coltonius
Well-known member
- Build Rating
I'm several build reports behind, but I recently finished this one.. I was in the mood for something wild and remembered I had some old Devi boards that I could build up. Next thing I know, I'm digging through my camera roll for old gear photos and it happened!
The PCBs were purchased from Dwarfcraft when they first purchased the Devi brand. I know there was a fuss about faulty components in the Devi-craft kits, I think- but I managed to avoid the drama by skipping on the extras. Anyway, the two sides are Soda Meiser and Vintage Fuzz Master- essentially the same circuit, except one of the transistors is flipped. I built mine with each side being independently switchable; the Soda Meiser is a warm, rounded off "wall of sound" type fuzz while the VFM side is gated and glitchy with shades of upper octave. (Side Note: I wonder if this is where JHS got the inspiration for the Astro Mess toggle when they cloned the Hyperion?
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The real fun is in the Trem switch, which is a ground lift on the VFM side that causes the cycling "tremolo" effect. This is where I'm glad I had an old gut shot of an actual Rocket I used to own! I remembered the original's Trem only worked with both sides engaged; simply lifting the ground would work, but it wouldn't be accurate- at least not to the version I had so long ago. Here's the trick:
When the Trem switch is ON (lugs 1-2 disconnected), the VFM's ground connection is in tact with the SM off, but engaging the SM breaks the ground connection and induces the effect.
How does it sound? I meeeean, it's a Devi Ever pedal, so... broken, nasty, and awful at times. But sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered! 4 stars for being a fun, if not niche, fuzz (even if the wiring was a little screwy to figure out). Setting the trem speed is somewhat counter-intuitive. And by that, I mean I've had to watch old demos to figure out how to get the fast, choppy speed I was looking for. Also, the Chaos toggle on the right adds to the equation a sense of "dynamic" trem based on your playing.
It stacks well with my Muffin Factory too! It seems like the Rocket should go into the Muff, but the heart wants what it wants, and I like it best with a Muff in front. The Muff brings back a more cutting, edgy tone that I prefer. It's also given me inspiration for a sort of "Shoegazer" clone (supposed to be Soda Meiser > Torn's Peaker). I'll probably add an order toggle and the Trem switch if/when I get around to it.
Here are my clone photos, almost as ugly as the original pedal:
And here are the old photos I dug up of the Devi pedal (with the electrical tape wrapping removed):
The PCBs were purchased from Dwarfcraft when they first purchased the Devi brand. I know there was a fuss about faulty components in the Devi-craft kits, I think- but I managed to avoid the drama by skipping on the extras. Anyway, the two sides are Soda Meiser and Vintage Fuzz Master- essentially the same circuit, except one of the transistors is flipped. I built mine with each side being independently switchable; the Soda Meiser is a warm, rounded off "wall of sound" type fuzz while the VFM side is gated and glitchy with shades of upper octave. (Side Note: I wonder if this is where JHS got the inspiration for the Astro Mess toggle when they cloned the Hyperion?
)The real fun is in the Trem switch, which is a ground lift on the VFM side that causes the cycling "tremolo" effect. This is where I'm glad I had an old gut shot of an actual Rocket I used to own! I remembered the original's Trem only worked with both sides engaged; simply lifting the ground would work, but it wouldn't be accurate- at least not to the version I had so long ago. Here's the trick:
- All VFM ground connections to SPDT toggle, lug 1
- SPDT toggle lug 1 to Soda Meiser footswitch lugs 3-6 (bridged)
- SPDT toggle lug 2 to ground
When the Trem switch is ON (lugs 1-2 disconnected), the VFM's ground connection is in tact with the SM off, but engaging the SM breaks the ground connection and induces the effect.
How does it sound? I meeeean, it's a Devi Ever pedal, so... broken, nasty, and awful at times. But sometimes that's just what the doctor ordered! 4 stars for being a fun, if not niche, fuzz (even if the wiring was a little screwy to figure out). Setting the trem speed is somewhat counter-intuitive. And by that, I mean I've had to watch old demos to figure out how to get the fast, choppy speed I was looking for. Also, the Chaos toggle on the right adds to the equation a sense of "dynamic" trem based on your playing.
It stacks well with my Muffin Factory too! It seems like the Rocket should go into the Muff, but the heart wants what it wants, and I like it best with a Muff in front. The Muff brings back a more cutting, edgy tone that I prefer. It's also given me inspiration for a sort of "Shoegazer" clone (supposed to be Soda Meiser > Torn's Peaker). I'll probably add an order toggle and the Trem switch if/when I get around to it.
Here are my clone photos, almost as ugly as the original pedal:
And here are the old photos I dug up of the Devi pedal (with the electrical tape wrapping removed):
