jimijames
New member
So, I ordered the kit for the marshall bluesbreaker clone which is supposed to be what the Analogman KoT is based off of. Well, The kit arrived today and I busted out the soldering iron. It's been a while since I've put together a pedal (who knew that when I came back here I'd start GASing again haha) so it took me a lot longer than it would have otherwise.
Edit: Photos in post number 5.
Only things I 'changed' were I had some diodes sitting around that were purportedly the same type used in the KoT (although I got them from effectsconnection which is now defunct. I've heard some vaguely bad things about them but never really knew what happened) and instead of the TL072 op amp that comes with it I used a NE5532 that I had laying around. You can see the diodes near the top right in the 'guts' picture.
FWIW the "KoT" diodes (if they really are that) distort much less easily than other diodes I've used. As a result with the TL072 op amp, the pedal would barely start to break up with the drive knob dimed. So, I tried the NE5532 and there's a bit more gain on tap but it's still on the very mild side of overdrive. For comparison when it's maxed it's probably around 12 to 2 o'clock on any other overdrive pedal (tubescreamer, Barber DD, etc.)
But, that's not such a huge deal. I don't do a lot of high gain music anyway.
Now, the sound - coming from tubescreamer-type distortion pedals primarily (modified boss sd-1's to be exact) the transparency of this pedal is just unbelieveable. I mean, it's not going to simulate power tube saturation any time soon, but the EQ of the guitar is almost completely unchanged. It is uncanny. In the neck position, there's this kind of sweet richness that's reminiscent of that sound SRV got when he would play around the 12th fret. Obviously you have to play in that area too, and it doesn't do it exactly, but I'm also using a marshall plexi clone turned down as low as I can get it because it's one in the morning and assembling pedals in my underwear is what I do some weekends. I'm sure if you had a fender-style amp and a strat you'd be pretty close.
I'd be curious to see what one of these sounds like with an LED clipping stage - One of my SD-1's has two blue LEDs for clipping and they definitely have a smoother and more bassy sound, and there seems to be more volume available with them compared with the other tiny diodes I've got. I feel like with LEDs this pedal would be pretty close to invisible in terms of sonic impact. It's already close enough for me as it sits right now, but I know some of you will look at that interior shot and say "Oh my gentle jesus he used a ceramic cap" or question the lack of silver mica and other high quality capacitors. I just don't have a good enough ear to be able to tell the difference. I've had an analogman modded SD-1 and I sold it because it didn't sound any better to me than my hackjob modified SD-1.
Anyway, the tone knob also brings the treble when it's past halfway. I like a lot of treble in my sound but it's pretty ridiculous above 3 o'clock. It's got enough range that it can sound most excellent with everything from a les paul to a strat to a tele bridge pickup running through two 500k pots.
There's only one more distortion pedal I'd like to try my hand at building - the Barber LTD Silver. Never got a chance to play one but I've heard great things about it. As for this pedal I can say without hesitation it was an unequivocal success and will remain a fixture in my pedal chain for the foreseeable future. I love the sounds that come out of this thing and for $60 (shipped) I gotta take my hat off to general guitar gadgets. It's a baller pedal and it makes baller sounds.
Edit: Photos in post number 5.
Only things I 'changed' were I had some diodes sitting around that were purportedly the same type used in the KoT (although I got them from effectsconnection which is now defunct. I've heard some vaguely bad things about them but never really knew what happened) and instead of the TL072 op amp that comes with it I used a NE5532 that I had laying around. You can see the diodes near the top right in the 'guts' picture.
FWIW the "KoT" diodes (if they really are that) distort much less easily than other diodes I've used. As a result with the TL072 op amp, the pedal would barely start to break up with the drive knob dimed. So, I tried the NE5532 and there's a bit more gain on tap but it's still on the very mild side of overdrive. For comparison when it's maxed it's probably around 12 to 2 o'clock on any other overdrive pedal (tubescreamer, Barber DD, etc.)
But, that's not such a huge deal. I don't do a lot of high gain music anyway.
Now, the sound - coming from tubescreamer-type distortion pedals primarily (modified boss sd-1's to be exact) the transparency of this pedal is just unbelieveable. I mean, it's not going to simulate power tube saturation any time soon, but the EQ of the guitar is almost completely unchanged. It is uncanny. In the neck position, there's this kind of sweet richness that's reminiscent of that sound SRV got when he would play around the 12th fret. Obviously you have to play in that area too, and it doesn't do it exactly, but I'm also using a marshall plexi clone turned down as low as I can get it because it's one in the morning and assembling pedals in my underwear is what I do some weekends. I'm sure if you had a fender-style amp and a strat you'd be pretty close.
I'd be curious to see what one of these sounds like with an LED clipping stage - One of my SD-1's has two blue LEDs for clipping and they definitely have a smoother and more bassy sound, and there seems to be more volume available with them compared with the other tiny diodes I've got. I feel like with LEDs this pedal would be pretty close to invisible in terms of sonic impact. It's already close enough for me as it sits right now, but I know some of you will look at that interior shot and say "Oh my gentle jesus he used a ceramic cap" or question the lack of silver mica and other high quality capacitors. I just don't have a good enough ear to be able to tell the difference. I've had an analogman modded SD-1 and I sold it because it didn't sound any better to me than my hackjob modified SD-1.
Anyway, the tone knob also brings the treble when it's past halfway. I like a lot of treble in my sound but it's pretty ridiculous above 3 o'clock. It's got enough range that it can sound most excellent with everything from a les paul to a strat to a tele bridge pickup running through two 500k pots.
There's only one more distortion pedal I'd like to try my hand at building - the Barber LTD Silver. Never got a chance to play one but I've heard great things about it. As for this pedal I can say without hesitation it was an unequivocal success and will remain a fixture in my pedal chain for the foreseeable future. I love the sounds that come out of this thing and for $60 (shipped) I gotta take my hat off to general guitar gadgets. It's a baller pedal and it makes baller sounds.
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