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Long time, no build reports.  Here is what I just finished up this weekend.  This is a continuation of my pedalboard in a 1590DD series.

This is the Purple Reign.  As you can probably tell, this is inspired by Prince.  More specifically, this is inspired by his board that he used around the 1999/Purple Reign time period.  According to http://guitarcloud.org/era/1999, his board was: SD-1 -> DM-2 -> BF-2 -> OC-2 -> VB-2.  Since these are all known DIY projects, I decided to make my take on it. 

I had the idea for this board for a while, but I had to do some thinking on how to implement it.  I had two main concerns in my head: 1) with 3 clocks and 4 BBD's in this box, would I have a problem with heterodyning and 2) how do I get around the 500 pin limit in Diptrace?  To get around the 500 pin Diptrace limit (without spending the money on the upgraded version), I split this into 4 separate boards.  The first set of boards has the SD-1, DM-2 and BF-2 on it, while the second set has the OC-2 and VB-2.  I'm not sure if this was the case, but I like to think that splitting these two boards up helped avoid any heterodyning and clock noise between the two circuits.  I was actually surprised when I fired up the first half that there was no issue with the DM-2 and BF-2.

All circuits are stock to what you would get if you built any of the DIY projects floating around for these circuits.  The BBD's are V3207's for the Flanger and Vibe, and a set of V3208's for the Delay (about 300ms of delay).  I added a stereo switch to select if the stereo out is coming from the VB-2 signal, or if it comes from before the VB-2 circuit, allowing some pseudo-chorus sounds when running in stereo.

How does it sound?  I think it sounds pretty good.  The BF-2 is good for that Purple Rain sound, and combining the SD-1 and Delay gives some really huge sounds.  All in all, its a pretty good and versatile board.  Personally, I would probably have something other than the OC-2 there, but Prince never asked me when setting up his pedalboard   

Here is the last build of 2022 for me.  This is a continuation of my artist-pedalboard-in-a-box series.  This time I put together a build based on David Gilmour's Dark Side of the Moon pedals. 

For the majority of Dark Side tones, Gilmour used a combination of Fuzz Face, Overdriver, Uni-vibe and Echorec (along with a few more, but those are the bulk of tones).  The pedal starts with a modified Silicon Fuzz Face (I used the Lunar Module as a base for the Fuzz).  This moves into a Powerbooster circuit ran at +18V.  Then it hits an effects loop if you want to add other pedals and then onto a Uni-Vibe circuit.  This is the same Uni-Vibe I used on my Gypsy (https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=34170.msg327607#msg327607) pedal.  It sounds really good and vibe-y and the addition of being able to use an expression pedal really adds to its versatility.  The Delay portion on this is a multi-head PT2399 delay I've been working on based on the Binson Echorec.  Its taken a lot of inspiration from the Skidmark Sonomatic and DiabloChris's Sagan Delay.  It has basic controls for Mix, Swell (Feedback) and Delay time, with 4 switches to select what heads are active.  Unlike the Echorec with a max delay around 310-340ms, this goes up to about 800ms. Each head compounds into the other, so the ratio's of all delay heads are the same as a true Echorec.  When you have multiple heads active, it creates a really cool sounding effect, something you don't hear anywhere else.

All in all, this is a really cool pedal.  I'm really happy with how it turned out, and even if you aren't looking for Dark side tones, I think that it would be a very versatile grab-and-go pedal that would work in plenty of situations.

Paging Jimi here...

Here are a few of the builds that I've finished up in the last few weeks.  It turned out I was on quite a phaser kick   No matter if you like JFET, Optical or OTA phasers, I have you covered...

Lumina - The Lumina is a take on the Phase 100 circuit.  It is a 6-stage optical phaser.  Instead of using VTL-5C3/2's I went with the roll your own method.  I made sure to add a second pad on the PCB so I could use two LDR's for it (the LDR's are just the basic ones from Tayda, nothing special).  Instead of the 4-way rotary switch like on the Phase 100, I have two switches to control the Feedback and Intensity.  Its a great sounding and chewy phaser!


Burden - Instead of an optical phaser, the Burden is based off of the Boss PH-1R phaser.  This is your typical JFET phaser, pretty similar in sound and feel to a Phase 90.  If you like the sound of that one, you will feel right at home with this!  The added controls for Feedback and Depth really make this a versatile phaser.


