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great work Jimi

Let's hack a fraudhacker, shall we? Higher, further, faster baby! 🫡. The Elusive HF-2, the high band flanger has been on my radar for a long time but it wasn't until recently that I decided to take the deep dive into the circuit with my accomplice and partner in crime @blackhatboojum that this started to come into focus. Clinton is the best of bad influences and the only one who appreciates my modulation musings and I wouldn't have done this without my BBD brother from another mother🥰

So what is the hf-2? If the bf-2 is Miller then the hf-2 is Miller lite. The hf-2 is also basically the bf-2b. Boss is not one to waste and will build multiple pedals on the same board. There are only a few resistor changes between the stock circuit and the hf-2 (no drawn schematic exists of the bf-2b to confirm every value) but the main difference is the MN3204 BBD chip. The MN3204 has half the delay stages of the MN3207, which in turn shifts the frequencies of the modulated signal up one octave. The result is a slightly more subtle flanger that has a slightly sweeter tone that dabbles in DEM territory.

The build was smooth using a fraudhacker board and making the few changes per the boss schematic. Shout out to @Bio77 for shipping me a MN3204 to confirm that everything works while I could find a couple in the wild. I was able to find two more, one for Clinton as well. These are hard to source and many are stupid expensive. There may be another build for a bass board in my future. The calibration is the same as a stock fb-2 and was confirmed by two helpful sources on Instagram who were kind enough to give me clock measurements of their units.

The enclosure is a tayda pastel violet that has a beautiful satin sheen to contrast the gloss UV print. For my design I wanted to pay tribute to the color palette and HF-2 designation and the Higher, Further, Faster (hf-2 😂) phrase made perfect sense and I wanted something bold and colorful so I chose Carol Danvers and her Kree name of Vers. Should you get the chance to build one I highly recommend it. I included two sound clips, the first is a more chorus type setting and the second shows the difference with the stock bf-2 with both pedals having all knobs at noon.

Damn John, that's rad as hell. The dizzy tone is my favorite fuzz and this is the coolest one I've ever seen. So glad to finally see this happen after we talked about it, in 2020 lol but it was worth the wait. That no film is flawless! Great job 😍

Was the noise you were talking about on this one the 60 cycle hum?

Smoking build man.

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No, the noise I was talking about was a rhythmic noise from the pll side of the circuit

There we go, now it's visible [emoji23]

My apologies sir! Looks like I need to call the optometrist 

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I did teepee some bat46 and 4148s to get the originals diodes .9fv and a better output level.

Am I missing this somewhere? Looks like all the diodes are singles lying flat.

Sweet build none the less 

There we go, now it's visible 😂

Right on, Chris! And props for sticking with a project you really want to work—serious tenacity right there.

Also, I haven't seen Illyana's depiction since the OG Jim Lee days, but I have to agree with your sentiment on the matter

Even though it's not "real feedback" like you say, I think it's a neat effect on its own. How does it sound at lower distortion or gain levels?

I wouldn't want to have to fight her brother either lol she's a bad girl for sure and can handle her own. She's on par with strange and clea imo.

As for lower and mid gain, it does surprisingly well I found.

Here is one that took a 3 times to get boxed up. I really hope to build this one last time as Robert has plans of revisiting the circuit with intelligent relay bypass. So here is my backfeeder, the boss super feedbacker and distortion.

This build became a bit of a white whale for me. I built two different ppcb boards and had ppl noise present on both at all times. I even started a troubleshooting thread but no fix, and I was one of many with the issue. So in a moment of weakness I ordered the pcbguitarmania board that they stole from Robert while I was ordering my metal zone board. This one works...well 95% there at least. There is the occasional noise from analyzing the note, mainly on a long note decay but for the most part I really like what this is doing.

So what's this sound like and who is it for? The distortion is a modernized DS-1 like circuit that I actually liked so much I ordered the standalone defouler board. The main event is the feedbacker section. As a mainly IR/reactive load speakerless player, being able to fake feedback was awesome. While not perfect in execution or completely practical in all context, I think that if Robert does the relay bypass this will be epic. The momentary switch is less than ideal but it works for now. The feedback is limited to single notes, chords don't register how you would want and playing over held notes is not perfect but more an effect itself. But if you are going direct like me, this can be a great way to make some cool effects. I especially like the wobble that starts the feedback like it would IRL.

The build requires lots of components and I did teepee some bat46 and 4148s to get the originals diodes .9fv and a better output level. Other than that it's a big build that's crammed and requires attention to detail. For the enclosure I stuck with the backfeeder name because I HAD to use this design. Matte Black enclosure with UV printing. I have been wanting to use Magik (🥵🥵🥵) forever and this was the perfect project. One of her powers is energy manipulation...like back feeding power. Love how this one came together. I recommend this project with the caveat that you wait for the new version. Video clip showing the feedback during testing.

without a schematic for the ones you like it's gonna be hard to know the differences. Maybe you aren't really a vibe person, I'm not either-it's ok lol. The glasshole on the right setting can be really chewy and vibe like.

