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5 old reverb tanks for $25. I haven't contacted the seller, so I don't know if they work. I've never messed with a real spring reverb before and don't know much about them. It would be fun to build a standalone reverb though.


http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/4561298656.html

Maybe it's old news, but I was looking at boxes over at PPP today and noticed that they're carrying Smallbear's Bare Box. How cool! I wouldn't have expected that. I've been wanting to try that case for a while. Now I know I can get it with PPP powder on it.

http://www.pedalpartsplus.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=PPP&Category_Code=BB

I thought it would be fun to find out what other instruments you guys are into besides guitar. Like, what other instruments are you decent enough on to justify owning one, even if you don't have one?

What was your first instrument? What instrument are you most accomplished on? What have you played the most? What are you hoping to get into?

Me:

1st instrument - violin. I played when I was really young

most accomplished on - trombone! I played for years, up into college. I haven't played for a while but I miss it dearly. For anyone who knows trombones, I still have my horn, which I got brand new in 1984. It's a King 3B+, gold brass bell & F attachment. The slide is still perfect.

mostly play - drums. I've been into drumming for about 18 years now. I mostly play a kit that I built for my church, which is black sparkle with maple hoops. I will try to remember to get a picture of it to post.

other instruments:

bass - I'm good enough to fill in as needed

tuba - Got to play this for a Sousa march in high school and I like to think I did pretty well. No way I could afford a good tuba!

uke - When I was a kid. Does this even count? I just remember playing 1, 4, 5 chords. I would like to get a good one some time.

want to get into:

banjo - I've started messing with it a little. It's fun but weird having the highest string on top.

Hammond organ - Thanks to Timbo's post, I've got the bug real bad to find an M3 and maybe a basket case Leslie. To justify owning one, I will have to learn to play. Piano lab was a long time ago.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that's the gist of it. I'm really curious to know what you guys play besides guitar.

When I was in the first grade, back in the late 70's, I got a hand-me-down Evel Knievel lunch box and I thought it was the coolest. My friends and I used to imagine that we were him, jumping our bikes. Thankfully I never broke any bones doing that. I did break my handlebars off one time though.

Well, I still think Evel Knievel is so cool. It's hard to imagine the stuff he did was humanly possible, or that he was doing those stunts on Harleys!! So, I was thinking it would be fun to do a pedal based on my childhood hero. I've had a sparkle white 1590b sitting around for about a year just waiting for the perfect project. Meanwhile, I recently completed a new layout for what will potentially become my "Long Block" overdrive. It's the same circuit as in the "Big Block" but it doesn't have all the clipping and bass filtering options. So, I decided to get whimsical and make an Evel Knievel tribute pedal!

This is my first envirotex try. I went against good advice by Juan and tried another brand. It's called ICE Resin, and I can say, it's awesome!! I can't believe how easy it was to get perfect results. The only hard thing about using it is waiting for it to cure. It's almost overwhelmingly tempting to touch it! I will be using it again for sure. I did the Rain-X trick before drilling and that seems to have worked perfectly. I can't find any flaws in the finish anywhere except for one fleck of dust that only I will ever know exists.

The graphic is a laser printer clear waterslide. I haven't done a waterslide for a long time. I thought I was done with them for good after going to screen printing, but with the resin coating, it's easy to get perfect results so I will be doing more of these for custom builds.

Other things about this build that were firsts for me: lumberg power jack and solid core wire (I've used it in amp builds but not in a stomp box). I was intending to put a battery in this one, something I haven't done for a long time, but I didn't have any open frame stereo jacks and I didn't want to wait! Anyway, I can always convert it later if I decide to.

Thanks for looking!
Lee

If you haven't checked out MCM Electronics before, it's a fun place to browse. I've bought a few things there and it's been a good experience. They recently started carrying epcos box caps. They also have tons of tools and supplies.

These are really handy to have and you can't lose at that price. They will probably sell out quick and change the deal. (Pray they don't alter it further)

https://m.musiciansfriend.com/stupid?kwid=035f62a5d71c44fbafc67e026e3da99e&gclid=CJGzwIaj5b4CFRRbfgodY2sAKg&source=3WWMWXGG

I've been using mostly SM57 for live mic'ing. I've also tried a 58. I'm intrigued by the SM7B though. I'd buy one if I could afford it.

I would love to get a Cascade ribbon mic although I don't know if that would be good for live. I've heard great recordings with them though and they're way cheaper than a Royer.

I own a Rode NT1A that I haven't tried on a guitar cab yet, but I recorded acoustic on it once and I was surprised how much I liked it.

