Hirti
Well-known member
- Build Rating
I must have started, written and deleted this post like 8 times now. I first wanted to post thread this when Fig started his Build of the year 2022 thing late last year just like my other posts here and here but yeah. Now boom and suddenly it's the end of 2023. I finished about 20 pedals this year and it doesn't feel right posting them without posting all the stuff that is left from 2022. So here are the remaining builds from 2022:
PedalPCB Derailer Overdrive / Ethos TWE-1
I really liked the sound of this one. So much versatility in such a little package. I did the mods mentioned in this thread which made it even more versatile. In the end this pedal gave me severe option paralysis and I sold it to someone locally that has a Ethos Overdrive and wanted a smaller version as a backup for playing live.
PedalPCB Dirty Sanchez / Friedman Dirty Shirley
The BE-OD was the first PedalPCB that I ever built (I am customer #58!). I wanted to have another variation of this circuit because I really like these "hot rodded Marshall In A Box" type pedals. Like all of the pedals in this build report that don't have a faceplate, this is a Tayda UV print. Nothing too fancy or too crazy—I just wanted to test how some round shapes look on the sand texture. I am not a huge fan of copying the original pedal name, but unfortunately, I only noticed after I got it that I had forgotten to replace the placeholder "Dirty Shirley" name. Since I am not selling this one, it's okay.
Personally, I prefer the BE-OD a bit more, but this is a nice variation to have. This is actually the second time I built this. The first one was Rev 1, way back when it was first released, but I never really liked having the switch on the side so I sold it.
Effects Layout Tracksuit / 1981 Innovations DRV
This pedal used to be a big 'flavor of the month' on TGP a while ago. I think it's a bit overhyped, but it certainly offers a nice-sounding RAT variation. It's somewhat like a 'nicer' sister to the Madbean RAT pedal that I also built last year. I called it 1989 because, well, I wasn't born in 1981. The gradient color on the 1989 text is borrowed from my favorite 1981 color variation.
PedalPCB Muffin / EQD Big Muffs
In the past 15 years a Big Muff variation has consistently held a spot on my pedalboard as one of my go-to fuzz pedals. Growing up my father was always a die hard Pink Floyd fan (has seen them live a couple of times) but it wasn't until my 30s that it truly 'clicked' for me. So last year I fell into a massive Pink Floyd rabbit hole, leading me to crave a Gilmour-style Big Muff. For this build, I used four low-gain 2N3904 transistors, all with an hfe around 190. It hasn't left my board since I built it!
Additionally I had the desire to also have a Green Big Muff variation. I had built one around 10 years ago in a 1950A enclosure which unfortunately I stupidly sold. The artwork for this one is obviously 'borrowed' from the original. I opted for 5088s without measuring for this one. Given its Green Big Muff nature it seemed fitting to include those huge-ass greeny capacitors. The sound of this one is notably different from the '73, it has a much more 'ballsy' character and a huge low end.
Oh, and considering my last name in German somewhat means 'shepherd,' it felt fitting to include my own variation of the EHX logo.
PedalPCB Depot / EQD Terminal
A nasty, aggressive take on the Shin-Ei Companion Fuzz. This one has a ton of different sounds. There was a long discussion on here whether C3 should be 4n7F or 47nF. It was concluded that it should be 4n7F, but I installed a low-profile switch (to avoid hitting it with my foot) to have both options. I have to say I vastly prefer the 'wrong' value more. Sounds a lot fuller with 47nF.
PedalPCB Carbon Black / EQD Black Ash
Last but not least, here are the two Tonebender variations I built this year. First up is the Carbon Black. Over the past few years, I've constructed quite a few silicon Tonebender variations (special shout-out to the Dung Beetle!), but there's something particularly appealing about this one, perhaps due to the lower gain 2N3903 it uses. I opted for a C5k for the fuzz control to have a bit more control over the fuzz and switched the Top pot to B50k for a bigger range.
Once again, the artwork for this build is clearly inspired by the original. I highly recommend this variation, especially for those playing in lower tunings. It sounds awesome with Drop-C tuning. I actually built this one again this year to have the bias extended and on the outside so stay tuned!
PedalPCB Marigold / Sola Sound Yellow Hybrid Tone Bender
And the last one: Without a doubt, this is the best-sounding Tone Bender variant I've ever built. The germanium transistor I used was an AC185 with an hfe of 110 and leakage of about 0.46mA. With a 4V3 Zener, it biased perfectly to 2.59V. Although I've sold this one since building it, I built it again twice again this year with a slighty different design and I'll be sharing those builds soon. If I could inspire someone to build only one of the pedals I've posted here, let it be this one! The tone is enormous, and the gain knob has an awesome range!
