best and worst build

[aremesnik]

Iwas just wondering what everyones favorate & least favorate builds were?

favorate build: John Hollis Omni-Drive. I don't know why this was my favorate, I seem to remember It took about 6 hours, but I had to run to the Hardware Store (for a Drill bit that broke) and Rat Shack (for a f'n resistor), so i ended up working on it well into the night.

Worst Build: In Axe Pre-Amp. Geez, Routed the hole in my axe, before the build. Changed the Design while Perfboarding it. Shorted the thing out on the shielding in the Cavity.

[smashinator]

Present favorite : scrambler clone.  This will be replaced shortly by whichever effect I start next.

Least favorite with a disclaimer : My least favorite build was the Jawari.  Not because it isn't a cool effect (it is cool), or that I had a hard time building it (it was quick and easy.), but because after the initial "hey neat!" wore off, I realized I would never use it.  So, my "unused" effects are my least favorite.  

[JimRayden]

Favourite - my dear baby - tube driver. it can sing and it can roar and it can scream. And I can warm my hands over the tube that sticks out of the top of the box.

Least fav - that would be my very first build - Differential distortion. It truly sucked. I didn't get all the parts the correct value and back then I didn't know there were such things as perfboards. So it was point-to-point. But without the terminal strips. So it was like a framework that had an input and an output. It did work though but had a really weak sound and sounded like a buzz. No, more like a zuzzz. So I put the thing in a box, trying to isolate the connections with duct tape. And it actually worked for a while. But it got scrapped for spare parts.

Well, one of my prettiest board is the PMW I made lately. I'll record some stuff when I get time.

-----------
Jimbo

[Paul Marossy]

Favorite build - That's a tough one - I have so many that I like. I am liking the original BSIAB quite a lot right now...

Least favorite - Laurier's Vibrato. It worked and sounded decent, but the effected signal was way too low compared to the bypassed signal. No matter what I did, it was stuck at a certain output level.  :evil:

[strungout]

Favorite: My gutter rat, modded proco rat clone. I especially love the tone controls  

Least fave: Electra distortion. Boy that thing sound like crap! :p Just my opinion.

Ciao.

[Connoisseur of Distortion]

favorite: Zombie chorus. that thing makes a nice, smooth thickening effect and doesn't murder you on part count. I also put in a little switch to bypass a resistor i put on the LFO (so the thing sped up like crazy!) and a good sized cap across the power supply (reeeeeeeeally annoying hum)

least favorite: MXR Distortion +. That thing came out as a bad toner transfer, so i had to cut and glue a bunch of traces. then, i missed drilling some holes, so i had to go back and keep drilling during the build. THEN, after about 10 hours of building and debugging the circuit makes a weak sound that reminds me strongly of a sound system with a badly abused speaker. It still makes said sound to this day. undeserving of even a 1590B.

[Torchy]

crp

[mojotron]

Fav: My TS808/Fooltone thing (that gets modded daily)

Worst: SD-9 - after a perfect fuser transfer and etch, after that I built it in about 20 minutes. Functioned great from the first try, but then I realized - the tone on this sucks. I tried everything! It's just not what I wanted from a design point of view.

[Dragonfly]

Favourite ............. Easyvibe. No contest.
Least Favourite .... NPN Si Fuzz Face. Buzz. Splat. Fizz.

hey Torchy...pm me your address and i'll send you a couple si transistors that'll sound great in your FF....  my way of saying "thanks" for all the layout work you contribute !

Andy
Dragonfly FX

[RickL]

Great question!

Favorite: (you're not going to like this) Flying Pan. The combination of cool sounding pedal combined with the triumph of getting it working after some ugly debugging makes me smile every time I play it. Wait for the release of the layout, it will be worth it. Close behind are several other modulation type effects: Commonsound Phaseur, Small Stone, Ultra Flanger, Small Clone, PT-80 Delay.

Least Favorite: depends on what criteria you use. I built a trem once that worked, sort of, but certainly wasn't worth the bother. On the other hand I spent a week building a Craig Anderton QuadraFuzz that did everything it said it would but in the end I thought "Why did I bother?" Huge number of parts for a ho hum sound. I also have a built Phlanger that doesn't work. At this point it's not one of my favorites but if I ever get it working I'm sure it will  rise on the list.

[MartyB]

Favorite build  :   that's easy,   Rangemaster baby!!!  A fairly close second is the Real McTube.

