Post-Lockdown pedal building

stickyfiddle · March 2020

UPDATE - changed title to reflect that (hopefully) we’re all free forever now!!

Original post:

So with not much else to do, I'm in the process of a couple of new pedalboards, but before that I'm building up some fuzz dog kits I've had for a while.

I started 2 weekends ago with a Stratoblaster, this time in red with a proper knob

Then today started with prepping and spraying a couple of enclosures (contents to follow maybe next weekend)

And finally a complete build. Vertex Steel String clone, which itself is a Dumble-ish thing. Mine is a bit more homemade, so I've called it the Womble.

Super easy build - first the bill of materials, including Opto bypass. I'm a little disappointed that this doesn't use a soft switch, but it's apparently a fair bit more reliable than

Testing time. Worked first time. This is where the switch PCB makes it really easy as that's the easiest place to bugger up a build.

And with knobs & labels fitted. I also used a nicer LED bezel and bigger LED than fuzz dog supply. I don't quite understand why they provide really little LEDs with no surrounds, as it's really the one thing that they could easily improve. No paint on this one, just a slightly "brushed metal" vibe with a bit of sandpaper & wire wool. Not least because my can of silver chrome spray is buggered and I can't go buy another at the moment. I'll cope

Anyway, pedal sounds good. I won't use it much but it does that hi-fi Mayer/SRV thing nicely.

Winny_Pooh · March 2020

Nice, do you use it as a dirty boost? The optopuss is great.

soma1975 · March 2020

FYI the Vertex Steel String is a clone of the Jack Orman Mu amp boost, aka the Bad Bob boost. I think it's two of them.

Wazmeister · March 2020

Great photos and results mate - love the Fendrt knob on the red one.

JMP220478 · March 2020

I think the Womble should rechristened the Uncle Bulgaria .. :-)

The dymo labels and knob selection definitely nailing the Dumbloid look ... I likey

https://www.haarguitars.com/haar-guitars/uploads/2017/03/Shin-Dumb.BSp_.JR_.SilHam-8637.jpg ;

sound clips please ...

phil_b · March 2020

phil_b · March 2020

phil_b · March 2020

stickyfiddle · March 2020

@phil_b ;

Image: https://www.modelflying.co.uk/sites/3/images/member_albums/34622/854508.jpg

phil_b · March 2020

@stickyfiddle ; many thanks

I was struck by how similar my pedal I built last weekend looks to yours. However mine does not work

Also when I painted it I used spray enamel and for some reason it would not stick in some areas and I ws left with a bubbled up finish

Do you have any tips for painting

stickyfiddle · March 2020

@JMP220478 Yeah, I've seen those a few times but never tried one. This is a similar theme for about 15% of the money..!

Will try and do some clips when I'm done with work. I also need to see how it stacks with Klons and Tubescreamers. I'm assuming it should be good for that

stickyfiddle · March 2020

phil_b said:

@stickyfiddle ; many thanks

I was struck by how similar my pedal I built last weekend looks to yours. However mine does not work

Also when I painted it I used spray enamel and for some reason it would not stick in some areas and I ws left with a bubbled up finish

Do you have any tips for painting

Ha, yeah it's very similar. I've had this in mind for years but already have another of the same circuit in a plain box so never got around to it. I really want to get a bit of scratchplate the appropriate shape to sit under the knob but definitely don't have the right tools to make that happen at the moment!

I'm not the best person to ask re finishing tbh! But what I can say it I prep by sanding to get a fairly uniform surface to the bare metal, then wipe down to make sure it's super-clean, then spray several *very* light coats over the course of a day. I think these each had about 6 coats over ~6 hours

I'm using Ace hardware enamel (red) and a Krylon "Outdoor" (gold). Neither are perfect, and ideally I'd add a clear coat as well but both have worked reasonably well on other builds in the past. I also gave the red one a light mist of the gold to give it a bit of sparkle, which seems to have set nicely this morning and hasn't buggered it up!

The red Stratoblaster one was a powder coated enclosure direct from Fuzzdog which is quite a bit better tbh and should hold up much better to bumps and knocks over time, but I don't have any real workspace, so can't be too fussy for DIY.

jonnygreentrees · March 2020

phil_b said:

@stickyfiddle ; many thanks

I was struck by how similar my pedal I built last weekend looks to yours. However mine does not work

Also when I painted it I used spray enamel and for some reason it would not stick in some areas and I ws left with a bubbled up finish

Do you have any tips for painting

I use Halfords automotive paints - they always work great

Either that or Hammerite spray paint which takes weeks to dry but is super tough

RickLucas · March 2020

I have used etching primer and car sprays followed by clearcoat with good results, but they chip easily so now I don't bother. Powder coated enclosures are much more hard wearing. Or I just leave it raw and unfinished.

stickyfiddle · March 2020

Argh. Dropped the red enclosure this morning. Chipped 3 out of 4 corners on the top face....

