How bad are they really? Talk me out of PCB Guitar Mania

Erik S

Erik S

Well-known member
Ppcb will always be my first love, but I’ve started to get curious about other vendors (there are a couple great threads on the topic I know)… And PCB Guitar Mania is the only vendor I’ve ever seen get criticism on basic quality issues… BUT I ended up on their website after reading/ listening to the build report @Ludovic just posted, and they’re running a couple package deals on EQD / DBA stuff that are REALLY attractive selection and price-wise.

Any PGM defenders out there?
 
It’s been discussed in several threads around here, but it really is a crap shoot, some stuff works and if it does, hooray(?), but other stuff just doesn’t. Up to you whether you want to roll the dice and take a risk. For what it is worth, I’ve built the vu-tron and master phaser w/o issue. There is a thread with a list of verified working GPCBmania and bunk boards around here somewhere. It comes down to the difference of having to open a troubleshooting thread because of your own mistakes vs a faulty product.
 
Not defending them but if you're living in the EU there's not many good options and import taxes on PCBs from the US providers sort of hurt.

My advice when dealing with them:
  • Only buy on sale.
  • Ideally check the Facebook group for build reports or people posting troubleshooting threads.
  • Be cautious with which revision you get and check the build docs for any fixes from older revisions.
  • Be extra cautious with less popular and new PCBs and ideally cross check the schematics with more reliable sources (even though they copy from other PCB vendors, they sometimes mess even that up).
  • Don't attempt any mods they come up with by themselves, they have next to zero understanding of circuits.
  • Also wouldn't attempt any of their original or semi-original circuits.
  • Don't use their custom PCB service.
If you're looking for DBA PCBs I can recommend Moonn Electronics.
 
Im batting 60/40.... I barely got any of the builds I got from there to work... the build docs are crap.. the layout is atrocious and the ones that I did get to work were MEH....... I didn't even sell them... unboxed them and reused the enclosures for other builds...lol
 
Yeah man, it's a gamble. My advice is always to stick with things that are safe. When people ask me for recommendations PedalPCB and Madbean are the only ones I generally recommend. There are plenty of others that at least make things that work, but imho Robert and Brian/bean have the best layouts out there. They don't just make it easy to get it right, they make it hard to get it wrong.
 
Those damn sales and bulk-pack deals are indeed a trigger, but as much as this moth is drawn to that flame, I've managed to resist after succumbing once to PCBGM when the company first began operations.

I swore I'd never buy any more, but these are calling to me:
1) Flaming Ring ('cause the DEFX version is too HOOJ) and the
2) Black Mirror VII ('cause I was gifted enclosures for this circuit) and
3) The Blender: signal split to 3, in parallel or series — ie The Phantom Pain audio router.


The first two work, I'm told, but I don't know about the 3rd, the Blender.


I'm not on FecalBrook, so can't suss out that way which PCBGM boards are garbage and which ones actually work.
There's mention in various threads here, what jives well and what is just jive, but...
Somebody should start a consolidated thread that has 3 lists :
🆗which boards work and
🆖which ones don't and
⁉️unknowns.
 
I'll defend them they aren't that bad. I have built 14 pcbs from them and all of them work.

I would recommend checking the Facebook group to check they work first and not buy brand new pcbs

Here are my comments on issues or not on each of my builds from them. By contrast I have never had an issue with pedal PBB or even with Aion FX (other than the stupid dual gang pot semicircles that fall off).

Death by Octaver (transformer is marked backwards on pcb)
Total Bender (could only get mk3 working with germanium, not silicon
Julio (excellent)
Echo Nightmare (excellent)
Death by Reverb (works but does nor sound right)
Kheiron Klon (excellent, but there were issues in build docs in early versions)
Dead Robot (works well but I could not get the mod in build docs to work)
Electric Lover ( great but will only work with MN3007 not MN3207 as claimed in build docs)
Submarine Device (excellent)
Fuzz Blaster (works well but some pots are backward)
Dr Trebor (Had to put a 470k resistor between collector and base of q2)
Green Octaver (excellent)
Alcapulco Lite (exellent)
Keepressor (pcb has mistake but build docs say how to fix it)
Elk Device (works fine but I'm not 100%. I may have made a mistake though and have not checked all components)

Having written all of this above I can see why people are skeptical of them. But they have a great selection, cheap postage to Australia and I learned a lot fixing these pedals so am more knowledgable that I would have been otherwise.
 
jesuscrisp said:
Not defending them but if you're living in the EU there's not many good options and import taxes on PCBs from the US providers sort of hurt.

