Zvex 59 Sound (modified)

[Bucksears]

I'll get some pics up soon, but this is a criminally underrated pedal. I etched a PCB using the layout from https://effectslayouts.blogspot.com/2018/03/zvex-59-sound.html, which does not include the SHO boost.
I did also make the following modifications:

• Replaced the 470K resistor under Q2 with a 1M trimpot - this allows for the dialing down the low-end.
• Replaced the 470pF cap with a DPDT toggle switch to switch between 470pF and the addition of a 1n cap in parallel. Adding that cap turns it into a midrange + gain boost.
• Removed the 2.2nF cap under the 10K resistor under the vol pads. This is my tried-and-true method for adjusting the overall high-end in a circuit that tacks on that LPF at the end. This is purely preference, but I feel it needs it.

I dialed the trimpot way back to keep the low-end under control.
The toggle switch for the mids basically makes it an OD/distortion switch. In the stock setting (470pF), it's a good overdrive; definitely more 'vintage American' with SOME midrange to it. The gain range from 10 o'clock to noon is clean-ish, and can get into distortion from 1 o'clock to max on drive control. With that drive all the way up, it's a LITTLE looser/borderline fuzzy.

But, flipping that toggle switch for the mid boost is really where it's at. It is one of the best 'vintage Marshall' sounds I've built. Dare I say it does what I wanted that Brown Betty (Dirty Shirley OD) to do: low-to-medium-to-med-high-gain 'kerrang' in a box, with non-flabby bass and useable treble. The '59 Sound (albeit modified) does it in a smaller/simpler package. It covers a lot of ground and I'm still floored by it.
I'll likely check out the Box of Rock next.

 

[spi]

Check out the RAH too. Modified version of the Box of Rock.

 

[HamishR]

I replaced the 470K resistor with a C1M pot to be a Bass pot. I did the opposite to you - I started with the BoR. I think I like this one better. But I do find that both get a little wearing on the ears after a while.

 

[Bucksears]

Check out the RAH too. Modified version of the Box of Rock.

That had me interested, but was never quite sure about it. It's supposed to emulate Page's sound of 'Hiwatts through Marshall cabs'. But then they also had the WIIO pedal, which was supposed to do the Hiwatt thing. I've got a Bearfoot Model H in the works first.

 

[Coda]

That had me interested, but was never quite sure about it. It's supposed to emulate Page's sound of 'Hiwatts through Marshall cabs'. But then they also had the WIIO pedal, which was supposed to do the Hiwatt thing. I've got a Bearfoot Model H in the works first.

Page didn’t use the standard DR103, which is what the Wiio is supposed to be (The Who Live at Leeds). JP’s Hiwatt had more gain on tap, and a switchable boost, iirc…

 

[coltonius]

This is one I tried to like, but I couldn't get any gain out of it! By the time I was done modding it to taste, it was a Box of Rock, which makes me feel like I should have implemented the Bass trimmer/pot and a High/Low Gain toggle.

 

[Bucksears]

This is one I tried to like, but I couldn't get any gain out of it! By the time I was done modding it to taste, it was a Box of Rock, which makes me feel like I should have implemented the Bass trimmer/pot and a High/Low Gain toggle.

Even with the stock bass setting and 470pF (mids) cap, it has a good amount of gain; it's just that once it gets there (for me), it's too woofy/fuzzy.
With the mods I listed above, it's a great Swiss-Army-knife of classic rock-n-roll/rock sounds.
Does it do a better Marshall sound than my Marvel Drive 2 clone? No, but to have that sound as an option in the '59 Tweed Sound is nice.