Ganymede - Next up is the Ganymede Phaser.  This one is a 6-stage optical phaser, pretty similar to the Mutron Phase II.  I know a lot of people consider that their absolute favorite phaser, and with good reason.  Thick and chewy, it has something special that most phasers just don't have.  I added a 3-way switch to let you choose between 2, 4 or 6 stages of phasing.


Kavana - And rounding out the Phasers is the Kavana Phaser.  This is based off of the Bad Stone phaser.  I wanted to work up a phaser that was simple to build and I didn't have to worry about matching any JFETS or worrying too much about LDR specs.  The Kavana is a simple to build and setup phaser that has lots of cool sounds in it.  The Phasing is pretty simple with controls for Speed and Feedback.  I also have a Manual control and switch, which stops the LFO and lets you set the phase point.  Its a cool feature, but one that I'm not sure I would use a ton.  Other than that, its another interesting sounding phaser.
 

Machine Gun - And for good measure, this could (kinda) fall in the Phaser camp.  The Machine Gun is a 2-in-1 pedal with a Silicon Fuzz Face feeding into a vibe circuit (based on my Spiralizer circuit).  The Fuzz side has a 4-way tone rotary switch to give different voicings, as well as a Thick control to set the input tone.  I also added an order switch for those that like the vibe first.


Vaporizor - The Vaporizor is based on the Boss VB-2 Vibrato circuit.  I've always loved this circuit, and its taken me a while to figure out how to make it work in a mini.  After a few revisions playing around with the switching, I was able to make it so that the pedal will work in standard "push the switch and its on" mode, as well as a momentary mode with the ramp switch.  The throb of this can get really deep and seasick, so its not for everyone, but using the momentary mode to really add some texture, its something that nothing else can replicate.


Legion - I've really been on a kick of making multi-effects boxes lately (See my Gypsy and Six-Shooter builds, as well as my upcoming Brick build), so this is a continuation of that.  The Legion is based on the Ibanez UE-300 box.  It contains an OTA compressor, similar to a Dyna-Comp, a Tube Screamer and a CS-9 compressor (in stereo).  I really like this setup here.  The Compressor is super quiet and does a great job of pushing the tube screamer, and having a stereo output with the chorus adds a huge spread to the sound.  Plenty of jacks on this one; 1 input, a Send and Return Loop, a dry output after the compressor and stereo outputs on the end of the circuit.  Next up is one based on the UE-305 which swaps the Tube Screamer for an analog delay.  I just need to build the board up for that one.


Star Chambre Delay - I've had this one finished for a long time, I just now actually got around to boxing it up.  The guys at Lectric-Fx did an awesome job at this one.  Its an analog delay, but it has something different than a typical DM-2 based delay.  I can't put my finger on it, but something about this delay is special, I love how warm and organic it sounds, definitely a recommended build for anyone!

Here is something that I put together this weekend.  I've had the idea kicking around my head for some grab-and-go type boards for a while now.  The Six-Shooter that I posted the other week was a sort of start of that.  I've had a thought for a Hendrix inspired board for a while, but never went ahead and implemented it.  The Gypsy is what I came up with.

The Gypsy is housed in a 1590DD enclosure, and there are 4 circuits in the box.  The first is a SI fuzz face.  Pretty basic SI fuzz, with an added Body (input cap blend) and Contour (mids) control.  This goes into a Roger Mayer Octavia octave fuzz with an added tone control.  There is an order switch to determine if you want the Octave fuzz to go before the SI fuzz or the other way around.  This all goes into a Univibe circuit.  Taking a little bit from the Harbinger 2 and a little bit from the RG Keen UVICS, I modified the vibe to use a single pot for the speed control.  Using a single pot, I have it wired to a switched jack so I can use an expression pedal to control the speed of the vibe.  Its pretty cool!  The end of the chain is a Marshall Amp circuit, pretty similar to the Ramble Drive, with a switch to go from +9V or +18V and a switch to go between 1987, 1959 and JTM modes.

All in all, I am really happy with how this turned out.  For having 18 board mounted parts going into an enclosure, it went together about as well as one could expect!  Using the stacked boards, I am about maxed out on height.  It might be a little more comfortable to put everything in a 1590D (the taller version), but it works just fine in this box.  It sounds really cool, and (if I could sound even 1% like Hendrix) would make for a great grab-and-go or inspired by board.  Unfortunately for me, since this one worked out, I'm on my way to designing a few more "inspired-by" boxes like this.  I already have a Page box designed and ready to go, and am about halfway through doing two separate Gilmour inspired boxes.

