top 5 builds

[Toney]

Greetings to one and all!
New here and extra facinated.
Ok, so I play guitar. I want to build some stomp boxes for the fun, the satisfaction and the learning curve, and mostly the sonic satisfaction!
For a newbie its a little hard to sort the massive number of variants and versions to start with.
So please help out guys!
Assuming you could choose only one of each, which versions or variants would be your choice ?
1 booster
2 compresser
3 tube screamer
4 big muff
5 fuzz face
others???
any feedback appreciated.               Cheers Toney

[Brian Marshall]

i have a horrible time trying to make exacty copies of any given pedal.  I always end up thinking that i could do more with it, or simplify it in some way.

for example

booster-  there are so may ways to do this with or with out distorting your tone.  I like the stability, and sound of jfets.  Unfortunately they usually require trimpots for biasing correctly.  A lot of people like mosfets because they dont color your tone, but they are damaged easilly.  Personally i dont really have any interest in a totally clean boost.

compressor-  these can get really complex and are hard to trouble shoot for a beginner.  I would recomend something easy like the orange squeezer for a first timer.

tubescreamer-  there is so much redundancy in the original circuit simply because it used soft switching.  I would try something like a 'son of screamer' which forgoes all the extra buffers which i dont really think are necesarry, especially the input buffer.

big muff-  hmmmm I have an old back russian one that i love.  Im not really familiar with the circuit, except that i know that it uses tranys, clips with diodes, and has a somewhat unique tone control.

fuzz face-  I tried building a silicone fuzz as one of my first projects, and never actually got it to work.  It looks deceptively simple.   the core of the circuit is pretty similar in many schematics,  but there are hundreds of variants.  I'm not sure why mine never worked, but i think my transistors may have been fried, or there was a short somewhere.


i think i would scratch the tube screamer off of you list.  There are so many better overdrives out there.

Brian

[bwanasonic]

I don't know as I would start out out with anything like a Tube Screamer or a Big Muff. For one thing, these pedals are widely available fairly cheap. Both the Fuzz Face and the Dallas Rangemaster are not so widely available, are about as simple as they get and are hella cool.  They are a bit picky about what setups they get along with though. The Runoffgroove amp emulation series would be another great place to start with a lot to choose from. Stuff that I can get from Musician's Friend for <$100 never seems as cool to me as something that isn't easily available commercially.


Kerry M

[MartyMart]

Hi Toney and welcome to a great forum,

The clean boost pedal also has no interest for me, and to be honest there are a ton of overdrives that can clean up to become a pure "boost" device.

Compressors are very complex, so i would leave that one for later ( i have! )  there are some nice Ross/Dynacomp builds around.

For a fantastic and simple Tube Screamer build the "Tube Reamer" from www.runoffgroove.com   not at all complex, and sounds FAB.

Big Muff is fairly complex, so get a couple of easy ones in first, plenty of versions around for that one ( go to schematics on this forum for instance )

For a very satisfying and easy Fuzz, try www.home-wrecker.com/bazz.html  for the Bazz Fuzz and BuzzBox   very nice ! .

Marty.

[Ge_Whiz]

IMHO:

1. Booster - ROG Fetzer, or some other simple FET circuit.

2. Compressor - Orange Squeezer.

3. Tube Screamer - wouldn't touch it. ROG Odie or the Blue Magic.

4. Big Muff - likewise. Substitute Tim Escobedo's Tripple Fuzz.

5. Fuzz Face - ROG Sili-Face II.


Then build Tim E.'s Phuncgnosis.

[Toney]

Wow, quick and usefull responses!
Everyone seems to agree that the orange squeezer is a good start and something I really would love to try. Think I'm gonna start with that.
I have or once have played my way thru most of the obvious Boss etc peds, but $ and rareness have been between me and more exotic and interesting tones.
Tubescreamer may well be surpassed, but truth is Ive never felt I could  justify the asking price of the original 808 or reissue (over$300 here in Aus) on a "maybe" though it is something I wouldn't mind trying.
Just had a look at the Small Bear site. Everyone says good things about this guy what do you think of his Fuzz face derivatives?
Any other favorite pedal designs ?      
                                                  Thanks, TONEY

[remmelt]

if you are starting out, why not try the NPN boost? there's a photo essay in the beginner project forum on this very site!
i like this boost a lot and it works well. go from there. i wouldnt start with the squeezer if this is your first time.

[petemoore]

Good Booster
 Can't recommend enough trying to start with a booster, great to use, and most importantly much less likely you'll end up with a dud. These schematics LOOK Easy on the paper, looks can be decieving..ain't that the truth...Orange Squeezer is kind of tricky...
 Multi-Faces from ROG...I recently built one, then another of these, now I run MF competitions...and use one at gigs. Socketted C1, C2, C3, Q1 and Q2...that 10k emitter trimmer makes for a very 'flexible' FF [many various tone encarnations] Low Gain 4401 [or other for Q1] and Mosfet for Q2...well I really like it and use it alot.
 This is where I stop. I try not to recommend complicated first builds...I recommend working with a booster circuit to get your feet wet and save youself some 'hair'...
 You will find a good DMM to be priceless...[actually about 40 bux or less is what I paid].
  Read:
 FAQ, and Debugging Page, etc. ETC. Tons of invaluable info to Read around here.
 There are a thousand questions, most all are documented and answered ...somewhere...the beginner project shouldn't leave you wanting for info...mid build...NPN Boost is a great place to start!!!
 Small Bear's the Tweek-O Pics, text, and general info is a great brouse !

[RDV]

I know this isn't exactly what was asked for, but here are my 5 most favorite DIY effects.

