of how it turned out.

I had this gold 125B for about a year now. Not sure what I had bought it for, but it's the right color for a Les Lius clone. The stamp is from Michael's with Stazon ink. After doing some measurements, I decided to build it vertically because I didn't like the low pot placement with the pedal situated horizontally. I have another board, so eventually i'll build another in a 1590BB with the 2 footswitches. For now...this pedal is great!

I built it stock, except for the BAT41s. I wasn't able to find any BAT46s. I'm sure it's not that big of an issue, but I cut up an IC socket and made a little row of diode sockets in case I want to play around later. Looks kinda neat, too. The 2n3565 sounds great, but i'll probably try out the 2n5088 since it's in the original pedal...and I have some on hand.

Haven't had much time to play with the pedal, but what i've heard so far I like a lot. I'm pretty sure this is exactly the kind of OD pedal i've been looking for. I'll try and post some audio or video soon.

Just finished up a simple test rig. I've put it off long enough and I'm terrible at troubleshooting, so I figure if I could at least get the finished PCB to work then the troubleshooting will be limited to the box or forgetting something obvious.

I used a box I had made up for a build that doesn't work (yet!) The wood is a $4 item from Michael's. Some stamps for labeling. I got to use one of the battery holders I bought before I stopped putting batteries in pedals. And...I left room for a breadboard! Just tested a Cave Dweller and an Egodriver...successfully

Very happy with how this build turned out.

not a 1590a, but much smaller than my tall font sovtek muff! built it to green russian specs. the sound isn't the same as my original, but it's pretty close. i socketed all the transistors and diodes, so i'll probably play around with it to see what other noises it can make definitely happy with the smaller footprint. there is some hum when i turn it on...thinking about adding some insulated wire to see if it helps.

Madbean's description of the Slow Loris says this pedal is a RAT with a steroid injection...so I called mine The Flying Rat! And, it's pretty accurate It's super quiet when the effect is engaged, until you start playing. It's got a great amount of volume to it. For the clipping diodes I used the standard diffused red LEDs and, to stay with my theme, BAT41s...so it really is a Flying Rat I haven't played a DS-1 in a while, but the BAT41s remind me of the sound of one. Nice sustain, too.

And, it's not quite done. I still have to add the LED indicators. The plan is to drill out the eyes of the bat and drop in some 3mm red LEDs. But for no, it's pretty obvious when it's on!

I've always wanted a RAT pedal, and now I have a great one. Love this pedal. Thanks, Bean!

Really excited about this one! Slight problem fitting all the normal sized components on the baby board (yeah, I read all the instructions, but i'm gonna go with, "I'm still new at this ") Made it all worked out and I even added the vibe mod. Probably should have went with no battery and lowered the footswitch, but hey...it fit! I got it all boxed up and plugged it in...clean sound in bypass...step on pedal...clean sound when engaged. hmm... Like I said...I read all the instructions. I even read the problems people had with this pedal. Luckily, I quickly remembered the trimpot. Doh! It sounds amazing!! I'm not even a fan of phase shifting effects, but with the vibe engaged it sounds so good. I'm not sure, but it almost seems like it has a slight warble in phase mode. Maybe I'm just hearing things or maybe the trimpot is off, but I don't care. Thanks, Brian...your boards are the best.

This is the GGG Shin-ei Companion Fuzz. I've decided to name it using various Jesus and Mary Chain references. The 3rd knob is the mid scoop mod...and it really makes the pedal much more versatile! Pretty happy about this one 

Just finished wiring up my Retrograde board. It sounds great, but I'm having a little trouble with the LEDs. When I plug the into the pedal, the octave LED is dimly lit without it being engaged. When I turn on the fuzz and then the octave, the octave LED gets brighter. The fuzz LED works perfectly.

I added a 2nd footswitch for the octave on/off and an LED to show the octave is on. I wired both of the resistor sides of both LEDs to the DC jack; the fuzz LED to the 3PDT; and the octave LED to the SPST.

Any help on this would be great. Thanks!

-Kris

This is the GGG WHRL in a Mammoth Tiger Red Sparkle 125B (which is more of an orange-red). Not a fan of the GGG kits so far. I bought 3 of them and have had trouble with all 3 so far. The solder that's included in the kit did something to my solder tip and I had to use a lot of solder braid to fix everything. I was sure it was me until I bought some Kester and managed to fix everything in just a few minutes. Also, this was my 1st attempt at waterslide decals (be nice).

The pedal is amazing...it's got a huge volume boost to it. I've been playing it with the fuzz set very low. It's got a lot of bass to it and the little bit of fuzz warms up the sound a lot. I love how the distortion reacts dynamically to your playing. Great pedal!