Perplexed Head Case Chewy Boost combo pedal

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HamishR

Well-known member
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These are my two current fave pedals plus a slight variation on a Tchula Boost. Two simple JFET ODs plus an aggressive boost which can work ok as a stand alone pedal. The Perplexed is my modified Plexi drive and the Head Case is similar JEFT OD with a more mids focussed sound. I like each for different guitars - the Perplexed sounds good with my Gibsons and the Head Case suits my Gretsches and Strat better, but everything works pretty well through either. I like to make a combo pedal so that I don't have to keep switching pedals around and this thing only needs one 9V outlet. FWIW the PCBs are available at Sheepy Love!

As you can see @MichaelW 's graphic designer has worked her magic yet again. She's amazing.
 
Interesting. Hopefully we’ll be able to afford buying from Sheepy some day. I would’ve thought the Plexi Breed and Brownout would’ve been at the top of your list. I like a Tchula as well. Well-I like a COT that sat in front of my old gold Amp 11. I miss that pedal.
 
You would think so, wouldn't you? Nah, these two ODs are the ones I use the most. They're a bit more open sounding. Still full and vocal when playing single note stuff but at the lower gain levels I tend to play at they ring out with open chords a bit more,

Schematics are on the Sheepy Love website.
 
I was wondering the same thing. And I googled the plexi with an ac30. I have the Son of Ben that I like with the vox, which is supposed to have a lot in common with the plexidrive.
Probably gonna build them all, haha but for now the plexi and the Diamond Peak, and I still have a lovepedal jtm board.
 
Actually this afternoon I played the Perplexed, the Head Case, the Plexi Breed and the Variac next to each other, after seeing @bluedmc777 's comment. There is a sound that all of these JFET ODs seem to share that I really like. And in comparing them I found that the similarities kinda outweighed the differences. Of all of them the Plexi Breed has the biggest, thickest sound IMO, followed closely by the Variac. The Variac is the hardest to get a great very low gain sound out of. It seems to want to let rip - or at least mine does. And it is glorious when it does. And there is a real weight behind the sound of the Plexi Breed which may possibly a bit too much in a band setting. I'm sure you could dial it in to fit into a band but I gravitate towards the Perplexed because to me it's the most like my actual Plexi. The Perplexed doesn't have the fuzzy low end of the Plexi Drive it comes from.

With my Gibsons - a Les Paul, a 335 and a 330 - the Perplexed is the most fun in my hands. And with a Gretsch Duo Jet or 6120 I LOVE the Head Case. It still has a Marshally flavour but it has a bit more in the mids which suits the Gretsches. The Perplexed is probably the simplest pedal here with the fewest parts but it sounds the best to me with a Gibson. Obviously your experiences will be different from mine.

The other thing to bear in mind is that with all of these the voltages recommended for the drains of the JFETs are all just recommendations. I have built a number of all of these pedals and none of them sound identical to their namesakes until you tweak the voltages. I would suggest using the recommended voltages once you have built the pedal and if it sounds too clean lower the drain voltages a little and if it sounds too dirty the raise the voltages. When raising the voltages there comes a point where it gets cleaner but it can also start to sound a little bit strained or thin - like when a singer tries to sing too high or something like that. There is a fairly wide sweet spot on most JFETs in these circuits, usually between 4 and 6.5 VDC or thereabouts.
 
So you have them on your board for either humbuckers or filtertrons.
I have Hofner Sharkfins (Mojo UK pickups) but the ac30 produces enough mid on the normal channel I use so I think I"ll order a perplexed.
I dont use a lot of gain.
 
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I agree with the Plexi Breed being the fullest sounding. It does have a lot of low end that could probably benefit dialing back a bit…but in a way it’s the low end that helps make it sound the closest to the real thing imo. I still can’t get past the Variac on the bridge position of my Strat with moderate gain. I just get lost playing it and I play things I wouldn’t usually play. It’s such a fun pedal. I wouldn’t mind having two Variacs and two Plexi Breeds on my board. Probably will eventually.

So I’m assuming the Head Case is the pcb labeled Mad Sheep? Any particular pedal it’s based on? While we are on the subject of jfet pedals did you ever build the BSIAB from GGG? It was a fun pedal.
 
Ha! One day I will try the BSIAB!

One of the reasons I built the big pedal above was because of how good the Strat sounded through the Head Case, especially with the Chewy Boost in front of it.

They're all killer pedals. I guess it just depends on your guitar, your amp, your expectations and how you like to play. I have been playing a Gibson 330 a lot lately. It's a guitar associated with jazz and jangly pop. I use it for some quite aggressive rock sounds, jump blues, all sorts of things you wouldn't normally think a 330 would be good for. The Perplexed etc make it crunch and sing beautifully.
 
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