What's your favorite Bluesbreaker-based PedalPCB circuit?
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jeffwhitfield
Well-known member
Just ordered parts for a Paragon so my vote could change. But, as it stands, the Morning Glory clone I built is fantastic. Really shines. 
jojoChambana
New member
Would you mind sharing your parts list and resource?Just ordered parts for a Paragon so my vote could change. But, as it stands, the Morning Glory clone I built is fantastic. Really shines.
jeffwhitfield
Well-known member
You bet!
I ordered nearly all the parts from Tayda. Only things that couldn't be ordered there I got from Pedal Hacker:
These are all good substitutions for the original components.
GizzWizzKing
Well-known member
Pro-10, but I use mine as a clean boost and tone sweetener. I don't know if I've ever used it with the gain over ~9 o'clock.
Locrian99
Well-known member
I’ve built the pantheon, blues breaker, glory hole, played around with a kot clone. And have the pot and kettle board haven’t built it yet. By far the glory hole is my favorite. From looking over the schematic the pot and kettle might give it a run for its money. My issue with both the pantheon and kot os they don’t fix the problem with the original or low volume etc. that simple little buffer on the way out makes does it for me.
Joben Magooch
Well-known member
I really like Bluesbreaker-based circuits in general and have tried most of these (either PPCB, retail, or both). My thoughts:
Bluebreaker - ironically, one of the few I have not got around to trying out yet
Paragon/Paragon Mini/Pauper - have owned a couple of KoT and PoT's as well as built all three. It's really good. To my ear it seems to be one of the "fuller" sounding variations and IMO shines the most with a bit more gain than the others. In general I like Bluesbreaker type drives as a fairly low gain, "just-past-edge-of-breakup" type of sound but I think the KoT/PoT sounds best with the gain dialed up a little bit (and in the same way I think it does slightly gainier sounds better than most of the other BB-types). It doesn't do a lot for me in "boost" mode but like just about every other setting.
Parthenon - the only other one I've not tried
Pro-10 Blue - probably my personal favorite. I've not tried the retail version but have built both the Pro-10 Blue and Dual and it's probably been the longest-lasting drive on my main board at this point. Has a lot less options than the rest but is really well-tuned and you can dial in a great sound super fast. I do find it to be a bit on the bright side and I rarely will have the tone control above or even at noon.
Kings Hand - I've not owned the retail one nor have I tried it from PPCB but have a build of Aion's Gladiator (Duellist) which I really like. Compared to the Protein and some others I find it to be voiced on the warmer side. I can't decide which of the EQ settings I prefer the most and find myself flipping between all three quite a bit honestly.
Glory Hole - Owned a retail one, built one too. Like I mentioned above regarding the KoT/PoT....I think this is one that is best at fairly low gain, like lightly broken up rhythm sounds. It is on the brighter side as well but stacks pretty nicely. I used one or the other for quite some time and was relatively happy with it.
Pot and Kettle - Haven't built it but owned one a while back. Probably the most versatile and full-featured and I really liked it. Don't remember why I sold it tbh, probably just got bored I do think that personally I tend to get a bit of option paralysis with pedals like this and often don't care for having such granular control over everything, but some folks really like that, so I guess it just kinda depends on your personal approach.
If I had to just keep one (assuming single stomp size) on my board it’d probably be the Pro 10 Blue, with Pauper being second choice.
Bluebreaker - ironically, one of the few I have not got around to trying out yet
Paragon/Paragon Mini/Pauper - have owned a couple of KoT and PoT's as well as built all three. It's really good. To my ear it seems to be one of the "fuller" sounding variations and IMO shines the most with a bit more gain than the others. In general I like Bluesbreaker type drives as a fairly low gain, "just-past-edge-of-breakup" type of sound but I think the KoT/PoT sounds best with the gain dialed up a little bit (and in the same way I think it does slightly gainier sounds better than most of the other BB-types). It doesn't do a lot for me in "boost" mode but like just about every other setting.
Parthenon - the only other one I've not tried
Pro-10 Blue - probably my personal favorite. I've not tried the retail version but have built both the Pro-10 Blue and Dual and it's probably been the longest-lasting drive on my main board at this point. Has a lot less options than the rest but is really well-tuned and you can dial in a great sound super fast. I do find it to be a bit on the bright side and I rarely will have the tone control above or even at noon.
Kings Hand - I've not owned the retail one nor have I tried it from PPCB but have a build of Aion's Gladiator (Duellist) which I really like. Compared to the Protein and some others I find it to be voiced on the warmer side. I can't decide which of the EQ settings I prefer the most and find myself flipping between all three quite a bit honestly.
Glory Hole - Owned a retail one, built one too. Like I mentioned above regarding the KoT/PoT....I think this is one that is best at fairly low gain, like lightly broken up rhythm sounds. It is on the brighter side as well but stacks pretty nicely. I used one or the other for quite some time and was relatively happy with it.
Pot and Kettle - Haven't built it but owned one a while back. Probably the most versatile and full-featured and I really liked it. Don't remember why I sold it tbh, probably just got bored
I do think that personally I tend to get a bit of option paralysis with pedals like this and often don't care for having such granular control over everything, but some folks really like that, so I guess it just kinda depends on your personal approach. If I had to just keep one (assuming single stomp size) on my board it’d probably be the Pro 10 Blue, with Pauper being second choice.
Fama
Well-known member
I only just remembered I also have the Effects Layouts King of the Morning which is apparently a KoT and a Morning Glory in one. But for whatever reason I didn't really like that. I really like how the Pot and Kettle presence control allows you to smooth out the tone in a very pleasant way, didn't quite get the same from the KotM. I should revisit it someday, maybe switch out the op amps or socket the clipping diodes if I'm feeling adventurous.
drgonzo1969
Well-known member
The only bluesbreaker clone I’ve built or played was the Blue Sheep by @szukalski. It’s killer. I built it per the build docs but I’m definitely curious about other bluesbreaker clones and mods now. I like the texture of the overdrive
drgonzo1969
Well-known member
Oh shit, sorry. I’m out of my element
southpaw-dd
Active member
My favorites are the Glory Hole, Pro-10 (blue side), and Aion Cerulean. I sold an older Aion Cerulean kit build which was a dumb decision as the new version removed the JFET output gain stage.
I occasionally hear strange headroom issues, ghosting or overtones (undertones?) from the Pauper, Aion Achilles (PoT), and Aion Theseus (KoT) when playing low notes so those are on the shelf for now. I have the same issue with a Function f(x) MacGuffin dual BB/Klon pedal and it is for sale. I should try those at 18V and/or with lower output single coils to confirm they are "good" for that scenario.
I occasionally hear strange headroom issues, ghosting or overtones (undertones?) from the Pauper, Aion Achilles (PoT), and Aion Theseus (KoT) when playing low notes so those are on the shelf for now. I have the same issue with a Function f(x) MacGuffin dual BB/Klon pedal and it is for sale. I should try those at 18V and/or with lower output single coils to confirm they are "good" for that scenario.
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