So back to square one. Might try a Hammerite if I can get some. This will be a Rat-ish thing, so would suit a rustic feel, maybe??!

stickyfiddle · April 2020

Minor update. I've manually touched up the corners of the red enclosure. That's getting a light sanding and another fine mist of gold tomorrow and I'll see how it looks. If no good I've now got some hammered copper rustoleum on the way, which should work easily, and I can use for other builds if not.

Either way I'll be building a Lightspeed clone into the gold box this weekend, and I also have a Zeppelin Labs Quaverato term on order from Reverb as well, which might reach me by the following weekend if I'm lucky

Image: https://img.audiofanzine.com/images/u/product/normal/zeppelin-design-labs-quaverato-harmonic-tremolo-272733.jpg

stickyfiddle · April 2020

I've done another today. Fuzzdog's Greer Lightspeed clone. It's very nice - basically a TS with a little less mid-hump.

Pretty much everything I need. I actually didn't need the solder sucker for this one (woo!) but did use everything else at some point.

Bill of materials layout. All good. I tend to rely on the multimeter for resistor checks. It's far quicker than referring to colour charts, and I don't build enough to remember codes from memory.

Worked first time, which is always nice

Internals post-check. Again the daughter board for the switch is very neat, though you have to be careful to keep the ribbon cable out of the way of the jacks.

And with knobs in installed. I had to steal one from an old Big Muff build but I don't use that very often so don't mind it having a slightly less posh tone knob. Though I have now realised I've not got any nice knobs left to put on the DRV1981 build so that's going have to have simple Boss-style ones one it gets to that point. I'm in no hurry to ship that sort of thing halfway around the world in the current circumstances.

Just needs some labels now

TTony · April 2020

Nice neat work Mr Fiddle.

I'm going to have to visit PedalParts again soon for some more soldering practice kits.

Keefy · April 2020

I took delivery of a Fuzz Dog Big Muff Pi kit yesterday and started it today - done the diodes and resistors so far. I went for the ram's head violet variant for a Gilmour vibe. Hoping to squeeze a battery into the 1590B box, despite this apparently not being possible. I'm a bit short of suitable knobs though, and lockdown isn't making it any easier to source 'affordable' spray paint.

darcym · April 2020

really nice job.

Keefy · April 2020

stickyfiddle said:

I've done another today. Fuzzdog's Greer Lightspeed clone. It's very nice - basically a TS with a little less mid-hump.

Pretty much everything I need. I actually didn't need the solder sucker for this one (woo!) but did use everything else at some point.

Bill of materials layout. All good. I tend to rely on the multimeter for resistor checks. It's far quicker than referring to colour charts, and I don't build enough to remember codes from memory.

Worked first time, which is always nice

Internals post-check. Again the daughter board for the switch is very neat, though you have to be careful to keep the ribbon cable out of the way of the jacks.

And with knobs in installed. I had to steal one from an old Big Muff build but I don't use that very often so don't mind it having a slightly less posh tone knob. Though I have now realised I've not got any nice knobs left to put on the DRV1981 build so that's going have to have simple Boss-style ones one it gets to that point. I'm in no hurry to ship that sort of thing halfway around the world in the current circumstances.

Just needs some labels now

Nice finishing @stickyfiddle ! Fuzzdog kits do lend themselves to a neat build, but it takes that extra bit of commitment to go the whole hog with the externals.

stickyfiddle · April 2020

Cheers all. I've been a massive Fuzzdog fanboy from day one, and they're still knocking it out of the park.

This Lightspeed is interesting. Probably the 4th or 5th TS circuit I've had (Bad Monkey, Surfing Bear, SD-1, Lightspeed off the top of my head) plus trying a shitload of others, and it's really at the top end of those I've tried.

@Keefy You might struggle to get a battery in the current BMpi kit, by the looks of it. IIRC I did manage it on a previous BMP build from fuzz dog but that was using an older circuitboard. What I can say is the Ram's head is my favourite muff by miles, and the FD version is cracking. I added an extra switch on mine to flatten out the mid-scoop and I wouldn't be without it now. Look forward to seeing yours!

Keefy · April 2020

stickyfiddle said:

Cheers all. I've been a massive Fuzzdog fanboy from day one, and they're still knocking it out of the park.

This Lightspeed is interesting. Probably the 4th or 5th TS circuit I've had (Bad Monkey, Surfing Bear, SD-1, Lightspeed off the top of my head) plus trying a shitload of others, and it's really at the top end of those I've tried.

