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I hope you guys don't mind me posting this here, this is a topic so far from pedal building...Just something I've been working on this week that I wanted to share.

This is my second number 4 wood plane I've restored.  Its come up as good as the first one and cutting beautifully again.  Take a look at the original condition of the plane, you would think its junk, but it comes from a time before our throw away society was born, part of the reason I like these old planes so much.   It cost me $30 aud (ebay)and it will probably last another 100 years (its circa is about 40s-50s).

Now if only my woodworking skills were any good

Paul

To be honest, I feel a little dense for not putting 2 and 2 together on this one, but because of the MASSIVE impact it can have on a guitars tone, thought I would post this here in case anyone else has this problem...

For a few years now I've been dissatisfied with my Gibson sg (my go to guitar of 20 years "old faithful"), the tone mainly.  Flat, dead, lifeless.  You may have noticed in sound demos, overdrives never really sounded quite right no matter the amount of gain im pumping my guitar signal up with. I suspected there was something going on with the guitar electronics, a cap, loose wire etc, but never investigated.  Turns out it was far simpler.

Comparing the SG to my 2 new LP's it was quite obvious there was an issue with the guitar.  Both LP's left it for dead, they sound more alive, with more gain and sustain and 'sizzle'. Just blistering compared to the uneventful SG. I checked the pick ups on all 3 guitars it was obvious that the pick ups on the SG were far too low.  A few years back I was having tuning issues, so I dropped them down but went way too far (one being greater then 1 cm from the strings).  I raised the pick ups again and wow...my SG is back again!  Obviously you can go too far the other way and have tuning issues and too much output again but they were just way too low on the SG.  I really had forgotten how good this guitar sounds.

I cant believe I didn't think of this before and was apprehensive to post this here because I felt like such a ding dong.  The hard lessons are the ones you don't forget, ill be making sure those pick ups are in the right spot in future. 

Have a play with your pick ups if you haven't checked them for a while or your not satisfied with the "energy" of your guitar, it honestly made more difference in my situation then any amount of amp knob twiddling.

I usually don't go quite this nuts with guitars, in fact I haven't spent jack squat for many years but these were both a very good price (for Australian standards anyway).  I've wanted a les paul since I started playing but could never pull the trigger, or something ELSE would come up.  I saw these 2 on sale this weekend, the min-etune brown LP was 65% off, and the les paul studio pro (orange) was 60% off (rrp of course).  Long story but that red future went back to the shop and I swapped it for the orange LP studio pro which was a smart move. 

I'm so totally out of the loop with guitars and gear in general I had (and still somewhat have) no idea if these are good guitars, I had some time to play them and they both play really nice, need some setting up though. The shop was crazy, people grabbing stuff left right and centre, it was a matter of pick it up, play it for 10 seconds and pay. Very rushed but I think I did pretty well!?

So there you go.  From zero LP's, to 2.  I woke up Sunday morning thinking it was all a dream to be honest.. Anyway, Happy bday to me  

Now I need to sell off some gear to pay for it... this is a slippery slope isn't it....

I posted this on my facebook page, yes its my bday today, what a nice surprise from my wife and son.

As i mentioned on FB, its creamy, a little bit spongy, but ill have to give it a JAM to be sure.  Im sure this is pun city, something about "fuzz" maybe? 

Hey guys,
Picked this up from my local salvos (thrift store, op shop, etc).  Obvioiusly old.  But what is it?  And is that pick up supposed to be on it?  There is some cracking on the bridge which I will probably get fixed and checked over for any other issues, but I think for $75 (aud) it was a good buy!  Looks like early 1970's.  Anyone have any idea?  Model number is 6730E, made in Japan.  Google doesn't show much oddly enough.

Hey guys,

I was actually holding off posting something until i had the stock in my hand, (DHL tells me it will be monday or tuesday hopefully) but thought i should start a thread because of the small bear thread that was made recently.  I don't want people to think there's something going on with the preorder that was started yonks ago, im sure theres a 'delay' pun in there somewhere

So yes, those chips that are remaining on preorder will be here very soon and i will endeavor to post these out as soon as possible.   I would like to say here also, thank you to the communities patience, you have all been exceptionally understanding about the circumstances and made a horrid experience that much more bearable.

I took the liberty of grabbing some additional stock with the preorder BBD's.  This means there should be about 150 left over after the preorders are dealt with.  All going smoothly, this will be added as a standard stocked item this week (Update, this has happened: http://www.diyguitarpedals.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=416).  There have been a lot of unexpected expenses come up, i was considering increasing my prices to a level that others have them stocked at, but im going to hold off on this for a while longer.  This means that the bbds will still be sold at 22.50$ aud each (current conversion approx $17 usd) as per the preorder.   This is the cheapest price available, at least that i know of.  Untracked domestic and international post will be $4 probably up to 10+ chips (approx).