I was at StompboxParts the other week, just shooting the shit as I usually do when I pick up my parts, and the guys always pick on me a little bit for being crazy with my 1590A enclosures (which I agree with).  They were daring me (challenging me?  encouraging me?) to see what I could do with a 1032L (the 10" wide looper) enclosure.  The crazy look started in my eyes and the hamster in my head got on his wheel as I ask for a tape measure to do some quick measuring.  Taking a look, I figured I could fit 6 one-knob circuits in there no problem.

So here is what I came up with.  It is the Six-Shooter, six one-knob circuits in the box.  The circuits are:  The Swine Treble Booster (GE Rangemaster), Muscle Overdrive (Dumble-like), Spook Distortion (BMP-like), Rock Bottom Phaser (Small Stone), Spectator Chorus (Micro-Chorus) and Jormungandr Delay (One-knob delay).  They all fit in no problem and now I have a pretty cool little grab and go pedalboard (if I had anywhere to grab and go with it  ). 

Been a long time since I've posted a few of my builds... here is what I've been up to.

Hologram Mod - This is a dual BBD analog delay with modulation in a 1590A.  It took a few iterations to finally get right, but I'm happy with where I landed on this.  It has 600ms through 2 MN3005's, a charge pump to boost the internal voltage to +15v and a sweet sounding modulation section.  The majority of the circuit is SMD work on the bottom side of the board.  Thanks to Bio77 for the micro knobs on this one!


Cavalier Stereo - This is another one of those that took a few iterations, but still isn't 100% there.  This chorus pedal is based on the Arion SCH-1.  This was originally designed to be a stereo chorus in a 1590A (using a TRS jack), but I didn't take into account when using a non-TRS jack, the output signal being grounded... It works perfectly fine when using a TRS jack or when having two separate jacks for each output.  So I broke down and put it in a non-mini sized enclosure.  It works exactly as expected and sounds very lush.  The switch chooses if the second output jack is either an un-modulated signal or a chorus signal.


Cavalier 1590A - Since it was made for a 1590A enclosure, I was going to make it work in a 1590A.  I omitted the output for the stereo out, so it is the normal chorus out.  I added a few caps to a switch to add in three depth levels to the modulation.  Again, its a super lush chorus, and I really like having the tone control on this to help set the sound exactly where I need it to be.


Whirlpool - This is the first revision of a Spring Reverb pedal in a 1790NS enclosure.  This is using the Blue Accutronics reverb tank.  It is a very deep and lush sounding reverb, that fits perfectly on any pedalboard.  The second footswitch is to select between two different mix levels.  This is a really cool sounding reverb, something different than the Belton brick we all know.  My only problem with this was as soon as I ordered the board, I thought that I should have added a tremolo to it, making it like the back-end of a Blackface Fender...

Whirlpool Deluxe - ...So I added tremolo to it.  The Tremolo is based on the Shoot-the-Moon Tremolo, so it has a very solid sounding tremolo.  To add the trem, I omitted the dual mix selection.  These two effects work perfectly together, it is a really fun pedal to play around with.


Paladin - The Paladin is a Fuzz/Overdrive combo pedal.  This has a Tube Screamer Overdrive and a Germanium Fuzz Face in the same enclosure.  This is to emulate what Eric Johnson does on his pedalboard.  I have an order selector on here so you can put the Fuzz or the Tube Screamer first.  The Fuzz Face has a pickup simulator circuit in front of it so that it will play nicely when it has the TS in front of it.


Paradigm Shift - The Paradigm Shift is a tricked out Univibe style pedal.  This There are controls for Treble and Bass to adjust the high and low end of the signal, an overall level control so you don't have any volume drop.  The Mix control takes you from all-dry to all-wet vibrato signal.  This is a great sounding Vibe pedal.


Slingshot - The Slingshot is based on a FL-9 Flanger, but in a Mini sized enclosure.  This is a really cool and lush sounding Flanger pedal, with nice chorus sounds in here as well.  It definitely gives that movement and filtering that you expect in a Flanger.

Lodestone Delay - The Lodestone Delay is like the Hologram, but instead of BBD's, it has a PT2399 delay chip and modulation.  This is a really sweet sounding delay pedal, probably one of my favorite PT2399 circuits.  It is very warm and tape-like in its repeats, and the modulation sounds nice and lush. 

Here are a few of the builds I finished up this weekend.

