Looking for advice on some OD/Distortion

eh là bas ma

eh là bas ma

Well-known member
I am considering several projects to satisfy my curiosity on a few famous circuits. And I am struggling to make some decision, I won't build them all...

- Angry Andy
-Shred Master
-Guv'nor
-Cornish CC-1 Crunch
-ST-2 (Cornish adaptation of ColorSound overdriver)
-G-2
-SS-2 or SS-3
-Nordland ODR-C

I am guessing that one or two among them might be some honest effects but not very singular, delivering some tones easy to approximate with other famous circuits that I might already have ( build list in my profile's "about" section).

Which of these are the most interesting, with their own regognizable sounds, according to your experience ?

All observations and suggestions are welcome !
 
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Funnily enough, from all the pedals I've built.. none of your list is included!

I can't talk about these pedals, but if you're after some of my go-tos, I would recommend getting the following (or a variant) under your belt:
  • Timmy (I really enjoy the Timbre Man)
  • Derailer (w/ pot mod for more useful low gain)
  • Big Muff
  • Rat
  • A nice boost
With those, I can cover pretty much all of my (non-fuzz) needs.
 
Thanks for your replies.
szukalski said:
With those, I can cover pretty much all of my (non-fuzz) needs.
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Legendary circuits. I've built them too. Derailer's mod is quite useful indeed.
Fizz said:
Get one of these Protoboards and breadboard them all to see what you like best
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Good idea. I don't think it suits my builder profile, though. I am used to order full kits.

I'd do a vero or a perfboard build from time to time, for simpler circuits like Rat, or to use all remaining parts i have on hands, and that's it.

I don't like to worry about sourcing parts, and spend endless time selecting resistors and cap.
It feels much more efficient and wasteless that way, in my experience. I never bought anything from e-bay or Tayda, I often read bad comments and frustrating experiences from other forumites about these suppliers. I am glad I managed to stay away from this so far, I can't afford wasting the few money I've got.
I am glad I live in France, near Musikding in Germany. I do think they're the best diy webshop worldwide. After more than a hundred kits for my friends, family or myself, I have yet to find a single defective part...

I'd like to stick with my full kits habit. I just need to gather as much informations as I can before ordering, to avoid any bad surprise or disappointment.
 
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Based on your picks, it sounds like you might be looking for a Marshall-in-a-box. If that's the case, I can't recommend the Crunch Captain Deluxe enough.

The EQ is one of the best I've seen on a pedal and the toggles give you a lot of voicing options. I've built that, the M800, the Guv'nor and Angry Charlie, and it is the clear winner when it comes to JCM tones.

I do also like the Guv'nor though, it just has less EQ range and less maximum gain (if I recall correctly), but fewer and easy to source parts, if that is important.
 
For a guy with no shoes, eh là bas ma, you are very clear about your path — c'est bon.

I forget who, but there is another builder on the forum who is equally clear about having no desire to learn to read schematics/breadboard — proving there is no right or wrong way with the hobby, so long as your pedals work!
 
Feral Feline said:
For a guy with no shoes, eh là bas ma, you are very clear about your path — c'est bon.

I forget who, but there is another builder on the forum who is equally clear about having no desire to learn to read schematics/breadboard — proving there is no right or wrong way with the hobby, so long as your pedals work!
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I do have one shoe left... the other one is over there, some people are using it as a ball to play some game, and it keeps eluding me.

I am eager to learn : it always happens when something doesn't work, when I am modding a circuit (often following the lead of our precious breadbording comrades), or when I try to help debugging someone else's build. These days I try to learn how to see clearly through voltage lists and spot issues.
Though, my priority is enjoying music and exploring various effects.
 
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I can't recommend any of the Cornish pedals as they all sound terrible to me. I think they don't work in my small, non-stadium-use pedal board. They all sound overly compressed and nasal to me. And yes, I have built all of them, being a glutton for punishment - maybe I'm hoping that one of them must sound good??

Of those listed, my pick would be the Shred Master. There are one or two mods for it which I think are worthwhile. The main one is to reduce the size of one cap to prevent it sounding too dark - it might be C16? Somebody will know! The Shred Master has a nice chunk to it and is a fun pedal. I like it because it doesn't sound like everything else but is still very usable.

The Colorsound Overdrive is a great peal but you're possibly unlikely to like it by itself. It really works best pushing another dirt sound. It's an excellent boost pedal rather than stand-alone OD.

Not on your list, but two recent dirt pedals which have impressed me here are the Mystery Meat and Fordoble. Both are very usable and sound great!
 
You know what, from your list I’d actually go with the Nordland ODR-C. It definitely has its own thing, and there’s a wide variety of tones once you master the controls (which can take a bit).

One word of warning is that it has a lot of odd valued passives.
 
I ordered the crunch captain deluxe, a gravitation reverb and a BBW, for now.

It is far from what i had in mind in the first place, none of the list... but I will build a shredmaster and an ODR-C at some point during next couple of month.

I am missing a good spring and plate reverb and the Gravitation was available. I am curious to try the BBW with octavers and modulations, among other things...

Thanks for your replies ! I noticed the Crunch Captain some time ago, but I wouldn't have looked twice without your enlightening opinions.
 
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