The ModBox

[Canucker]

The friend who got me started in guitar built this as a highschool electronics class project. I had been searching for info about it online for ages. We had lost contact for quite a while...so I finally got back in touch with him and asked about the pedal. He dug up stuff and found an address in his notes http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-19494500/build-mod-box-modify.html Surprised my searches never led me there. Has anyone ever heard of The Mod Box? I remember it sounding amazing but really anything in front of my crappy practice amp would have been a huge improvement.

[Mark Hammer]

The Mod Box was a project that Thomas Henry and Jack Orman published in Radio Electronics, and subsequently Nuts & Volts, some years back.  Here's an archived thread from the old days with a few names you may recognize:  http://archive.ampage.org/threads/0/fxdiy/005041/Now_THATs_what_were_known_for-3.html

I have the article in hard copy form, and could probably scan it when I have a chance.  Jack has preferred to retain more control over his circuits in recent years, and it would seem they sold the rights to the project to Nuts & Volts Magazine, so you may want to contact him first.

It's basically a pretty simple op-amp based diode clipper with a Fender-type tonestack.

[Canucker]

My friend actually scanned it and sent it to me (though a little bit damaged from a few moves). I didn't post it cus it was a big file and this computer is really slow. I was kind of disappointed when I saw it wasn't an oldie. When he was building it (I guess when the magazine came out) I thought it was called the Mod Box because it was a sixties british mod era design. I kept looking for it in guitar guides and vintage sites. Still since my friend who got me into playing made it during that time I still want to build one just for the sake of nostalgia.

[amz-fx]

The Mod Box was published in Electronics Now in the May 1997 issue.  In a sudden hard drive crash a few years back, I lost a number of old files including most of the work that that I did with Tom Henry, such as ADV-Midi and the ADV drums, but I do have the Mod Box in its entirety, including some info that was not in the original article.

I can't post the article since the magazine publisher owns all rights to it, nor do I have Tom's permission to do so.

Canucker, if you start building it from the article, send me an email and I'll send you the extra info that was not in the magazine.

BTW, it did have a 3-band eq but it was a feedback opamp design and not a Fender style.  It also had balanced line output, asymmetrical clipping (or not) and other options.

Best regards, Jack

[Mark Hammer]

Face-palm

You're correct (of course), NOT a Fender-type passive tonestack.

I believe I have most of the little mod/addition suggestions printed out; the ones that were shown as drawings in little boxes.  I can scan those for you Jack, if you'd like to get them back.