Messages

In this week's build report I'm taking a look at a pedal I had never played or really considered playing prior to building it...the Boss OD-3. This is a mistake on my part, as this pedal knocked a mainstay off my board and I could have saved a lot of money years ago had I given it a chance.

I'm not generally one that's been too interested in low gain overdrives, as I've always sort of viewed them as a boring but necessary evil, sort of a utility pedal. The two that have lived on my board for the past ten or so years are a TS of some sort and a klone. The klone has been my main OD the past decade as I feel it really suites my fenders single coils into blackface amps setup. So when I decided to build this I was really surprised by how good this pedal was, and not just for a mass produced boss pedal either. I guess you could say that this is more even in the frequency response than most other OD offerings from boss. It's like a really nice marriage of what I like about various pedals in one.

The compression is really nice and more natural than man pedals, and is very dynamic when it comes to digging into the strings. It's not got a nice airy presence but not overly bright like a KOT. The bass is filled out but it's not muddy and holds together well. It's got the classic filled midrange but not honky like a TS or klone, just enough to poke out. Its a low to mid gain drive with a very gradual gain knob that makes dialing in the amount of grit, and with the classic asymmetrical boss clipping it's got that tube breakup feel the more you push it. This thing has a LOT of volume on tap so as a boost this thing can really push a preamp cleanly. The all discrete opamp topology gives the pedal a really smooth transition into clipping that's a little more refined than the traditional soft clipping opamp drive.

I used regular mmbfj201 for the jfets in favor of the current production equivalent of the originals. Other than that it's all standard cheap stuff from tayda and stompboxparts. For the enclosure it's a yellow tayda box with UV print. I had to Google what a heliodor was and it's a yellowish crystal. I didn't want to just put a yellow crystal and say it was the mind stone so instead I used Loki's staff containing the mind stone that he used for mind control in the first avengers movie. A very simplistic and understated look in contrast to the circuit that has so much going on for a three knob low gain overdrive. If you want an alternative to a klone or a more full range drive then this might be a good one to try, it's been in production for 26 years now and I can totally see why.

Thanks for the kind words everyone, it's just a really cool pedal that's fun to play and glad to have one back on my board

that is a clean build!

Wanted to give an update as there was some interest in this topic again. I have made some additions/revisions to my photo box setup.
First I opened up the top hole to let more light from the top of the box. Then to stop shadows I made holes on the sides of the box and used paper like the top of the box to help diffuse the light.

The lights I got were cheap clamp on lamps with led lights.


Here is a better look at my diy solder station light as well



Here is the whole setup when taking pictures of the pedals. Again, I'm just using my cell phone camera and all editing is with the stock camera app

Welcome back to the my trip down memory lane celebrating the boss thru hole analog catalog. This time I'm looking back at a pedal I used to own and fondly remember, the OC-2 octave, built on the pedalpcb ocelot. With a renewed interest in analog monophonic octaves, this seemed like the perfect time to share this one.



I used to own this in the late 90s/early 00s and sold it in favor of newer octaves like the POG or my trusty whammy. Unlike it's  digital counterparts, the oc-2 is more rudimentary and limited in it's scope but that gives it a distinct flavor that digital can't do the same way. The oc-2 has pretty good tracking but not as good as something like the pearl octaver. Unlike some octave pedals, this only has the sub octaves, which I actually prefer because upper octaves are generally more fuzzy and can't do a clean sound unless you do digital. I really like using this with dirt for thick full chord sounds from single note runs. I also like using it in bass with some drive for  synthy sounds. The glitchy nature of monophonic octaves can be really cool for certain genres and types of playing that need that but they can be controlled by learning how to play to the effect. For optimal tracking, use the neck pickup, avoid notes south of the 7th fret and stear clear of open strings. One thing I like to do Is use a compressor before the octave to give it a strong, clean note that's focused and precise to lock on to for the best tracking.

     

The build itself was simple. The board is packed pretty tight so mind those caps when soldering pots. I soldered the direct pot from the backside of the board to avoid burning anything. I didn't have any 2sk30a jfets so I used 2n5952 and did the leg twist. Other than that it was a pretty pedestrian build. Russian germanium diodes from @StompBoxParts. Black matte black enclosure with UV print. Went with a minimalist killmonger graphic for the ocelot. Black and yellow color scheme looks really sharp imo and I'm pretty happy with the end results. Back in December I filmed this dirty clip of the ocelot being used with the promethium in the second half of that clip.



All in all a great pedal that's often overlooked and rarely overshadowed. For a simplistic analog octave in a small form factor and low parts count the ocelot can't be beat.

Another great build and nice save. I love me some sd-1 and fuller knew what he was doing when he made this one, a real classic that you did with class here.

This one is sooo cool, even with the flawed layout by sushibox. The build, the concept and execution is top tier and the color scheme is fantastic.

Another killer build dude, great job!

Another solid build, cleaner than the last one

I don't have kids at all, but knowing what a bunch of pigs men can be I'd have to think raising girls would have shorted my life span considerably.

Believe me, being married to woman and raising a daughter is good for my personal temperament. But, it poses some serious freaking challenges, haha!

I feel you Brian.  I've got 3 girls and the wife.  The dog and I used to be the only guys in the house but that changed; him surgically, me from having my sanity removed  

Gordo, trust that girls can be every bit as gross as boys........The things I have seen 

Facts. Wife and two daughters, male dog and cat both neutered...everyday they are trying to kill me-physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually lol love the hell out of them still

That would be an awesome name for a metal zone project

Killer

I know you have a super theme going, but I half expected zoolander lol

I totally agree (though they can be cheap crap sometimes) Tayda's selection is super deluxe.

Unless Zoolander is official cannon it's against company policy lol

Good lord Chris, you're a machine!
You ever think about (or maybe you have and I missed it) taking a group photo of all your builds?
Of course you might need a super wide-angle lens to capture tham all in one shot!
This one looks killer as always!

I'm not a machine Drew, I'm efficient, there's a difference haha. Some pedals have come and gone so a full group shot no. But this boss collection I'm working on I will be taking a group shot of. It's a full vision that has come together really organically since I decided last fall to start it. I feel it's my best, most consistent work to date. I'll likely by done with them all by the end of spring.

I don't need another chorus ...do I?

The FOMO is real with this one

She's a beaut! Hell even the footswitch nut is lined up 

Love the BD, have only played the stock version thoug

I really like it stock, great pedal and another great offering from Brian!

Another banger, Chris!    Always wanted to get some yellow caps, but they've never happened for me   

Tayda gives me so many wonderful colors for caps 😂

good job Dan, total recall is the best. I ended up doing the high impedance resistor swap for when I use my SGs. Sounds great dude!