OD is Glorious
Well-known member
- Build Rating
Sounds good when I installed the correct components. Before I got the correct values installed I was was thinking - can I even give this thing to somebody with these useless controls and this overwhelming volume and aggression? Lol then I read the build report... Now it sounds like a proper overdrive but I do think the smooth knob is snake oil. You can push another pedal with this circuit and it can operate like a boost. Combining this with a dirt channel or circuit and operating the frequency knob can make it sound like the amp is pushing and not the dirt channel or pedal. This is a different sort of circuit that takes some getting used to. I had to play it for about ten minutes before I got used to the controls. the frequency knob operates in a counterintuitive manner and maybe it should be called gain and flipped 180 degrees. The smooth knob does not do much - maybe dogs can percieve the loss of some highs? And IMO the Punch/Range knob operates like a volume knob. This circuit never quite gets to unity even when you try... just above... and I am not a fan of that circuit design.
Controls
Smooth is a high frequency filter - does not really make discernible changes - rolls off some highs I guess?
Frequency operates - all the way clockwise treble and thin and all the way counter-clockwise it is like a gain knob and tone gets thick
Punch/Range on my design is basically a volume knob IMO
When I populated the board I followed the PCB printed values which called for a 10k in R4 should be 1k. I guess my 99% iso washed off the blacked out 10k value on the PCB. FYI, 10k in R4 made the range knob useless and made unity impossible. I also had a 47u in C6 when the build documents and board value was 4u7. This I believe made the full counterclockwise turn of the frequency knob muddy. Seems clearer now with the correct 4u7 value.
This started as a ball silver 1590b that I two toned. The decal is film free and the pedal was protected with satin 2k clear. I did not use the word punch for the potentiometer because it sounds gimmicky. The knobs are Davies 1510 gold and the D.C. top jack is Lumberg. The footswitch is full sized with a PPCB breakout board. 3mm red diffused LED without a bezel.
Notes
- Pat attention to R4 - The silkscreened value on the board should be blacked out - the build documents are correct
- No hard to find parts just two BC550C transistors
