Show Your Pedal Builds

Here's where things stand while I plan and budget for the next big hardware/component purchase. I still have a few dozen PCBs on hand.

IMG_5232.jpeg
 
I fancy putting together a circuit tonight. Do I build...

A - OG Blues breaker pedal
Or
B - Keeley Java Boost

I've never tried either of these and genuinely can't decide. I've played plenty of 'boutique' blues breakers before but never a stock Marshall spec.
 
I'm one step closer to completing the build-out of my pedal workspace. I've been waiting on an Autonomous dual motor standing desk for weeks, and it was scheduled for delivery today.

Too bad only the desktop arrived. The base is stuck somewhere in New Jersey. They both shipped out from the same location at the same time, but somehow got separated. Hopefully it will arrive by Wednesday.
 
SillyOctpuss said:
I fancy putting together a circuit tonight. Do I build...

A - OG Blues breaker pedal
Or
B - Keeley Java Boost

I've never tried either of these and genuinely can't decide. I've played plenty of 'boutique' blues breakers before but never a stock Marshall spec.
Click to expand...
What did you pick?
 
eggpl@nt said:
What did you pick?
Click to expand...

Option C. I played my strat for a few hrs instead. :grin

I sat in with a friend's band last week for a few songs. They wanted to do some tunes that require two guitarists and we all enjoyed it so much they want to do it again. I don't know the tracks they're talking about so I've got some homework learning these tracks for Thursday.

I'm thinking about building the blues breaker next week though. It's still a bit hot here at the mo,especially in my workshop and I don't want to be measuring germanium transistors until I can get my room closer to 21c.
 
In the last few weeks, I’ve completed:
  • Aion Luna (4ms Tremulus Lune) - This was a kit build, which comes with all the praise I’ve already heaped upon Aion’s kits. It’s a nice pedal. I found a setting that sounds almost like a doubling effect, and I’ve parked it there.
  • PedalPCB Virgil (Digitech Bad Monkey) - I had one of these and sold it. I mainly built this pedal just to re-add the Bad Monkey to my hoard. It’s as I remember it - a good boost with some handy EQ controls. It stacks incredibly well with the…
  • PedalPCB Southern Belle (Greer Southland) - I expected to like this since it’s literally just a Lightspeed with some modifications to increase clipping. It’s a lovely higher gain OD - it cops what I want out of something like a BD2 in a more pleasant, smoother fashion. Stacks beautifully with lower gain / boosting overdrives.

No pics at the moment but maybe later. I still want to box up the Dielectric Boost (Lovepedal Tchula) then this phase of build is complete.
 
The September roundup:
  • Mint Ice Scream is a VFE Mint Ice Scream
  • Dielectric Boost is a Lovepedal Tchula
  • Virgil Drive is a Bad Monkey
  • Stratus Deluxe is a Boss SD1W
  • Titan is a Fulltone OCD
  • Southern Belle is a Greer Southland

The Ice Scream build is a perfect example of how frustrating PedalPCB's documentation can be. There are a couple DIP switches inside that toggle symmetrical/asymmetrical clipping or remove the clipping diodes all together. Which one is which? Who the fuck knows. (Well, I do, thanks to my signal generator and oscilloscope.) There was 0 indication on the PCB (aside from tracing and comparing against the schematic) or in the build documentation. It's a nice pedal - a very flexible screamer-type drive - but damn. PedalPCB could really stand to improve their documentation.

Compare that to Aion's Titan, which has 6 DIP switches inside, and the documentation perfectly explains how to use those DIP switches to approximate different versions of the OCD. Night and day.

Didn't really dig the Dielectric Drive. Granted, I haven't really explored it a ton yet - I need to try it more with single coils. Aesthetically, I ordered a 25mm knob because the 19mm knobs looks to small for this build.

Stratus Deluxe is fine, but I really don't know that I'm an SD1-lover. Even with the Bright Mod, the SD1 sounds duller and tubbier. The Waza Mode accentuates that tubbiness. However, Aion provides an alternate BOM for a more Tube Screamer-flavored build of the Stratus Deluxe, and I have a second PCB for exactly that purpose. I need another TS like a need a hole in the head, but I love em.


IMG_6226.jpeg
 
eggpl@nt said:
PedalPCB could really stand to improve their documentation.
Click to expand...

Yeah the pedalpcb docs are incredibly poor. It's the polar opposite of Aion, Madbean and Fuzzdog. They've all got great info in their build docs. I'd much rather pedalpcb released less projects and fleshed out the docs for the ones they have a bit more. The pcbs themselves are fantastic though .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top