Topics

Here is one I built for a local guy that wanted an awesome 8-bit machine. I have to say this thing is an absolute blast. I found myself messing with it for many hours. There are some really bitchin fuzz octave tones to be had in addition to the bleepy-bleep stuff    Do I build one for myself now?

Can't remember if anyone has done a Wamplr triple wreck layout without the boost? I want to build one for somebody in a 125B.

Anything out there?
Thanks

To all the LP playing brethern here (or anyone for that matter) I am considering a new bridge pickup in my trusty Les and curious what folks are happy with.

I have a 57 Classic Plus in there now which I feel is just OK but not that inspiring. I am probably in more of the vintage PAF tone camp, a little hot is fine but definitely no modern-high output stuff for me.

Anyone play a SD Seth Lover or Pearly Gates in the bridge? Other thoughts and opinions are appreciated. All makes and models cool. 

Not really pedal related I know but I like folk's honest opinions here. Thanks.

Are these available at mouser at all? Alpha or Bouns doesn't matter really. just need 9mm right angle for ThomasH tube driver project. I am finding standard but not right angle ones.

I don't want to do a separate order with SB for 4 pots. Thanks for any help.

Hard to keep up with all the great offerings around here in the OD or distortion world but after something new/different maybe,

I use an expandora a lot and have been pushing it with a klone getting some inspiring tones for sure. However, the expandora is pretty bright and a bit thin overall. I also still have and use my faithful boneyard on occasion.

Really would like to have something with some THICK midrange that has a alot of pick attack say Andy Timmons type of thing maybe.

What have you folks built lately that you are really digging in the medium-OD to distortion world? Thanks for sharing 

Hi gang,

I have been on a building hiatus for a good while, its good to finally build and share some pics here again  Anyway I did a small-batch of klones for some local customers using the refractor pcbs. Nothing all that spectacular in terms of design but there are 4 of them so more is good yes?

Interestingly I had an actual gold Klon in for repair (blown 12v zener not goo-covered) and got to do some direct comparison with the real-deal. Ones with the 1n270 diodes was pretty damn-dead on in most settings but the one with the 1n60 diodes really stood out on top over the original and others with better bass, even more volume, and natural dynamics. It was a winner. I need to get some more germanium 1n60s and will give them to the owners to replace the 1n270s.

Anyway enjoy.

Hello Gang,

Its been a while since I've been on the forum but life has been crazy..blah blah.

Anyway I have a Sharkfin I built some time ago and am going to sell it to a bass player here locally. I have done all the standard-issue troubleshooting and am certain the circuit operates as it should sans a mild volume decrease, mainly in just the filter side. A little searching reveals some others have had this issue but I didn't see any solutions as it could be the nature of the beast I suppose.

Any known tweaks to bump the volume up a bit? If not I might throw in a little AMZ boost or something inline before the output.

Thanks for any help and nice to be around again 

The only thing this has to do with pedals is that it is eating all my time to work/build.

Stomach is in knots at the moment. We recently hired a construction company to build a house addition (24x24" on a crawl-space). Wrote the contract which specified a MASON foundation (i.e. block and mortar). The contractor had an architect draw a plan for the addition which included, unknown to me, a "pillar and beam" foundation which is essentially wood posts set in concrete instead of a block foundation. This is how one would normally build a deck or sunroom, etc.

Now, I looked at the plan, obviously with focus on the floor plan, doors, windows, etc. and did not see/recognize/understand this pillar foundation, mostly because I never dreamed something like this could be used for a HOUSE foundation. The kicker is that it does meet code and it can be used but it is obviously a cheap and poor choice for this application, especially since there will be utilities in the crawl space area under the addition. Instead of blocks making up the outer walls there would be a "skirt" around the foundation made of treated wood. BAD IDEA for many reasons, especially in Illinois.

So a couple days into construction I see all these posts being set in the ground with concrete and I wonder: WTF are they doing? I ask the crew leader and he explains per the print they are putting in a pillar foundation instead of a block foundation. STOP! There are currently 12 posts set and the owner/contractor is trying to pull the: "if you want it different you are going to pay for it"

My Lawyer has been contacted and he is confident I am OK in this situation from a legal stand point as the original contract was never changed to reflect a different type of foundation even though I said OK the drawn technical plan. There was a sizable draw of money given up front for initial materials.

Contractor is licensed and insured, been in business many years in the area so I had no reason to distrust this guy but man was I wrong.

     

Hi Gang

Here is my first Diptrace pcb project, BIG thanks to Ben (rullywowr) for guiding me through the process. The pcbs work perfectly. It is basically the EA Tremolo with jumped R6 to turn the depth control completely off to use the great pre-amp of this circuit. I wired it for a dual-purpose LED for bypass and rate indicator.

Not the most inspired design but just sticking on an simple, etched copper plate is easy-peasy and I am way to busy to do more fancy graphics so there 

Anyway it' still the best sine-wave trem out there IMO, really does the trick for me. Not sure if anyone is interested but I will gladly share the OSHpark file if you want it. Nice 1590b project.

Pretty stoked as I just completed my first pcb with Diptrace. Ben (rollywowr) walked me through the process including exporting gerbers to OSHpark and I can't thank him enough for his patience and generosity 

I made a couple small pcbs with Eagle (thanks to Jacob's tutorials) but really never jived with the program. I thought before I go to deep in the rabbit hole I would try Diptrace and I do like it better as its just more intuitive to me. Anyway the circuit is the good ole modified EA trem with a couple value changes I prefer.

