Top Five '24

[comradehoser]

I decided to restrict myself to PPCB builds, it wasn’t hard

My 2024 top 5, not in any particular order:

Dope Priest/74 Ram’s Head #1 on PPCB Muffinator. My build report. Everyone (should) has a favorite muff version and this mine. It’s heavy as fuck while still nimble enough to take on a pile of jack boot thugs in riot gear. The added mid control helps it cut. The clipping options are great for adding headroom and flavor. Runner up muff would be the Kewpie, it’s Japanese, fascist murdering, half brother.

Precision Drive, PPCB Dwarven Hammer. My build report. I do not like tube screamers and derivatives. In fact I did not like this one when I first built it. But somehow this one has the secret sauce. Keep drive at 0 to 5%, dial attack to tighten up your pick ups, volume to taste. It’s the perfect always on first pedal. It makes everything after it sound more vivid and detailed. This is the pedal to drive your muff, high gain amp, etc into ecstasy.

RambleFX Twin Bender, PPCB Two Tone Fuzz. My build report. Simply put, this pedal is rock and roll. It never stays off my board for long. If you only build one Tone Bender, build this one.

PPCB Duo-Phase (Mutron Biphase alike). My build report. I don’t build a lot of modulation pedals, really only the Boss classics. I have the Meris big boxes, Eventide H90, etc that handle that duty for the most part. This pedal is an essential for me. There’s nothing like the sonic mojo it imparts when running in stereo with slow offset LFOs. Perfect for Siamese dreaming, or Al Cisneros role play.

Like my brother @comradehoser I’m going to use my last pick for the 3 channel splitter and mixer. My build report. When I built these I intended to use them on my bass board. Little did I know I’d catch the amp building bug. I’m using one splitter to hit three amps at the end of my dirt board and two mixers to mix the output of UAFX Ox Boxes at the start of my stereo mod/delay/reverb board. I am thinking I’d like to buy two more mixer boards and put two in one box and add panner controls for a stereo three channel mixer to simplify things a bit.

‘Not PPCB’ honorable mentions: All the Boss stuff at AionFX. Love em. Effects Layouts - so much good, literally the crack that supplies my doom-y flavored crack pipe.

Entertaining writing and a point of view, cross-reference links, and you agree with me?? Dang, this is top five of the top five

 

[zeropluszero]

Ive built this year;
Box and all, Delegate Boneyard (twice), Uberdrive, Notakliche, Isosceles, Sherwood, Promethium, Scabbard, circulator boneyard, abyss, lowtide, magnetic delay, sea horse, pitch witch, super heterodyne receiver (needs troubleshooting), Hydra, actual overdrive jr, Clandestine Pre.

My 5 would be
Lowtide - everytime I put this on, it just sings to me.
Uberdrive - my preferred clean boost
Kliche - decided I quite like the klon type, need to build another bass / unmodded at some point
Promethium - loving this with the high control at anything other than dimmed.

Not sure about the 5th. I build and test, and any pedals I don't like I flog off on marketplace...builds still on my board are the circulator, mag echo, pitch witch, sea machine and Sherwood. Others are all sold or in pieces.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

I stand by my "for bass players list" from the first round. I was looking through my build reports to see if I need updates thinking i hadn't built very many this year. Less than 10 perhaps? (Sigh) I did 35 build reports in 2024....

I think at least 5 things I built this year qualify for "must build" so I'll just go with 5 things I built this year and so should you.

Nobelium - I don't need to give reasons here, do I? It was the apex of my ascent up pedal mountain. If you have a bass, build it. Build it now. Also, build all of the c2ce bass projects.

Glizzy tone - My Elka Dizzy tone was built on a RAD pedals (thanks again @peccary!) pcb but it can be built on the gnat pcb. I highly recommend doing the 2 knob version like I've done to mine. My no. 1 bass fuzz. This fuzz is so good, I blessed with a chicken wing audio enclosure.

VFE mini mu - Madbean has both my favorite envelope filters and both appear on my pedalboard. While the junk trunk/gas tank is my up/dirty filter, my mini mu stays in the down position. While it can't do the "fuzz in the loop" thing like the junk trunk it actually interacts really well with many of the dirt boxes that I've placed before it.

