First Build, SuperHeterodyne Receiver (EQD Data Corrupter™)

tablebeast

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Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
Well, Pandora's box has been opened! I have purposely avoided building my own pedals for decades because I knew what it would lead to: a whole new obsession. You see, I've fixed and modified everything else under the sun regarding audio gear, but this is my first cloned FX pedal. I think it turned out great, but I have already seen lot of stuff I'll change on my next build. I'm really enjoying myself so I'm just gonna toss that "box" open all the way. I only have 11 more circuits lined up for subsequent builds, so there's nothing to worry about.

Feedback on the DIY experience? The control labels were hard to find for me and curiously absent from the physical enclosure documentation. The forum and build threads are a nice touch, because I was able to dig up the missing info I needed there.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this wonderful cloning. I learned a lot and saved a bunch of $$$.

Presenting "Halt + Catch Fire!"

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No, The full size, Pedal PCB Low Tide Modulator is my next build. Just a simple, Shallow Water Clone. What's the DEFX Pompei?
It's out of stock but it's probably the biggest diy pedal project that I'm aware of. I do not have the follow through for this kind of thing.

It's funny, I almost typed "low tide" there as it was my first major failure/victorious troubleshooting thread. My super het was given away pretty quickly but my low tide has been on my main pedalboard for like 5 years now.
 
Well, Pandora's box has been opened! I have purposely avoided building my own pedals for decades because I knew what it would lead to: a whole new obsession. You see, I've fixed and modified everything else under the sun regarding audio gear, but this is my first cloned FX pedal. I think it turned out great, but I have already seen lot of stuff I'll change on my next build. I'm really enjoying myself so I'm just gonna toss that "box" open all the way. I only have 11 more circuits lined up for subsequent builds, so there's nothing to worry about.

Feedback on the DIY experience? The instruction manual is missing the info of what control labels go where, for some reason. And there are a LOT of things to label on this complicated circuit. At least it had a schematic, unlike a few of the other builds so far (like the Low Tide Modulator). I would think having complete instructions would be mission critical. So that's my critique, complete build instructions would improve this project. The forum and build threads are a nice touch, because I was able to dig up the missing info I needed there.

Thank you to all who have contributed to this wonderful cloning. I learned a lot and saved a bunch of $$$.

Presenting "Halt + Catch Fire!"
Welcome to the hobby! Nice first circuit! You may get addicted.
 
Welcome to the hobby! Nice first circuit! You may get addicted.
Yea, it happened right away. I know myself, its just what happens. Its why I avoided pedals for years. Heck, I've even recommended building simple guitar pedals to folks who wanted to get into electronics themselves, dozens of times. But I never took my own advice. I'm forever doing things backwards, what can I say? Super Het as my first project? It wasn't the first I started, that was the Terrarium. But it WAS the first that I finished. Next up for individual pedals is the Low Tide, then the Sabbath Distortion, then the Terrarium. After that I have 6 circuits put together on one panel as a patchable pedal board. It will be installed on an old tube tape machine, where the tape stuff used to be, while the amp is made into a Champ like beast. I'll present that one eventually, but its still a few weeks from completion. It will have wired in series, in this order: Chop Shop >> Desolate Fuzz >> Referee EQ >> Delegate Compressor (B.E.) >> Seabed Delay >> Nein Fuzz. Those all go in front of the tube circuit, but can be re-patched in any order you like. The amp will also have a parallel FX loop for these individual pedals. Oh yeah, there are two more of those coming up and going into their own boxes, The Leprechaun and the Thermionic Distortion.
 
I was just eye balling these. lol
Yeah, I'm a recycler first and I only buy parts if I absolutely can't refurbish something pulled from a score. There are germanium diodes/transistors in old organs that can often be had for free, for example. I found some sweet old bits in a NuVistor-based garage door opener recently. I may be a parts snob when appropriate, but more often than not I dig up my own supply. You should see my collection of Mullard/Telefunken/Amperex ECC83s that all came "free" in parts amps.
 
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