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Hello guys, is there any difference in the way a pedal reacts with others (like a fuzz with a wah) between an NPN based fuzz verses a PNP using a battery or a roadrage for power?

Hello guys, I am trying to get that 1973 live Jimmy page tone (biting crushing distortion). I have the Les paul, a good Marshall 100W clone, and a killer 4x12 but what about the fuzz?
1. Is a tonebender what I need?
2. If so, which version?
3. What kind of Tranny gains am I looking for?
4. Could I build an NPN version and use something like CV7112's?

Can I get some advice from the delay gurus around here? I want a delay but am not sure what to get/build. I want analog (or a great simulation).

I would like to build a Dirtbag but obviously the MN3005's are a problem to find. How does it sound with V3205's compared to something like a Boss DM-2?

Maybe the strymon el capistan or timeline would be the way to go........ how about a TC Flashback?

Maybe I should just get an old cheap analog delay like a DOD or something.

I guess the cheaper the better but longer delay would be cool too. Hmmmmmmm  

Hey guys, I am just curious; since you you building, has your vintage pedal collection dwindled? I still have a couple of easy to get pedals like an old MXR flanger and a Boss CE-2 chorus but that's about it. Are there any vintage pedals that you just won't part with even though you could probably recreate them?

I FINALLY finished my Boneyard build. I have tweaked this thing for months and am extremely happy with it.



I think this pedal sounds better at a higher voltage than +/-9v. I tried everything up to +/-18v and ended up building my own power supply on perf using a TC1044 and 15v regulators. For some reason under load, I'm getting 14.5V and -13.5v for a 28v differential. It is less mushy when you raise the voltage from +/-9v and I highly recommend using +/12v. If you just build this pedal as normal and use the TC1044 for the charge pump you can input 12v with no problem to get the +/-12v that you need. More headroom, a little quieter, and less mush. That being said, if you get too high on the voltage, it won't "sing" as much in high gain mode. It's all preference but I was looking for a fairly low (AC/DC)gain for the crunch channel and a medium/high (JCM800) on the other channel. The lower gain you can use, the more amp like it sounds. The Crunch maxed out is about the same as the Hi-gain channel half way. I even thought about using a 25KB pot for the Crunch pot but ended up with the 50KB. I used a 250KA for the Hi-gain and got a better sweep than with the 250KB. This thing will sing but it's not over the top like the Chunk Chunk. Since I have both, I didn't need this one to be super hot.

I added Treble Mid and Bass which turned out pretty cool. I worked with the Marshall circuit on the Duncan Tone Calculator and breadboarded for months to get what I thought was the best compromise between the three controls. I removed the tone pot and soldered a 2K resistor in for a baseline (I like a little darker tone but you could use anything around 2.5K since it uses a 5K pot). The tone stack reduces gain quite a bit which worked in my favor. I used the standard 47ohm, 2.2uF combo for R5/C5 but I really liked 100ohm,1uF on the crunch channel but the high gain didn't sing enough. Without the tone stack I would use the 100ohm/1uF for sure if you want it to sound more amp like.
The tone stack I decided on is: 3.6K slope resistor, Treble 10KA/33n, Mid 2.5KA/330n, Bass 50KA/220n. I also changed the VOL to a 25KA pot. To connect, disconnect the wire going to lug 3 of the volume pot and put it where the slope resistor and treble cap connect. Now connect the wire from the treble wiper to lug 3 of the volume pot. I can get about a 13db swing on the treble, almost 6 db on the mids, and about 8db on the bass control. Not too bad considering the baseline is pretty good already.

I used shielded wire for the input and output from the jacks and to the switch. This thing is amazingly quiet.

I tried all kinds of other things but I don't think it improved the sound. I tried lots of other clippers but kept coming back to three red led's. I tried a cap across the hi-gain pot to reduce bass but I didn't like the way it sounded no matter what value I used. I though about push pull pots and all kinds of other switching options but the circuit is pretty awesome stock. The higher voltage and TMB changes made it the best Marshall style pedal that I have ever heard. I have a Splawn Quickrod (modded Marshall type 100 watt head) and I A/B'ed this pedal against it. It was honestly hard to tell which was which. I am hoping to get some sound clips done with a friend of mine soon (I don't have a way to record).

As far as looks, it's a Hammond 1590XX box which is prepainted. It's the same size as a 1790NS except it's not quite as tall. I haven't done any graphics yet but I have an idea for labels that should be really cool. I knew from the start that I wanted it to look like a Marshall amp so it will look a lot like the Plexi Legacy that K-Rock built (why mess with perfection)? The controls are Vol-Treble-Mid-Bass-Hi gain-Crunch. The little black knob is the boost volume. All blue LED's. They are really bright but I took the picture at an angle to keep them from blurring the picture.

Now to the Thank You's:
Brian! You rock man. This is the best forum with the best projects hands down.
All of you who have answered my questions and offered encouragement.
ODwan for his mod ideas.
Oldhousescott- There is no way that I could have done this to the level that I wanted to without his help. He is just an awesome guy and spent a lot of time helping me with this project. Thank you thank you thank you!

I was watching this video and this thing sounds great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb6o3Qh_KOs
I am trying to get some circuit info on it but I can't find anything on the web. Does anyone have the scoop on this one? Do you think that it's some type of Big Muff?

Hey guys, I have a CE-2 chorus build that I really like but it would be really cool to have a blend knob instead of just depth and speed. Sometimes I want it to affect my dry signal a little less but want the depth so I think this would be the best solution. Any suggestions on a particular really clean (active would probably be best) circuit?

