Fingolfen
Well-known member
So... why build one version of a pedal when you can build two for twice the price!??? Am I right??? 
Anyway, so here is the tale of building two (so far) War Scythes - one with the cleft mod, and one without...
Some of the background - I'd previously built the PedalPCB clone of the Hoof. It was a fun build, but finding good vintage transistors is getting to be increasingly difficult for any design that relies on them. Therefore in addition to the standard version of the pedal, I wanted to try what PedalPCB refers to as the "Cleft" mod - which replicates the "Cloven" version of the pedal. The 2N1308 transistors are replaced with far more obtainable MPSA13 transistors, and the 2N2904 transistors are replaced with 2N5089 transistors. One pair of the LEDs are replaced with 1N4148 diodes as well. The "Reaper" side retains the increasingly difficult to source AC176 transistor, though.
Auditioning the transistors for this build was actually the most difficult part of the process. All of my available stock of transistors was tested for gain and leakage on my Peak Atlas, and then ones that seemed to be in the right range were put into a breadboard version of the circuit to ensure they sounded correct before actually adding them to the board itself. I've had bad luck with socketed transistors in the past making poor (or no) connection - so I went that more laborious route. When it came time to solder the vintage transistors to the board, I used an alligator clip to ensure the delicate vintage transistors weren't overheated by the iron.
The rest of the build was very straightforward. I used all modern components - Yageo and KOA Speer 1/4W 1% metal film resistors. The film capacitors are are mostly WIMA with a few KEMET ones thrown in. All of the electrolytic capacitors are Nichicon.
As this is a big build, it takes a big enclosure. It appears that the template in the build instructions may be set up for a 4S6500 which I'm guessing is a little smaller than the 1590XX as all of the holes were just a little outside the expected area. It wasn't a big deal as everything fit, it was just a little surprising that the board didn't simply drop in as most of the builds I've done have. This board has the in, out, and both jack ground pads neatly lined up along the top of the board (along with the 9V and primary ground pads). This made the final wiring very neat as the normal 3PDT stomp switch daughter board could simply be connected to the main PCB with ribbon cable. As always, all of the connections to the jacks themselves are insulated with heat shrink tubing.
I wanted to come up with a suitably Steggo name for the pedal and a fun theme - so the mascot for this pedal is the Therizinosaurus - or the "Reaping Lizard."
For the enclosure art itself, I further played on the theme. I, my wife, and my son are all big fans of Diablo III "Reaper of Souls" - so I decided to go with enclosure art that made a nod to the Diablo III Book of Cain. I found some line art online that I could license not only of the dinosaur itself, but some suitable flora, eggs, and footprints and turned the whole thing into a very tongue in cheek enclosure.
As to the sound of the pedal, both versions are fairly powerful, and a bit different. As with my Cheese Source clone, it is very easy to take the level too high if you have both sides (or in this case all three components) running at once. This has the effect of bringing the noise floor up to unsuitable levels (though it can be knocked down with a noise gate). I love the functionality of having the two types of fuzz in one pedal with the optional octave up, but I struggle to find application for both fuzzes at the same time - especially on the more distortion heavy "cleft" version.
Once again, another awesome board and build...
Original blog entry (more preamble and dino background): https://steggostudios.blogspot.com/2023/06/dont-fear-hoof-reaper-double-fuzz-with.html
Anyway, so here is the tale of building two (so far) War Scythes - one with the cleft mod, and one without...
Some of the background - I'd previously built the PedalPCB clone of the Hoof. It was a fun build, but finding good vintage transistors is getting to be increasingly difficult for any design that relies on them. Therefore in addition to the standard version of the pedal, I wanted to try what PedalPCB refers to as the "Cleft" mod - which replicates the "Cloven" version of the pedal. The 2N1308 transistors are replaced with far more obtainable MPSA13 transistors, and the 2N2904 transistors are replaced with 2N5089 transistors. One pair of the LEDs are replaced with 1N4148 diodes as well. The "Reaper" side retains the increasingly difficult to source AC176 transistor, though.
Auditioning the transistors for this build was actually the most difficult part of the process. All of my available stock of transistors was tested for gain and leakage on my Peak Atlas, and then ones that seemed to be in the right range were put into a breadboard version of the circuit to ensure they sounded correct before actually adding them to the board itself. I've had bad luck with socketed transistors in the past making poor (or no) connection - so I went that more laborious route. When it came time to solder the vintage transistors to the board, I used an alligator clip to ensure the delicate vintage transistors weren't overheated by the iron.
The rest of the build was very straightforward. I used all modern components - Yageo and KOA Speer 1/4W 1% metal film resistors. The film capacitors are are mostly WIMA with a few KEMET ones thrown in. All of the electrolytic capacitors are Nichicon.
As this is a big build, it takes a big enclosure. It appears that the template in the build instructions may be set up for a 4S6500 which I'm guessing is a little smaller than the 1590XX as all of the holes were just a little outside the expected area. It wasn't a big deal as everything fit, it was just a little surprising that the board didn't simply drop in as most of the builds I've done have. This board has the in, out, and both jack ground pads neatly lined up along the top of the board (along with the 9V and primary ground pads). This made the final wiring very neat as the normal 3PDT stomp switch daughter board could simply be connected to the main PCB with ribbon cable. As always, all of the connections to the jacks themselves are insulated with heat shrink tubing.
I wanted to come up with a suitably Steggo name for the pedal and a fun theme - so the mascot for this pedal is the Therizinosaurus - or the "Reaping Lizard."
For the enclosure art itself, I further played on the theme. I, my wife, and my son are all big fans of Diablo III "Reaper of Souls" - so I decided to go with enclosure art that made a nod to the Diablo III Book of Cain. I found some line art online that I could license not only of the dinosaur itself, but some suitable flora, eggs, and footprints and turned the whole thing into a very tongue in cheek enclosure.
As to the sound of the pedal, both versions are fairly powerful, and a bit different. As with my Cheese Source clone, it is very easy to take the level too high if you have both sides (or in this case all three components) running at once. This has the effect of bringing the noise floor up to unsuitable levels (though it can be knocked down with a noise gate). I love the functionality of having the two types of fuzz in one pedal with the optional octave up, but I struggle to find application for both fuzzes at the same time - especially on the more distortion heavy "cleft" version.
Once again, another awesome board and build...
Original blog entry (more preamble and dino background): https://steggostudios.blogspot.com/2023/06/dont-fear-hoof-reaper-double-fuzz-with.html