Pandemonium Jr - This is a take on the Boss BF-2 in a 1590A enclosure.  I wanted to try and make another flanger in a 1590A enclosure, but knew that the only way to make that happen is to go the SMD route.  Knowing what a pain in the butt 0603's can be to solder, I decided to give JLCPCB's PCB assembly a try.  After figuring out how to export everything into a format they could read, it ended up going pretty smoothly.  It does feel a little like cheating, but I did finish it off with the electro's, transistors, trim's and BBD's, so it is still homemade    It sounds really good, a few turns of the knobs, and you have that Purple Rain coming down


Camber Reverb - This is a Belton Brick Reverb, shoved in a 1590A.  I used the JLC SMD process again on this one.  This wasn't too bad to fit in, I ended up using some thinner jacks from Tayda (https://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/6-35-mm-1-4-righ-angle-stereo-female-connector-thread-lock-panel-mount.html), and the little extra headroom they gave helped me be able to get the cover shut on this one.  Another good sounding reverb.  The dry switch leaves only the reverberated signal, its not super useful, but its there


Singularity Reverb - This is a PT2399 reverb for 1590A.  There is 2 PT2399's doing the heavy delay lifting, with slight modulation on the reverb.  This one was a little easier to fit in the box than the Camber, but it was more of a pain soldering everything up.  The trade off I guess   The controls are mix for the reverb volume, and the room switch changes the amount of feedback, giving the illusion of a larger or smaller room.  It has simple controls, but it is really all you need to add a little reverb to your chain.

Hurricane - The Hurricane is a BMP derivative, but with a Baxandall tone stack in place of the traditional BMP tone stack.  Its a Muff, it sounds huge.  I like being able to add in or take out the amount of bass in the signal.  Its one of those pedals that the first time I turned it on and hit a power chord, it just makes you smile...


Smokehouse - The Smokehouse is like a Brownface Fender in a box.  The drive section is based on the Greer Soma, and I tacked a Harmonic tremolo to the end of it.  Both circuits sound really good, it can deliver some real nice greasy grind, and on low depths, the tremolo gives the sound just a little movement and something different that you can't quite put your finger on.  Or, you know, crank the speed and depth for an amazing sounding tremolo.


Hawksnest - This is my Skreddy box.  I put a Screwdriver, Hybrid Fuzz Driver and Lunar Module all in one box with some fancy switching.  The Fuzz order switch moves the fuzz either first or last in the chain, while the other order switch changes the order of the Screwdriver or HFD.  Is this a necessary or super useful pedal?  No, but its cool to have all of them in one place 


Time Dilation - This is a tape delay box in a 125B.  Taking a look at the controls, you know what this is based on    This one is just for me, and I wanted to see if I could get it in a 125B enclosure.  Mission Accomplished.  It sounds just like the full size version, just with a slightly smaller footprint.


Exterminator - This is a take on the Clone Theory, also in a 125B enclosure.  I added a little boost circuit on the back end, making sure that the volume is at unity (or with a boost).  You all know how the Clone Theory sounds, and it sounds just like it.  This one is setup with a MN3007 chip.

Its been a bit since I've posted what I've been working on.  Lots of powdercoating, lots of etching, lots of building.  Here is a small smattering of my latest boards.

Mash Overdrive - This is a Tube Screamer based overdrive with an added blend control.  Works real well for bass.  Dip switches on the inside change the clipping options


Brown Distortion - This is a BSIAB pedal.  Has some real nice high-gain tones.  This is going to be a part of a larger theme, so keep an eye out for that one 


The Boxer Overdrive - This is based on the Cornish CC-1 pedal.  Its a pretty good sounding overdrive, really versatile with the tone-stack.


I/O Box - This is something I've been wondering if it would work for a while.  This is a buffered I/O box to put at the front of a pedalboard.  What is different on this one than ones I've done before is that this has a buffered tuner out.  This took some nerve-wracking drilling, but everything just fits


Stallion Overdrive - This is a (mostly) all SMD build.  Its based on the J. Rockett Dude.  I used soldering stencils for the first time on this.  It was super cool to lay down the solder paste on the stencil and see it perfectly on the pads.  When I had the board populated, I tossed it in my powdercoat oven, and let the solder flow that way.  Its amazing to go from "this is never going to work and flow, I'm going to burn everything" to "holy cow, its actually working!"


Kairos Delay - The Kairos is a nice sounding analog inspired delay.  This took some cues from the VFE Blueprint pedal, running internally at 18V, and having a mix control go from full wet to fully dry.  The delayed repeats sound really good on this one.


