rwl
Well-known member
- Build Rating
This is a report on my build of Dylan159's "Dudson Narrowcast", based on the Hudson Broadcast. I was curious about this pedal because it's supposed to sound like the Hudson Broadcast, but it has no boutique or unusual parts (no OC71, no transformer, no 330U capacitor). You can download the gerber here.
Inspiration
It took me a while to hit upon a design, but it came to me while visiting NY (the Hudson Valley). In the Hudson Valley we saw a large number of White-Throated Sparrows. Meanwhile, in the PNW, we rarely see them. On a local birdwatching tour, we saw one of these and it was the highlight of the trip - everyone had their cameras out. So why not use the white-throated sparrow as inspiration.
I'd also been wanting to have a bit more whimsical designs, so the white-ruffled collar of a Dutch renaissance painting was a natural fit with the birds name. And it all came together because there's extensive Dutch influence in the Hudson Valley itself.
I'm pretty happy with the design (it was hard to make the body look plausibly like a bird body), but there are two smallish problems. First, the White-Throated Sparrow has a fairly clear demarcation between the colors of the head and the body. This ended up above the collar line in the image, so it looks weird, like a bad photoshop filter or something. I noticed this as soon as I took the finished print out of the box. I'd like to tweak it.
Second, I selected a glossy black for the enclosure. It feels cheap to me, I'd much prefer a matte finish. I may end up giving this pedal away as a gift and redoing it to my more exacting standards.
The Build
It's a very simple build and lives up to its billing as a streamlined Hudson Broadcast. But then, the Hudson Broadcast/Simulcast is also pretty simple. The pedal fired right up and worked like a charm.
My build itself is regrettably sloppy. Don't look closely at the guts
.
The Pedal
In the Top 5 2024 thread I said this was one of my top 5 pedals. I'm not so sure now, but it is high on the list. It's a bold tube-sounding overdrive with some crunch and really great tones. I don't really like the switch (it seems to just toggle between "good sound" and a "bad sound" to my ears).
I built the PPCB Simulcast today (without charge pump and with OC44s kindly shared by @Cybercow) recently and was curious to see whether they sounded different. I don't have the most sophisticated ears, but the sound is very close. With a gun to my head, I'd say that the Simulcast has a slightly more "complex" tone. The switch on the simulcast is a bit more useful as well. But I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two if I didn't toggle them back and forth.
I'd recommend either pedal, because they sound great.
Firsts
Pedal rating: 5/5
Inspiration
It took me a while to hit upon a design, but it came to me while visiting NY (the Hudson Valley). In the Hudson Valley we saw a large number of White-Throated Sparrows. Meanwhile, in the PNW, we rarely see them. On a local birdwatching tour, we saw one of these and it was the highlight of the trip - everyone had their cameras out. So why not use the white-throated sparrow as inspiration.
I'd also been wanting to have a bit more whimsical designs, so the white-ruffled collar of a Dutch renaissance painting was a natural fit with the birds name. And it all came together because there's extensive Dutch influence in the Hudson Valley itself.
I'm pretty happy with the design (it was hard to make the body look plausibly like a bird body), but there are two smallish problems. First, the White-Throated Sparrow has a fairly clear demarcation between the colors of the head and the body. This ended up above the collar line in the image, so it looks weird, like a bad photoshop filter or something. I noticed this as soon as I took the finished print out of the box. I'd like to tweak it.
Second, I selected a glossy black for the enclosure. It feels cheap to me, I'd much prefer a matte finish. I may end up giving this pedal away as a gift and redoing it to my more exacting standards.
The Build
It's a very simple build and lives up to its billing as a streamlined Hudson Broadcast. But then, the Hudson Broadcast/Simulcast is also pretty simple. The pedal fired right up and worked like a charm.
My build itself is regrettably sloppy. Don't look closely at the guts
.The Pedal
In the Top 5 2024 thread I said this was one of my top 5 pedals. I'm not so sure now, but it is high on the list. It's a bold tube-sounding overdrive with some crunch and really great tones. I don't really like the switch (it seems to just toggle between "good sound" and a "bad sound" to my ears).
I built the PPCB Simulcast today (without charge pump and with OC44s kindly shared by @Cybercow) recently and was curious to see whether they sounded different. I don't have the most sophisticated ears, but the sound is very close. With a gun to my head, I'd say that the Simulcast has a slightly more "complex" tone. The switch on the simulcast is a bit more useful as well. But I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the two if I didn't toggle them back and forth.
I'd recommend either pedal, because they sound great.
Firsts
First clothed bird
Pedal rating: 5/5
