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Years ago, back when I was in college...I was a pretty average guitarist. Not terrible, not great. On a whim I auditioned for a local band's lead guitar position and by some miracle ended up getting picked for the spot. Spent the next two-ish years touring the country and regularly playing...

I’ve noticed lately a lot of folks’ builds where they’re only connecting a ground wire to one of their in/out jacks rather than both. I’m assuming the thinking here is that the other is grounded thru the enclosure and it’s to avoid potential ground loops? Just curious as to if there’s any...

Hi all, so maybe a silly question but something that's came up for me a few times...I'm curious how to know how to label toggle switches and/or how to know which direction is doing what. I'll use the Chase Tone Secret Preamp / Clandestine as an example. On the retail version of the pedal, UP...

Ever have a stupid simple project that just gives you fits? I feel silly for even asking about it… but for like a month now on and off I’ve been trying to put together a simple AB switch in a 1590A to be able to swap between two guitars and one output. First one of the LEDs burned up. I took...

Quick question. I’m short one tc1044 charge pump for a build for a friend. I’ve got a clandestine which I know uses one, and have a spare 18v tap on my PSU. Would there be any problem with pulling the charge pump from the clandestine and just plugging it in at 18v? I couldn’t remember if it...

Obviously it’s a subjective question, but… I see all the time pedals being advertised as “can be run at 18v for added headroom!” And that’s fine and all but in my experience it’s typically either a very subtle difference or - as described - just takes a little longer to break up or etc. So...

So I am a big fan of the EP-style preamps and the Chase Tone/Clandestine is one of my favorites. It’s more or less an always-on and so that’s played heavily into this build. I wanted to keep the entire top surface real estate open. More on that in a moment… So you’ll see all controls and I/O...

Wrapped up this build a couple days ago… mostly, anyways. I got it assembled and at that moment realized I completely forgot to order some knobs. So I scrounged up some random spares and at least made them symmetrical. To be replaced eventually, but oh well. The finish is kinda crummy too. I...

Hi all, so I’m curious if anyone has any insight here. I’m looking to use my trusty Ernie Ball VP JR as an expression pedal, specifically with my HX Effects. I’ve seen mixed messages on the matter; some folks say it doesn’t work, others say it works with reservations, others say it works with...

So I had a pound spool of Kester that lasted me for YEARS and ran out recently. Decided to give a cheap Amazon brand a shot (“Maiyum”) and it kinda sucks. Doesn’t really “flow,” just kinda melts and turns blobby if that makes sense. It’s like a quarter of the cost but I can’t stand it. So I’m...

Hopefully a fairly simple question here. I’m basically just wanting an AB switch with a volume control on each input - something to be able to quickly swap between two guitars but compensate for differences in each instrument’s outputs. It doesn’t necessarily need to be buffered but wouldn’t...

Hi all - finished my General Tso's a few weeks back and I really quite like it for the most part but I'm finding the treble control seems extremely subtle, like to the point where I can't even tell for sure if it's doing anything at all or if I'm just tricking my ears into hearing something...

Another fairly straightforward build from yesterday’s spree. Again a special thanks to Ernie Ball and Chicago Music Exchange for the DIY pot insulator material. Obviously didn’t end up needing it on the volume control but oh well. It sounds really good! I pretty much just made sure to swap...

I got a little over-zealous with my glue gun, I know… Fun pedal! I used waterclear green LEDs and these LDRs from Amazon. Maybe I got lucky, but they worked really nice together. I did test the dark resistance of a bunch till I found two that were closest to spec and each other. The leds are...

Pretty quick build here. Got it all whipped up, bypass was fine, LED came on, once engaged - no sound. And here’s the value of visual inspection on display. It’s pretty obvious in the first pic (well, you know, besides not having Jacks…) I’ve done that far more times than I’d care to admit...

Finished up (mostly) a Sludgehammer build today. I’m working on putting together a bass pedalboard and wanted some kind of ampsim/DI solution. It’s getting partnered with Chuck’s Bass Klon, Broughton HLPF (Frequency Interchange), an M9, and an old mini rat clone I’ve had kicking around. Should...

I, like many others (I suspect) have had a bit of a complicated relationship with buffers and/or buffered bypass pedals. I spent a long time believing the school of thought that says "True Bypass or Die" and then swung the other direction and said "High quality buffers are good and can only...

Hi all, a bit of a strange issue here. I assume it is something with my buffer's ground wiring, but I am not totally sure... I'm getting power from a Truetone CS7. All of the ports on it are tested and working properly on their own. I have one of the ports with a splitter cable plugged into it...

Perhaps the crummiest build report you'll ever see, but here it is. I only happened to snap one pic, but I'm bored at work so figured I'd post nonetheless. How did we get here? Well, it starts with a Katana boost.... I ordered one with the intention of putting it in a 1590B...

Hi all - hoping you can help me on my comp-quest. I’ve been on the hunt for a compressor with a couple different settings. I typically use a very light amount of compression always-on. Right now that’s by way of a Diamond comp. But I also like a more pronounced/squashed compression for...