Duo-Phase- The king of phasers. Full disclosure, I actually recently switched back to my madbean polytrog for the envelope function but the love for the duo around here is for good reason. It's an absolutely beautifull sounding phaser that can get into some experimental territory without being abrasively strange.

Median - I don't have a ton to say beyond it being my favorite comp so far. It has all the controls I need as a bassist but most importantly it has the blend that is missing in other comps I've used. I was using the thumbsucker but I think the Median is less noisy and easier to dial in to be subtle.

Honorables - the EL Soysauce (meatbox), vero phat phuck b, and ppcb power supply isolator have also remained on my board since completion.

 

[jwin615]

The Behringer has more functionality, and if you can get one for $99 (vs scalper prices) that's a no brainer. I pre-ordered one before the initial release, there is no way I was going to miss out on that one.

With that said, it's huge, mine has a slightly higher noise floor than my Duo-Phase, and I preferred the sound of the Duo-Phase.

Behringer Bi-Phase vs 1590XX / 6500 enclosure
View attachment 87805

Still waiting on mine some 7 months later...

 

[comradehoser]

I stand by my "for bass players list" from the first round. I was looking through my build reports to see if I need updates thinking i hadn't built very many this year. Less than 10 perhaps? (Sigh) I did 35 build reports in 2024....

I think at least 5 things I built this year qualify for "must build" so I'll just go with 5 things I built this year and so should you.

Nobelium - I don't need to give reasons here, do I? It was the apex of my ascent up pedal mountain. If you have a bass, build it. Build it now. Also, build all of the c2ce bass projects.

Glizzy tone - My Elka Dizzy tone was built on a RAD pedals (thanks again @peccary!) pcb but it can be built on the gnat pcb. I highly recommend doing the 2 knob version like I've done to mine. My no. 1 bass fuzz. This fuzz is so good, I blessed with a chicken wing audio enclosure.

VFE mini mu - Madbean has both my favorite envelope filters and both appear on my pedalboard. While the junk trunk/gas tank is my up/dirty filter, my mini mu stays in the down position. While it can't do the "fuzz in the loop" thing like the junk trunk it actually interacts really well with many of the dirt boxes that I've placed before it.

Duo-Phase- The king of phasers. Full disclosure, I actually recently switched back to my madbean polytrog for the envelope function but the love for the duo around here is for good reason. It's an absolutely beautifull sounding phaser that can get into some experimental territory without being abrasively strange.

Meridian - I don't have a ton to say beyond it being my favorite comp so far. It has all the controls I need as a bassist but most importantly it has the blend that is missing in other comps I've used. I was using the thumbsucker but I think the Meridian is less noisy and easier to dial in to be subtle.

Honorables - the EL Soysauce (meatbox), vero phat phuck b, and ppcb power supply isolator have also remained on my board since completion.

Goddamit. Duo phase, you say? Just ordered the Aion Redshift. Guess I have another justification order coming up. Although if Gary and the variable crossover come through, it will be worth it. And then I'm done, I tell you, done!

And that, ladies and germs, is the promise and the problem of this thread right here.

 

[DeadAirMD]

For my Top 5, I want to share/recommend some boards that don't always get a ton of love, but that I think are really great.

Without further ado and in no particular order...

1. Superflare (PPCB)


This pedal just SCREAMS! Really awesome at vibing between rhythm and lead. I threw a LPB Boost into the enclosure and it really kicks this into high gear. Definitely my favorite fuzz pedal I've build, mostly because it rides the line between fuzz/distortion. Blended some hammertone paint for the enclosure.

2. Sentient Machine (Parasit)

This thing is WAY fun to use playing "bass". I'm big into using midi and have a midi pickup on most of my guitars, allowing me to also play bass on my guitars using the Roland GR33. Gives my bass sound tons of funk to funk with. Great sounds all across the dial and toggle.

3. Gravitation Reverb (PPCB)

Love using this for my lead tone. Gives a little kick in volume when you engage the pedal, but not a big deal for me, especially using it for leads. I almost never turn it off.

4. Phase II (PPCB)

Just absolutely LOVE this Phaser. Great to use on rhythm guitar while looping. Add some pingpong delay and you're tripping out!

5. Electrovibe Mini (PPCB)

Took a second to get this to work right, there are a TON of 4k7/47k resistors and I borked the placement of a few leading to a ton of distortion in the signal. Once I got everything fixed, it was super easy to dial in the trimmers and it sounds fantastic.

