Whoa, unexpected success...I'll never buy another pedal...

[Dave Z]

Well my Son of Screamer is working in a temporary enclosure and I am AMAZED...I was hoping to tweak to replace at least one of my other 2 boutique OD boxes but..frankly, it sounds better than either of them so both have sold on Ebay already.

What was the difference? maybe using overspec'd leftover tube amp parts like 1/2 watt resistors? Using 35V power caps? All film caps in the signal (except the 1uF BP)?

I don't know, but after playing through my SOS, the other two sound lifeless in comparison (and I used to think they sounded great...) like there is a blanket over the sound. The SOS has some much more liveliness to it.

I'm guessing that the tantalums in one box - which otherwise resembled a SOS in circuitry - must be bleeding off some tone. The other device was a nice-sounding unit, used film caps not tants, but though musical had no cojones.

The SOS turned down is plenty musical, but cranked has plenty of spank, bite, and TWO pair of cohones!

Thanks Aron for the forum, Jack for the schem and everyone else who's asked & answered questions here, I am a happy camper.

If anyone wants details email me & I'll fill yu in on the actual parts used.

[aron]

I know the feeling.

I still have my SOS here.

Trust me, you will still buy pedals - don't worry  

[Gilles C]

I know the feeling.

I still have my SOS here.

Trust me, you will still buy pedals - don't worry  

I Agree with that... I still buy one from time to time.  :roll:

It's good to have some of them to compare with the sound of the ones you build.

But congrats for your success.    Nothing beats being able to build something that sounds good.

[toneless]

I buy pedals,too
The thing is that if it's a simple one you can copy it, build it and then sell it... and keep the diy for yourshelf.

[petemoore]

I bought a Boss DS-1, such a good deal I couldn't pass it up!!!
 10 bux and a Tronics two knob OD...= 15 buxx IMO.
 I wanted this so I can mod it, haven't got round to that yet...
 They can be a nice pedal, this ones like most tho...kinda limited and harsh or muddy.
 Building one would be reidiculous also, for the money and the trouble, no way I'd rather build than buy on this one.
 Next round of chip ordering, I'll get a nice one for it...I didn't realize its a SIP or 'straight eight' pinout.
 I just like building them, it relaxes me, and it would probably be just as much much or more money, or troubles to get a fine tune on the 3 gain stages goal...I never bought boutique, never got 'satisfactor' results from commercial buys...seems many had some drawback or another, noise, lack of dynamics, harsh high end, not exactly the tone I was hopeing for.
 Being able to try all the newest tweeks on these circuits is a godsend. So many great builds, and these guys know their tones and how to get 'em.
 The support is absolutely unprecedented. Once you learn to build and mod, the support for finding tone is far and away the best ever. Instead of having to try another pedal, [or say add an EQ to make the first one 'workable' then worry about noise] or send away to try a mod, you can get the idea of exactly what a mod does by trying it, and listening to the results. After a good tryout after a mod, I often retune the pedal.
 I've since been able to hit my target tones, or very close to them. The noise floor has never been lower for the amount of gain available in my rig. I've got very widely variable tones, many modulation effects, wah etc. and effects I've never even heard anything like before building...
 With all the sound clips, schematics, related texts, GEO 'Technology of' articles, info and great reads all over tha place, Data sheets, chips I'd never thought of trying, Samples online...Here, at Aron's BYOSB forum is a great place to be.

[Dave Z]

OK, maybe I should say "I won't be buyuing any NEW pedals"...as you can always sell used for what you paid.

But I'd rather build from scratch than mod, as Pete said "I just like building them, it relaxes me".

Anyway I suspect the oversize caps I used had somehting to do with the magic & they are not gonna fit in a Boss pedal's case!

[aron]

I just like building them, it relaxes me".

That's why I started. I really enjoy building a board and yes, on perfboard.

It's relaxing to me. Sometimes a pedal simply sounds better because you made it. ... really!

[smoguzbenjamin]

I just made a spring reverb and I like how it sounds. But I'm also buying a 2nd hand boss CS-3 for â,¬40 Yes, I'm a filthy opportunist

[Ge_Whiz]

I have long suspected that older, bigger capacitors have room for more mojo in them... Stands to reason...

[Paul Marossy]

I just like building them, it relaxes me".

That's why I started. I really enjoy building a board and yes, on perfboard.

It's relaxing to me. Sometimes a pedal simply sounds better because you made it. ... really!

It helps me to unwind, too. I need some kind of outlet at the end of the workday after dealing with plans checkers, builders and contractors in one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S.! If I didn't have some kind of hobby like this, I would definitely go crazy.  

[Ed G.]

Word has it Dave Barber's original Tone Pump was the same as the SOS. (Supposedly not a clone, but arrived independently of each other)
I think Barber used a JRC4559 opamp because of its higher input impedance and ability to drive loads. Might be good to try other 'high performance' chips there like the Burr-Brown OPA2604 and such. Go to the Texas Instruments web site and order some free samples.