Diptrace sub-forum maybe???

Not sure I would invest in one but it sure would be fun to play with for a while

It is not my intention to bum anyone out but I feel a need to share my loss, perhaps as a way to cope. Just yesterday a good friend, fellow musician, and super-good guy took his own life. He was struggling with some mental health issues for a while but honestly no one realized how deeply troubled he was.

We played guitar together and I built him a couple pedals just because I liked the guy so much. I wish I could have been more perceptive to his struggles and reached out to him more. Just sad, thanks for listening.

Here is another build I managed to squeeze out. I REALLY dig this circuit a lot. It is indeed similar to a RAT but has much better dynamics and overall just more refined. I don't get to excited about overdrive/dirt pedals these days but this one is a keeper.

The pcb is from Codtone and Ben also supplied the PC419 smd photocoupler as well  The awesome angled steel box is from DavidGiandiletti. Both these fellas are good people so give them your money 

The build was a bit of a pain as I didn't have good sharp cobalt bits and mine were wondering when trying to drill the hard steel even with a drill press. Then I was going to mount the sliders in individual holes but cutting them cleanly in the steel was not happening so i just cut out a large area then mounted the sliders on the copper etched plate instead. I am pleased with the result despite the hurdles. Its got a industrial, steampunk kinda thing happening.

Picked up a couple Pearl Jam tickets for Oct 3rd in St. Louis. Best part is the seats are near side-stage lower-bowl. Fantastic. Going to surprise the wifey tonight.

I seen these guys 20 years ago in the early 90's grunge-craze. I was young and in a chemically-induced stupor  . I am going to actually enjoy the music this time.

Been looking at some "unique" ambient delay options and am a fan of a lot of Catalinbread stuff which brings me to these 2 beauties: the Echorec (Binson-like) and the Belle Epoch (EP-3 like)

I am digging the Echorec as I already built and play my Multiplex Jr which I believe is fairly similar to the Belle Epoch. Has anyone demoed or own one of these? Thoughts welcome.

So I had a go at Chromesphere's little SMD Booster (LPB-1) here:
http://www.diyguitarpedals.com.au/shop/boms/CBFX_SMD_Practice_Kit_LPB1_Boost.pdf

schematic:
http://www.diyguitarpedals.com.au/shop/boms/CBFX_SMD_Practice_Kit_LPB1_Boost_schematic.pdf

I got everything soldered on without "seemingly" any trouble but a big no-go when I fired it up.

I believe cooked something as I am getting .004vDC at the transistor base/R2 junction. I loose all signal at the collector.

All parts seam to be soldered on ok under Magnification and continuity checks ok through the parts.

Are these SMDs really heat sensitive? I can't see what else might be the issue other than a cooked part somehow.
   

Been a good while since I built something for myself. I had/have a ton of OD circuits built and tested searching for the "one" that fits my rig best. Funny I always come back to the RAH. IMO it is such a good OD that really does respond and sound much like a good overdriven amp. It isn't a run of the mill overdrive and has its own unique sound and a good EQ. As expected this thing works wonderful with a booster pushing it as well. I had one a while back and sold it only to rediscover how sweet it is. The booster is the simple and great AMZ Mosfet boost.

The only issue with this circuit is I get a bit of fizz on the decay. My previous one did it as well, maybe just inherent in the circuit?

Just a etched enclosure with cool alum knobs:

Been a while since posting a build because well...I haven't really built much lately. This one is a bit different for a couple reasons:
a) I only designed and finished the box and a customer actually built the pedal in a small workshop I had.
b) This is the first pedal I tried Envirotex on (followed Juan and Cleggy's tutorial) and it is good stuff! Looking forward to using it again soon.

Anyway, I had a couple good customers really interested in pedal building so I thought it would be cool to get them going proper without all the pitfalls of going at it solo. None had ANY soldering/electronics experience at all but they did a great job and built working pedals under some guidance. Pretty cool and I enjoyed the teaching. They were SO STOKED when their very first pedals fired up (remember that feeling?). Needless to say i am sure they are full blown addicts now 

They both built a Hipster fuzz and played with different transistors and bias settings to "make it their own". Likely will see them here on the forum in the future. Good Stuff

A friend of mine bought a joe bonamassa wah pedal and promptly handed it to me saying it must be broken.

I plug it in, engage it, and hear a working wah BUT man does it have a lot of white noise/hiss when engaged. The noise changes frequency with the sweep as well. Really unusable IMO, at least for recording it would be ridiculous.

It looks very well built and has a Halo inductor in there. However, one thing I notice is the Halo is really microphonic when you lightly tap on it 

I plugged in my weener  and it really is dead quiet compared to the JB (and sounds way better IMO)

Anyone have one of these things? Is it normal? Is it broken? I would like to help him if there is something that can be done but not sure as it "works" ok. Thanks.

Hello folks.

Built up a fabbed 1776 Britannia pcb and am getting no signal except for some "hiss" that changes when turning all pots.

First oddity is the Q1 trimmer (5k) only adjusts between 8.2 and 8.9v on the test pad with the 2n5457 oriented per the layout. If I rotate Q1 180 degrees the trimmer will adjust to 6v ok BUT the D1 LED lights up (not D2) but still no sound other than some hiss 

I swapped in another 5k trimmer, a couple new LEDs for D1/D2 (5mm diffused red) and several 2n5457s with no change in the behavior.

Note: The other test point voltages are good for the j201's.

Trying to get this part sorted first and see where it takes me.

Any ideas? Thanks.