Duocast (Golden Nugget)

[sticky1138]

Build Rating

3.00 star(s)

I just finished the Duocast, a.k.a. the copyright-infringing EHX Golden Nugget, which I named after the finest pancake house in the greater Chicago area. It is the latest installation in my “counterfeit” series.

Like a pancake, this pedal falls flat. It’s a bit generic sounding, and the saggy fuzz texture that I looked forward to is not as prominent as expected. I opened my wallet for three different N.O.S. Soviet transistors and I’m not terribly impressed with any of them. I bought them a while ago so I don’t exactly remember which ones, but they are supposedly in the same gain range as that used in the original Broadcast.

This is by no means a bad pedal, but it does not live up to the hype and feels anticlimactic after spending the time and money sourcing the transistors and transformer. Maybe the original has some kind of secret sauce transistor inside, but I’m not inspired enough to tinker with this one much further.

All things considered, this was a fun design exercise that I can use to troll my friends, and it looks nice on my pedal shelf with the rest of the B-team. If you need me, I’ll be playing my Son of Ben!

 

[steviejr92]

I just finished the Duocast, a.k.a. the copyright-infringing EHX Golden Nugget, which I named after the finest pancake house in the greater Chicago area. It is the latest installation in my “counterfeit” series.

Like a pancake, this pedal falls flat. It’s a bit generic sounding, and the saggy fuzz texture that I looked forward to is not as prominent as expected. I opened my wallet for three different N.O.S. Soviet transistors and I’m not terribly impressed with any of them. I bought them a while ago so I don’t exactly remember which ones, but they are supposedly in the same gain range as that used in the original Broadcast.

This is by no means a bad pedal, but it does not live up to the hype and feels anticlimactic after spending the time and money sourcing the transistors and transformer. Maybe the original has some kind of secret sauce transistor inside, but I’m not inspired enough to tinker with this one much further.

All things considered, this was a fun design exercise that I can use to troll my friends, and it looks nice on my pedal shelf with the rest of the B-team. If you need me, I’ll be playing my Son of Ben!

I’m sorry this didn’t live up to your expectations but man I have to say you did an amazing job overall

 

[szukalski]

Looks great. Weird that it doesn't do it for you.

I use mine as a boost, similar to a Chickenhead, to stack with something like a BB and it really kicks ass. Took a while to enjoy it.

 

[andare]

Top-notch graphics and I love the messy interiors.
Is that an MP41 tranny? What's the recommended hFE for this pedal? I have the broadcast on the bench and have a glut of Germaniums in the 50-80 range with very little leakage.

 

[Coda]

That thing looks great.

 

[sticky1138]

Top-notch graphics and I love the messy interiors.
Is that an MP41 tranny? What's the recommended hFE for this pedal? I have the broadcast on the bench and have a glut of Germaniums in the 50-80 range with very little leakage.

I read on a different forum that the original is about hFE 50-70, but this is the internet so you never know.

I don't remember which specific transistors I bought, but I purposely chose a few different ranges to experiment with, a 40-50, 60-70 and up. They're in Cyrillic of course, but I can take a picture when I get a chance if anyone is good at identifying those.

 

[andare]

I read on a different forum that the original is about hFE 50-70, but this is the internet so you never know.

I don't remember which specific transistors I bought, but I purposely chose a few different ranges to experiment with, a 40-50, 60-70 and up. They're in Cyrillic of course, but I can take a picture when I get a chance if anyone is good at identifying those.

I can read Cyrillic easily. I can't see the first two characters well but it definitely says P41 after that.

 

[Dan0h]

Looks fantastic. Looks like a legit commercial pedal. Your graphics are on point.

I’ve built two and never use the gain/fuzzy settings but as a clean boost it’s epic.

 

[giovanni]

Is the 3 star rating for the build or the pedal? I thought the intention was to rate ease of build?

 

[HamishR]

That's a remarkable pedal you have built - I love the concept!

I was pretty unimpressed with the Broadcast initially. As an overdrive or fuzz into a clean amp it's not exactly amazing. Although a friend of mine who plays in a sort-of Beatles band loves it for the fuzz bit in songs like Sgt Peppers because it has that in your face harshness of some of the Beatles' recorded fuzz tones.

What got me into the Broadcast is using it as a booster into a dirty amp or a lightly overdriven sound. It's kind of the world's best treble booster, in that it's relatively quiet, you can take out some of the boominess with the bass cut and the resultant tone can be old school authentic dirt wonderfulness. It has an authority which is unusual in a booster. It might not work with every rig, but into an overdriven tweed or Marshall for example it can sound glorious.

 

[sticky1138]

That's a remarkable pedal you have built - I love the concept!

I was pretty unimpressed with the Broadcast initially. As an overdrive or fuzz into a clean amp it's not exactly amazing. Although a friend of mine who plays in a sort-of Beatles band loves it for the fuzz bit in songs like Sgt Peppers because it has that in your face harshness of some of the Beatles' recorded fuzz tones.

What got me into the Broadcast is using it as a booster into a dirty amp or a lightly overdriven sound. It's kind of the world's best treble booster, in that it's relatively quiet, you can take out some of the boominess with the bass cut and the resultant tone can be old school authentic dirt wonderfulness. It has an authority which is unusual in a booster. It might not work with every rig, but into an overdriven tweed or Marshall for example it can sound glorious.

Update:

I ran this through a dirty Vox and it sounds much better than it did through clean Vox, Fender and Marshall tube amps (my typical OD test rundown). The saggy low-end fuzz came through a lot more. @HamishR is right that it's more like a treble booster and should be used as such, rather than a straight up overdrive that simulates amp distortion. I'm a low-gainer at heart, but I can see where all the love comes from now.

Also, I figured out two of the transistors I tried: MP42B and a P416B. I ended up liking the P416B a little more, but they are about 90% identical sound-wise.

 

[Harry Klippton]

Update:

I ran this through a dirty Vox and it sounds much better than it did through clean Vox

Well this is hopeful cuz this is where I live

 

[HamishR]

You can also try it with the silicon transistor used in the Ariel Posen version. It's a 2N4033, looks like a Ge transistor and it sounds great! It's a bit smoother sounding and I think I actually prefer it. The MP38s I have tried might have a hair more midrange but overall I like the tone with the silicon better.

There is something to be said for using a harsh boost into a dirty sound. The dirt in the existing sound seems to respond better to a jagged boost. I've had similar results with the Dark Esbat and Colorsound Power Drive too. On their own they sound a bit nasty, but as boosts they work really well. Maybe they're less compressed so don't sound so mushy?

 

[DGWVI]

That looks so bad ass

 

[Feral Feline]

Amazing subterfuge pedal-build!


And who doesn't love pancakes?

@HamishR Thanks for the info on the Ariel Posen version, sir.

 

[HamishR]

Ha! No worries! I believe the AP version also uses a different transformer but seeing as how I can't hear a difference with or without the transformer it doesn't make any difference to me!

 

[Funnel]

I love the graphic. It fits the EHX vibe perfectly.
I’ve built the vero version. I do like the pedal and go back to it every once in a while, but it hasn’t stayed on my board for more than a month at a time.