- Build Rating
Here's my recent build of the Angry Charles, based on the JHS Angry Charlie v3.
I wanted a higher-gain MIAB-type sound, as I've been working on learning some Iron Maiden tunes. I'm not looking to duplicate that tone exactly, but just do a reasonable approximation. I don't really have any pedals currently that get close to that sound. Of course, there's no shortage of pedals aimed at capturing the classic JCM800-type tone. I don't get the sense that the Angry Charlie is necessarily the first pick for that sound, but I chose it because the knob and LED layout fit this enclosure that I already had prepared (it was planned for another project that has since been mothballed).
The build was unremarkable. It's a small PCB, two opamps, LED hard clipping, three-band Baxandall EQ. Since the effect PCB was so small, I used one of my through-hole PCBs for circuit switching. The enclosure should finish should be recognizable to those of you who regularly read my build reports: Envirotex (epoxy resin) over mandala stickers. I did the resin pour on this at least a year ago, but I think I handled it prematurely, and there was a spot that was rough and perma-sticky. So recently when I did this epoxy pour, I also attempted a little touch-up on this guy. The touch-up fixed the rough sticky spot, but, in the right light, you can see where I did the touch-up job. But the real problem is the bad lift-up I got when I drilled the resin. You can clearly see that in the pictures. I've concluded that those mandala stickers are just too smooth and the resin doesn't adhere to it at all. Compare to the faux snakeskin where I got virtually no lift-up.
Anyway: the sound is pretty good, and is more or less what I was going for. I have built hot-rodded MIAB pedals in the past. Specifically, the AionFX Tachyon (Boss SD-2 Lead Channel), and the PedalPCB Crunch Captain Deluxe (MI Audio Super Crunch Box v2). I've long since sold both of those, but I remember liking them more than I like this Angry Charles. I'm kind of wishing I hadn't sold them. But who knows, aural memory is sketchy at best. And this sounds pretty good, and also allowed me to use that enclosure.
I think I went a little crazy with the hot-melt glue (I use that for strain relief on the wires that are soldered to the board).
Electrically, I give this five stars; tone I give it four stars, and the aesthetics two stars. So overall I guess I'll round up to four stars.
I wanted a higher-gain MIAB-type sound, as I've been working on learning some Iron Maiden tunes. I'm not looking to duplicate that tone exactly, but just do a reasonable approximation. I don't really have any pedals currently that get close to that sound. Of course, there's no shortage of pedals aimed at capturing the classic JCM800-type tone. I don't get the sense that the Angry Charlie is necessarily the first pick for that sound, but I chose it because the knob and LED layout fit this enclosure that I already had prepared (it was planned for another project that has since been mothballed).
The build was unremarkable. It's a small PCB, two opamps, LED hard clipping, three-band Baxandall EQ. Since the effect PCB was so small, I used one of my through-hole PCBs for circuit switching. The enclosure should finish should be recognizable to those of you who regularly read my build reports: Envirotex (epoxy resin) over mandala stickers. I did the resin pour on this at least a year ago, but I think I handled it prematurely, and there was a spot that was rough and perma-sticky. So recently when I did this epoxy pour, I also attempted a little touch-up on this guy. The touch-up fixed the rough sticky spot, but, in the right light, you can see where I did the touch-up job. But the real problem is the bad lift-up I got when I drilled the resin. You can clearly see that in the pictures. I've concluded that those mandala stickers are just too smooth and the resin doesn't adhere to it at all. Compare to the faux snakeskin where I got virtually no lift-up.
Anyway: the sound is pretty good, and is more or less what I was going for. I have built hot-rodded MIAB pedals in the past. Specifically, the AionFX Tachyon (Boss SD-2 Lead Channel), and the PedalPCB Crunch Captain Deluxe (MI Audio Super Crunch Box v2). I've long since sold both of those, but I remember liking them more than I like this Angry Charles. I'm kind of wishing I hadn't sold them. But who knows, aural memory is sketchy at best. And this sounds pretty good, and also allowed me to use that enclosure.
I think I went a little crazy with the hot-melt glue (I use that for strain relief on the wires that are soldered to the board).
Electrically, I give this five stars; tone I give it four stars, and the aesthetics two stars. So overall I guess I'll round up to four stars.
