mkstewartesq
Well-known member
Fairly short (for me) build report. This is the Waddle Box, a clone of the DOD FX25 envelope filter.
This was a nice, quick, and easy build. My only variations from the BOM were that I subbed an NE5532P for the LM1458, and I changed the value of C2 from 1n to 3n9 per the recommendation of several builders here to overcome some of the issues associated with the wonky Sensitivity control on the original pedal.
When I first fired it up, the output just seemed… unpredictable? Counterintuitive from what I was expecting when I played with the controls? So I looked up a few videos of the original pedal online and tried to match their settings. That sent me into a brief panic because my build didn’t really sound like pedals in the video at the same settings – until I remembered that the whole point of the change in the cap value at C2 was to alter the Sensitivity response. Once I compensated my settings (turning the Sensitivity a bit more CCW than shown in the videos), suddenly my pedal was sounding like what I was watching on screen.
It’s a lot of fun – I actually really dig the touch sensitivity when the Sensitivity knob is at about 1 o’clock (taking into account the C2 change). Varying your pick attack can take you from a subtle, muffled sort of heel-down wah tone straight up to a full on quack and everywhere in between across a single melodic run. This allows for a lot of expressive freedom.
If there is one thing I am less than thrilled about, it seems like the pedal can sometimes be a bit shrill - at the same time, that may be my playing environment, given that I am playing a Tele through a Fender Twin emulation. Still, I would’ve expected it to be a little less shrill when I had both the neck and bridge pickup running in series. So I’ll need to try this out with a few different guitars to see if it’s the pedal or just the Tele and amp combination that can make it sound a bit brittle or harsh.
Enclosure is a Tayda gloss white with a film-free decal and a layer of clearcoat.
Thanks for looking,
Mike
This was a nice, quick, and easy build. My only variations from the BOM were that I subbed an NE5532P for the LM1458, and I changed the value of C2 from 1n to 3n9 per the recommendation of several builders here to overcome some of the issues associated with the wonky Sensitivity control on the original pedal.
When I first fired it up, the output just seemed… unpredictable? Counterintuitive from what I was expecting when I played with the controls? So I looked up a few videos of the original pedal online and tried to match their settings. That sent me into a brief panic because my build didn’t really sound like pedals in the video at the same settings – until I remembered that the whole point of the change in the cap value at C2 was to alter the Sensitivity response. Once I compensated my settings (turning the Sensitivity a bit more CCW than shown in the videos), suddenly my pedal was sounding like what I was watching on screen.
It’s a lot of fun – I actually really dig the touch sensitivity when the Sensitivity knob is at about 1 o’clock (taking into account the C2 change). Varying your pick attack can take you from a subtle, muffled sort of heel-down wah tone straight up to a full on quack and everywhere in between across a single melodic run. This allows for a lot of expressive freedom.
If there is one thing I am less than thrilled about, it seems like the pedal can sometimes be a bit shrill - at the same time, that may be my playing environment, given that I am playing a Tele through a Fender Twin emulation. Still, I would’ve expected it to be a little less shrill when I had both the neck and bridge pickup running in series. So I’ll need to try this out with a few different guitars to see if it’s the pedal or just the Tele and amp combination that can make it sound a bit brittle or harsh.
Enclosure is a Tayda gloss white with a film-free decal and a layer of clearcoat.
Thanks for looking,
Mike
