Recent content by HamishR

I try to say simply what I like to do. Not trying to tell anyone what to do - and in saying what I like to do I like to give a reason to explain. There's (probably) more than one way to skin a cat. I dunno - never skinned one, and I'm not about to start. I think building pedals is fun which is...

I use BAT41s instead of Ge all the time. They're a lot more robust. I like to pair a single BAT41 with a 1N4148 or 1N4001 as clipping diodes too. Experimenting with clipping diodes in a circuit you know well can be eye opening.

Does it have to be a PCB? The BJF designed Baby Blue OD is a fantastic fuzzy drive which works particularly well with Marshalls. I've posted a Vero layout for it in the Vero section if you're interested.

The best way to solve the gain issue would be to just use an A500K instead of a B500K IMHO. Or even an A250K. But your solution should do the trick. And I second @phi1 's idea. Both mods would make the OD easier to use. Glad it worked out! You're a good friend.

The only time I use transistor sockets is for testing, and occasionally for Ge transistors. Even then I'll usually remove the socket once I have the Ge tranny I want and solder that tranny to the board. Sockets, particularly the inline snap-off things, are unreliable and have caused me plenty of...

Oh man - I could not agree more re ODs with Gretsches and Strats! Thats why I got into this stuff too.

Oh god - don't remind me! Yeah, Scomo was right up there in the moronic stakes...

I would have to think that once you are free of orange fraudsters things might improve. To Australia Tayda is very inexpensive. AFAIK we haven't voted in anyone who quite that stupid for a while. It's been at least ten years I think.

I have better results with the JJ ECC803S than most new 12ax7s. I actually like the sound of JJ's regular small plate 12ax7 but they can be microphonic. As long as the GZ34 is working to spec you shouldn't hear a difference between makes. I just like NOS because when you get a good one you...

I have built this on a Sheepylove PCB believing it to be a variation on a Bluesbreaker theme. It sure doesn't sound like one anymore! It's a very interesting sounding pedal. Higher gain than I would generally use (a LOT higher gain!) but some cool sounds. Any way to reduce the gain a bit...

Most of the pedals I build are in 1590Bs with top jacks. I use Lumbergs for IN, OUT, and DC.

The only JJs I've ever had problems with are recent GZ34s, I'm sad to say! I must have bought from a bad batch because I've had 2-3 go all fireworks in amps. Quite spectacular if you see it happen. Not good though. They've just blown the mains fuse so no harm done. I love JJ 6V6s, EL84s, 6L6s...

I love some NOS preamp tubes. But I never got into NOS power tubes because I could never afford them, and the risk involved buying online for something of unknown provenance is high. I once bought a pair of "NOS" 6V6s the seller promised were perfectly matched. Um, no they weren't. So the only...

It might make it easier to read if you reduce the length of the diode in DIYLC. You can make the diode length shorter so it shows the band.

Could it be a Lovepedal Kalamazoo with LED clippers?