Thanks again for your patience, hoping to get these preorders filled as soon as possible!

Any questions etc please leave them here.

Cheers guys
Paul

Hey guys, not sure if anyone has brought this up before but I received a couple of powder coated enclosures from tayda (couldn't be bothered getting all the gear out for 2 enclosures).  Its only an extra 50c for powder coating, but alas, quality is pretty poor.  Not sure what else I was expecting or what im trying to achieve from this post, maybe just a warning if you are going to use them for anything that requires a good aesthetic, probably wouldn't use these.  The white enclosure has black dots in it (powder coating gun not cleaned out properly perhaps?) and the black enclosure has scratches and scuffs all over it, quite badly.  My powder coating jobs are much more presentable and that's saying something because even mine are a bit rough.

I guess for our fellow forumites sake if some of you experienced builders have a preferred supplier for prepainted enclosure with good quality finish, this thread might be a good one to recommend it (pedal parts plus seem to get a good wrap?).  These are probably fine for just personal / hobby level builds, I wouldn't use them for anything you planned to resell though.

Took some photos but you cant see most of the imperfections in the photos but believe me, their rough!

Cheers
Paul

Im confident saying judgement day is a long way off 

This came up on my facebook page today.  Its a post by Paul Sellers (a woodworker).  I really enjoy his videos and posts.  He has a deep love for his work.  He'd want to, hes been a hand tool woodworker for over 50 years and has stuck with hand tools through the introduction of electric power tools. 

Anyway, this post seemed to ring true for me and thought it might somewhat apply to others that are involved in our special niche.  Often times when you are so involved with one skill or hobby, to the point of obsession, you can become disheartened when things start going WRONG.  Its a rollercoaster, you have your tough times, much like life.  Its nice to refresh with some encouraging words and refocus:

When you start your craft you start because you feel something. You can't altogether explain it and you can't show it to someone but you feel it. Don't try to explain it until you can.

Problems come up and you question your choices. Hardships come up and you question yourself. Doubts start nipping at your peace. Stop there. Go back to the decision you made and remember what you felt. Talk to yourself about it. Answer your questions.

What did it mean choosing your craft? It didn't have anything to do with being good at it. It had more substance than that. It has to do with a sense that something belongs to you and you belong to it. It's a right fit. Belonging matters. Belonging is vocational calling.

Ok guys, I promise, last self-promoting post (for a while )

Seriously though, if your a seller and looking for something to chuck in with your orders I think this is a great idea.  The stickers were fun but you know...not very useful. And ALL pedal builders have to atleast know how to play a few chords right?

Anyway, im putting these in with $20 orders (ex postage costs, available while they last).  They are g-tex ("delrin" a material Dunlop uses, the hard plastic type).  I don't mind those, prefer nylon but you cant silkscreen nylon so next best option.

I got them from customguitarpicks.com.au but there are loads of places that do it (including dunlop).  These are reasonable quality.  I wouldn't have a problem using them.

I tried to pick something that was inherently guitar pedal building nerd related.  Hope i succeeded.

And now for the obligatory pick flower

Hey guys,

I asked the question "what tune im playing at 4:45" in the arcadiator sound demo in the build report section of this forum and thought this would be a bit of fun to ramp it up to have a small prize.

No ones got it yet.  1 guess per person (1 guess total, here, facebook, or the build report section).  Only hint is its a game from the 80's

Good luck!
Paul

Heres my build report / sound demo for the Rullywow Arcadiator.

It was a lot of fun and such a kick ass effect, I don't have anything like it.  Sometimes you uncover a certain sound with it that just sounds goose bumpingly good (invented a new word)

My second shot at epoxy wasn't quite as successful as this one but I think im working out the process and I will DEFINITELY persist as there is no other gloss option I have tried so far that looks as good.

Anyway, here it is.  If you haven't built one yet...well...its time to 1UP, pun intended 

Build Report

Sound Demo

Hey guys,

Sorry, I was a little slow with the orders this weekend. We went on a bit of a road trip with the family (4 families in total!), so nice to get away.  We went to the Rutherglen region in Victoria (the state I live in) about 3 1/2 hours drive from Melbourne.  Lots of wineries and gourmet foods. 

Highlight for me was the Bridge Road Brewery in the town of Beechworth.  Seriously...woodfire pizza (done the RIGHT way) and craftbeer on tap...it was like a personalised heaven.

We had such a great time, my brother and his family are already planning the next one.  In this frantic, busy modern day life, sometimes you just have to down tools and take some time out.