I saw this 60w digital soldering station on sale for $40. It looks like it gets decent reviews. Anybody used one? This looks like a great step up for anyone who is still using the radio shack cheapie. I promise I'm not an MCM shill.

My son showed me this video this morning. I'm sorry, but I didn't hear anything JJ said after 00:25. That looks so good! We're trusting you JJ, don't screw this up!

I'm planning a multi effect build that is to contain my three most essential effects. I've done a lot of thinking about it and I've concluded that the three most essential effects for me are a good overdrive, tremolo, and delay. Most of what i need to do can be done with those three. It was hard to keep reverb out of there.

So, the tough question: If you could only have three effects, what would they be? No cheating. You can only pick three. A good guitar and nice amp can be accepted as given.

I put in an order from BLMS yesterday and got the usual lightning-quick service and email asking for suggestions on what he should carry. My input was that I would be willing to pay higher prices to get higher quality versions of the toggle switches he carries. In particular, I'm a big fan of the Taiway branded switches that Smallbear carries.

It's always a frustration to me when a supplier has almost everything I want but not quite. In my case, it's short bat, PCB pin toggles. I was so excited when I saw his selection of toggles, but when I ordered some a while back, they just didn't have the look/feel I want. For now, I'm modifying solder-lug taiways and making pins with bus wire.

Here's what's great about Lawrence, and is why I'm in the "not sure about the name but love the guy" crowd. He asks for feedback and then responds immediately! I let him know that I would love to see him carry a premium line of switches and that I would pay full price to be able to get all of my switch needs met under one roof. He got right back to me, thanked me for my input, and told me that he keeps a spreadsheet of suggestions he gets. The more suggestions, the higher up the list.

So, knowing that he pays attention to this community, I'm wondering if anyone else would like to see him carry a "premium" line of toggles to complement those that he's already carrying? Of course, this would mean a huge purchasing commitment on his part, but I bet he would do it if there was enough interest.

Amongst all of your DIY pedals, are there any commercial pedals, or are you 100% "If I didn't build it, it ain't in my chain?"

What big-name effects are:

A) currently on your board
B) in rotation or get at least occasional use
C) never get used but are collectible or you haven't gotten around to selling them yet


For me, it goes like this:

Always on my board:
- TC Nova Delay
- TC Nova Dynamics - this is great for acoustic, electric, and bass and I can get slow gear-ish stuff with the gate
- EB VP Jr
- ISP Decimator
- Sonic Research Turbo Tuner
- Crybaby - heavily modded

In rotation:
- MXR Script Phase 90 - real deal 70's era. Got it for $30 non-working on Craigslist and fixed it. Didn't expect it to be useful but I love it.
- Boss CE-5 - the earlier analog version. Gets occasional use.
- Digitech iStomp - I have two of these and they get regular use, pretty much never for dirt though
- BBE Sonic Stomp - Yes, I have a turd polisher. Don't hate on me. This will eventually be replaced by a Bloviator
- ProCo Turbo Rat - Because I got it for free. It's really not fair to call it a Turbo Rat because I've done so many tweaks to it.
- Ibanez UE400 - Not really a pedal but I love it. I plan to build a tolexed rack enclosure for it eventually. I will leave space for a UE405 in case I can ever find and/or afford one.

Paper weights:
- Digitech Bad Monkey - My first pedal! And the first pedal I modded. I can't bring myself to let it go but I never ever use it
- DOD Milkbox - My second pedal. I don't have a use for it but it's cool. I'm sure I'll sell it whenever I get around to it because there's no emotional attachment at all. It does have a battery door!

Here is my Harbor Freight hack. It's my poor man's tool balancer: 3 janitor-esque key reel things and zip ties. It holds my cheapo heat gun up out of the way, yet at the ready. It's ugly but fun to use. I need to add one more reel to it, but other than that it works perfectly!

I just got an email update from MCM Electronics this morning and they are now carrying Epcos box caps. From a cursory comparison, their prices are a fraction of Mouser for 63v 5%.

I don't know if anyone here owns either of these rack units, but I was fortunate enough to have a UE400 given to me a couple years ago. It's a great analog piece of gear and I love every effect on it, particularly the flanger. I'm always checking craigslist for a 405 and have only seen one come up in two years. It has the analog delay and is more sought after.

Anyway, yesterday a guy posted on CL that he had acquired one but didn't have the footswitch and was wondering if there was anyone who would mod his. His solution was to drill the face plate and mount toggles. I don't think I would have the heart to do that but I offered to build him a footswitch and I'm awaiting his reply.

First off, has anyone built a switch for these yet? I'm thinking I may just build one for myself because I can build one more compact than the stock unit and that will help preserve the stock switch too. My understanding is that it can be done with DPDTs and that the effects are engaged by shorting different pins to a 15v power pin. If that's the case, it would be super easy to build.

