GuitarPCB Nostalgiatone 2112 Dual Combo

RICHB555

RICHB555

Well-known member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
This is a 2-in-1 Phaser & Plexi style pedal offering from GuitarPCB introduced a few years ago. I purchased the boards from Small Bear, which includes the Phaser, Plexi Amp and a switches board with a 3PDT toggle order switch in the center. Small Bear even includes pin headers for attaching the circuit boards to the switches board which is a thoughtful customer-oriented touch. The tones are intended to represent Alex Lifeson’s earlier sound on the Rush recordings, but can also emulate tones from other classic performers like Joe Walsh’s Barnstorm era and even Thin Lizzy.

It’s a great pedal that does the Leslie/JTM 45 combo very well. Phaser controls include rate, intensity, volume and voice and the plexi side keeps things pretty basic with volume, gain, bass and treble.

The phaser BOM calls for KE-1072(0) LDRs, but I used some 9203s I had on hand, which work very well. A quick tip for those interested in this build - if you want to use the status indicator LEDs on the switches board, remember to jumper the LED pads on each board.

Enclosure is a favorite of mine - SBP Cosmic Lilac. The Star Man Graphic is Cricut vinyl.

I’m more of a casual Rush fan, but this build gets a 5-star recommendation for its useable tones and great combo idea overall.
 

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I am starting to dig these big box builds. Good job
FYI: Rush is coming to the Sphere in Vegas for five nights in May 2027. The first band I ever saw was Rush at the Milwaukee Mecca in about 1981.

And Thin Lizzy? Don't get me started!
 
RICHB555 said:
This is a 2-in-1 Phaser & Plexi style pedal offering from GuitarPCB introduced a few years ago. I purchased the boards from Small Bear, which includes the Phaser, Plexi Amp and a switches board with a 3PDT toggle order switch in the center. Small Bear even includes pin headers for attaching the circuit boards to the switches board which is a thoughtful customer-oriented touch. The tones are intended to represent Alex Lifeson’s earlier sound on the Rush recordings, but can also emulate tones from other classic performers like Joe Walsh’s Barnstorm era and even Thin Lizzy.

It’s a great pedal that does the Leslie/JTM 45 combo very well. Phaser controls include rate, intensity, volume and voice and the plexi side keeps things pretty basic with volume, gain, bass and treble.

The phaser BOM calls for KE-1072(0) LDRs, but I used some 9203s I had on hand, which work very well. A quick tip for those interested in this build - if you want to use the status indicator LEDs on the switches board, remember to jumper the LED pads on each board.

Enclosure is a favorite of mine - SBP Cosmic Lilac. The Star Man Graphic is Cricut vinyl.

I’m more of a casual Rush fan, but this build gets a 5-star recommendation for its useable tones and great combo idea overall.
Click to expand...

The documentation on small bear is out of date. When I built mine, the instructions on the GPCB website listed the KE-1072s in the BOM, but a note in the build section said to use PDV-9023s (and not to substitute given that the later doc also specifies what color LED to use). After I pointed out the inconsistency to Barry, he updated the build doc to reference only the use of PDV–9203s. So wise move. Apparently the update didn’t make it to Smallbear. That said, either is probably fine as long as you’re using the right color LED. The KE-1072’s and PDV-9203 have peak sensitivities in different spectrums. IIRC, The KE-1072s are most sensitive to the start of the green band. The PDVS to yellow.
 
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