I just built an MXR Blue Box clone that I can't wait to get into a box. I did some cool mods to it as well, Octave splitter switch that switches from two octaves down (original) to one octave down. I split the signal so there is a switch between the original 77 layout and the re-issue as well and did the C7 cap switch so you have some tonal variety there as well.

This is my favorite pedal at the moment. It can produce some crazy sounds.

I really need to update the blog but I have been so busy building and painting and shipping pedals that I haven't found the time. Update tomorrow for sure.

I took the bass fuzz to Tyler to try out, he seemed to like it a lot. I didn't let him keep because I have some more work to do on it. I really like being able to tailor a sound for people and give them the pedal that they really enjoy.

Anyway, I'm putting the Octave Down (two Octave Down possibly...) on hold until tomorrow. I need to get some rest.

SEGA!

Board Testing Station

This is my board testing station as of late. I have my breadboard mounted to a piece of particleboard with velcro, along with an old box from a tattoo machine speed control that I picked up somewhere. That box contains my input and output jacks. This is what I was having problems with before I built this, the guitar cables would just pull a board right off the desk while I was testing. It drove me nuts. Problem solved. 

 Now when I get a board ready for testing all I have to do is hook up some alligator clips for the pots, plug in my input output wires, and my 9v and ground wires and hopefully it works... But if not then it's not such a big deal, I just either unplug it and check for common problem (shorts, etc) or I put my meter on it and start checking out what is going on. Audio probe is on hand.

I also have a variable power supply hooked up to a plug that is mounted on the board as well. I just used an old fried power supply for a donor wire. I can use the same power supply for testing boxed pedals right on the desk. 

This has really helped in the debugging process. The less unknown variables the better when it comes to testing, I know this setup works so if I have a problem, it's been narrowed down already. Anyway,

SEGA!

Made a very large part order today. I am going to be really busy in the next week getting a, as of now, unnamed fuzz pedal built and passed around for testing. It's a great sounding pedal and I can't wait to let some of my friends get  a hold of it.

Waiting on the mail.....

Big Muff clone

I had to build a Big Muff, in fact, I'll probably build a few more versions of the Big Muff.

After I finished this pedal I plugged it into the amp and played Dinosaur Jr. on my Jaguar for about 3 hours. I love the sound of this thing.

Ampeg Scrambler clone

This was the second pedal I ever built. I have a obsession with ring modulated sound, or any weird sound for that matter. My first pedal was a Dan Armstrong Green Ringer, that is a strange sounding pedal as well.

This is sort of an octave down pedal but the blend knob gives you a little more flexibility. I still love the sound of this one, especially with a boost pedal in front of it.

1930's Tube Radio to Tube Guitar Amplifier

My friend Richard gave me an old tube RCA radio that he found when he was working somewhere. He knew I was into old stuff; tools, records, bicycles and stuff like that. The radio has been sitting on a bookshelf in my home for about seven months now, it looks nice. My wife sort of dusted it off and sat it there as a decoration. I was content with the state it was in for the months that it sat on the shelf. It became part of the decor I guess, right above the records, next to the books. I almost forgot about it.

Then one day I was reading a forum about amp building and someone mentioned turning an old radio into an amp. Apparently all you have to do is wire an input jack onto the volume pot and disconnect a diode for the tuner and you can play a guitar through it. It sounded way too easy. I thought about the old radio on the shelf. Could I turn it into an amp? Maybe it was a collectors item and worth some money? If it was rare then maybe I shouldn't alter it because it might lose some value. Maybe it wasn't even possible.

I started to do some research on it to find out what it was worth, if anything. After a couple of hours of searching around and being overwhelmed by the massive amount of information and the disorienting multitudes of radios I stumbled on a website that let me search for models based on what tubes they used. 6D6, 6C6, 43, and a 25Z5 Raytheon tubes. I came up with a radio that was made in the 30's for export to Portugal. Well it wasn't exactly the same, the cabinet was a little different but the mechanical design was pretty similar. This wasn't my exact radio but I figured that it was enough information to determine I didn't have a collectors item on my hands. And besides I remember my uncles unspoken philosophy on the way he regarded antique cars; nothing is sacred. I remember seeing a 34 Ford coup convertible body with the firewall cut out so he could fit some other motor in it. The motor I don't remember so much, I'm not sure he ever got to that part. I just remember it sitting in the same spot each time I came to visit and I remember the other rare cars that he would chop up and rebuild to take to the drag strip each week as well.

Point is, I play guitar, I don't collect radios. It could sit on the shelf for years and remain in the state it's in or I could see if I can put it to use. So that is where I am at now. I have taken it apart and done some initial inspection. First, I pulled what I first thought to be a makeshift baffle out around the speaker. I thought maybe it could have been to stop a rattle or something. Maybe it was, or maybe it was a rat nest. That's still a mystery. There are also plenty of bare wires from either the rat or time. It has (had) cloth insulated wire and it's all but a memory now. It's a good thing the power plug was broke into pieces or my usual impatient self would have plugged it in first thing and blew it up. There are old oil in paper caps that are completely disintegrated too. So I will have to decide what I will replace them with. This is a project that is going to take some time so I guess I don't need to make those decisions just yet.