Super short clip of my Companion

[glops]

Recorded some video for the first time.  Here's a super short clip of my favorite build so far...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZFADXo9pBc

[Brymus]

Excellent work ,sounds sweet and looks fantastic.
How did you do the graphics ?
They look amazing with the skirted knobs.

[glops]

Thanks, man!  I just imported some images into photoshop after scanning the box and did the layout that way.  Then printed onto PNP and reversed etched with ferric chloride.  It was my first etch and came out really clean.  Since it was my first etch I was paranoid about leaving it in the bath for too long and was worried  that the acid would start eating into the mask.  Wish I would have gone a little deeper but I was pretty happy that it came out so clean.  Definitely my best one so far and overall the build was just better.  No debugging, guts are pretty clean and it sounds really good with Mark Hammer's mid scoop suggestion.  I used a 5k pot for that and it gives a nice variation.

[Brymus]

OK so the black area is paint,that you etched deeper than the rest of it,then painted and then cleaned off the high(aluminum) spots,correct ?
I listened to some actually Companion Fuzz clips that popped up while listening to yours and yours sounds just like the originals if not a little better.

[glops]

Yep, on the etching.  The face, lighting bolt, font, etc is the sanded aluminum.  I can't remember where I have heard clips.  I know of the one on Mark Hammer's page and maybe there's a few you tube clips.  On some  Jesus and Mary Chain I hear this pedal without the wah.   But it sounds great, especially after playing it for week through a 15 watt crate amp and then being able to  crank it through my Fender Blues deluxe at a nice cranked volume.

[Mark Hammer]

Sounds and looks good.

One of the nice things about the variable scoop is that not only does it produce some pleasing sounds, but increases in that variable resistance to ground also increase volume, volume-loss being one of the regular complaints from FY-2 builders.

You can build it on a PCB, but quite frankly, it takes maybe an hour at most to perf one and wire it up.  I have to say that it is a really pleasing build, too, for such a small investment of time and money.  Maybe not the sort of fuzz that is everyone's cup of tea, but for newbies who want an easy build that yields something stunning, this may be your ticket.

[glops]

Yeah, the variable scoop control is a must on this.  That in conjunction with the fuzz control makes a plethora of sounds.  When the fuzz is all the way up you can get a real nice bacon sizzling tone.  I did use a 25k pot for the fuzz control, it seems to have more of an effect than the 50k.  With the 50k it seems like it didn't do much for a lot of the pot travel.  The 25 seems to have more sensitivity.  I used that 50 for a Scrambler so had to make the 25 work. 

Here's a longer clip and I posted some others of my Scrambler and the Companion into the Scrambler:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt7EpLqBVd4