Special K

[DAJE]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

I made a Speaker Cranker a while back and liked it, but felt it was a bit limited.

This one is much more useful. Plenty of variety, cleans up well with the guitar volume knob, responsive to dynamics.

The silicon diodes are louder and have a touch more bite, the Germanium diodes are warmer but have plenty of crunch in them too.

Easy build. I got a good deal on some Soviet D9Ks recently so that's what's in there.

Violet LED that's more of a light blue, used a 1K resistor.

 

[ransemvstheunman]

Well done, I start this build tomorrow! It looks like those knobs fit! Where’d did you source them? I wanted to put mini “chicken heads” on my upcoming build, but feared they would still be too large with the switch centered.

 

[DAJE]

Well done, I start this build tomorrow! It looks like those knobs fit! Where’d did you source them? I wanted to put mini “chicken heads” on my upcoming build, but feared they would still be too large with the switch centered.

AliExpress, that's where most of my knobs come from.
Here's a few links to sellers I've bought from:

4.81US $ 42% OFF|FLEOR 20pcs White Vintage Chicken Head Knobs Amplifier Knobs Plastic Small for Guitar Bass|Guitar Parts & Accessories| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

4.81US $ 42% OFF|New 12pcs Mini Chicken Head Knobs Guitar Amp Amplifier Effect Pedal Knobs Red/black/white Color Choose - Guitar Parts & Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

1.75US $ 27% OFF|10pcs Plastic Chicken Head Guitar Effect Pedal Knobs Guitar Amp Control Knobs Guitarra Potentiometer Knob - Guitar Parts & Accessories - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

These mini-chickees fit pedals well, I haven't had a problem with them bumping into other controls the way larger ones do. They need split spline pots, though, they won't fit on solid ones and there's no set screw.

 

[HamishR]

I recently got some mini-chickenhead knobs with set-screws in brass inserts from Antique Electronics online. (tubesandmore.com)

They have some cool knobs, man...

 

[manfesto]

Well done, I start this build tomorrow! It looks like those knobs fit! Where’d did you source them? I wanted to put mini “chicken heads” on my upcoming build, but feared they would still be too large with the switch centered.

These are the ones you'd want if you're shopping at Tayda:

Search results for: 'mini chicken head'

www.taydaelectronics.com

Or these at Tubes and More:

https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/knob-chicken-head-mini-high-quality-brass-insert-set-screw

They're 23mm nose to tail and fit on 2, 3, and 4 knob PedalPCB layouts without issue

 

[Haz]

I really liked mixing red led with GE diodes with low fV below 400mV. Led gives a singing quality and tight lows germanium high end sizzle
Liked this a lot more than original diodes. Switch is not soldered

 

[jhaneyzz]

I love the Special K I built but I always seem to need to crank the tone knob all the way up. Anyone else notice this?

 

[DAJE]

I love the Special K I built but I always seem to need to crank the tone knob all the way up. Anyone else notice this?

Mine doesn't need that. That may be personal preference, or it may be capacitor tolerance.

 

[jhaneyzz]

Mine doesn't need that. That may be personal preference, or it may be capacitor tolerance.

Thanks, I’ll proceed with caution.

How do you like the pedal compared to similar pedals?

 

[DAJE]

Thanks, I’ll proceed with caution.

How do you like the pedal compared to similar pedals?

I like it a lot, I'd say it's pretty useful.