Recent content by chris.knudson

I agree that you don't save money. A can of Rust-Oleum will only yield a few pedals at best, and it's not the cheapest option. I wouldn't even say that it's the best option. I am just saying that if you want to spray paint an enclosure, the best results that I personally have gotten have been...

I happen to be one of those who will disagree with this opinion. I do agree that powder coating will give you the best finish - no question about it. However, if you don't have the equipment or the know how to get a powder coat on your own, you can achieve good results with Rust-Oleum or...

Finishing an enclosure is an art form. In the end, you just have to be happy with what you've produced. I've seen hand painted enclosures; I've seen dipped enclosures; I've seen etched enclosures; I've seen polished enclosures; I've seen waterslides; I've seen laser engraved enclosures; I've...

I used to go to Rehoboth a couple of times a year, but for the last 20 years, I've been going to the Outer Banks in NC. Access to the beaches is the best thing about living on the east coast. Glad you had a great time!

Despite the fact that the foot switches are labeled backwards (check out my builds if you want to see the horror of mislabeling controls) this thing turned out awesome. Fantastic job for a first build. The frustrating part -- I get that, but I'm glad that you ultimately found it a very...

Nice job. I absolutely love this pedal. It's been a game changer for me. It's actually the only pedal I've built that has made it onto my gig board (at least in any kind of permanent way).

I have to second @jcpst. Where did you get your 201s? There are a lot of bad ones out there -- especially if you bought them from eBay or Amazon. You can get good J201s, but about the only places you can trust them from are Mouser or Digikey. Also, what is the purple plastic on the bottom of...

I'm a huge fan of the Cali 76 -- especially on bass, but I agree with @Chuck D. Bones. If you're looking for smooth clean compressor for guitar, the Black Finger will give you good compression without overly coloring your sound. Full disclosure... I do have a Delegate Boneyard in my build...

I try to never bend the legs, but when I do, I always bend them in the direction of the trace. However, I find that all of the previously mentioned techniques work -- everything from just using a flat workbench to using blue tack to hold hard to stabilize parts in place. If I can get away with...

Oh yeah, the TL071 is what I meant -- I know thy'll all work, I was just wondering if anybody has experimented with different op amps on the Distortion 250 circuit.

I'm building the Distortion 250 circuit, and I don't have an LM741. I do have a bunch of UA741s, which I know are basically the same chip with different silicone, so I know a UA741 will work. My question is has anyone tried any other Op Amps in the Distortion 250 like an LM308 or a TL072, and...

I only get my TL072s from Mouser these days. I'm happy to report that all have been good. Although, you can order them directly from TI if you want to go the safest route.

That's a nice clean build and great job on the graphics. As a fellow bass player, the compressor is the key to good tone -- second only to that is the pre-amp. I built the Nobelium tube pre amp, and it was a game changer for me.

I'm curious on how you settled on the 5528 LDR. I have one of these on my bench, and I have 10 different LDRs (and a whole bunch of optocouplers) to chose from, but I don't know what value to use. I also noticed that you used a 5mm yellow LED, but I saw in @Robert 's BOM that he calls for a...

What value LDR should I use for this build?