- Build Rating
Finally finished this up last night. I've actually had the PCB populated and soldered since it was released. I really wanted to use a black enclosure with cream knobs, similar to the retail version. I use the Sunnyscopa no-film waterslide decals, but I only have a black and white printer. I kept putting off a trip to FedEx office to have something printed that would show up on black. My plan was to use a light silver. But as I found out, printing white is a special challenge. So I got tired of waiting and just used a blue enclosure - no particular reason, other than I had this blue box and didn't know what else I would use it for, and since the Snouse Black Box is essentially just a Bluesbreaker with modern amenities, it seemed reasonably appropriate. I think maybe the more typical silver toggle switches would look better, but whatever.
As @Dan0h said, "Better bring your drilling A game though because it’s a lot of holes." Truer words and all that - I think my drilling game is decent (I have a drill press), but there is virtually no room for error on those toggle switches. You can't see it in the pics, but the outer toggle switches are actually angled in a bit. The 1mm or so I was off for each hole was enough to make getting the fit in the enclosure a bear! I really should have just reamed the holes a bit to give me a bit more wiggle room, but whatever.
Anyway, I think it ultimately turned out reasonably nice. Fired up perfectly on first power-on!
As far as tone goes - at its core, it's the original Marshall Bluesbreaker version1 (earliest production run) with some added tweaks. So the core/original Bluesbreaker is in there, but with more knobs and switches to provide additional flexibility. If you like that sound, you'll like this pedal. That's not necessarily my favorite tone, but I do like it. One of my earliest pedal builds was the BYOC British Blues Overdrive, which I built to "mk 1" specs (as the BYOC kit and schematic calls out the later version values). For me, the real killer feature add with the Black Box is the output FET. The original BB mk1 pedals had unity volume well past noon on the level dial. Not really a problem, just annoying for neurotic types like me. But the added output of the Black Box totally satisfies my neurosis!
On the topic of Bluesbreaker-derived circuits: while I have a Paragon in the build queue, I got impatient to try the King of Tone, and last week grabbed one of those cheap clones (DemonFX King of Drive). For so long I admittedly snubbed my nose at the KOT/POT because of the hype. But after playing this clone, I have to say, I think some of the hype is justified. It's not so much that the tone is magically setting me afloat in unicorn tears, but it feels exceptionally well-tuned. I'm stoked to try it with the band, as it sounds like the whole design intent was based around live playing.
I mention that, because comparing the Pot & Kettle to other Bluesbreaker derivatives is only natural. And my current feel is that the Pot & Kettle might win out for home use, particularly because the bottom end is pretty big. The KOT clone has noticeably more bass roll off. However, I did use my BYOC British Blues with the band several years ago and don't recall having any issues, but that feels like another lifetime at this point (I was new to playing in bands, and hadn't yet become obsessive about tone and how I sit in the mix; I was just trying not to suck (I guess some things haven't changed!)). Anyway, I really want to try the Stage Pro mod version of the Black Box, that might be exactly what it needs.
Anyway, I'll spend today's home practice session comparing my Pot & Kettle to my retail Black Box. I don't except any significant differences (unless I made a build mistake!).
As @Dan0h said, "Better bring your drilling A game though because it’s a lot of holes." Truer words and all that - I think my drilling game is decent (I have a drill press), but there is virtually no room for error on those toggle switches. You can't see it in the pics, but the outer toggle switches are actually angled in a bit. The 1mm or so I was off for each hole was enough to make getting the fit in the enclosure a bear! I really should have just reamed the holes a bit to give me a bit more wiggle room, but whatever.
Anyway, I think it ultimately turned out reasonably nice. Fired up perfectly on first power-on!
As far as tone goes - at its core, it's the original Marshall Bluesbreaker version1 (earliest production run) with some added tweaks. So the core/original Bluesbreaker is in there, but with more knobs and switches to provide additional flexibility. If you like that sound, you'll like this pedal. That's not necessarily my favorite tone, but I do like it. One of my earliest pedal builds was the BYOC British Blues Overdrive, which I built to "mk 1" specs (as the BYOC kit and schematic calls out the later version values). For me, the real killer feature add with the Black Box is the output FET. The original BB mk1 pedals had unity volume well past noon on the level dial. Not really a problem, just annoying for neurotic types like me. But the added output of the Black Box totally satisfies my neurosis!
On the topic of Bluesbreaker-derived circuits: while I have a Paragon in the build queue, I got impatient to try the King of Tone, and last week grabbed one of those cheap clones (DemonFX King of Drive). For so long I admittedly snubbed my nose at the KOT/POT because of the hype. But after playing this clone, I have to say, I think some of the hype is justified. It's not so much that the tone is magically setting me afloat in unicorn tears, but it feels exceptionally well-tuned. I'm stoked to try it with the band, as it sounds like the whole design intent was based around live playing.
I mention that, because comparing the Pot & Kettle to other Bluesbreaker derivatives is only natural. And my current feel is that the Pot & Kettle might win out for home use, particularly because the bottom end is pretty big. The KOT clone has noticeably more bass roll off. However, I did use my BYOC British Blues with the band several years ago and don't recall having any issues, but that feels like another lifetime at this point (I was new to playing in bands, and hadn't yet become obsessive about tone and how I sit in the mix; I was just trying not to suck (I guess some things haven't changed!)). Anyway, I really want to try the Stage Pro mod version of the Black Box, that might be exactly what it needs.
Anyway, I'll spend today's home practice session comparing my Pot & Kettle to my retail Black Box. I don't except any significant differences (unless I made a build mistake!).