Honorable Mention: Scenario (PPCB)

This thing is never leaving my board, ever! The Scenario is the foundation of my dirty rhythm and lead toan, there is absolutely NO way I can live without this pedal. I boxed it up with the Synopsis with an order switcher. Bought another Scenario board and going to build it with some "mojo" parts and put it in it's own enclosure.

Late Addition.......
Little Huzzy Fuzz (PPCB)



Well good lordy lawds! This pedal is a 70's style guitar players dream. Man does this thing CUT. Super touch responsive, sounds just absolutely divine on my P90 bridge pickup. Honestly, this pedal does not divide the room, everyone would have fun playing this. Super low part count, nothing crazy, probably have most of the parts in your stash already. Recommend HIGHLY 10/10!

 

[peccary]

I stand by my "for bass players list" from the first round. I was looking through my build reports to see if I need updates thinking i hadn't built very many this year. Less than 10 perhaps? (Sigh) I did 35 build reports in 2024....

I think at least 5 things I built this year qualify for "must build" so I'll just go with 5 things I built this year and so should you.

Nobelium - I don't need to give reasons here, do I? It was the apex of my ascent up pedal mountain. If you have a bass, build it. Build it now. Also, build all of the c2ce bass projects.

Glizzy tone - My Elka Dizzy tone was built on a RAD pedals (thanks again @peccary!) pcb but it can be built on the gnat pcb. I highly recommend doing the 2 knob version like I've done to mine. My no. 1 bass fuzz. This fuzz is so good, I blessed with a chicken wing audio enclosure.

VFE mini mu - Madbean has both my favorite envelope filters and both appear on my pedalboard. While the junk trunk/gas tank is my up/dirty filter, my mini mu stays in the down position. While it can't do the "fuzz in the loop" thing like the junk trunk it actually interacts really well with many of the dirt boxes that I've placed before it.

Duo-Phase- The king of phasers. Full disclosure, I actually recently switched back to my madbean polytrog for the envelope function but the love for the duo around here is for good reason. It's an absolutely beautifull sounding phaser that can get into some experimental territory without being abrasively strange.

Meridian - I don't have a ton to say beyond it being my favorite comp so far. It has all the controls I need as a bassist but most importantly it has the blend that is missing in other comps I've used. I was using the thumbsucker but I think the Meridian is less noisy and easier to dial in to be subtle.

Honorables - the EL Soysauce (meatbox), vero phat phuck b, and ppcb power supply isolator have also remained on my board since completion.

I really like my Meridian as well, built to bass specs. The harmonics control is the cherry on top.

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

I really like my Meridian as well, built to bass specs. The harmonics control is the cherry on top.

Lol.... I just realized we're talking about different comps. (What harmonics control??) I got autocorrected.... sorry for the confusion y'all. I'm taking about the ppcb Median compressor. Editing my post now.

 

[DeadAirMD]

Meridian is from Aion and is definitely an awesome circuit! Can dial between even/odd harmonics, so it's handy for lead

 

[keevohn]

This year was about filling my Nano+ board with DIY builds. To that end, I built the following five pedals:

1) PPCB Curds & Whey. I've wanted a Prunes & Custard clone since learning that it's on Wilco's "A Ghost is Born". Love the crazy splatty wavefolding sound, but I actually get more use out if with the drive dialed back - it adds a nice growl when you dig in. Also pairs well with other drives to add more harmonic content.

2) PPCB Caesar. Bought the BBD chips during the pandemic when they were harder to come by. I'm not a big chorus user, but I figured I would use the vibrato mode. Surprised by how much I like this circuit - lots of great sounds to be had.

3) Electric Canary Iridescent. Awesome PT2399 delay with modulation and tap tempo. I've had a lot of fun exploring all the textures in this thing.

4) PPCB Fordoble Boost + Drive. This replaced my Timmy, TS, and SD-9 builds. Both the boost and drive are killer on their own and distort beautifully together. Love the bass knob on the boost with a Strat.

5) PPCB General Tso. I had a script logo Dyna Comp 20-odd years ago that generally turned me off to compressors. The General Tso feels like a completely different breed - I'm shocked by how much clarity and body it adds without making anything feel squished.

Honorable mention goes to the PPBC Trembling Loon I built and subsequently destroyed trying to modify the LFO resistors. This one will be rebuilt soon!