jeffwhitfield
Well-known member
Out of the latest batch of stuff I built comes the XS Drive and Cannon Fodder MKII, two pedals that I probably wouldn't have normally built if I wasn't so damn curious about them.
The XS Drive was pretty straight-forward to put together...although I had to use a different pedal template to get the switch holes right. In terms of tone, this one definitely nails that Marshall thing that it claims. The switches definitely add a variety of tone options. One of the things I tried was to use it as a preamp through my HX Stomp....no amp, just a cabinet/IR. Works really well for that. Granted, the EQ could be improved but nothing that either an EQ plugin or pedal can't help. Great tone though.
The Cannon Fodder came next and, like the XS Drive, it was pretty easy build. Only problem I had was with the Blast switch.
The momentary switch I got turned out to be an "always on" switch. So, yeah, seems that the place I got the switch from needs to add this as a detail. Thankfully, I had a spare switch and switched it out.
The tone to me sounds a bit like a Rat...but different. It kind of has it's own thing going. Pretty hard core sound too. Makes me want to experiment to see how well it stacks with other things.
The Blast switch is...interesting. With the Low switch off, it's kind of useless. But with the Low switch on, it has something going on that could be useful. Need to experiment with it to see what I can do with it.
In terms of design, I decided to take a highly minimalistic approach and just use simple labels instead of my usual Sharpie art. Much quicker and easier for sure. Cool part is that if I want to upgrade the design I can. Pretty happy though with the generic nature of them. Simple and straightforward.
The XS Drive was pretty straight-forward to put together...although I had to use a different pedal template to get the switch holes right. In terms of tone, this one definitely nails that Marshall thing that it claims. The switches definitely add a variety of tone options. One of the things I tried was to use it as a preamp through my HX Stomp....no amp, just a cabinet/IR. Works really well for that. Granted, the EQ could be improved but nothing that either an EQ plugin or pedal can't help. Great tone though.
The Cannon Fodder came next and, like the XS Drive, it was pretty easy build. Only problem I had was with the Blast switch.
The momentary switch I got turned out to be an "always on" switch. So, yeah, seems that the place I got the switch from needs to add this as a detail. Thankfully, I had a spare switch and switched it out.
The tone to me sounds a bit like a Rat...but different. It kind of has it's own thing going. Pretty hard core sound too. Makes me want to experiment to see how well it stacks with other things.
The Blast switch is...interesting. With the Low switch off, it's kind of useless. But with the Low switch on, it has something going on that could be useful. Need to experiment with it to see what I can do with it.
In terms of design, I decided to take a highly minimalistic approach and just use simple labels instead of my usual Sharpie art. Much quicker and easier for sure. Cool part is that if I want to upgrade the design I can. Pretty happy though with the generic nature of them. Simple and straightforward.