Chrono Trigger Deluxe Delay - This is a dual delay pedal, with an option to run the delays in either parallel or series.  It took a few iterations to get the switching finally figured out, but I am happy with where it is.  The dual/parallel is on a toggle switch, and you use the footswitch to bring in that second delay.   


Everglade Tremolo - This one also took more iterations to get right than it probably should have.  This is a dual tremolo pedal.  Two sides, one optical trem, the other a brownface harmonic tremolo.  The Harmonic sounds really good, nice and swirly, and the optical side does blackface sounds really well.  I still might want to play with this one again to add just a hint of volume boost to both ends, but for now, I'm happy with it.


Citadel Compressor - This is a totally un-neccesary pedal, but one that is pretty cool nonetheless.  It is two compressors in one box.  On one side is a Dyna Comp based OTA compressor with all the bells and whistles.  It has a blend control, tone control and attack control.  The other side is an optical based compressor, based on the EQD Warden.  The biggest issue with building this was fitting all 11 pots on the board.  So I made a board sandwich and used a secondary board to mount all the pots on, everything is solidly board mounted, and I didn't have to be super-precise on the main board in positioning all the controls.

Looking for some reccomendations/advice from people who use 3D printers.

My wife has gotten into cookie making lately, and has been buying some 3D printed cookie cutters online.  I'm looking at it and thinking "that can't be too hard", so it has me looking into some 3D printers.

Does anyone have some recommendations of some good ones?  Looking to stay on the cheaper end of things.  I've done a little looking at the Ender 3, but looking to see if anyone has any other ideas.

And I guess the biggest question... yes, my wife will be using it, but what cool pedal related things can I make with it 

I had a NGD on Friday.  I've been looking for a while to add something really nice to my collection.  While I have plenty of guitars, and a few really nice ones, they are all import models, knock-offs, or lower quality guitars.  Schu-Tone has done ok for me for the last little bit, and I had a little bit of cash burning a hole in my Paypay account, so I was on the lookout for a nice electric guitar.  I had originally set my sights on one of the PRS 35th anniversary S2 Custom 24 models thinking that would be a nice one to have.  In the last few months of looking on Reverb, I convinced myself I could move into a core series for about the same amount of cash.  So the focus switched to the Custom 22's and the like.  Last week I stumbled on this guy on Reverb.  The seller was in Detroit, about 2 hours away, so my wife and I took a day trip over on Friday to pick this guy up.

Its a 20th Anniversary Custom 22, with a 10-Top and bird inlays, beautiful flame on this guy.  I got a screaming deal on this because there was no case and a few little dings here and there, but for the price, nothing that I couldn't live with.  Even after buying a hard-case for it, I was still well under what a S2 would have cost.  The guy said he was a shredder, and has it setup super-low, and it plays like butter.  It is definitely wayyyyy nicer of a guitar than my playing ability warrants 

Here are the builds I've boxed up this weekend.  This is about the end of a big PCB order I got a few months back.  I have all these built up, it just takes some time to box them up

This is the Replicant Deluxe Chorus pedal.  It is a dual chorus, allowing you to switch between two chorus presets.  Knobs for Mix, Feedback and Delay, a switch for the clock range.  I love me a chorus, and this one is really fun, all the bells and whistles.



The Eidolon is the Smashing Pumpkins in a box.  Its a combination of the MXR Distortion II and an Op-Amp Big Muff. 


The Torrent is a combination of a Klon-Type boost and the Benson Pre-amp that seems to be all the rage these days.  I've tried the Benson in a 1590A that never sounded quite right, but it works well in here.  Its basically a modded Plexi-Drive, but its a nice sounding overdrive.


The Dirty Martini is my take on the Frantone Hi-Ball.  I'm a big fan of Brian Fallon and the Gaslight Anthem, and that pedal was built for him.  Its a Distortion+, but it has an interesting feature of when the clipping diodes change, the feedback of the second half of the op amp throttles the volume down, so you don't get the volume jump you sometimes get switching clipping diodes.  The giant switch is to turn on or off the input buffer.  There is also an added Micro Boost on the end of the chain.


And here are my obligitory 1590A builds

The Istanbul is a Dumble inspired drive with its roots in the Zen Drive camp



Roscosmos is a pretty clean boost pedal using depletion-mode Mosfets


And the Fuzz Franktory is a custom build.  Its a four-knob Fuzz Factory, with an added LPB-1 on the end to really push the volume up.

So here are a few of my builds I've finished up in the last week or so...

