Boogie Monster Build (build one trust me)

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Vild

Active member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
So sick. Definitely my favorite distortion pedal that I have. I still need to build a VH4 Valhalla board and the SLO board to see how those are but screw the Friedman BEOD/Thermionic I made. (sucks if you ask me)
The Revv G3/Tyrian sounds good but I like this better. (Different mid range and the g3 has less highs) Plus my Revv clone squeals if the highs and volume are past a certain point but mine is the old version of the PPCB board. Idk if that's why though.

As far as building it, it was hard to dial in the jfets just right due to the sensitivity/range of the trimmers. Maybe the box type trimmers that ppcb sells are easier to dial in or something? If you plan to build one maybe try that type instead.
Also in retrospect it would've been easier to use pin headers instead of component clippings to mount the jfets but they still biased correctly and it still sounds good so I think the legs were good enough.
 

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I’ve built the Boogie Monster and Valhalla and had a BE-OD. The one I still have is the Boogie Monster.

I found the Valhalla to have a similar over compression issue that I disliked in the BE-OD. It does sound pretty great, but I didn’t like the feel.

In the back of my mind I want to build the C2C Wrecking Ball since that should be this but with tubes. In any case, the Boogie Monster gets my vote as a really good high gain pedal!
 
BuddytheReow said:
notoriously thin sounding. Is this true?
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honestly, yeah. i had high hopes, but it kinda just lacked the low end you'd expect from a 'dual rec inabox'

could've been a JFET selection thing though. it was one of my first builds and i had zero clue what i was doing at the time. it's possible it could sound better with 2N5457s (generally i've found distortions with 2N5457 sound better to my ears than J201)

OD is Glorious said:
Nice to have another pedal to look forward to building, Your glowing endorsement makes me want it.
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if you're looking at high gain/modern distortion, i honestly recommend skipping this one.

- the Tyrian Distortion (REVV G3) is way more fun and versatile.

- the Brown Betty (BE-OD/Dirty Shirley hybrid) was surprisingly good, so I'd expect the Thermionic Distortion (BE-OD) to be just as good (still gotta build one for myself - and tbh I'm not sure the mid control in the brown betty is really that necessary or useful)

- i really enjoy the Disarray Distortion (Suhr Riot) - especially given how simple the circuit is (it's a modified Marshall Guv'nor)

- the Face Melter (Steel Panther P Melter) isn't a toy. actually rips.
 
Since there seems to be mixed reviews;
To be fair I just built it and haven't had it for long, haven't tried it through many amps etc.... But for what I'm looking for I like it. I tried it straight into an IR and was able to dial in a tone I liked quickly. I also tried it into my vh140's clean channel and I like it more than the gain channel of it but technically it has some help from the clean channel eq so arguably an unfair comparison. (No master volume so didn't try it straight into the power amp)
I wouldn't say it has the bass of a Dual Rec but most of that might be coming from the Dual Rec's power amp so I give it a pass for that.
I like my distorted sounds to have a bit of sizzle. For example I actually like the DS1. I don't have it anymore but thats because the BD2 sounds like a less scooped ds1 to me so figured it'd be more versatile.
I also tried the boogie with the sonic stomp that I just made and I really liked them together since I woulddescribe the sonic stomp as sounding like a resonance/presence power amp eq. So the combination helped me achieve that Dual Rec tone I was going for.
Regardless of it's extra help I do stand by it being my favorite distortion pedal.
If you build one I hope you like it!
OD is Glorious said:
Nice to have another pedal to look forward to building, Your glowing endorsement makes me want it.
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owlexifry said:
- i really enjoy the Disarray Distortion (Suhr Riot) - especially given how simple the circuit is (it's a modified Marshall Guv'nor)

- the Face Melter (Steel Panther P Melter) isn't a toy. actually rips.
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I have the Guvnor board on my wishlist. I generally like having more controls but would you recommend building the Riot instead anyway? Just added the face melter to the wishlist too lol. I have to at least build it for the memes if nothing else.
 
Vild said:
I have the Guvnor board on my wishlist. I generally like having more controls but would you recommend building the Riot instead anyway? Just added the face melter to the wishlist too lol. I have to at least build it for the memes if nothing else.
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i haven't actually tried the og guvnor yet. i suspect it's quite similar, but it appears the riot may have a little more gain/aggression. not sure how well the TMB controls operate in the guv'nor, could be a bit more useful than the basic tone control in the riot.
for me, the clipping options in the riot are entirely redundant, the standard LED clipping option is the only one that actually sounds good (to me).

perhaps a hybrid version with riot specs on a guv'nor board could be a good time!
 
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