My advice when dealing with them:
  • Only buy on sale.
  • Ideally check the Facebook group for build reports or people posting troubleshooting threads.
  • Be cautious with which revision you get and check the build docs for any fixes from older revisions.
  • Be extra cautious with less popular and new PCBs and ideally cross check the schematics with more reliable sources (even though they copy from other PCB vendors, they sometimes mess even that up).
  • Don't attempt any mods they come up with by themselves, they have next to zero understanding of circuits.
  • Also wouldn't attempt any of their original or semi-original circuits.
  • Don't use their custom PCB service.
If you're looking for DBA PCBs I can recommend Moonn Electronics.
Click to expand...

For me number 1 retailer outside the US is fuzzdog. Lee's pcbs are properly tested, his build docs are great and his customer service is fantastic.
 
i started out at guitarPCB years ago,looking back now i hate their layouts but still have pedals on my board to this day that i use....madbean was always good...i've done one BYOC...Aion is really good...i've used rullywow also...a few Tayda boards...one fuzz dog...but once i discovered PedalPCB, I haven't looked back ,they just have the absolute best layouts in my opinion and by far the biggest selection...it's the only place i see myself building from...they are swinging the biggest stick in the DIY game
 
Feral Feline said:
Somebody should start a consolidated thread that has 3 lists :
🆗which boards work and
🆖which ones don't and
⁉️unknowns.
Click to expand...
Maybe a spreadsheet with another column too- which PCB vendor it’s layout or schematic is ripped off from. Their master phaser rips off the original Madbean Stagefright, which has since been brought back (in a smaller 125B format to boot!), and their Flaming Lips Ring Mod directly lifts all of the mods that DEFX implemented in their wurmloch PCB (the smaller form factor is damn convenient though I’m sad to say).
 
Good idea, Nick, 'cause that could save a lot of grief for builders if they could find the same circuit but from a more reputable PCB dealer.

Anybody know where I can find the Phantom Pain? I had a line on that through the MadBean forum at one point, but can't even remember why the deal didn't go through — was when I was still in HK, so may have been shipping or PayPal issues... whatever.
 
Feral Feline said:
Good idea, Nick, 'cause that could save a lot of grief for builders if they could find the same circuit but from a more reputable PCB dealer.

Anybody know where I can find the Phantom Pain? I had a line on that through the MadBean forum at one point, but can't even remember why the deal didn't go through — was when I was still in HK, so may have been shipping or PayPal issues... whatever.
Click to expand...
It’s a DiabloChris circuit. Not sure of a PCB source for it, but it’s first posted about here:

Phantom Pain *NOW WITH SOUND DEMO*

Phantom Pain *NOW WITH SOUND DEMO*
www.madbeanpedals.com

And the schematic and build docs for a PCB (which I can’t seem to find— oshpark maybe? Or maybe it used to be available from carcharias since they’re also the official source for the Sagan delay)

Phantom Pain.pdf

drive.google.com drive.google.com
 
Bricksnbeatles said:
It’s a DiabloChris circuit. Not sure of a PCB source for it, but it’s first posted about here:

Phantom Pain *NOW WITH SOUND DEMO*

Phantom Pain *NOW WITH SOUND DEMO*
www.madbeanpedals.com

And the schematic and build docs for a PCB (which I can’t seem to find— oshpark maybe? Or maybe it used to be available from carcharias since they’re also the official source for the Sagan delay)

Phantom Pain.pdf

drive.google.com drive.google.com
Click to expand...
Thank you.

If you look closely at the build doc's PCB image, it's from DiabloChris. He used to have some Oshpark stuff, but IIRC the Phantom Pain wasn't offered on Oshpark. And, again IIRC, the person I was going to buy the Phantom Pain PCBs from wasn't DiabloChris himself, but someone who had some spare boards.


😸 Just noticed I originally DL'd the build doc in 2016. Was I even building anything at that point?
 
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