Since I've discovered how well my laser etches powdercoated enclosures, I decided to dive into the deep end and start powdercoating my own boxes.  A trip to Harbor Freight for their cheap powdercoating gun, a stop at Target for a toaster oven, and I was in business.  Like anything else, there has been a learning curve, but its really cool to learn another skill like that.

Onto the pedals...

The first is the Lodge Phaser/Pan pedal.  This is based on the old Ibanez Flying Pan.  This is a great sounding phaser even in mono, but sounds even better in stereo with the panning going on.  Definitely a fun one!


This is the Stormcloud OD/Comp.  Reverb did a sound like on John Mayer a while back, and I noticed that a lot of the settings were a Dyna Comp into a Dude OD.  So thats what this is.  I really like using the compressor as a nice boost, and the OD side has great range to it.


Here is the Trestle OD.  I was watching the Premier Guitar Rig Rundown on Robin Trower, and saw him using a Fulldrive and his RTO overdrive.  So I figure why not make a 2-in-1 with both of them.  Yes, its basically two tube screamers in one box, but they stack well together and make a fun combo.


The Phantom Spirit is a Delay/Reverb combo pedal.  Really nice ambient tones in here.  Put them together and you have something really versatile in not a ton of space.


I am really happy with how my etch turned out on the Savant compressor.  This is an optical compressor with a switchable grit section.  This is runs at 18V internally and gives some super long sustain.  A really cool compressor to play around with.


The Onxard is based on the Seymour Duncan 805 OD, but squeezed into a 1590A.  I like having the mid control, it really opens up the pedal with the ability to boost or cut the mids.


Here is another phaser/vibe squeezed into a 1590A.  It is a gyrator based phaser/vibrato.  Two different LFO's control the two stages of filter sweeps.  This is definitely something that you don't hear everyday.


Here is the Lectric FX DC Echo.  Awesome sounding BBD delay.  I don't know if I got lucky, but in calibrating, after setting the clock, I didn't have to move a trimpot to get awesome sounds coming out of it.  Since this one goes from full dry to full wet, I added a dry output at the front end of the pedal (like the original).


And since I've been powdercoating my own boxes, I've been working through some of my own pedals, powdercoating, etching and reboxing them.

Here are a few more of what i finished up this last week...

I finally took the plunge and ordered some powdercoated enclosures to test out with my laser.  Man, does that work well.  The laser burned through the powder like butter, and it ended up looking great!  I am really happy with how it looks, it is so professional, this is what I have been striving for.  My only issue is that I restocked on all my enclosures, now I need to get more powdered enclosures, or learn to powdercoat myself

The three that I did were a Clarent overdrive (Bluesbreaker style OD), Ripple Trem and my Secret Agent overdrive (like the Cornish SS-3).  The Ripple is on a white enclosure, it just looks green in the picture.  I might want to play in the future with infilling the etched area, just to give some contrast.
 



Next up is the Madbean Glasshole.  Sounds really good.  I ended up using 9200 LDR's from Small Bear (since they are out of 9203's).  The depth and range still seems really good.  Cool sounding phaser.  I like the LED's on the stage switch, showing the rate of the LFO.  I am really happy with the etch on this one, I think it turned out pretty cool.


This is a Voight-Kampff Chorus from DiabloChris.  I've had this built up for about a year and a half, just never took it all the way and finished it up.  I went super-deluxe on this one, and added all the outputs that I could (trying to get a pseudo Tri-Stereo chorus).  This is one tight build, definitely not for the faint of heart.  It is definitely an interesting and complex sounding chorus, very lush, you wouldn't think it was PT2399 based.


This is another Robot Zookeeper drive.  This is one of my favorite drives to play with.  It is similar to a 1981 DRV, Rat based overdrive.


Last one is a custom build.  The customer was looking for a Treble Booster into an Octave Fuzz.  I paired the Treble Booster with my Shatter Machine (superfuzz) Fuzz.  It is a pretty cool combination.  It can get really nasty, and the treble boost makes some cool overtones of the fuzz.

Here are a few more I finished up this last week (or finally got around to taking pictures of)...

The first three are some Lovetone builds on some DeadEnd FX boards.  Awesome quality boards, awesome sounding pedals.  I've tried a Meatball and Wobbletron before that were never quite right, so I was excited to try these guys out.  They sound amazing.  I love playing the Turbo Trem in panning mode between my AC4 and 5F2 builds, it sounds so cool to have it spaced out like that.  This is my second Doppelganger (I already have an alanp one), and this one sounds just as awesome as the first.