Least favorite   :   Boutique fuzz   - blah!   It's got nuthin' on my Easyface, Axis Fuzz or my Foxx Tone Machine clone (fuzz setting).   I've tried it with a dozen different germs in different combinations.  It just isn't happenin'.

MartyB


nota bene  -  above comments rendered post one half bottle of pinot noir - the other half being imbibed by the missus.  Happy Valentine's Day    
:twisted:

[jmusser]

I have not counted how many circuits I've built since August, but it's been a gob. I can't narrow it to one, so I'll go types. The Crash Sync for sustain and terminal weirdness. Octup Blender for favorite octave up fuzz tone (Simple Octave Up close second). Si Tone Bender for my best 60s style fuzz to date, and Phungnosis for nice quacky auto-wah, (but it's my only one to date also), and the Easy Face for my favorite "face" type fuzz. My biggest dissapointment so far, has been the Harmonic Percolator. You turn it on, and it makes you yawn incessantly.

[GreenEye]

worst - I don't want to hurt the designer's feelings.

best - tube reamer/sparkle boost tie.

on deck and may take the cake some day: blue magic and BSIAB II (the GGG boards are calling out to me: "build me, build me")

[petemoore]

The "Clone 'yer Own" LP Double Cutaway Special Flattop...because it's quite a bit lower noise than the others...is Double shielded...don't knowif it's really necessary, but that's how I did it...has a new neck...HEAVY Guitar !! Was AlOT of work, even with the new Factory neck.
 Oh Fuzz Box...have to be the latest FF's. That or the LIquid Drive with Minibooster in front.
 Actually I did a 3 - 1.5V'er...doesn't sound much like an LD< FF or even BSIAB, but is just too cool, a very differnt type Horse 'n I'm used to ridin'...took a few times around to figure how to HiT 'it HarDeR, it's quite dynamic, and had Me Doin' a much better "Dear Mr. Fantasty"..or like full Barchords or opens ['get off my cloud']...WOW so DifferENt, yet SO Familiar, I'd have never though I'd be enamoured so well by low a voltage Cct.
   The Worst ONE had to be "Dan's' fault...No...the "Other' Dan...Dan man Dammit !!! That thing Ate My Battery and toasted a pot on the boaard, and was a total mess...and IT is ALL YOUR FAULT...'Dan of YORE' !!!... :lol: ...
 Actually somebody had to draw up the 'bad' one, and someone else probably even likes it...so I try to refrain from Naming Bad ones...I mean they'd have to be soooo bad as to most probably be worthless to anyone...even then I'd probly only name it only in PM.

[j0shua]

Very good question

           Fav:  Big Daddy Distortion, Mxr Dist. + and Rockman dst. clone
Second Fav: Ds-1 Clone distortion and Orange Squizer compressor
                   Rebote delay .....


not fav: Tube screamer ( personal I HATE )!!! and Guyatone Dst.
             i don't like the sound of Tube S. and Guyatone Dist.......

[RJ]

favourite pedal:  there's 2 i can't choose between!  rebote2 delay, and the uglyface.

least favourite:  i like everything i've built, but i use my pulsar tremolo the least...it's not that it doesn't sound good, it's just sort of only good at 1 sound.

-ryan

[MartyMart]

FAV -- Tube Reamer + mods/BSIAB II   can't decide between them !

HATE-- Blue Clipper, just sounds like a Dist+   ie: Poo  !!
       -- EA TRem, never sounded right and all the pots are reversed !!

Marty.

[GreenEye]

hey Marty - what were your Reamer mods again?

[MartyMart]

hey Marty - what were your Reamer mods again?

Feedback resistors to gain pot  1k  and 150k ( was 1k and 470k )
Gain pot use a 50k rather than 5k - now "cleans up" nice on lower settings.
Diodes 1x 1N4148 and 1x1N4148 in series with 1x1N34A Ge diode
Or just 1X1N4148 and  1X1N34A Ge
A Panasonic NE5534AP single op-amp sounds great too !

Marty.

[sir_modulus]

Favourite has to be either the Univibe, or the Foxx tone machine!

I really don't have a worst build, as I don't believe any pedal sounds bad. There's a use for everything and it completely depends on the guitarist/guitar/amp/etc... My worst build was the Tube Driver, as I etched the PCB backwards, and shorted 30V to ground and melted a transistor, a diode, and a dual opamp  :oops: .

Cheers,

Nish