1. BSIAB 2(GGG)
2. English Channel(ROG)
3. HMP(RDV)
4. Phase 45(Tonepad)
5. Dual Mosfet Booster(RDV)

RDV

[RobB]

Toney,
Try to resist the temptation to build a Tube Screamer clone and build a Blue Magic instead.  Similar degree of complexity, covers the same ground but sounds so much better.

[Toney]

Thanks again guys,
I should say, I have built a few kits before tho no pedals yet and can a ID basic components , solder etc.
What I maybe I should have asked is simply
"what are your 5 favorite DIY pedals? And which versions ?"
Specially re the fuzzes-seems there are so many....
That Blue Magic is sounding good too

[Hal]

AH im surprised no one said easy face!

That was my first build...with input cap blend...A little tough, but fired up on the first try, so i guess its alright!

It has that satisfying fuzz face sound, and has tons of easy to follow project files....


and if you're looking for a boost, build the beginner's project.

[Samuel]

Not sure what my other top 4 would be, but I think the Tycobrahe Octavia is fantastic if you're into some more out-there sounding stuff. Using the guitar's pickup selectors, volume and tone controls you can get a wide range of sounds out of it, and it's really not a terribly complex build (although the transformer is not something you can pick up at Radio Shack...)

[travissk]

I have an Orange Squeezer and really like it; I'm probably going to build a Ross Compressor eventually, but those two are probably the most common DIY compressor builds. The Squeezer might be simpler.

As far as a booster goes, I like the MOSFET boost for a very clean boost, but a MXR microamp (tonepad.com) is pretty easy as well. If you haven't built anything before, you might want to check out the Beginner's project forum here and build that booster. Same purpose, similar operation, and you get a complete tutorial.

Distortions and overdrives are very common, and I haven't built enough of them to give any sort of opinion on what is the best... since I like all my pedals I can't tell you any to avoid. That said, the Highway 89 is an excellent overdrive. You'll have to email Doug Hammond for the schematic (to protect intellectual property somewhat), but it has a relatively low parts count and sounds great. The MXR Distortion+ and Dod 250 Overdrive can be built fairly easily as well (from the same board even!), but once again those are pretty cheap on ebay and I would suggest building something original. Same goes with the Tubescreamer, although if you're itching for a TS-808 you might as well scratch it and build one yourself.

As far as other pedals > are you interested in modulation pedals at all? They tend to be more advanced, but after the other boxes that have been suggested you're more than ready for them. You can build recreations of the Small Stone Phaser or Small Clone Chorus, but as those are pretty cheap to buy commercially, I would suggest the Tremulus Lune (Tremolo) and Phaseur Fleur (Phaser) at commonsound.com -> kits. Two of my favorite pedals.

Someone (pete?) suggested getting a multimeter. That would be an excellent idea, and if you order parts from circuitspecialists.com, you get a free meter with every $50 purchase. I usually recommend that deal to people who are just starting out, especially if you don't have any tools. You can get a soldering iron, some wire, and 63/37 solder there, buy some parts, maybe an enclosure, then you're up around $50 and you get the meter free.

Good luck!

[zgrav]

I would also put in a plug for a rangemaster.  simple to build and gives you some boost and intersting distortion.

only problem there might be getting a good germanium tranny, but small bear to the rescue if you want to do it the easy way.

[Toney]

Thanks for the input so far guys.
'Cause I'm new here, I'm trying to work up a starting list of pedals to build based on your recommendations. This is pretty exciting for me, cause many of the classics I see here were previously just exactly that, classic pedals with massive prices. Things a poor working fellow couldn't contemplate owning.
Generally, I need to own a piece of new gear for at least a week to really figure it through and combo it up with my other stuff, and give my brain and ears time to notice. Not all that easy in snotty retro guitar and gear shops. Hey no problem, bring your rig in they say.....
 My local "boutique" guitar shop owner is a good bloke, however.
He's an ex muso who generally "gets it" and is upfront about who actually buys from him. Well, its mostly cashed up middle aged, middle class types, or their kids. They buy the Gretch cause its pretty. Aw c'mon dad , you bought Mikey a Jetski etc. Muso's generally wander in to gawk at/talk about gear, but if they part with any cash, its usually 3 screws for the pick guard or maybe a pack of strings.
My point is that retro and classic pedals are so expensive that I almost never get to try them out and decide for myself, some may valid and usable with my gear, others could be all myth or entirely superceded by far superior later takes on them.
So what happens in real life? Well like most people, if I needed a particular sound I'd buy a well known (safe) version of it.
I just couldn't afford  to be too exotic.
Until! I found this place.
I have a multimeter and feel pretty ok with the simple approach to start with, should be able to populate and solder up a board.ok.
I'm gonna take the easy approach and buy the PCBs and as everyone suggests, send off to Small Bear for the parts.
Because I live in Australia, postage and shipping time will be greater so I hope to plan out maybe 3-5 builds using this approach and send off in one hit. Then I'm gonna build em.
Starting with the simplest one first.
Thats why I really appreciate your feedback on which builds have really worked out for you.
I have been reading through the easy boost pages which many recommended. Sounds great but am gonna skip it as I don't actually need one and feel ok with basic skills. Only very basic though.
Presently the Dallas Rangemaster, OrangeSqueezer, TS 808 (gotta find out for myself) are looking good. Everyone seems to agree that BSIAB and Blue Magic are winners too.
Would love a fuzz but which one?
A lot of people seem to say Tonebender Mk11 pro is "the one".
Hope I am not being too ambitious, just so pleased to find a way to get my hands on sounds that I can afford, and should be excellent fun learning as I build.

[Steben]

Here are mine:

- DOD 250 alikes, MXR + (with 4 germanium diodes, not 2)
- MultiFace, ROG (all in one)
- Tone Benders
- The constant Search for better and better treble boosters
- 386 clean to crunch low power solid state amp to appease the friends next door...