DIY Guitar Pedals

[usekgb]

Hey Jack.  The super buffer is a permanent part of my fx chain.  I have one on the way in, and one on the way out.  Work wonders!

 

[CJ]

who has a build on the grey version ross 250?

gonna try a pot to control heater voltage on that vac tube Ge fuzz, should be interesting, dail in the grit with the cathode temp.  4.7 to 6.3. Vac.

 

[kato]

who has a build on the grey version ross 250?

I built one from the Tonepad layout several years ago. It has a wrong resistor value mentioned in the build notes. There's probably better sources now, but it's one to check.

 

[kato]

Seems to me the 5840 submini needs a more complex tone network than the one on "Le Craquement Thermionique" for example. I listened to all the demos in the thread and they weren't impressive. Strangely monotonic and warbly bee-buzz distortion, like a bad fuzz or broken synth implementation.

I had the same reaction as you to those sound clips. Folks don't seem to get that good tone requires more than a tube and the ability to pass signal. And not every design experiment needs to be published. (Not claiming I have any design chops, but I keep experimenting till it sounds good.)

If I happen upon some suitable submini's, I'll do it CJ-style with just the tube driver stage alone - no tone stack - and keep it modular and mix-and-match a signal chain to taste. (Taste?  I have tongues in my ears apparently.)

I noticed the "Le Craquement Thermionique" has a Super Hard On™ at the front end, hence the "Craq" in the name - the S.H.O. is known for knob crackle. (The Zvex original actually has "Crackle OK" printed on the top so people don't send 'em back as defective.) Reminded me that I stuffed a board but never boxed it.

Since it's a simple circuit with 1 knob and a handful of parts, I thought it would be fun to buck the trend of cramming 6-knob circuits into teensy 1590A enclosures (PDF) and put the teensy SHO in a giant box.

CJ inspired me to get back to my roots and skip the stomp switch, LED, and other cushy amenities, leaving a cavernously-empty enclosure.  My SHO:

I'm gonna pick the biggest knob I can find in my knob bin just to be funny-style.

 

[jpuhhuh]

Since we are no longer on the topic I'll add this link: http://www.singlecoil.com/frmset.html A good collection of guitar related info. Some of it previoiusly published on http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2007/Nov/The_DIY_True_Bypass_Lesson.aspx
(Please be aware it is also a retail site and I am not pushing that nor have had any experinece with them.)
JP

 

[MartyMart]

I guess this is now the official "DIY Guitar Pedals" thread of GroupDIY.

If you get a chance talk to Marty Mart (member here) he has many a stompbox build under his belt. 100 IIRC.

HA !!
You're not far off but I think it's nearer 200 !!

It was a great learning period for me, between 2004/2008 I was just a little obsessed with building AND
designing several pedals.
I looked seriously at having a few things produced in China, even had quotes and contracts floating around.
Then I thought about the "Dan Electro" FAB range and the new "Behringer" stompboxes ..... put me off, I
could see myself having 5000 guitar pedals sitting in my garage going nowhere

As somewhat of an expert on all things "pedal based" here are my recommendations.

First - it's almost always cheaper to buy than to build unless it's something vintage or rare and if you
have all the required parts and tools to start with.

One good "TS9" type overdrive is essential, pick one that suits you or perhaps modify one, it's all online
and I won't repeat whats been written about 1000 times here
There are over 100 BooTeeq pedals that are ALL TS9 based !!

One decent boost, AMZ Mosfet Boost ( SHO ) or similar is hard to beat.

One "Big Muff" type Fuzz, I like the "Rams head" version myself.

BSIAB II is just about the best distortion for that "VH" type sound or perhaps one of the
many "Amp simulations" using JFets, they can also be superb when biased well.

For modulation perhaps a CE2 clone and / or a Phase 90, I also like the Phase 45 very much.

Fuzz = hundreds ... many are very good, a good stable "Fuzz Face" is always good to have.

Have fun - some of these can be made in a few hours or less, great hobby but be warned .... it gets obsessive !!

MM.

 

[dandeurloo]

Ok, to deviate from the topic a little.  Remember I am not a guitar player.  I produce and record only so I want stuff for studio use.  I don't need a ton of volume.

I am curious your guy's thoughts on cabinets.  I have a number of combo amps and I love the speaker in my AC15 with the blue alinco.  All my combos have single 10's or 12's and are open backs.  I am wondering if you think I should get a solid back cab and wondering what your thoughts are on having a 1x12, 2x12 or a 4x12. 

My amps I have are below.

AC15 (good one not the stuff they make today)
Hot Rod Deluxe ( I actually kind of like this for its headroom and clean tone)
Pro Jr (cool little amp but sounds much better in a different Cab!)
DIY Tweed Champ (this amp rules and also sounds fantastic into a 12" speaker)
DIY 18 watt Marshall thing Head

Thanks in advance to any of you guitar slingers.