- Build Rating
This is a version of the Shika Fuzz, based on the EQD Hizumitas. The Hizumitas (very popular on the guitar pedals subreddit) was one of the first pedals I tried playing in a store, and one of the first I was interested in making when I discovered PedalPCB.
The traditional Hizumitas design has two jackalopes on it with a white and purple color. I figured I'd go for something similar but a little more menacing to fit the fuzz tone - what better mascot than a Great Horned Owl, which preys on rabbits? I'm very proud of this design - the rabbit and the owl both turned out as I expected, and the background, starry sky, and dark purple color was better than I expected. This was UV printed on the Tayda metallic purple sparkle colored enclosure and looks really sharp. I was debating a black background and am happy I went this direction instead - it's very unique. The LED is a soft purple and the whole thing looks great when it's on.
There were two problems with this build, hence the 4 stars.
Originally I had this pedal housed in a generic case, and it randomly stopped working. It was the first pedal I had this happen to - working one minute, then the next time I played it, it was dead. I took it apart, rotated the jacks, resoldered some parts - still nothing. So I had to debug and the problem seemed to be a bad solder joint on a capacitor. I suppose it got nudged because the jacks were a little loose. I'm much better at housing pedals now and I'm optimistic about the new enclosure.
The second problem is that I drilled the pedal myself (as with almost every pedal), and my step drill bits have been getting a little dull. I let one rotate a bit too long and the heat of the aluminum caused the UV print to bubble up a little bit (around the LED bezel). Not a big deal and not noticeable except in bright lighting. But I've learned my lesson and will order Tayda to drill if there's a lot of holes. When I do drill (as with other pedals I made recently), I've dipped the drill bit and the enclosure in water to keep them cooler, and this seems to work ok.
The pedal itself sounds really good. I think the pots are a little wonky and it reduces the usable range of the pedal - it can get too loud for me with volume about 10 o'clock, and the tone knob is kinda the inverse of normal. I can't compare this to other muffs, as I haven't played any (I have one of the muff pcbs from Moonn Electronics, and I've also been eyeing the Muffin Factory). But I love the sustain and the purity of the higher notes that sound almost synthy. Definitely a keeper for me.
The traditional Hizumitas design has two jackalopes on it with a white and purple color. I figured I'd go for something similar but a little more menacing to fit the fuzz tone - what better mascot than a Great Horned Owl, which preys on rabbits? I'm very proud of this design - the rabbit and the owl both turned out as I expected, and the background, starry sky, and dark purple color was better than I expected. This was UV printed on the Tayda metallic purple sparkle colored enclosure and looks really sharp. I was debating a black background and am happy I went this direction instead - it's very unique. The LED is a soft purple and the whole thing looks great when it's on.
There were two problems with this build, hence the 4 stars.
Originally I had this pedal housed in a generic case, and it randomly stopped working. It was the first pedal I had this happen to - working one minute, then the next time I played it, it was dead. I took it apart, rotated the jacks, resoldered some parts - still nothing. So I had to debug and the problem seemed to be a bad solder joint on a capacitor. I suppose it got nudged because the jacks were a little loose. I'm much better at housing pedals now and I'm optimistic about the new enclosure.
The second problem is that I drilled the pedal myself (as with almost every pedal), and my step drill bits have been getting a little dull. I let one rotate a bit too long and the heat of the aluminum caused the UV print to bubble up a little bit (around the LED bezel). Not a big deal and not noticeable except in bright lighting. But I've learned my lesson and will order Tayda to drill if there's a lot of holes. When I do drill (as with other pedals I made recently), I've dipped the drill bit and the enclosure in water to keep them cooler, and this seems to work ok.
The pedal itself sounds really good. I think the pots are a little wonky and it reduces the usable range of the pedal - it can get too loud for me with volume about 10 o'clock, and the tone knob is kinda the inverse of normal. I can't compare this to other muffs, as I haven't played any (I have one of the muff pcbs from Moonn Electronics, and I've also been eyeing the Muffin Factory). But I love the sustain and the purity of the higher notes that sound almost synthy. Definitely a keeper for me.