Next is Brian's Man O' War Deluxe.  I've had the board populated and ready to go since the project launched last year, I just never got around to actually boxing it up.  After some farting around with bad clock chips, I got it up and running.  I want to do an A/B comparison next to my Aquaboy DX, just to see how the two compare.  I am really happy with how the etch turned out on this one, I think it looks really cool.


The next few are some Schu-Tone builds.  The first is the Ignitor Deluxe.  It is a dual overdrive pedal, loosely based on the Barber Burn Unit.  One footswitch for bypass, the other to select between two different drive and level presets.  It has that nice tight, focused distortion to it, Dumble like.  The second is the Thunderbird, which is a Morning Glory Bluesbreaker and a Superbolt 2-in-1.  The switch in the middle is for order switching (I know Leetut already posted a build like this, I had my boards on order when I saw his, great minds must think alike  ).  The last is a custom build for a guy.  He wanted a version of my Wasteland fuzz with some custom graphics, and settled on the Prince-theme (thanks to Drew for the purple LED's).

Been a while since I posted any build reports of what I've been up to...

First, here are the last batch of VFE pedals that Brian released.  The Dark Horse enclosure has been done for about 2 years, I made that up when the Dark Horse was originally announced and then scrapped.  Glad I held onto it 





And here are some other builds.  The Sonomatic Deluxe is an awesome take on a multi-head delay in a 1590DD enclosure.  It comes from a guy named Cees at Skidmark Pedals (check him out on Facebook).  The Hooke is from DeadEndFx and is thier take on the Spaceman Orion.  Awesome spring reverb, it totally compares with the verb in my Princeton Reverb or Gravity amp.  Also in here is the Glitchee and The Imp from Brian.





And here are some of my builds.  The Corkscrew is a dual overdrive, with a Nobels ODR-1 feeding into a Bluesbreaker.  The Rohirrim Deluxe is a Klon, but i took out the tone control and replaced it with a Baxandall tone setup, so you have control over both the treble and bass (unfortunately I do have it wired up backwards, so they are both "Cut" controls).  The Grotto is a mashed up Reverb pedal.  It is based on the BTDR-3 brick, with all the bells and whistles you can ask for.  Pre-delay, room size, tone, feedback, mix and even modulation of the delayed reverb.  The Deuce is a MXR Distortion II in a 1590A size.  The bottom is a custom Box of Rock in a 1590A for a customer.






As you can tell, I've gotten my laser up and running.  The faceplates are made from thin engraving plastics.  I still have a lot to learn and a lot to play around with on the laser.  I haven't had a chance to try engraving directly onto a powdercoated enclosure yet, but I hope to try that soon.  Yesterday I did get a chance to play around with my rotary attachment, making some cups.  It seemed to etch through that no problem, so I am hoping that powdercoated enclosures will be the same!

Here are a few builds I've been working on the last little bit...

Spiralizer Deluxe - This is a continuation of my 3rd place finishing Spiralizer pedal.  I took the basic building block of it and added on.  Add on's to the circuit was to have two Rate/Intensity settings that you can switch between, adding Hi and Low tone controls, and a Chorus/Vibrato switch to bring some dry signal into the Univibe sound.  I really like being able to switch between the two speed ranges.  In the future I might look into adding a Ramp control, but for now, I am happy with how it turned out. 


Tempest Deluxe - Speaking of ramp controls, this is the Tempest Deluxe Phaser.  I made a vero phaser with RG Keen's LERA (http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/Madbean-NomNom-with-Depth-and-LERA-td26830.html) a while ago, and sold it in my last pedal clearout.  Before I sent it out, I was playing through it and realized what a cool concept it is.  So I made a board of my own for it.  The LERA is a Leslie Effect Rotor Adapter and it allows you to ramp between a high speed and a low speed, and there is a control for how fast that ramping happens.  Other than that addition, this is just a modded Phase 90 pedal.  There are controls for Mix, Speed, Regen, Width, Ramp, High and Low speeds, and a switch to change caps (similar to the VFE Tractor Beam phaser).  Like on the Spiralizer, I like being able to switch between a low and high speed, and hearing the LFO ramp the speed up, instead of an instant change.