PedalPCB Derailer Overdrive / Ethos TWE-1
I really liked the sound of this one. So much versatility in such a little package. I did the mods mentioned in this thread which made it even more versatile. In the end this pedal gave me severe option paralysis and I sold it to someone locally that has a Ethos Overdrive and wanted a smaller version as a backup for playing live.
PedalPCB Dirty Sanchez / Friedman Dirty Shirley
The BE-OD was the first PedalPCB that I ever built (I am customer #58!). I wanted to have another variation of this circuit because I really like these "hot rodded Marshall In A Box" type pedals. Like all of the pedals in this build report that don't have a faceplate, this is a Tayda UV print. Nothing too fancy or too crazy—I just wanted to test how some round shapes look on the sand texture. I am not a huge fan of copying the original pedal name, but unfortunately, I only noticed after I got it that I had forgotten to replace the placeholder "Dirty Shirley" name. Since I am not selling this one, it's okay.
Personally, I prefer the BE-OD a bit more, but this is a nice variation to have. This is actually the second time I built this. The first one was Rev 1, way back when it was first released, but I never really liked having the switch on the side so I sold it.
Effects Layout Tracksuit / 1981 Innovations DRV
This pedal used to be a big 'flavor of the month' on TGP a while ago. I think it's a bit overhyped, but it certainly offers a nice-sounding RAT variation. It's somewhat like a 'nicer' sister to the Madbean RAT pedal that I also built last year. I called it 1989 because, well, I wasn't born in 1981. The gradient color on the 1989 text is borrowed from my favorite 1981 color variation.
PedalPCB Muffin / EQD Big Muffs
In the past 15 years a Big Muff variation has consistently held a spot on my pedalboard as one of my go-to fuzz pedals. Growing up my father was always a die hard Pink Floyd fan (has seen them live a couple of times) but it wasn't until my 30s that it truly 'clicked' for me. So last year I fell into a massive Pink Floyd rabbit hole, leading me to crave a Gilmour-style Big Muff. For this build, I used four low-gain 2N3904 transistors, all with an hfe around 190. It hasn't left my board since I built it!
Additionally I had the desire to also have a Green Big Muff variation. I had built one around 10 years ago in a 1950A enclosure which unfortunately I stupidly sold. The artwork for this one is obviously 'borrowed' from the original. I opted for 5088s without measuring for this one. Given its Green Big Muff nature it seemed fitting to include those huge-ass greeny capacitors. The sound of this one is notably different from the '73, it has a much more 'ballsy' character and a huge low end.
Oh, and considering my last name in German somewhat means 'shepherd,' it felt fitting to include my own variation of the EHX logo.
PedalPCB Depot / EQD Terminal
A nasty, aggressive take on the Shin-Ei Companion Fuzz. This one has a ton of different sounds. There was a long discussion on here whether C3 should be 4n7F or 47nF. It was concluded that it should be 4n7F, but I installed a low-profile switch (to avoid hitting it with my foot) to have both options. I have to say I vastly prefer the 'wrong' value more. Sounds a lot fuller with 47nF.
PedalPCB Carbon Black / EQD Black Ash
Last but not least, here are the two Tonebender variations I built this year. First up is the Carbon Black. Over the past few years, I've constructed quite a few silicon Tonebender variations (special shout-out to the Dung Beetle!), but there's something particularly appealing about this one, perhaps due to the lower gain 2N3903 it uses. I opted for a C5k for the fuzz control to have a bit more control over the fuzz and switched the Top pot to B50k for a bigger range.
Once again, the artwork for this build is clearly inspired by the original. I highly recommend this variation, especially for those playing in lower tunings. It sounds awesome with Drop-C tuning. I actually built this one again this year to have the bias extended and on the outside so stay tuned!
PedalPCB Marigold / Sola Sound Yellow Hybrid Tone Bender
And the last one: Without a doubt, this is the best-sounding Tone Bender variant I've ever built. The germanium transistor I used was an AC185 with an hfe of 110 and leakage of about 0.46mA. With a 4V3 Zener, it biased perfectly to 2.59V. Although I've sold this one since building it, I built it again twice again this year with a slighty different design and I'll be sharing those builds soon. If I could inspire someone to build only one of the pedals I've posted here, let it be this one! The tone is enormous, and the gain knob has an awesome range!