Second, I did a bunch of searching and found these connectors. These look like dead ringers to me. I'm wondering if I shouldn't snag a few in case they dry up entirely. If I do decide to build one, I'll document it.

I will probably never own a directional cable or a NOS bumblebee tone cap, but I may from time to time fall prey to gizmos and gadgetry when it comes to guitar stuff. In this cynical world of "There's no pulling the wool over our eyes because we're pedal builders and we know what's up," are there any others who occasionally give in to the hype?

These are a few of my favorite things:

Fast Fret - This is possibly pure snake oil in a bottle but I love it and use it all the time on my acoustic. I even swipe a bit on my fret board when I change strings.

nut and saddle lube - Was recently turned on to this stuff. I love it for my bigsby equipped guitar. Instant improvement in tuning stability.

Pick Punch - Because it's really fun to make picks out of Starbucks gift cards! Actually, the "ultem" plastic sold on the pick punch website is my very favorite material for acoustic picks. It's thin but it has a special kind of snap and I love the tone I get with it.

Turbo Tuner ST-200 - This is a true stroboscopic tuner, not a simulation and it is far and away the best tuner I've ever used. These are hyper-accurate and they tell the whole story. Mine will never be replaced on my board. I'm amazed that these aren't more well known.

ISP Decimator - I just have the basic one and I love it for getting rid of all of the single coil hum. I have it first thing in my chain.

Ken Smith guitar polish - This stuff is the best! It works so well and is 100% non-abrasive. Trust it on any finished wood.

Digitech istomp - There, I said it. I just like having one slot on my board that can be anything I want/need at any time. It's pretty fun and handy to have around and digitech gave away all of the "e-pedals" for free a while back to make up for an apple lightning cable incompatibility issue that took forever to resolve. Now I'm going to admit that I own two of them because MF had them down to $39 for a while. Digitech told me via email that they will be releasing more epedals but none have been out for over a year, so we'll see. Still, I like this cheesy thing.

The Spider Capo - I don't own one yet but these look so fun.

OK, that's my list for now. Tell me I'm not the only one! While we're at it, I'm also a bit of a bigfoot believer too.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the Guitar Toolkit phone app. It's great and the tuner on there is second only to the turbo tuner

printrbot 3D printer kit

OK, I've been on this forum since January and I've never done a build report. It's time to brave up. I have three pedals that I sell: The "Big Block" overdrive/boost, the "Vari-Trem" tremolo, and the "Small Block" boost.

Here's the Big Block. It's my own OD circuit coupled with an LPB1:




Stomptown gets credit for this incredible layout!! My previous version had three etched boards and an insane amount of off board wiring.




Here's the Vari-Trem. It's essentially an EA:



This is my first fabbed board version so it needs some tweaking to shrink the board and get everything to fit better. But it's WAY better than my older etched version.




This is my Small Block. It's an LPB1 in a 1590LB:






and for size comparison:

Hey guitar builders. I've been wanting a strat for a few years now and I've decided to start saving up and selling some old gear so I can get one. I'm going to be on a very tight budget, like $500ish so it's going to be a Mexican strat or a partscaster. The latter sounds way more fun, but every time I look into it, it doesn't seem to pencil out. Am I wrong? Can I build a good partscaster for the same price I can buy a new Mexican built strat?

I've looked at warmoth and I would definitely go that route if I could afford it. I've also spent time looking at the parts on STRATosphere, but even there it adds up quick. Part of the issue is that I've decided to be a little picky. I tend to get something and stick with it so I want to get it right the first time.

So, my perfect strat would look something like this:

- non-relic
- Lake Placid Blue
- nitro would be great but poly is fine for me
- white pick guard & pickups
- vintage-y single coils, not noiseless or humbucking
- tremolo bridge
- standard 5 way switching
- maple fretboard
- Fender logo on the headstock or blank headstock
- decent tuners
- quality nut

Send me any and all advice. I want to know if I should go for it or save myself the headaches and buy the Mexican strat. Also, any and all advice about building is welcome. I know next to nothing about fitting the neck pocket or setting the neck angle etc. And you can feel free to tell me why my color/fretboard choices are wrong.  (For me the only thing cooler than lake placid blue would be lake placid blue + rally stripe!)

Building the Jyetech capacitance tester got me interested in 7 segment displays so I decided to start messing with them on the breadboard. I went to a local radio shack to buy a 4511 BCD driver chip. Much to my non-astonishment, they carry 7 segment LEDs but they don't carry the chips necessary to drive them! This is so classic!!