DEMO Voodoo Labs Overdrive (a cdwillis board)

[MichaelW]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

When I saw @cdwillis 's build report on this pedal and found out that he made it available at OshPark I knew I had to build it!

I was a big fan of the VoodooLabs Sparkle Drive back in the day. This is not the Sparkle Drive, I believe it pre-dates it.

According to @cdwillis who did the board layout, this was VoodooLab's take on a DOD250 and was a precursor to the OCD.

It doesn't sound anything like the DOD250 to me but it DOES have some of the OCD vibe which is pretty cool. The gain structure is similar, a muscular and meaty sounding overdrive. I'm not sure what is contributing to this gain. I always thought it was the Mosfet clipping on the OCD that made it sound this way. Guess I was wrong.....(wouldn't be the first time hahaha).

It's a super simple build, minimal components and all common stuff. The IC is a TL072 although I bet it would sound pretty good with a JRC4558 in it.

Plenty of output unlike the DOD250/Dist+.

At the lower gain settings, like with the gain knob full CCW, it's a really cool super light overdrive but it thickens the tone in a nice way.
With the gain cranked it can get a bit unflattering, it sounds best to me with the gain around 11:00 to 1:00 as a standalone overdrive.

Boosting a crunchy amp is really nice with this drive as well. It thickens things up considerably depending on how much gain you add.

I recorded a demo with my usual knob tweaking both through a clean amp and a gainy amp.
I used my new VHT D-50 for this demo.

Thanks @cdwillis for sharing!!

By the way I have one extra board from my Oshpark order if anyone wants to build this. Just DM me.

I used a couple of Silver Mica caps for the 220p caps because I have a bunch. Clipping diodes are 1N4148's.

 

[cdwillis]

That's a super clean build! I knew it would be. I agree with you on the sweet spot being 11 - 1o'clock or so. I haven't messed with boosting the front end of it or modding anything yet.

 

[Route14]

Great build! Love the breakout board. Streamlined and compact.

What is everyone's thought: Power LED on the right or left of the footswitch??? For whatever reason I'm a lefty but don't have any real reason why. Maybe because I engage pedals with my right foot, I'm a right handed player and looking down I think I'll see the LED to the left easier?

 

[jimilee]

Great build! Love the breakout board. Streamlined and compact.

What is everyone's thought: Power LED on the right or left of the footswitch??? For whatever reason I'm a lefty but don't have any real reason why. Maybe because I engage pedals with my right foot, I'm a right handed player and looking down I think I'll see the LED to the left easier?

On the right.

 

[cdwillis]

I've made a few breakout boards and for no real reason I put the LED pads on the right side of the board which places it left side of the pedal's footswitch once it's assembled. I use my right foot to tap the switches so having the LED on the opposite side of where my foot is hovering makes sense to me. Dave Barber said that he moved the LEDs to the top of the enclosures so anyone using it would see the LED regardless of where their foot was.