MichaelW
Well-known member
- Build Rating
Build report #2 for today.
I bought this PCB from @Robert during one of my shopping sprees then couldn't remember why I got it. hahah.
It sat in my pile of boards for over 2 years.
A few months ago I was looking at it and watched a few more demo's and decided to build it. I don't know why but I didn't have high hopes I would like it very much.
Dang, I could NOT have been more wrong!
The pedal is a collaboration between DOD and Shoe Pedals. I don't know much more about the backstory beyond that.
The circuit itself is probably the first really unique topology I've seen in a long time. It's not a YATS or a YATimmy or a YACrunchBox, et., al.
DOD claims it's a Class A discrete FET based circuit and the schematic backs this up. It uses a combination of BS170's with various hard clippers along the signal path. It's actually a pretty cool design.
When I first fired it up I was like "meh" until I started twiddling the controls. I was able to quickly dial up some KILLER low to medium gain sounds.
Its got the usual complement of level, gain, bass, trebles, but it also has a "filter" control which actually an input filter to fine tune the input impedance of your pickups and whether or not you're running a buffer before the pedal. It also has a pair of DIP switched to further tune the input impedance.
This is not the first pedal I've seen to do this but it's certainly one of the best implementations of this concept I've come across.
The input filter is the "magic" control once you've dialed in the amount of gain and overall EQ.
There's a Hi/Lo gain toggle and in the Hi gain mode it can get pretty raucous. But I think where it shines is as a "transparent" low gain drive. I like it so much that it's replaced the Jan Ray (which I just posted about) and my Greer Lightspeed (Mach 1) as my low gain drive.
This is a real sleeper pedal and a HIGHLY recommended build for a super versatile, unique circuit topology overdrive.
I bought this PCB from @Robert during one of my shopping sprees then couldn't remember why I got it. hahah.
It sat in my pile of boards for over 2 years.
A few months ago I was looking at it and watched a few more demo's and decided to build it. I don't know why but I didn't have high hopes I would like it very much.
Dang, I could NOT have been more wrong!
The pedal is a collaboration between DOD and Shoe Pedals. I don't know much more about the backstory beyond that.
The circuit itself is probably the first really unique topology I've seen in a long time. It's not a YATS or a YATimmy or a YACrunchBox, et., al.
DOD claims it's a Class A discrete FET based circuit and the schematic backs this up. It uses a combination of BS170's with various hard clippers along the signal path. It's actually a pretty cool design.
When I first fired it up I was like "meh" until I started twiddling the controls. I was able to quickly dial up some KILLER low to medium gain sounds.
Its got the usual complement of level, gain, bass, trebles, but it also has a "filter" control which actually an input filter to fine tune the input impedance of your pickups and whether or not you're running a buffer before the pedal. It also has a pair of DIP switched to further tune the input impedance.
This is not the first pedal I've seen to do this but it's certainly one of the best implementations of this concept I've come across.
The input filter is the "magic" control once you've dialed in the amount of gain and overall EQ.
There's a Hi/Lo gain toggle and in the Hi gain mode it can get pretty raucous. But I think where it shines is as a "transparent" low gain drive. I like it so much that it's replaced the Jan Ray (which I just posted about) and my Greer Lightspeed (Mach 1) as my low gain drive.
This is a real sleeper pedal and a HIGHLY recommended build for a super versatile, unique circuit topology overdrive.
But with a little context.