PSFX

guitar pedals, effects pedals, fx pedals, stompboxes, chicago g+ flickr

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Parasit Studios 8-Bitar

Monophonic (you can play more than one note at a time, but it might not sound pretty) square wave octave down action. Lots of fun for very few parts. 1590G enclosure, Taiway mini 3PDT stomp switch, Lumberg jacks.

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PedalPCB Wrecktifier (Wampler Triple Wreck)

Pros: Picked up a blem PCB for a couple dollars just to try this out. Pedalpcb emailed me the repair info for the PCB before it even arrived at my door. I think this would be great for punk, pop-punk, classic rock and butt rock. I like the low and high gain sounds.

Cons: Feels a little muffled or bass heavy even with the treble up. Could be my fault. I wish I had this pedal circa 2002, would have fit right in.

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Parasit Studios Theremin Fuzz

Pros: Easy DIY build. Really cool to blend in a theremin-like sound into your playing. Sounds great! The type of pedal you want to throw all your modulation and reverb pedals after and create a science fiction soundtrack. You can also roll back the theremin sound and get a nice dark and heavy fuzz.

Cons: Monophonic. You have to control your playing and learn how this circuit works (not that that's a bad exercise!). I seem to need the volume up almost all the way which suprises me. Fuzz is pretty dark, but by no means bad.

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Clipper Ship OD & BazzRightFusswrong

Pros: Was gifted a Clipper Ship Overdrive circuit board along with a vintage Soviet germanium MP38A transistor. It was fun to build something I didn't pick out, but even better to find out I really like it. Tons of boost available, bright but never harsh tone control that stays away from being muddy. Clean boost to low gain drive. Second circuit is a mash up of the class Fuzz Rite and the Bazz Fuss. Really nasty fuzz that spits and can get synthy and octave up type sounds higher on the fretboard. I used a pot that pans the voltage to each transistor so there's lots of weird here for the simplicity of the circuit.

Cons: The Clipper Ship is always above unity volume even when turned down. I modified it to knock the volume down a little, but didn't want to risk going too far off the original idea/sound. This design might be cool for "cooking tubes", but that's not my thing. The good thing about it though is that it is perfect in combination with the Bazz Right Fuss Wrong because at some of the more gated and splatty settings the volume is decreased and this makes up for it.

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Fuzz Dog Green Citrus (Matamp in a box)

Pros: Aww yeah - gainy, heavy tones. As if you were playing out of an Orange or Green amp if you know what I mean. JFET emulation. I used a second foot switch to engage the Boost control. This way you it's like you have two channels. So glad to finally have a PCB of this circuit with board mounted pots!

Cons: I used all J201 transistors so mine howls at higher gain settings. If you have the Gain control turned above half way and hit the Boost switch, you don't really notice much effect. So maybe all my own doing, but sharing anyway so we can all learn and do better.

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PedalPCB Seahorse (Earthquaker Devices Sea Machine)

Pros: Awesome PT2399 based chorus. Sounds so good as a chorus but does even more. Added echo/reverberation and awesome soundscapes are available as well. Love using this to "detune" or "smear" my signal.

Cons: PT2399 chips can be hit or miss, so you might need to buy a few and see what sounds good. Sounds best mostly wet (mix cranked up), not sure if that's a part of my build or of this circuit in general.

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Digitech Trio Band Creator

Pros: I needed something to add rhythms to my playing. I felt like my timing had gone astray after not playing with a drummer for a while. I picked this up on the cheap and have been having fun with it. Not only as an accompaniment, but also running this before my other pedals and making wild sounds.

Cons: Still figuring this one out each time I use it, so be prepared to take some time with the manual. I don't always care for the bass lines, which can be frustrating when I dig the beats. It's good you can turn them down. My biggest problem has been the whine/noise this pedal introduces into my signal. I am running all the pedals off a One Spot. Maybe it needs to be isolated.

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PedalPCB Organ Doner (Earthquaker Devices Organizer)

Pros: Super rad DIY circuit board from Pedal PCB. They send you the already programmed EEPROM chip that interacts with the Spin FV-1 chip. This chip is the brain of a lot of digital delay, reverb and octave pedals that have come out this decade. Really dig the "guitar organ" sounds this is capable of. Polyphonic!

Cons: If you're not sure you can solder a SMD chip, get it done for you (if you're going the DIY route). PedalPCB offers this service. The FV-1 chip is a little pricey (compared to just about any other IC you would purchase for DIY builds. Not including BBD chips). Sound wise, I still haven't figured out a use for the Lag control.

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Madbean Karate Shop (Systech Harmonic Energizer)

Pros: Another vintage filter circuit. Sounds great in combination with other pedals. Does the lofi thing. Fun knob tweaker.

Cons: Could use a little more output.

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Madbean Sharkfin (Maestro FSH-1)

Pros: One of the circuits that got me into building my own pedals. Wanted weird analog synth sounds with my guitar and just had to build my own. One side is an envelope controlled filter and with the push of a button you get gurgling random rhythms in sample and hold mode. Middle toggle on mine changes the voice or retunes the filter on sample and hold mode, creating a new pattern. Not terribly necessary, but I had to try it.

Cons: Can be noisy. A lot of work is needed to make sure this thing isn't clicking audibly even when bypassed. Definitely takes time to fine tune trimmers and select the right components, but it is pretty rewarding once it works right.

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Behringer CS400 Compressor Sustainer

Pros: Cheap little guy that is a clone of the Boss CS-3. Dig the tone control. Not a bad choice if you need an always on compressor.

Cons: Can add noise (like nearly all compressors). The bright blue LED is a little obnoxious.

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Danelectro DJ14 Fish & Chips EQ

Pros: Cheap, easy to find used, relatively quiet (but I don't crank my amps up too high these days), simple layout. Not the most exciting pedal to most, but it does what it's supposed to do with a small footprint.

Cons: Always wished the switches on these Dano pedals stuck up a little higher. Not the biggest fan of the jack layout.

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Madbean Dig Dug 2

Pros: Really cool sequenced wah/tremolo. Tap tempo operation. Rhythmic patterns add a lot of flavor to otherwise simple playing. Can drive another circuit.

Cons: Learning curve - it's not a dirt box that you can just plug and play. Seems to have a volume boost when running a dirt pedal in front (but this might be something I can adjust). Wah has extra controls as trimmers inside, would prefer them outside.

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Line6 FM4 Filter Modeler

Pros: So many cool filter and synth sounds. Just one of those pedals that is FUN. Capable of sounds that would need 2 or more circuits to replicate. 4 presets, stereo in/out. Expression pedal input. Well known mods are shared openly.

Cons: Doesn't use a standard power supply (but that can be overcome easily). Footswitches tend to fail, but those can be easily replaced. Hard to find at a reasonable price.

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DOD FX-17 Volume Wah

Pros: A favorite of mine for a long time. Smaller than other wah and volume pedals, but doesn't feel small or flimsy. Wah range and volume user adjustable. The science behind how the circuit works is very cool. 5V CV output too. Made in USA

Cons: Rubber treads tend to come unglued over time. The DC jack is 1/8" phone type. Cramped side mounted jacks disrupt some of the space saving ability of having a smaller pedal.

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Digitech TR-7 Tremolo/Rotary

Pros: Got this one in a trade. Stereo input/output. Sounds better than I expected. Faster settings remind me of the modulation on the early Dinosaur Jr. albums.

Cons: Was hoping for stereo panning but I haven't figured it out yet. Tap tempo is a plus, but holding down the footswitch for 3 seconds to activate feels counterintuitive.