gtfields13
Well-known member
I've finished the first complete (well mostly complete) build in a while. Here's my Phido Sound On Aire, based upon the Hudson Broadcast (Dual), using the PedalPCB DuoCast PCB.
The pedal does sound very clean to me. With a grounded input plug, I can’t hear any noise from this pedal and that fits my goal of only hearing noise coming from my guitar pickups, not the pedal.
The high‑cut does exactly what I expect based upon its description for the Broadcast. It reminds me exactly of the nasal quality I can get from an old ’50s Astatic microphone that I have.
I really like the 12V / 24V switch on this version. This changes the headroom, so while 12V is well into distortion, when it flips to 24V the sound cleans up but gets loud.
Overall, this feels (not sounds) similar to the Flynn Amps Hawk I bought in Scotland last year. It’s not a lot of distortion, but it boosts the output power so that the next thing in the signal chain gets something beefier to work with.
Overall, this is done enough to post my build, but it needs a few things before it’s complete and up for sale. The first is switching down from 20 mm to 15 mm knobs (clearly I did not double‑check my knob graphics inside Affinity Designer). The other is that I haven’t written my bottom poem.
This is my first full pedal I’ve made using DTF UV prints (NinjaPrint) instead of UV printing on the case. I’m still deciding how I feel about gloss versus matte, which I’ve used on all of my other prints, but this feels like the way to go until I have my design/graphics locked in and I’m ready to build a batch for sale. In this case, the top graphics are exactly what I like, but I still need to tune my jack/power fonts. DTF also means I can add the bottom poem before I send this out into the world.
Build
A pretty straightforward build without any complications. I know there are simplifications that can be made to the circuit, but as I intend to sell this pedal, I went with the complete Broadcast clone. The only real variable is the Ge transistor. For this, I reached into my stash of low‑gain Sovtek germanium for an MP26B with an hFE of 44× at 0.5 mA, and decent leakage (120 µA). With the width of the circuit, this is the most spacious case I’ve had to work inside, so everything dropped in nicely.Sound
I didn’t set up the low‑ and high‑gain trim pots properly yet, but I like where I landed. I think the low‑gain trim is a bit high, since the gain switch can lead to either a boost or a drop‑off depending upon the external controls.The pedal does sound very clean to me. With a grounded input plug, I can’t hear any noise from this pedal and that fits my goal of only hearing noise coming from my guitar pickups, not the pedal.
The high‑cut does exactly what I expect based upon its description for the Broadcast. It reminds me exactly of the nasal quality I can get from an old ’50s Astatic microphone that I have.
I really like the 12V / 24V switch on this version. This changes the headroom, so while 12V is well into distortion, when it flips to 24V the sound cleans up but gets loud.
Overall, this feels (not sounds) similar to the Flynn Amps Hawk I bought in Scotland last year. It’s not a lot of distortion, but it boosts the output power so that the next thing in the signal chain gets something beefier to work with.
Design
No science here, all 'Dale. With the original's name, my Phido branding outcome was a no-brainer. Just put an Airedale on the Air, with an extra 'e'Overall, this is done enough to post my build, but it needs a few things before it’s complete and up for sale. The first is switching down from 20 mm to 15 mm knobs (clearly I did not double‑check my knob graphics inside Affinity Designer). The other is that I haven’t written my bottom poem.
This is my first full pedal I’ve made using DTF UV prints (NinjaPrint) instead of UV printing on the case. I’m still deciding how I feel about gloss versus matte, which I’ve used on all of my other prints, but this feels like the way to go until I have my design/graphics locked in and I’m ready to build a batch for sale. In this case, the top graphics are exactly what I like, but I still need to tune my jack/power fonts. DTF also means I can add the bottom poem before I send this out into the world.
