coltonius
Well-known member
- Build Rating
Hey, guys. Instead of starting multiple threads or stealing someone else's thunder, I thought I'd drop a few build reports at once. I'll try not to wax too eloquently unless someone wants to discuss further!
(see below for the photo pron)
First: Low Tide
Despite countless years of pedal building, I was nervous about this one due to the potentially complex nature of debugging modulation circuits. It went off without a hitch! Dialing it in took only a few minutes (plus watching a few demos to make sure I got it right), and I was in randomly modulated choral dreamland. Like others, I discovered the Gate trimmer has a very narrow window of usability: from about 5 to 6 (max) on the sweep. Also, I'm a sucker for faceplates since my build time comes in such random and short spurts that I don't have time to figure out and order enclosures with graphics.
How does it sound? Awesome! It's a lot of fun. It's quirky and a little noisy, not quite as lush as a CE-2 or Choral Reef, but it's perfect for subtle chorus up to random warped vinyl sounds.
Second: Tone Vendor MKI: No-Mojo Edition
I made sure to do plenty of research in advance in order to make the build process as stress free as possible. Even so, I'd say that it took me 2-3x longer to tweak and dial in than to assemble the PCB and stuff the enclosure. Following the advice and mods of other builders, I made the following tweaks:
BONUS!
Rat-Timmy (2-in-1)
I built this because it's such a formidable combination with Vox amps.. It's super messy because of the spontaneous nature of the build (always fun when you have enough spare parts on-hand for such whimsical notions!). PCBS are Delyk (Timmy) and Madbean (Rat), and you can see my layout made things a bit difficult to stuff. I'm not proud of the guts, but everything works as intended and there is no added discernable noise.
Mods include an effect order switcher (center toggle) and a 3-way clipping toggle for the Rat: stock (left), Turbo (middle), asym (right). Asymmetrical is my favorite by a long shot on both sides of the build!
Clusterfuzz clone
Another somewhat spontaneous build. I used an etched board and a PPCB relay board for this one. No mods, I think. It's a super cool modern-sounding fuzz. Not too crazy or wild, just all-around solid.
The photos!
Low Tide
Tone Vendor MKI
Rat-Timmy
Clusterfuzz
(see below for the photo pron)
First: Low Tide
Despite countless years of pedal building, I was nervous about this one due to the potentially complex nature of debugging modulation circuits. It went off without a hitch! Dialing it in took only a few minutes (plus watching a few demos to make sure I got it right), and I was in randomly modulated choral dreamland. Like others, I discovered the Gate trimmer has a very narrow window of usability: from about 5 to 6 (max) on the sweep. Also, I'm a sucker for faceplates since my build time comes in such random and short spurts that I don't have time to figure out and order enclosures with graphics.
How does it sound? Awesome! It's a lot of fun. It's quirky and a little noisy, not quite as lush as a CE-2 or Choral Reef, but it's perfect for subtle chorus up to random warped vinyl sounds.
Second: Tone Vendor MKI: No-Mojo Edition
I made sure to do plenty of research in advance in order to make the build process as stress free as possible. Even so, I'd say that it took me 2-3x longer to tweak and dial in than to assemble the PCB and stuff the enclosure. Following the advice and mods of other builders, I made the following tweaks:
- R3: 235k (470k resistor beneath the board in parallel with the stock 470k)
- R4: 2.2k (stock is 1.8k)
- R5: 3.3k (stock is 2.2k)
- Attack: 33k resistor across lugs 1-2
- R6: replaced 8.2k with an 820Ω + A10k pot (Faceless inspired)
- Q2: 220p capacitor across Collector and Base to tame the unpleasant static decay
BONUS!
Rat-Timmy (2-in-1)
I built this because it's such a formidable combination with Vox amps.. It's super messy because of the spontaneous nature of the build (always fun when you have enough spare parts on-hand for such whimsical notions!). PCBS are Delyk (Timmy) and Madbean (Rat), and you can see my layout made things a bit difficult to stuff. I'm not proud of the guts, but everything works as intended and there is no added discernable noise.
Mods include an effect order switcher (center toggle) and a 3-way clipping toggle for the Rat: stock (left), Turbo (middle), asym (right). Asymmetrical is my favorite by a long shot on both sides of the build!
Clusterfuzz clone
Another somewhat spontaneous build. I used an etched board and a PPCB relay board for this one. No mods, I think. It's a super cool modern-sounding fuzz. Not too crazy or wild, just all-around solid.
The photos!
Low Tide
Tone Vendor MKI
Rat-Timmy
Clusterfuzz