@Keefy You might struggle to get a battery in the current BMpi kit, by the looks of it. IIRC I did manage it on a previous BMP build from fuzz dog but that was using an older circuitboard. What I can say is the Ram's head is my favourite muff by miles, and the FD version is cracking. I added an extra switch on mine to flatten out the mid-scoop and I wouldn't be without it now. Look forward to seeing yours!

Yeah don’t think I’ll manage a battery after all. The 1590BB enclosure is quite a bit larger, bigger than I want really. There used to be a standard size ally box slightly larger than the 1590B but I’m not sure you can get them any more (I used them in the 70s and 80s!)

For finish I am thinking of white paint with hand-drawn text and graphics in violet gel or paint pen.

TTBZ · April 2020

Nice! I like the look of those knobs (

) on the gold one.

Tempted to order a new fuzzdogs kit to give me something to do for an evening or two during the lockdown. Just can't decide what - maybe the analog-like echo since I'm not really into my DD3. Is the opto-puss switch a good upgrade from a normal clicky switch?

stickyfiddle · April 2020

TTBZ said:

Nice! I like the look of those knobs ( ) on the gold one.

Tempted to order a new fuzzdogs kit to give me something to do for an evening or two during the lockdown. Just can't decide what!

Yeah, they're probably my favourites. I would guess they came from Banzai as I think that was the last place I got a decent-sized knob-shipment from.

Need to get on google and see if there's anything new in pedal knobs I should be aware of

Keefy · April 2020

Just found a slightly larger box in the loft, albeit drilled in the wrong places. It is 120mmx 65mm x 39mm, compared to the 1590B's 111mm x 60mm x 31mm. I was thinking I could make a face-plate for it with new holes in the right places, bot then the side jacks are wrong too. Bugger!

EDIT: That's the 1590B+ - ordering one off EvilBay

nick79 · April 2020

I built an Acapulco Gold clone from Jedspeds last week, first time i've built a pedal and i really enjoyed it. Amazingly it worked first time!
Now i'm deciding what to go for next. This could turn into an addiction...

stickyfiddle · April 2020

So yesterday the red got fixed

The hammered finish is a bit splotchy and there are a coupe of dust flecks etc, so I think I'll flat it back and give it one more thing coat in a couple of days once this has hardened. But generally it went on very nicely, dried quickly and looks great.

I actually quite liked the "sanded red" vibe, so was almost tempted to leave it as-is, but the copper is definitely better. I hope it stays this shiny, unlike the previous "chrome" silver I tried that looked *amazing* when fresh but went dull after about a week. This stuff seems to be designed for outdoor furniture (park benches etc) so I'm thinking it should be pretty hard-wearing.

I might do a whole bunch of rustic copper pedals if this one comes out as I'm hoping.

Cookiemonster · April 2020

I love all the builds, very inspiring

Cookiemonster · April 2020

Keefy said:

stickyfiddle said:

I've done another today. Fuzzdog's Greer Lightspeed clone. It's very nice - basically a TS with a little less mid-hump.

Pretty much everything I need. I actually didn't need the solder sucker for this one (woo!) but did use everything else at some point.

Bill of materials layout. All good. I tend to rely on the multimeter for resistor checks. It's far quicker than referring to colour charts, and I don't build enough to remember codes from memory.

Worked first time, which is always nice

Internals post-check. Again the daughter board for the switch is very neat, though you have to be careful to keep the ribbon cable out of the way of the jacks.

And with knobs in installed. I had to steal one from an old Big Muff build but I don't use that very often so don't mind it having a slightly less posh tone knob. Though I have now realised I've not got any nice knobs left to put on the DRV1981 build so that's going have to have simple Boss-style ones one it gets to that point. I'm in no hurry to ship that sort of thing halfway around the world in the current circumstances.

Just needs some labels now

Nice finishing @stickyfiddle ! Fuzzdog kits do lend themselves to a neat build, but it takes that extra bit of commitment to go the whole hog with the externals.

Incredible, what a great looking pedal

stickyfiddle · April 2020

Ta mutely. The Lightspeed circuit sounds really good too - I completely understand why everyone raves! I really can't take much credit, all you need is a kit, a can of paint, a steady spraying hand and a credit card to buy nice knobs from Banzai

The copper one is coming on too. Sanded back and fresh coats going on nicely this evening. Should be in a state to build the innards by the weekend. I have another knobs order in with Banzai for a shitload of knobs for posting-up some old builds and keeping in stock for future ones.

I've also just seen Fuzzdog have some matte powdercoated 1590BB boxes, so I might grab a KOT and/or EQD Sunn Life next - those won't need spraying!

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