Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

S

Surgeon

New member
So I come here to show them off of course!

1st off is an EP Booster. I'm quite impressed with this pedal. With the bright switch on it adds just the right amount of brightness. The fat switch doesn't do much however. It reminds me of the SHO but gets a bit less dirty... a worthwhile pedal.

IMG_0754_zps89c4cd3f.jpg


IMG_0758_zps29924059.jpg


Second, an Amptweaker tight metal... the gainiest pedal I've built and played. Light version in that it doesn't have the effects-loop and the noise gate is at a pre-determined level (trim pot inside) and always on... pretty nice sounding at home, haven't tested it in band context though...

IMG_0616_zps895a2bf7.jpg


IMG_0545_zps88249397.jpg


IMG_0618_zpsd1168f78.jpg


Hope you like...
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Thank you for the kind words guys.
I gotta say, coming back to building pedals after building a 100w amp makes it a bit less exciting sadly. There's a much lesser thrill now building something that has no potential of killing you and only puts a 5$ dent in your pocket if you screw it up... :D
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Those are great! I've been thinking about trying my first pedal build recently, this definitely makes it much more tempting. Great work!
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Love the art. I would love a Phase 90 and a Distortion + with custom art, especially if they're only $5.
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Heh way cool as usual....haha yeah high voltage stuff is somewhat far removed from those little 9v things ;)
Looking forward to your next projects!
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

way cool.
I'd love to see a thread outlining how you do the graphics, and also a thread on how you build your circuits on the breadboard and stuff.
it'd be fascinating.
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Thank you all guys!

Empty Pockets said:
Love the art. I would love a Phase 90 and a Distortion + with custom art, especially if they're only $5.
Click to expand...
Hehe, 5$ is the approx cost of the circuit... I don't include pots, jacks, enclosure, etc... which can be reused for other projects if you screw-up. Resistors are about a penny each, caps a couple of pennies and most transistors and ICs are quite cheap too so...

gibson175 said:
way cool.
I'd love to see a thread outlining how you do the graphics, and also a thread on how you build your circuits on the breadboard and stuff.
it'd be fascinating.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I could do a pictorial of sorts but there's not big mystery anywhere.

Graphics are found on Google images and then printed on Avery clear laser-printer labels (I use small ones for the text, such as control labels, input, output, 9v, etc. and big ones for the graphics):
Drill, prime, paint, apply labels, clear-coat and voilà!

Circuits are simple as well. Nowadays I mostly build on vero board (strip board) with layouts from tagboardeffects (a few from sabrotone) so it's a matter of cutting the vero to size, make the cuts and links, solder on the components and you're done. I do use pcbs I etch myself but I'm quite fed-up with the process. It takes a long time to transfer the mask (toner), etch, drill, etc and the results have been unsatisfactory lately (I might have a problem with my acid supplier).

There's really nothing fancy about the way I build but if you need détails I may do a bit of a tutorial when I build the next pedal if you want.
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Well I guess I could spend a LITTLE more than five bucks on a decent handmade pedal... :smokin:
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Surgeon said:
So I come here to show them off of course!

1st off is an EP Booster. I'm quite impressed with this pedal. With the bright switch on it adds just the right amount of brightness. The fat switch doesn't do much however. It reminds me of the SHO but gets a bit less dirty... a worthwhile pedal.

IMG_0754_zps89c4cd3f.jpg


IMG_0758_zps29924059.jpg


Second, an Amptweaker tight metal... the gainiest pedal I've built and played. Light version in that it doesn't have the effects-loop and the noise gate is at a pre-determined level (trim pot inside) and always on... pretty nice sounding at home, haven't tested it in band context though...

IMG_0616_zps895a2bf7.jpg


IMG_0545_zps88249397.jpg


IMG_0618_zpsd1168f78.jpg


Hope you like...
Click to expand...

gorgeous graphics. Where did you get the switch boards? Looks like a good purchase instead of threading true bypass knotwork.
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

jon the art guy said:
gorgeous graphics. Where did you get the switch boards? Looks like a good purchase instead of threading true bypass knotwork.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I bought the daughterboards from a guy on a pedal-forum. If you need I can give you his email. They end-up quite cheap (I don't remember but somewhere around 0.75$ a piece) and are quite amazing. They simplify the wiring and make things much faster.

They have a spot for your LED-limiting resistor and 5 ground pads (making it an ideal spot for your star-ground). Plus, you gotta admit, they just look nice and clean. ;)
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Surgeon said:
Thanks! I bought the daughterboards from a guy on a pedal-forum. If you need I can give you his email. They end-up quite cheap (I don't remember but somewhere around 0.75$ a piece) and are quite amazing. They simplify the wiring and make things much faster.

They have a spot for your LED-limiting resistor and 5 ground pads (making it an ideal spot for your star-ground). Plus, you gotta admit, they just look nice and clean. ;)
Click to expand...

Nice. Guitarpcb sells some for 1.89ea but I'd rather wire my own and spend that on all the passive components instead. Theirs are pretty nice though.
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

King IzzO))) said:
I've been wanting to try a tight metal...
Click to expand...

You should, it's quite good!

jon the art guy said:
Nice. Guitarpcb sells some for 1.89ea but I'd rather wire my own and spend that on all the passive components instead. Theirs are pretty nice though.
Click to expand...

I etched my first 20 of those (exact same layout, it's available somewhere on the web, search "M.G daughter boards" or something like that) and the 0.75 or 0.50 (I don't remember the exact price) is more than Worth it. I mean, just the toner transfer, etch and drilling takes forever if you want to do it nicely (they're tiny boards with lots of holes) and at these prices they're definitely a bargain. They're much nicer than the ones I made too, they have a solder mask over the traces, silkscreening, etc...

Not trying to convince you but that added cost to a pedal is, IMHO, definitely Worth it both in time you save and in neatness... maybe even solidity.
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

I gotta say, I expected someone to note the unofficial name of the pedal on the veroboard in the second pic... oh well... ;)
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

Surgeon said:
I gotta say, I expected someone to note the unofficial name of the pedal on the veroboard in the second pic... oh well... ;)
Click to expand...

Ha.

I've got a Tight Metal, one of the best distortion pedals I've tried over the past few years. Someday I'd love to have someone build me a rack unit with a bunch of AMT clones along with the Tight Metal and Okko Dominator clones. :D
 
Re: Once in a while I build one or two that are worth looking at...

I'd love to hear a soundclip of that tightmetal. Maybe even along with the boost.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

weepingminotaur
Keeley Filaments "First Impressions" Review
Replies
17
Views
2K
Aceman
Aceman
El Dunco
What goes into producing a song?
Replies
7
Views
2K
El Dunco
El Dunco
U
Update To My Goldfinger 90 Review
Replies
0
Views
3K
UberMetalDood
U
Back
Top