I need to test some smd jfets… any tips? (More on the physical test setup rather than the circuit- I’m thinking modify a bit of vero so I can push the jfet into the right place
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Any DIY pedal builders on TB? Strut your stuff!
- Thread starter SubHuman
- Start date
Thought I would try using some 1590A that I have laying around. Stripboard layout. Had to use a 1N5817 in place of the BAT46. I have BAT41 and 42 but I think the 5817 is closer to the specs. Nice sounding circuit. I can understand why the original is so popular.
Matt
Matt
Is there a master list in the thread for sites that offer PCBs?
I know of MadBean, Effects Layouts, PedalPCB, GuitarPCB, GGG, THCustom, and just discovered Griffin Effects while looking through some posts a few pages back.
I know of MadBean, Effects Layouts, PedalPCB, GuitarPCB, GGG, THCustom, and just discovered Griffin Effects while looking through some posts a few pages back.
I don't think there's a master list but it's a good idea. Just to add another one or two. Byoc and Aion.
Here's the ones I tried. Roughly in order from most favorite to least favorite.
FuzzDog
MadBean
Parasit Studio
Effects Layouts
Aion FX
Lectric FX
God City Instruments
Musikding
GeneralGuitarGadgets
Griffin Effects
PCB Guitar Mania
PedalPCB
TH Custom
Music PCB
Zorg Effects
Guitar PCB
Even more pcb makers I have bookmarked, but havent built yet.
DeadEnd Fx
Rullywow
Moonn Electronics
Coda Effects
BuildYourOwnClone
Tonepad
Tayda Electronics
Pedal Parts and Kits
JMK PCBs
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don't etch alu with sulphuric acid...
and definitely do not add peroxide to speed it up.
its wildly exothermic
anyway, this guy is going into that case.
and definitely do not add peroxide to speed it up.
its wildly exothermic
anyway, this guy is going into that case.
Wow that looks incredible! How's it sound? I'd be very into checking out a small version saturn
Great list @G.Bisson
FuzzDog - PCBs and kits (with or w/o enclosures) *based in the UK*
MadBean - PCBs only *rarely offers kits - hosts a forum with support for several other makers on this list, too*
Invalid Link Removed - PCBs, kits, and assembled pedals - lots of crazy synth inspired noisemakers *based in Sweden*
Effects Layouts - PCBs only - a branch of a classic website for self-etchable circuitboards
Aion FX - PCBs and kits
Lectric FX - PCBs
God City Instruments - webshop closed for the holiday
Musikding - Kits of their own design as well as many of the companies on this list *based in Germany*
GeneralGuitarGadgets - Kits
Griffin Effects - PCBs, kits, mod kits for common pedals, and modding services *also offers Stingray 2-band EQ preamp kit, and Velcro-friendly bottom plates for Boss and Ibanez pedals
PCB Guitar Mania - PCBs *based (somewhere) in Europe but also with special listings for PCBs shipped within Australia to Australian addresses*
PedalPCB - PCBs *hosts a forum, too*
Link Removed - PCBs (offers some utility circuits like 5-band and parametric EQs which are less common) *based (somewhere) in Europe*
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] - PCBs for a handful of specialty effects
Zorg Effects - PCBs and kits for a handful of unique effects *based in France*
Guitar PCB - PCBs that have the option to use a bi-color LED to indicate power state of the effect
DeadEnd Fx - PCBs for a lot of circuits not offered by others on this list
Rullywow - PCBs
Moonn Electronics - PCBs with sarcastic product descriptions that take a while to get to the point of what, exactly, the circuit does and/or what it's based on *based in Germany*
Coda Effects - PCBs and pedals *based (somewhere) in Europe*
BuildYourOwnClone - Kits and PCBs (found under the Parts tab) *hosts a forum, too*
Tonepad - PCBs (including for an amp and power supply)
Pedal Parts and Kits - sells GuitarPCB boards in kit format including all components, with or without a drilled or undrilled enclosure
JMK PCBs - PCBs
Invalid Link Removed - sells a whole bunch of electronics hobbyist parts and doodads, including drilled enclosures, one-off drilling, and UV printing services
I might put this into a Google Sheet or something sometime. Sorry it's not alphabetized and for my Americacentricity coming through as I indicated when a webshop isn't based in the US.