My first build report.... I have built around 25 pcbs but absolutely hate boxing these things so it has to be something that I think "this pedal will never come off of my board" before I will box one. I boxed a Fatpants and a Spackler in 1590A enclosures but that's it so far. I will box the boneyard, Chunk Chunk, and a couple of others for sure. Anyway, here is my La Vache. I actually have a 1957 Fender tweed deluxe and this pedal comes pretty close. It has that "sag" like the real deal. When I had the volume and gain maxed it cleans up really well with the guitar's volume knob. I can nail the Rolling Stones Brown Sugar, Jimi Hendrix The Wind Cries Mary, or Stevie Ray Vaughn Cold Shot with the gain maxed depending on the guitar volume setting just like a good fuzz pedal.

I just went with the Lovepedal Les Lius theme because it just looks "right" to me. I went for a 1290 box in transparent gold from Pedal Parts Plus. I just put the boost on a toggle to save some pedal board space. I used the suggested 2N3565 (which sounds way better than the 2N5088), BAT41's for Z1 and Z2 with a germanium 1n34 for Z3. I also used a 100 ohm resistor for R4 to get more gain. I tried lots of diode combinations and settled on these and soldered everything in. I messed up when I boxed it and got the pots backwards so the volume and gain went up by turning the knobs counter clockwise. I had to take it apart and switch the wires to get it right. It works fine now and I am really happy with it. Thanks Brian for giving us such great PCB's and info to build better stuff than we could buy.

Hello guys,
   I am trying to find out if there is any advantage to using the more expensive LT0154 charge pump instead of the TC1044. The TC can handle 12v in and the LT can do 15v but other than that, is there anything else to consider? I pulled up spec sheets on both but the TC is Microchip and the LT is Texas Instruments so they don't really give the information exactly the same way. Thanks for any insight.

Since this project is in the works, I have a question: The vintage MXR flangers that I have seen have a GND pin on the power cord. How can you ground the case on the AC side if the case is part of the negative for the DC side?

How about a slight modification to the road rage to allow for -18v and a place for a negative voltage regulator? It would be great to have more than -9v on the negative side.

I see that some of the boards are going from etched to manufactured on the next run. I was wondering if they will be smaller: I would like to make another Boneyard (in a 1590B) and LaVache (in a 1590A).

Hello forum Brothers,
   I have been thinking for a while how cool it would be if we took a circuit and broke it down and gave a brief description of what each component does in relation to the rest of the circuit. This would be absolutely invaluable for us that build but don't totaly understand how everything fits together. To understand the design would get the newer guys (like myself) on the forum to another level and maybe move us toward the simple design stage and not just build or copy. I think the Boneyard would be a great one because it sounds amazing and does quite a bit for the amount of components it contains. I have become infatuated with it but still don't know enough to try some of the things that I would like to add/change or put into another circuit. So would anyone else find this valuable? Would you more advanced guys be willing to participate? There really is no time frame. If it takes months, that's OK too. Any takers?

How hard would it be do build a pedal switcher like the Cral Martin Octaswitch?

Has anyone tried to do the AC/RC in one pedal? They probably use different op amps so would it even be worth trying to do? It looks to me that it would take around 8 poles to do it but some of the resistor and cap values that are close could be averaged and wouldn't have to be switched. Is this even worth the effort to tinker with?

Hello, my name is Shane and I'm an addict.
Is there a 12 step program out there for overdrive/distortion addiction? Really, how many do I need? I've owned so many and sold almost all of them to start building them. I've had: original TS-9, BD-2, DS-1, SD-1, big muff, mudhoney, OCD, Reezafratzitz (4 and 5 knob), real tube, blue note, bit-o-honey, klon clone, riot, brownie, fulltone 69, blues driver, Tim, pinnacle, minstrel, rockmans, preamps, and a bunch more. Plus boosts: katana, lemon aid, legendary tones, RC boost.
Now I have built the thunderpuss, spackler and fatpants. Serendpity, Boneyard, Chunk Chunk, Grapevine, LaVache, Formula No 5, uproar. I have boards for nuetrino, zygote, boomstick, cosmopolitan, faultline, silverfox, mudbunny, quasar. Now I am looking to pick up a couple of more that I may have missed before moving into Fuzz pcb's. This is only dirt boxes. So what the heck is wrong with me? I don't even play guitar much anymore. I just slam A chords and turn knobs and swap chips and diodes. The good news is that I probably won't keep them all. I'm building at least 2 a week now! I need help!

Just finished the Chunk Chunk but I don't have a box for it yet. I built it stock but left the ground wire off of the presence pot and used a clip lead to connect it up because I wanted to try the "SLO" mod. It's a pretty cool change and I like both sounds so I will probably use a switch. It's not a "quiet" pedal but I think the noise level is very reasonable considering the gain this thing has. Once I use some shielded wire and box it, it should be fine. I noticed that biasing some of the FETs hot actually reduced noise. I read somewhere that a couple of guys biased around 4.5v but hit Q3 with 8 volts. I tried it and it knocked some hum down. I'll play with the bias some more when it is boxed. I'm getting some pretty tasty Nuno tones through a MAZ18 set clean with this pedal. I'm back in the 80's baby!

Would this work? It's got a pretty small diameter and it's shielded instrument cable so is there any reason I couldn't use it IN a pedal?

Does anyone happen to know what 4 JFET's are used in the Catalinbread Formula No 5 pedal?

Hey guys, I noticed that in some of the boost and fuzz circuits there is provisions for the use of larger caps like sprague. I am assuming that the original circuits used some type of large caps. Is there any sonic difference between using these and the normal panasonic or films?