What’s on *YOUR* workbench?

Third time's the charm for wiring relay bypass into my Leprechaun! This was originally assembled in early 2025 and was like my fifth pedal build, so pardon the spaghetti. At least it's appropriately colorful 😂 it wasn't until a recent troubleshooting thread that I had been using the wrong relays so the daughterboard was always on.
IMG_20260502_153940736_HDR.jpg

I put a Tall Boy Barefoot Button on the switch and I run the pedal by default in all my switcher presets. Now I can bring in the unicorn farts momentarily whenever I want!

IMG_20260502_161020027_HDR.jpg
 
Last edited:
Third time's the charm for wiring relay bypass into my Leprechaun! This was like my fifth pedal build so pardon the spaghetti. At least it's appropriately colorful 😂 it wasn't until a recent troubleshooting thread that I had been using the wrong relays so the daughterboard was always on.
View attachment 116496

I put a Tall Boy Barefoot Button on the switch and I run the pedal by default in all my switcher presets. Now I can bring in the unicorn farts momentarily whenever I want!

View attachment 116497
Kudos to you for tackling this beast.
 
No new pics until the last few permanent parts arrive, but my tube bass amp is finally up and running beautifully on the test bench. Still waiting on the Heyboer 100 watt output transformer to be finished, but the power amp board has a two tube 60 watt option so I can just run that way with the old trafo while I dial in the preamp voicing and whatnot. Initial B+ for the preamp tubes was crazy high and it took a few raids on junkbox stash to work out exactly what value resistors to order, but at least I can play the dang thing now, which I started on in early 2020 and then put away until a couple of months ago.
 
Splitting wood.. well brace stock which is quarter sawn:
IMG_5761.jpg

Traditionally they did this to ensure that there's no bad grain problems that would cause the loading of the braces to fail, taking the guitar top with it. As happened with the other block...

Also doing some top work.. I call this Chladni pattern at 193Hz.. "the nun with legs akimbo":
IMG_5777.jpg
 
i’ll be honest, i did scoff when i saw the schematic for the fortin fuzz)))) (410 fuzz)
and i’ve noticed that those that have built one, have not been disappointed, and have rated it highly.

i’ll have to agree.
this one is tuned really well.
it’s probably the sickest silicon fuzz face i’ve tried yet.
holy shit.
i think ill have to build one.
(note: i used BC549C, functionally identical to BC550C)
 
i’ll be honest, i did scoff when i saw the schematic for the fortin fuzz)))) (410 fuzz)
and i’ve noticed that those that have built one, have not been disappointed, and have rated it highly.

i’ll have to agree.
this one is tuned really well.
it’s probably the sickest silicon fuzz face i’ve tried yet.
holy shit.
i think ill have to build one.
(note: i used BC549C, functionally identical to BC550C)
The forum's #1 breadboardist strikes again. Plus points for posting videos. Plus points for frequency of trying shit out. That clip sounds sick AF
 
The forum's #1 breadboardist strikes again. Plus points for posting videos. Plus points for frequency of trying shit out. That clip sounds sick AF
the problem with breadboarding is that, compared to pedal building, it has a much faster feedback loop in the mesolimbic/reward pathway, and I can't stop 🥵

but for real - this is a killer fuzz face variant.
the girth control works well too (but i had it maxed all the way towards the 1U in the demo cos it's glorious)
 
Turbo Trem is the one last one I need to complete the set. Reminds me I need to get those boxes built.
I wanted a “Summer Challenge,” well here we are 🤩 Alllllllll the Lovetone.

Seen any TT Tayda layouts??

I also bought a PLL ONE board.. while I have a rather nice drill press, I’d gladly
 
Tube rolling in my new DIY bass amp build:

View attachment 116678

View attachment 116679

View attachment 116680

"NOS" tubes can be a real crapshoot, but so far so good...
The 12AU7’s don’t look heavily used. Only problem I’ve had with older long plate Sylvanias is they’re prone to microphonics. While I like the long plate AX7’s I actually prefer the mid to late 50’s short gray or black plates by Sylvania. They’re a hidden gem. I like the long plates in phase inverters though.

50s short black plate
IMG_0686.jpeg

50s short gray plate that I actually purchased today.

IMG_4622.jpeg
IMG_4623.jpeg
 
i’ll be honest, i did scoff when i saw the schematic for the fortin fuzz)))) (410 fuzz)
and i’ve noticed that those that have built one, have not been disappointed, and have rated it highly.

i’ll have to agree.
this one is tuned really well.
it’s probably the sickest silicon fuzz face i’ve tried yet.
holy shit.
i think ill have to build one.
(note: i used BC549C, functionally identical to BC550C)
sounds like a meathead…and that isn’t a bad thing.
 
sounds like a meathead…and that isn’t a bad thing.
that's a fairly astute observation, cos it basically is one. has nearly all the same values.

although I reckon there might be some, dare i say it, magic - going on with the 10M input/pulldown resistor in the fortin, or maybe it's the BC549Cs doing a better job, cos I liked this a lot more than the meatheads I've breadboarded (with lower gain BCs)
 
that's a fairly astute observation, cos it basically is one. has nearly all the same values.

although I reckon there might be some, dare i say it, magic - going on with the 10M input/pulldown resistor in the fortin, or maybe it's the BC549Cs doing a better job, cos I liked this a lot more than the meatheads I've breadboarded (with lower gain BCs)
Dialing in the bias can be very helpful too (also the 1u cap on the girth control 😂)

Just peeped the schematic…looks like a meathead deluxe
 
The 12AU7’s don’t look heavily used. Only problem I’ve had with older long plate Sylvanias is they’re prone to microphonics. While I like the long plate AX7’s I actually prefer the mid to late 50’s short gray or black plates by Sylvania. They’re a hidden gem. I like the long plates in phase inverters though.

50s short black plate
View attachment 116745

50s short gray plate that I actually purchased today.

View attachment 116746
View attachment 116748
I never met a long plate 12AX7 I liked that much in gain stages, but I don't use 12AX7s in bass gear anyway, and would just use current production in a guitar amp build if I ever did another one and needed that much gain. The octals in my pic are 12SL7s, my first go with these. Finding nice 6SL7s and especially 6SN7s is getting harder and harder (not to mention expensive), and there are seemingly tons of great 12SLs and 12SNs still out there. The 12AU7s are a "what-if" exercise for this very out of the box amp build, my last few rack preamps used 6SL7 and 6SN7 and were fabulous.
 
Last edited:
Trying to do some tidying up to make her roadworthy. It’s all little piddly stuff but important. I scored a rear view mirror on eBay and installed it today. I have hardware coming to install the old door panels until I pull the trigger one new ones (expensive). I’m gonna get some new tires to throw on it just to drive around on until I settle on new wheels and tires. Seat covers are on the agenda too. In case you’re curious it’s a 75. All new crate motor and transmission. She runs like a champ she just needs finishing. My dad is getting older and said he doesn’t have time or really care about finishing it anymore so he went ahead and gave it to me. I fixed the hood the other day so it latches. Like I said, little stuff.
IMG_6510.jpeg
 
Back
Top