Anyway that was it for this post, thanks for reading, hope you like the photo collage!

Paul

Posted this on my facebook page.  Has to be the easiest Light on Dark method I have found to date (next to sticker letters probably).

Drawing with posca paint pens!  At some point, going to do a short video with some visual demonstrations of how they draw on enclosures and what you can do with them but here's a short break down of what I have found so far, as far as benefits / drawbacks:

Benefits:
- Light on Dark option (big plus in my books as easy light on dark methods are few and fair between)
- Erasable (water based paint can be rubbed off with your finger or a wet cloth)
- Colors can blend while still wet (see the photo below of the Arcadiator, the little sun/web doodle next to the stompswitch)
- Limited only by creative ability (could be a drawback if your no good at drawing )
- Creative outlet (One thing I personally admire about midwayfairs pedals and others that paint/draw)
- Paint / draw over the top of already dried paint  for easy touch ups

Drawbacks
- Price, pens are around $5 each in Australia.  But...they will last MANY pedals.  For pedals you really only need 1 size, the larger sizes aren't really necessary, unless you plan on covering a large area in a solid color.  Might be worthwhile to get a larger size as well in that case.
- not durable, you have to clear coat over, but we are all used to that anyway.

Anyone else tried it?  If you have a bunch of dark enclosures and not sure what to do with them, get a white posca (I think the best size is 1.3mm from memory) and start drawing! 

Also you can use a black sharpie, or as I have used here, 1mm artline, to highlight areas as well, but a posca works better (see black lines in the photo of the Egyptian eye for what I mean by 'high lights')

The pharoh (rullywow King Tut) still needs ET (epoxy coat), arcadiator is done.

What do you think?

Hey guys,

First attempt at expoy, going to be doing it again!  Makes the colors so vivid and love that gloss luster.

Had one problem.  Some minor lifting around the nuts (probably form the pressure of the nut while tightening). Im hoping that it doesn't keep spreading!

Any tips on minimising that?

Attached a photo i uploaded to my facebook page of the arcadiator.  You can see a little bit of the lifting around the 'rate' knob.

https://www.facebook.com/diyguitarpedalscomau

Cheers
Paul

[Build Report]

Hey dudes,

Here is my take on the fuzz factory.  Only main mod was I added an input tone control or "body" control which you can see in action in the sound demo. Makes some unusable settings usable and vice versa. 

For those that watch my videos, you may have noticed that I've started updating my video 'production' somewhat, basically investing a lot more time into the visual presentation of information, overlays and getting a little creative and just some boring SEO stuff (clearer thumbnails, branding, etc).  But also trying not to get TOO overproduced...I want to keep things relatively natural. 

Anyway, hope you like the changes.  I mean that.  Cause the videos take 3 times longer to edit these days lol

Build Report

Sound Demo

[Download]

I was messing around with photos for my latest video and took a photo of a couple of ac125's on the tunsgram slip that comes with the transistors. The photo looked pretty cool inverted and thought it would make a nice desktop background.  I've attached it in 2 x 1920 sizes.  Let me know if you want another size of it for your particular monitor, i can make a different size for you.

Anyone else got any interested pedal / electronics nerd related eye candy?

Download

1920x1080

1920x1280


Preview

Hey guys,
Not a fan of formal interviews but i've been talking to Shane from InTheBlues (gear reviewer) alot, really nice dude and he talked me into it (i talked him into building pedals so now we're even). 
So here i am again representing our world and assimilating the non believers...or just crapping on maybe
Anyway, how did i go? 
Part 1 of (prob 3)

Hey guys,
i dont usually do repairs for other people (effects that didnt work after building) but this guys been helping me alot lately so wanted to go the extra step.

Build doc and schematic

There were multiple problems with his build but i think i have fixed them all bar this last one.  For some reason the charge pump is only output -0.3 volts.  There is ~8.2v on pin 1 and 8 of the charge pump.  Positive side of c15 is getting ~8.2v as well.

Everything after the charge pump is very low.  Also the charge pump is slowly heating up.  I've checked for solder bridges around the charge pump but there are none. 

Any ideas where to look?
Thanks in advance!
Paul

[Build Report]

Hey guys.
Been a long time since i built a pedal...ok, i wont start singing that led zipplin song again.
Thoroughly enjoyed building this one, its Jon's (Stomptowns) Penny Royal Chorus.  Jon has cast a eye for detail on a ridiculous level on this build and his 3pdt boards, so neat and easy to assemble!
It was a pleasure to build with a great sounding chorus out the other end.
Cheers!
Paul



Build Report

Sound Demo