MichaelW
Well-known member
- Build Rating
Just buttoned up this build after supper this evening.
I've never owned a flanger. I can probably count on one hand how many times I've actually played through one.
And on NO hands I've played through an all analog one!
(I think the last time I used a flanger was in some Digitech multi-fx pedal board thingy I had at one time)
So needless to say I have very little experience with them. I've been wanting to build the Byzantium for quite some time and it's been
in and out of my cart at least a dozen times. It looked complex and the parts size requirements gave me a headache just thinking about it.
Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. It was actually a fairly straightforward build. Like building two modest effort boards simultaneously.
And since I recently built the Tourbus I already was mostly there with the low profile components needed. Again, big shoutout to @PedalPCB for his elegant layouts. Lots of room to work and nothing feels crammed.
The only low profile components I couldn't find were the 47u e caps. I had ordered some 47u Tantalums and was planning to use those but turns out they weren't any more "low profile" than the electrolytics I already had. So in order to make it all work I had to use a bit of "English" with the 2 47u caps. Everything else, I was either able to get in low pro size or I used tantalums. The only other substitution I made was for the single PNP. BOM called for a BC560 which I couldn't find so I used a 2N5087 (which has reverse pin outs to the BC560 btw). I socketed the PNP in case it didn't work but it all seems to work just fine.
Like my Tourbus, I used the @Betty Wont method of bias trimming, I just set all the trimmers to noon, plugged it in and heard the whooooosh of jet airplanes! I couldn't find any info on biasing to setting the other trimmers, and it sounds so good I'm probably just going to leave it the way it is. I can't imagine getting it to sound more flangey than it already is.
I can get everything from light chorusing to the whole jet airplane sounds from this thing. Rich, lush and chewy flanging. Still trying to figure out what all the knobs do, especially the "manual" control, not sure what that does. But I only had about 30 minutes play time with it so far.
The only downside to this build is the enclosure. Really unhappy with these cheap enclosures I recently got fromboth Smallbear and I think this one I used was from Stompbox. I had run out of 125b's at one point and threw them in my parts order. The powder coating is really poorly done. Scratches super easily and it chipped on me when I was holding it down to drill. (One of the corners not in the picture).
Needless to say, after I get through these enclosures, I'll be using Tayda or my own painted ones from here on out. I wished I'd had a violet enclosure for this build but alas I didn't. Since it's a wild kind of sound I decided to go with the garish look of the bright orange knobs and an orange LED. I think it all works.
I'm enjoying the heck out of this pedal and looking forward to building the other two flanger boards I have, the MPB Colossalus and the @Chuck D. Bones Electric Ladyparts flanger gifted to me by our ever generous @fig.
You can see all the fine scratches in this box, just from drilling and building it. I hid the chipped corner. I'm planning to raid my wife's nail polish stash tomorrow.
Before stacking......lots of room and relatively low component count on each board. It's not as crowded or complex as it might appear.
All put together....
I've never owned a flanger. I can probably count on one hand how many times I've actually played through one.
And on NO hands I've played through an all analog one!
(I think the last time I used a flanger was in some Digitech multi-fx pedal board thingy I had at one time)
So needless to say I have very little experience with them. I've been wanting to build the Byzantium for quite some time and it's been
in and out of my cart at least a dozen times. It looked complex and the parts size requirements gave me a headache just thinking about it.
Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. It was actually a fairly straightforward build. Like building two modest effort boards simultaneously.
And since I recently built the Tourbus I already was mostly there with the low profile components needed. Again, big shoutout to @PedalPCB for his elegant layouts. Lots of room to work and nothing feels crammed.
The only low profile components I couldn't find were the 47u e caps. I had ordered some 47u Tantalums and was planning to use those but turns out they weren't any more "low profile" than the electrolytics I already had. So in order to make it all work I had to use a bit of "English" with the 2 47u caps. Everything else, I was either able to get in low pro size or I used tantalums. The only other substitution I made was for the single PNP. BOM called for a BC560 which I couldn't find so I used a 2N5087 (which has reverse pin outs to the BC560 btw). I socketed the PNP in case it didn't work but it all seems to work just fine.
Like my Tourbus, I used the @Betty Wont method of bias trimming, I just set all the trimmers to noon, plugged it in and heard the whooooosh of jet airplanes! I couldn't find any info on biasing to setting the other trimmers, and it sounds so good I'm probably just going to leave it the way it is. I can't imagine getting it to sound more flangey than it already is.
I can get everything from light chorusing to the whole jet airplane sounds from this thing. Rich, lush and chewy flanging. Still trying to figure out what all the knobs do, especially the "manual" control, not sure what that does. But I only had about 30 minutes play time with it so far.
The only downside to this build is the enclosure. Really unhappy with these cheap enclosures I recently got from
Needless to say, after I get through these enclosures, I'll be using Tayda or my own painted ones from here on out. I wished I'd had a violet enclosure for this build but alas I didn't. Since it's a wild kind of sound I decided to go with the garish look of the bright orange knobs and an orange LED. I think it all works.
I'm enjoying the heck out of this pedal and looking forward to building the other two flanger boards I have, the MPB Colossalus and the @Chuck D. Bones Electric Ladyparts flanger gifted to me by our ever generous @fig.
You can see all the fine scratches in this box, just from drilling and building it. I hid the chipped corner. I'm planning to raid my wife's nail polish stash tomorrow.
Before stacking......lots of room and relatively low component count on each board. It's not as crowded or complex as it might appear.
All put together....
Last edited:
I claim that band name…). Nice job on the build BTW. 
