The Gator
Well-known member
Not sure how many people saw this as I didn't actually post it as a build report I did it in the Gator Drive thread and Chuck's Boneyard. Pedalbuilder stated that I should do a proper build thread here.
This started as a modified Timmy two years ago. I was able to modify it to join a contest as there's really not many parts to it. After that I had help and encouragement from several well-known people on The Forum. Chuck D. Bones, Szukalski, Cooder, and Steviejr92.
Chuck help me develop the circuit further into what I was originally wanting. I took the circuit that I like the most and turned it into the Gator Drive. It is a two-stage Overdrive with a full complement of tone controls. Sounds great with extremely light gain settings in hard or soft clipping. And it's great for blending the two. The hard clipping is Punchy and compressive. It also will get heavy gain settings that sound great. All the way up into fuzz territory.
with pedal on:
Then with Swamp Mode on:
The green on the enclosure is actually GM automotive paint . The color is 1967-68 GM Verdoro green metallic. It was used on Pontiac firebirds, GTOs, LeMans, etc.
When I was a kid in the 70s, my mom drove a Verdoro Green Firebird and that definitely left an impression on me.
Szukalski did the layout and I love it. Print on both sides, points grouped together for easy connectorization. Reduced wiring and plenty of room to easily solder.
I know, I know... I'm tooting my own horn here, but I feel like this overdrive is unique in the way that it has two stages of gain it's not a dual Overdrive. It seems like dual overdrives most of the time have level gain and tone controls and they can be switched in order which is pretty cool. Whichever circuit is last between the two, that tone control actually dictates what you hear.
This circuit, having two stages is different in the way that the tone controls are an overall setting, they don't fight each other. The game stages are set the way they are intentionally. The second stage is op-amp clipping. It can be added or removed. A lot of overdrives that can do heavy gain don't sound very good in low gain settings in my opinion. This circuit sounds really good with low gain soft clipping settings, low gain hard clipping settings, and very natural low gain settings with a combination of the two. Again just my opinion. If you dime every knob but the level and kick the switch up into hot and dirty, it becomes a fuzz pedal. And that's a lot of fun!
This started as a modified Timmy two years ago. I was able to modify it to join a contest as there's really not many parts to it. After that I had help and encouragement from several well-known people on The Forum. Chuck D. Bones, Szukalski, Cooder, and Steviejr92.
Chuck help me develop the circuit further into what I was originally wanting. I took the circuit that I like the most and turned it into the Gator Drive. It is a two-stage Overdrive with a full complement of tone controls. Sounds great with extremely light gain settings in hard or soft clipping. And it's great for blending the two. The hard clipping is Punchy and compressive. It also will get heavy gain settings that sound great. All the way up into fuzz territory.
with pedal on:
Then with Swamp Mode on:
The green on the enclosure is actually GM automotive paint . The color is 1967-68 GM Verdoro green metallic. It was used on Pontiac firebirds, GTOs, LeMans, etc.
When I was a kid in the 70s, my mom drove a Verdoro Green Firebird and that definitely left an impression on me.
Szukalski did the layout and I love it. Print on both sides, points grouped together for easy connectorization. Reduced wiring and plenty of room to easily solder.
I know, I know... I'm tooting my own horn here, but I feel like this overdrive is unique in the way that it has two stages of gain it's not a dual Overdrive. It seems like dual overdrives most of the time have level gain and tone controls and they can be switched in order which is pretty cool. Whichever circuit is last between the two, that tone control actually dictates what you hear.
This circuit, having two stages is different in the way that the tone controls are an overall setting, they don't fight each other. The game stages are set the way they are intentionally. The second stage is op-amp clipping. It can be added or removed. A lot of overdrives that can do heavy gain don't sound very good in low gain settings in my opinion. This circuit sounds really good with low gain soft clipping settings, low gain hard clipping settings, and very natural low gain settings with a combination of the two. Again just my opinion. If you dime every knob but the level and kick the switch up into hot and dirty, it becomes a fuzz pedal. And that's a lot of fun!
needs mentioning!!! Plus the gator-skin also used to differentiate the Swamp-Mode controls from the rest... the mean-looking gator-face and LEDs going from green to red... 
