Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
This one was a request. Two pots onboard and one offboard. The Barbershop Overdrive is a transparent overdrive/booster with medium gain. It has the expected Volume and Drive controls, but also has a Sag control which alters the voltage the pedal is running at. This can change the color and compression of the tone. UPDATE: … Read more
This layout is for the distortion side of the Box of Rock. The Boost side is just a SHO. I’ve laid this effect out for top mounted pots like in my other Zvex layouts and should fit vertically in a 1590B. Pots are 1.1 inches (28mm) apart. Board dimensions: 3.2 x 1 in. or 81.3 … Read more
The Zvex Super Hard On has become one of the sought after boost pedals today. Derived from the preamp section of a 60s recording console, the SHO uses negative feedback to control the gain (which is what gives it the crackle when adjusting the knob). It’s capable of being a clean boost and adding some … Read more
The Eternity Overdrive is kind of like the Big Muff of Lovepedal in that it has a ton of different versions (there are over 10 I believe), but it’s basically a Tube Screamer without the input/output buffers. I’ve drawn up 2 versions here, the Black and the Burst. The main difference between the 2 is … Read more
DIYStompboxes forum member Ripthorn adapted the Alembic F-2B tube preamp to a JFET preamp. It gives you 3-band EQ controls, master volume, and a bright switch. Fairly simple circuit, but might turn into a bit of a rats nest with the offboard wiring (I know, a bit out of character for me). Set the trimmers … Read more
Here’s a rare one that came in via the request folder. It’s a distortion/filter effect. Used live by guitarist Kevin Sheilds from My Bloody Valentine on “Sometimes,” this might be a must-build for shoegazer fans out there. Here’s a demo video of a clone with the 100k trim pot wired externally as a distortion control … Read more
With the exception of the IC BMP (’77, ’78) you can theoretically build just about any version of the Big Muff on any other version’s layouts, but the values listed in this one are for the Tall Font Green Russian version. This one is smaller than the BMP layout I did with on board pots … Read more
This cool little effect was originally housed in a small box that plugged directly into your amp (which you then plugged your guitar into) and later on some of Vox’s higher end guitars. You’ll need to track down an obsolete 2N2646 unijunction transistor for Q1, but they can be found on eBay or Small Bear. … Read more
Here’s another MOD effect. It’s a simple reverb using the Belton Digi-Log Mini Reverb Module (the BTDR-2H-L), which you can mount directly to the board. The DPDT switch referenced in the layout is the on/off stomp switch if anyone is confused by that. Here’s the schematic and a sound sample for reference.
Last post of 2014. Happy New Year, everybody! Here’s the early 80s DOD FX55 Distortion, without the original switching circuit so you can wire it for true bypass. The original used a TL062 dual op-amp, but the 2nd half of it wasn’t in the signal path all, so I went with the single TL061. The … Read more