FuzzDog - PCBs and kits (with or w/o enclosures) *based in the UK*
MadBean - PCBs only *rarely offers kits - hosts a forum with support for several other makers on this list, too*
Invalid Link Removed - PCBs, kits, and assembled pedals - lots of crazy synth inspired noisemakers *based in Sweden*
Effects Layouts - PCBs only - a branch of a classic website for self-etchable circuitboards
Aion FX - PCBs and kits
Lectric FX - PCBs
God City Instruments - webshop closed for the holiday
Musikding - Kits of their own design as well as many of the companies on this list *based in Germany*
GeneralGuitarGadgets - Kits
Griffin Effects - PCBs, kits, mod kits for common pedals, and modding services *also offers Stingray 2-band EQ preamp kit, and Velcro-friendly bottom plates for Boss and Ibanez pedals
PCB Guitar Mania - PCBs *based (somewhere) in Europe but also with special listings for PCBs shipped within Australia to Australian addresses*
PedalPCB - PCBs *hosts a forum, too*
Link Removed - PCBs (offers some utility circuits like 5-band and parametric EQs which are less common) *based (somewhere) in Europe*
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed] - PCBs for a handful of specialty effects
Zorg Effects - PCBs and kits for a handful of unique effects *based in France*
Guitar PCB - PCBs that have the option to use a bi-color LED to indicate power state of the effect
DeadEnd Fx - PCBs for a lot of circuits not offered by others on this list
Rullywow - PCBs
Moonn Electronics - PCBs with sarcastic product descriptions that take a while to get to the point of what, exactly, the circuit does and/or what it's based on *based in Germany*
Coda Effects - PCBs and pedals *based (somewhere) in Europe*
BuildYourOwnClone - Kits and PCBs (found under the Parts tab) *hosts a forum, too*
Tonepad - PCBs (including for an amp and power supply)
Pedal Parts and Kits - sells GuitarPCB boards in kit format including all components, with or without a drilled or undrilled enclosure
JMK PCBs - PCBs
Invalid Link Removed - sells a whole bunch of electronics hobbyist parts and doodads, including drilled enclosures, one-off drilling, and UV printing services
I might put this into a Google Sheet or something sometime. Sorry it's not alphabetized and for my Americacentricity coming through as I indicated when a webshop isn't based in the US.
1- yeah, Piranha Solution is not nice stuff.
2- what did you use to mask the etching?
3- that looks amazing!
Thought I would better explain my list of favorites as a quick review and useful feedback to those looking for projects. Few things I look for when picking projects are:
Compact layouts. Smaller the better. I'm not a fan of excessively large pcbs designed to fit specifically into a 125B when it could fit into a 1590B. There are even fewer options for 1590A builds.
Documentation. I like to see recommendations for modifications and part substitutions, also hfe and voltage requirements. Photos of the unpopulated circuit board and schematics are essential for troubleshooting.
Large selection. Shipping typically costs as much as another pcb, even worse for international packages. So it's more cost effective to buy a group of circuit boards. A shop needs to have a couple of interesting projects, especially circuits for bass guitar.
FuzzDog - compact layouts, excellent documentation, best selection! I've built 23 of their projects and every one came together flawlessly.
MadBean - best documentation! compact layouts and large selection. I've built 19 of their projects and only had a few self-inflicted troubleshooting issues.
Parasit Studio - original designs with lots of features. Don't trust their drill templates!
Effects Layouts - compact layouts, excellent documentation, good selection.
Aion FX - excellent documentation and great selection of bass circuits.
Lectric FX - Has advanced circuits that can't be found elsewhere. I highly recommend their ZircJr compressor.
God City Instruments - original designs. Also sells N.E.W. pcbs, formerly Dunwich DIY circuits.
Musikding - Their own pcb's documentation is lacking and their selection is mostly guitar circuits. They are useful as a source of Euro builders in USA; Parasit Studio, TH Custom, PCB Guitar Mania. Received a few mislabeled resistors and oversized capacitors that wouldn't fit. Check closely and have your own parts stash on hand.
GeneralGuitarGadgets - excellent documentation and compact layouts. Their boards are designed for wired pots and switches. They are more effort to build, but more mod friendly. They haven't added any new projects in a long time.
Griffin Effects - compact layouts and variety of utility daughter boards.
PCB Guitar Mania - good selection and documentation. I've only built one of their pedals and it works well.
PedalPCB - Huge selection. I had noise issues with 2-of-7 builds.
TH Custom - I've only built one of their pedals and it works well.
Music PCB - I've only built one of their pedals and it works well.
Zorg Effects - Original designs with many features. Older v.1 layouts have awkward layouts. Newer v.2 layouts are much better.
Guitar PCB - Had troubleshooting difficulties with 2-of-6 pedals and the rest were underwhelming. Also found mistakes in the documentation. They are a good source of through-hole JFETs though.
Compact layouts. Smaller the better. I'm not a fan of excessively large pcbs designed to fit specifically into a 125B when it could fit into a 1590B. There are even fewer options for 1590A builds.
Documentation. I like to see recommendations for modifications and part substitutions, also hfe and voltage requirements. Photos of the unpopulated circuit board and schematics are essential for troubleshooting.
Large selection. Shipping typically costs as much as another pcb, even worse for international packages. So it's more cost effective to buy a group of circuit boards. A shop needs to have a couple of interesting projects, especially circuits for bass guitar.
