So here is the next to last batch of pedals from my @fig winnings. First up is the Ample Alpaca. Have seen many mentions of the red llama over the years and I like Tom Petty as much as the next 40+ guy, so I decided to give it a go. So off the bat, it is def a woofy pedal, even with the hi-cut/treble dimed. I increased the power resistor to 2k at the leading of Mr Bones elsewhere in the forum. This brought the voltage on pin 1 down to 4.9v, might try a 3k, might not, meh. This seemed to tighten up the overdrive a bit. Are there some usable sounds? yes. Is it anything special? not really. speaking of “ample” check that 330uf. Also, who doesn’t love a little Carl:
Next, the Special K. Oh wait, you guys were thinking ab the cereal? Can’t really go wrong with an Electra based drive, always a classic. Modifications include a on/off/on clipping switch to allow for “clean” boost mode. Since you are throwing one gain stage into a “recovery” gain stage, it can still be a little dirty. Used a couple of 2n2484 trannies that have been hanging around my transistor bin, hfe around 418. Def plenty of gain on tap. Would it have been cool if I had aligned my artwork so that the LED was in the middle of the “hole”, yes, yes it would have been. It won’t bother me though….much. Pics
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Last up, the Pendulum trem. The harmonic part def makes this a step above the standard trem, very warm and musical. I did not pay a whole lot of attention to the LDR distance, but I like what I am hearing so probably won’t mess with it. Was looking for a good “Pit and the Pendulum” picture, but searching for Poe brought up this and I liked it so there you have it. I must have installed the rate LED backwards because it isn’t currently working. Will I fix it? Maybe, maybe not. Pics:
All art was done in GIMP and printed on vinyl sticker. I took notes from @jjjimi84 and only painted the top given that the weather around the Ohio valley in late October doesn’t make for the best rattle can application. Over sprayed the vinyl with clear enamel. In summary, some easy/fun builds. Some usable sounds, but will any of them be in regular rotation? Probably not. I have a lot of boost/OD/fuzzy distortion pedals that sound similar or better and all but one of my amps have tube trem. None of these gave me that “HELL YES!” sort of feeling that makes you want to play for hours, but that’s just my lowly opinion. Now go build some stuff
Next, the Special K. Oh wait, you guys were thinking ab the cereal? Can’t really go wrong with an Electra based drive, always a classic. Modifications include a on/off/on clipping switch to allow for “clean” boost mode. Since you are throwing one gain stage into a “recovery” gain stage, it can still be a little dirty. Used a couple of 2n2484 trannies that have been hanging around my transistor bin, hfe around 418. Def plenty of gain on tap. Would it have been cool if I had aligned my artwork so that the LED was in the middle of the “hole”, yes, yes it would have been. It won’t bother me though….much. Pics
:
Last up, the Pendulum trem. The harmonic part def makes this a step above the standard trem, very warm and musical. I did not pay a whole lot of attention to the LDR distance, but I like what I am hearing so probably won’t mess with it. Was looking for a good “Pit and the Pendulum” picture, but searching for Poe brought up this and I liked it so there you have it. I must have installed the rate LED backwards because it isn’t currently working. Will I fix it? Maybe, maybe not. Pics:
All art was done in GIMP and printed on vinyl sticker. I took notes from @jjjimi84 and only painted the top given that the weather around the Ohio valley in late October doesn’t make for the best rattle can application. Over sprayed the vinyl with clear enamel. In summary, some easy/fun builds. Some usable sounds, but will any of them be in regular rotation? Probably not. I have a lot of boost/OD/fuzzy distortion pedals that sound similar or better and all but one of my amps have tube trem. None of these gave me that “HELL YES!” sort of feeling that makes you want to play for hours, but that’s just my lowly opinion. Now go build some stuff