Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
I accidentally messed up a small Colorsound Fuzz Box board by drilling mounting holes in the wrong place – but I didn’t want to waste the vero board, and I thought an Electra Distortion & Colorsound Fuzz Box might make a nice pair of one-knob pedals. Perhaps not the most exciting post to return … Read more
Onto the Frognose – weird name right? It’s based on the LM386 IC, which is an audio amplifier capable of driving a small 8-ohm speaker. In the configuration below, it’s capable of 20x gain, so it’s a pretty decent booster. If you aren’t familiar with the LM386, two of them are used in the Earthquaker Devices Acapulco Gold, and one … Read more
Continuing with the Electra guitar effects – the MPC2 Dynamic Fuzz. What’s unusual about this one is that the pot acts as a clean blend – one side from the input buffer, the other from the fuzz. Given that this is a cartridge that is inserted into the back of a guitar, the pot is permanently … Read more
Recently the Electra Distortion grabbed my attention again, so as I often do, I went digging for more information on the Electra MPC series guitar effects (modular powered circuits). One problem; Electra doesn’t appear to have ever made a Distortion module. Interesting… Then I read what we know as the Electra Distortion is really … Read more
One of the simplest circuits for overdrive ever, and the source of several over priced boutique pedals with rather dubious marketing claims – the Electra Distortion. ELECTRA DISTORTION – POIN TO POINT LAYOUT ELECTRA DISTORTION – SCHEMATIC
I recently acquired an Solec DO-131 St. Dist. + O. D. (horrendous name) as a defunct unit and fixed it up. I found the sound very pleasing and versatile. Apparently this taiwanese pedal has been sold originally as Electra 600D, then as Omnifex 700D(?) and as Solec name monster among others. As topology goes, i … Read more