Skirmish - This Tube Screamer/Bluesbreaker is inspired by the King Tone Duellist pedal.  I've been seeing it talked about a lot on thegearpage and other places, so I decided to take a stab at it.  It is a Tube Screamer into a Bluesbreaker.  On the Tube Screamer side, there are internal DIP switches to go from Sym/Asym clipping, or to add extra diodes in to make it a little more compressed sounding.  The voice switch changes the bass response of the gain (like a Timmy bass control).  The Bluesbreaker side is similar, with a voice switch to change the bass response, and the DIP switches to go from Sym/Asym clipping or to add hard clipping diodes to ground.  Something I learned on this build, is that my pinout of MMBFJ201's has been wrong for years.  Typically I have used a dual package JFET, but for whatever reason I used just the SMD package.  After trying to figure out why my Bluesbreaker volume wasn't over unity, I realized that the pinout was wrong    A few solder connections later, I have a Bluesbreaker with plenty of volume.


Steel Phoenix - This is a dual drive based on the Vertex Steel String Singer and Ultra Phonix.  In reality, all it is is an Orman mini-boost (Steel) and a Zendrive without the voice control (Phonix).  So I combined the two into one box.  You know what they both sound like, but it is a nice combination to be able to boost the Zendrive with the Steel side.  The control layout was again inspired by the King Tone Duellist.

Here are a few of my recent builds.  I've been having some fun with transformers!

Vesuvius - This is based on the EQD Eruptor.  At its heart is a Silicon Fuzz Face with a pickup simulator at the front end to make it play nice with others.  Single knob for bias adjustment and I added a switch for input caps.  It is just as nasty sounding as the demo's make it out to be.


Bitter End - This is an Octavia in a 1590A.  I know Pickdropper has already done this, but I wanted to give it a try as well.  I have the transformer mounted on the pot mounting daugherboard, and that is what gives it the height clearance it needs.


La Plancheta - This is similar to the Dunlop Siete Santos Billy Gibbons pedal.  I really like how this thing sounds.  I've never really played with a graphic EQ before, but it sounds amazing to be able to really boost or scoop the mids out of this.  Turning the octave off and playing with the EQ, it is a super versatile fuzz.  And adding the octave back in really brings out the nasty.


Howitzer - This is based on a pedal from everyones favorite pedal company.  I had never built an Astrotone Fuzz before, so I wanted to try it out.  Another cool sounding and versatile fuzz.

So after my little sojourn into the land of larger enclosures, I have gone back to the cramped confines of the 1590A    Here are a few that I have finished up in the last month or so.

And if you ever want to know what I've been working on, I keep the archive section of my website pretty up-to-date.  Check it out here:
https://www.schutone.com/2019-2/

Transmission Boost - This is my take on the Hudson Broadcast.  I took the main circuit and just omitted the transformer at the end of the circuit.  It still has some great sounding GE boost to it, and the range switch really adds some versatility.


Codebreaker - This is a pretty standard Blues Driver in a 1590A.  For the gain pot instead of using the 250kA Dual Gang, I used a 250kB linear Dual Gang.


Gargantua Jr Fuzz Face & Treble Booster - This is a dual pedal in one 1590A.  There is a GE Fuzz Face and a GE Rangemaster.  The toggle is an on/on/on switch that lets you have just the Fuzz, just the Treble Booster or in the middle, the Rangemaster into the Fuzz Face.


Detonator Jr 18V - This is the same circuit I've posted before, the Colorsound Overdriver, but I added a charge pump to convert it to 18V, making it a Power Booster in a 1590A.


Iron Fury - This is a Riot-like distortion pedal


Bender - GE Tone Bender MKII.  Added controls for Bias of Q2 and tone control added to the end.

So in taking a small break from my normal 1590A builds, I've been working on a few dual OD style builds (don't worry, I have plenty more 1590A madness to share).  Here is what I've been working on the last few weeks:

Black Moon - This is based on another one of TGP's flavor of the week pedals.  You already know what it is.  Its an octave circuit into a Rat with clipping options, and a boost on the end.  I wasn't thinking I would like it that much, but this is pretty cool.  Being able to blend in the octave really allows you to dial in how much nasty you want in the signal, and I like having the 4 clipping options.


Raging Bull - This is a Klon into a Bluesbreaker.  I really like this combination.  Having the Klon in front of the Bluesbreaker really gives it a new character to its breakup.


Overload Dual - This is two Dumbloid circuits in one box.  Its a nice sounding OD, and I saved myself about $750 


Dragon Claw - This is a Menatone Red Snapper and Blue collar in one box (like their Fish Factory pedal).  Two similar yet different overdrives give you some cool possibilities.

I just saw the kickstarter for this guy.  For the price, it looks like it could be a good option for some of us.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/flux-inc/beamo-worlds-smallest-co2-laser-cutter/description

Any laser experts have any thoughts on this?