Bass Content: Four PCBs And One 1590D

[sticky1138]

I recently acquired a Squier Bass VI in a trade. I’m no bass player, but it’s fun to mess around with and an easy transition from regular guitar. More importantly though, it’s an excuse to build.

I don’t like bass guitars with a ton of effects and figured I could fit everything I need into one box. I’ve built a few 1590D 3-in-1s before, so I decided to push the limit and cram in a fourth PCB. I chose effects based on the tone of my favorite bassist, Peter Hook of Joy Division and New Order, settling on:

• Aion Quartz (Diamond Bass Compressor)
• PedalPCB Akronym Bass (EQD Blumes)
• Aion Lithium (EHX Small Clone)
• FuzzDog Spectre Verb (EQD Ghost Echo) – Would have gone with the PPCB Spirit Box, but this one fit better!

The whole project took me a few months to finish. I built 2-3 different circuits for each effect type to pick the best ones. I measured the PCBs and components with calipers, then designed the layout in Illustrator to make sure everything would fit. I bought the cheapest 1590D I could find for a test fitting before investing in a finished enclosure and UV print from Tayda. For the graphics, I went for kind of an early ‘90s rack unit look.

As you can imagine, this was not easy to wire. To accommodate my layout, all pots, switches and LEDs are off-board. Getting the LEDs in position sucked. The huge footswitch boards from Aion ate up space. The Akronym just barely fits, with all board components folded down as low as possible. There is a generous amount of electrical tape throughout to prevent shorts.

I took my time on this one (something I rarely do) and surprisingly it worked on the first go. Very happy about that because I did not look forward to troubleshooting this behemoth. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out, and I now have a complete bass pedalboard the size of a hardcover book.

 

[dan.schumaker]

That looks awesome! Great work on it!