Am I the only fool that... Step 1: Build new drive pedal

[Dan M]

Step 1: Build new drive pedal.
Step 2: Compare to existing favorite drive pedal(s).
Step 3: Turn knobs on new pedal to try and sound like favorite pedal(s).
Step 4: Frown. Admit being DUMB.
Step 5: Realize you already know what drives you like.
Step 6: Vow to stop building drive pedals.
Step 7: Smile. Because now you are SMART!
Step 8: Sleep.
Step 9: Wake up and order more OD, Fuzz, and Dist circuit boards.
Step 10: Build new drive pedal.
Step 11. Compare to existing. . . .

 

[TravisM]

The tyranny of choice is in fact well known to me. Good luck. At least it is cheaper to DIY with PCBs...

 

[spi]

For me it's the hope that the next drive is so awesome, I'll never want to build another one. And by awesome, I mean makes me a better guitar player without practicing.

Nope, didn't work, my options are to practice guitar or make another pedal, and that will be the one.

 

[Coda]

Every fuzz I build will be the best fuzz ever…

 

[spi]

I have not felt the need for any other drive pedals.

Is anyone in this hobby driven by necessity?

 

[PapaBear]

Is anyone in this hobby driven by necessity?

What a silly notion

 

[fig]

Is a "drive pedal" a GNRRR-GNRRR......I know it's not a SWOOOSH-SWOOOOSH or a Waaa-WOCK-wocka...or even a BZZBZZZBZZZZZZZ?

 

[PapaBear]

I’m very selective about what I build. I’ve never been one to build for the sake of it.

Okay, so there is at least one

 

[fig]

I’m very selective about what I build. I’ve never been one to build for the sake of it.

I couldn't say the same and keep a straight face.

 

[Coda]

Is a "drive pedal" a GNRRR-GNRRR......I know it's not a SWOOOSH-SWOOOOSH or a Waaa-WOCK-wocka...or even a BZZBZZZBZZZZZZZ?

You know, not all of us are PhD.’s in Electro-Physics. How about a laypersons description…

 

[dawson]

Is anyone in this hobby driven by necessity?

I was for the first month.

 

[Feral Feline]

Is anyone in this hobby driven by necessity?

I am.

It is necessary to have at least one of every type of circuit available to DIYers, if not the entire PCB selection of every PCB supplier lest my OCD (the mental condition, not the pedal [but that too]) take over completely, because … well, what if that Rat variant or YATS or JAM etc actually IS better than the original circuit AND as good as the commercial version AND the difference heard in a band mix and appreciated and acknowledged by the audience …

…you know, what if?

 

[HamishR]

If I have amps to build I don't build pedals. If I have time to spare I make pedals. Making amps is more fun but more expensive.

I only build a pedal if there is a chance I will actually use it. Although I sometimes build a pedal as a request from a friend. My favourite thing is to find an overdrive I like which I think is almost perfect (for my particular use) and try to improve it or at least make it suit me better. It's not easy so I stumble around and almost give up, email Chuck, find out how to do it properly, ignore half of what he said through bloody-mindedness and because I'm stupid, realise that was a mistake, go back to Chuck's suggestions and then change it some more.

Sometimes I end up with a great pedal which may not suit everyone but which fills a need for me. I love it when Chuck says things like "R11, 13, 15 and 18 do nothing so leave then out." I love simplifying things.

Sometimes I'll build a pedal because it got good reviews or a friend suggests I try it. There are usually things I like and don't like about the circuit. For example I play Gretsches a lot and Filter'tron pickups can be fussy about OD because usually ODs are tuned for PAFs or Fender single coils. So ODs can sound fuzzy with Filter'trons and I would prefer a tight low end which twangs. Some ODs sound almost good with a Gretsch so I try to make them work better.

The other thing I like to do is add a bass pot to an OD. I think all ODs should have a bass pot. I think the KoT sounds ok but man it could use more low end. The Nobels OD sounds good but really needs a bass pot to reduce bass in some situations. Recently I found that the Protein Blue sounded excellent even with a Gretsch but I would have preferred it had a bass pot. So with Chuck's help I made one - it was ridiculously difficult but I have ended up with something which works for me extremely well - it doesn't sound exactly like a Protein Blue any more but has morphed into something else which works well for me.

So this is a very long way of saying no, I generally only build something if I think I will use it.

 

[Matmosphere]

I mean, we all do that.

• Before I was building I had an OCD clone (the joyo one), and many others before that.
• First I made a tubescreamer. Went straight to the board, off came the Joyo.
• Then I made an Emerson Em-Drive and it reigned for a while as the king. (so simple, yet so good)
• A couple years later I made a Mid-fi Demo-tape fuzz and it took it's place.
• Then a Timmy a few years later, because have you used those tone controls?! They are the correct way to do that.
• For the past few years it has been one called the Cliff OD that I got from a guy on a different forum.

It's not that my taste changed. Some sound better with some guitars and I still use a most of them but that is the progression of my go to pedal.

Every build isn't going to be great, most never make it to the board (though who am I kidding, my 'board' has a power supply and a delay and a bunch of pedals in front of it).