Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Found a bunch of Nine Volt Nirvana/Joe Gagan schematics on Fredd Brigg’s blog. I’ll probably do a few more of them, but first is the Tape Measure boost. Super simple and should easily fit in a 1590A. Original unit used a trimmer instead of an external volume control, but I figure most people will want … Read more
Looking for a mid-range frequency booster? This one’s apparently really good at it. Schematic and discussion on FSB here.
Here’s another alternative to the 3PDT for bypass wiring. It’s based on the method VooDoo Lab uses for bypass and uses a optocoupler to achieve true bypass using a DPDT. I’ve drawn up 2 different layouts for this: a standard perf/PCB layout, as well as another PCB I did in Eagle with the footswitch board … Read more
Continuing to knock out the last few ROG designs I haven’t laid out. This one’s a pretty easy little circuit, emulating the distortion in Rockman amps designed an used by Boston guitarist Tom Scholz. The toggle allows you to go between 80s (classic) and 90s (modern) tones, and it should all fit in a 1590a. … Read more
Another Electra variation from Lovepedal. It’s described as a two-stage COT50… I guess the “stages” are the different ways to bias the transistor off the emitter. The stages are switchable via footswitch in the originals, but if you put it on a toggle switch you should be able to fit it in a 1590A. Here’s … Read more
Got a request for this one and thought it’d be a good Fuzz Friday layout. It’s got a fair amount of treble and grit on tap and should fit pretty easily in a 1590a. Schematic here.
Here’s a nice little solid state amp for headphone use or a small 4Ω speaker. Good candidate for a bench top amp for testing purposes. You can board mount the pot and it will fit in a 1590A just fine.
Got a request to redo the LPB-1 with the pot board mounted. Can’t say I’m opposed and it only took about 5 min to layout. 🙂 Easy fit in a 1590A. If you want to make the Screaming Bird treble booster, replace the two 100nF caps with 3.3nF.
The Boost ‘n’ Buff is a simple little booster that doubles as a buffer when it’s turned off (so it’s not a true bypass effect). You should be able to squeeze this one in a 1590A. The FSw pads are for the bypass footswitch. If you want to build the second version of the Boost … Read more
Here’s the Spaceman Saturn V boost pedal. It’s a pretty unique booster and uses depletion mode LND150N3-G MOSFETs. In original units, there are 2 resistors in series going to each drain of the transistors. They essentially create a 4.7k resistor using some really uncommon values. (It appears that the only reason for that is for … Read more