FuzzDog - compact layouts, excellent documentation, best selection! I've built 23 of their projects and every one came together flawlessly.
MadBean - best documentation! compact layouts and large selection. I've built 19 of their projects and only had a few self-inflicted troubleshooting issues.
Parasit Studio - original designs with lots of features. Don't trust their drill templates!
Effects Layouts - compact layouts, excellent documentation, good selection.
Aion FX - excellent documentation and great selection of bass circuits.
Lectric FX - Has advanced circuits that can't be found elsewhere. I highly recommend their ZircJr compressor.
God City Instruments - original designs. Also sells N.E.W. pcbs, formerly Dunwich DIY circuits.
Musikding - Their own pcb's documentation is lacking and their selection is mostly guitar circuits. They are useful as a source of Euro builders in USA; Parasit Studio, TH Custom, PCB Guitar Mania. Received a few mislabeled resistors and oversized capacitors that wouldn't fit. Check closely and have your own parts stash on hand.
GeneralGuitarGadgets - excellent documentation and compact layouts. Their boards are designed for wired pots and switches. They are more effort to build, but more mod friendly. They haven't added any new projects in a long time.
Griffin Effects - compact layouts and variety of utility daughter boards.
PCB Guitar Mania - good selection and documentation. I've only built one of their pedals and it works well.
PedalPCB - Huge selection. I had noise issues with 2-of-7 builds.
TH Custom - I've only built one of their pedals and it works well.
Music PCB - I've only built one of their pedals and it works well.
Zorg Effects - Original designs with many features. Older v.1 layouts have awkward layouts. Newer v.2 layouts are much better.
Guitar PCB - Had troubleshooting difficulties with 2-of-6 pedals and the rest were underwhelming. Also found mistakes in the documentation. They are a good source of through-hole JFETs though.
Thank you, just curious. Do you own or have you owned the original? To me I really like this one. It’s has little to no OD with the gain down and boost up. If you dime the drive and adjust boost for unity you get a very nice OD that’s no to little and not to much. I used my MIM P bass with some pretty hot Brantley’s in it. Would like to get some BAT46 diodes to try but not sure if it would make much of a difference.
I used a thin coat of high temp epoxy based paint. Then laser engraved the negative of the etch through the paint. then I just plopped it into the acid mix.
The etch pattern doesn't pop enough because I had to cut the process short due to fuming, I'm gonna try black spray paint and flat sanding the top to help.
Todays rain day project finished. I may give this to one of my guitar player as a Christmas gift. Top jacks on a 1590B with power is a tight fit. I keep telling myself I’m not doing it again but here I am , lol. Waterslide and clear coat. I’m feeling better about using waterslide. Took me a long time and trial and error to get the hang of them. Still have some different things to try out with the waterslide.
Thanks
Matt
Thanks
Matt
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
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- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
EAE (Bass) Beholder (Reverb into Fuzz)
I've built one of those "stock" a few month ago and really liked it. The "dry mix" trimpot is a pretty cool routing feature (it let's some of the clean input signal "go around" the reverb part and hit the fuzz) that I liked to play with, sometimes wishing to have put it on the outside. As I ordered 2 of those boards, I decided to build another one, this time with the clean blend implemented as mentioned in the build doc.
So, here it is, the Bass Beholder. It also sounds super rad and the blending function opens up a lot of new sounds, that are really sweet.
Now you can tame it gradually, so to speak. It's a different kind of blend as the "dry mix" trimpots, so it yields different results.
I would like to compare the two side by side, but the other one is still packed away, as we just moved to anothter practice space.
Sushi Box Space Heater, tube preamp. I was totally fine with the space part of the name, but the heater part was not really for me, so mine is called SPACE HAZE.
There is a Marconi 12AU7 in there. It's sounds fantastic, pure magic toan sauce.
I've built one of those "stock" a few month ago and really liked it. The "dry mix" trimpot is a pretty cool routing feature (it let's some of the clean input signal "go around" the reverb part and hit the fuzz) that I liked to play with, sometimes wishing to have put it on the outside. As I ordered 2 of those boards, I decided to build another one, this time with the clean blend implemented as mentioned in the build doc.
So, here it is, the Bass Beholder. It also sounds super rad and the blending function opens up a lot of new sounds, that are really sweet.
Now you can tame it gradually, so to speak. It's a different kind of blend as the "dry mix" trimpots, so it yields different results.
I would like to compare the two side by side, but the other one is still packed away, as we just moved to anothter practice space.
Sushi Box Space Heater, tube preamp. I was totally fine with the space part of the name, but the heater part was not really for me, so mine is called SPACE HAZE.
There is a Marconi 12AU7 in there. It's sounds fantastic, pure magic toan sauce.
Todays project completed. VFE Pinball SPS V2. 125b Top jacks. Havin fun with the water slides. Hope everyone has a Great Christmas and a Great and Prosperous New Year.