Man, that is absolutely stellar. I've been wondering about that pedal.


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Thanks Jimi, I can see why the bass guys in the 90s loved it so much.

hell yeah! sweet is the meat! It's super cool when another builder asks you to build them something, congrats!

I think building for others is always the most gratifying.

Dude!  That's awesome!  Also a big fan of Betty, very cool build report and story. 

Thanks John, I think the builds we do for other builders, especially around here are always a blast and bring out the best in us.

This is something I've had for a number of years unbuilt and wasn't sure If I would get to it. In a rather serendipitous way I'm glad to have finally built this, and for one of my biggest diy idols no less. In a recent build electric mistress build report for Big Monk I mentioned I liked building for friends, as I have done for various people on the forum and I tend to go all in on these builds. I was shocked and extremely flattered that @Betty Wont wanted to have a pedal. I jumped at the opportunity because anyone who knows me can tell you that Betty is one of my biggest inspirations and the measuring stick for my builds.

When I got back into building in 2017 I remember coming across Betty's builds on eBay and Reverb. The minimalist aesthetic and the clean guts inside were captivating. Most small builds or diy had armature written all over them. Excessive flux, crooked and burnt caps and terrible wiring...but not here. Everything was pristine, refined and pro looking. The offboard wiring struck a chord with me, so clean, and I aspired for that for years. Even the 3pdt boards I bought were because of Betty, truly the best out there. Being able to do this build was special for many reasons. To be able to build for a mentor and to feel respected by someone of that caliper is a real honor. Respect, plain and simple. I've had this board and chip since 2019, and many times I have heard Betty say that her first and favorite pedal was the meatbox, and I jumped on the opportunity like flies on rancid meat to build this.

The build itself is standard fair. I used the W100k pots for the flank and Rump controls like the original. For the Enclosure I went with a red tayda enclosure and UV printing. For my design I wanted to have a mix of my signature look as well as a nod to the original and I think it turned out pretty damn good. I went with The Juggernaut, a meathead on a meatbox lol. It makes my think of the classic 90s x-men episode made famously in the early 00s on youtube...I'm the juggernaut bitch! I went with the classic rullywow 3pdt board and black wiring to match the outside look. I'm truly thrilled to be able to do this build for someone I look up to and have learned so much from over the years and they will enjoy a pedal that they truly love. so remember taste the meat, not the heat 🫦🚬

awesome build. I wish more people would embrace a theme, I think it brings out the creativity and makes the work more inspiring. Also, SD-1>TS

That's looking nice! I'm super bummed I missed the bc fuzz giveaway  : (  not gonna let that happen when the Harambe Special comes out!

The woodcut/linocut art look works super well, especially on cream. It looks like the cardholder is a purveyor of quality goods and services, not some snake oil peddling scoundrel! Super.

I have a bc fuzz if you want it

Clean AF 🧼🧽🫧🚿

Sick!

What diameter knobs are those? 16? 20?

I believe they are 20. I got them from smallbear a few years ago and never used them and this was perfect for them.

You are insane with these things. Simply amazing!


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Thanks Jimi, I'm the world's okayest pedal builder 😂

Super clean, Chris! 

I learned from the best John!

Damn that looks fine!  I like the enclosure color and clean graphics.

Thanks Gordy, it's easy to do when Brian makes such wonderful layouts.

Nah, Magneto was right. I will admit that I am not the biggest vibe user, it's not that I just don't like the effects but I think I'm more just a phaser guy. I haven't built a vibe pedal in at least three years, so I wanted to give it a go again and see if my opinion has changed.

I chose the harbinger over the electrovibe/EV Mini because I don't need dual speeds, and don't want to find low profile caps. The added input buffer also fixes the volume drop so that was an added bonus. I used 9203 ldrs from my presale smallbear stash and made the light shield out of a rubber cap and used adhesive aluminum foil to get the light shield reflections like a vintage unit. Everything else is standard tayda and stompboxparts components.

How's it sound? Better than I remember my last vibe sounding. I think I am coming around more to the vibe's Asymmetrical phasing, although I will probably always prefer a straight phaser🤷. I'm still messing with the offset trimmer to get it where I think it sounds best to me. Overall I think it's a keeper and I just need to figure out how I wanna use it because I think my former distaste for the effect is tied to my dislike of most classic examples.

The build itself was fantastic and came together really easy. I used a 1590BB2 yellow tayda enclosure with UV print. My design included the OG cyclops, which was better than the 90s whinny version of Scott. I really like the bold minimalist contrast of the black and yellow. There are so many great choices for a Univibe that you can't really go wrong with any of them so pick one and build at least one.