First build report/pics - May Queen

[ezanker]

This is my first post, but I've been lurking for a couple of months to gather enough information to attempt my first build.  First of all, thanks to everyone who shares information here and at the other excellent Effects DIY sites!

I chose to attempt the Runoffgroove May Queen as my first build because I've always loved Brian May's sound, and it looked relatively easy.  Of course it is not exactly the "Brian May Sound" (whatever that is), but it gives you a taste of what it must be like to play through a treble booster and a Vox AC30 turned up to "11".  It has tons of gain, produces nice feedback, and cleans up a little when you back off the guitar volume.  I find myself playing the solo from Bohemian Rhapsody as soon as I turn it on.  



You can see this is my first build from the haphazzard layout, the paper under the board, and the 2 extra holes in the box  :oops: .  I socketed the transistors to prevent damaging them with the soldering iron.  The extra SPST switch is for the optional "high-cut" capacitor shown in the original schematic (I used around .0044uF).  With this switch I can engage the "high-cut" when using single coil pickups and leave it off for humbuckers.

The cover graphic is supposed to look like Brian's "Red Special" guitar.

Thanks to the Runofgroove guys for providing this schematic.  I'm really enjoying the box.

Erik

[Greek Acrobat]

Great graphics! I wish my first build looked that good. Hell, I wish any of builds looked that good. Congrats.

[petemoore]

Yepp the graphics jump right off the box!!!
 Looks very nice, I have a MQ pedal I just finished yesday.
 It was a squealin and generally actin Lil funny, I took small caps and poked em in there here and there, I think I've got like a 472 at the input to ground.
 Lack of mids/highs is N/P, sounds a touch like a setWah into fuzz.
 The Cct HAS alot of character, and to me sounds just a touch or two Ge'ish..like a VOX TB...or Dallas RM?
 My MQ box is not to be looked at too long, probably will end up in blue jeans or leather...

[B Tremblay]

Wow!  Very impressive.  I really dig your EZ logo.  If this is your first build, I can't imagine what you'll be producing later on!

I'm glad you like the circuit too!

[smoguzbenjamin]

That rocks man! Wow I envy you, my first build was 300 times worse :mrgreen: Take 300 wires and scrunge em up in a ball and you get my first build

[Marcos - Munky]

Cool!!! I think the Rangemaster give a sound closer to Brian's sound.

[Mark Hammer]

Very cute graphic.

I also threw a May Queen together this weekend, and was quite pleased with the results.  I had a Rangemaster built, and have been working my way through my box of Germanium transistors to find a decent one that compares to the Rangemaster I foolishly sold to a local guy, but none have yielded as instantly satisfactory a result as the MQ.  It's certainly not *exactly* the same sound, but it's a nice gentle distortion with pleasing midrange bark.  I had a bunch of 2N4401's and selected one with an hfe of around 320.  Most were in the 200-240 range.

Note to builders:  2N3819's do NOT have the same pinouts as many other FETs.  Looking at the flat side, with the pins pointing down (i.e., numbers legible), they are (left to right)  source - gate - drain

[Jim Jones]

Fantastic job!!!  Did you use the dark T-shirt transfer method for your graphic?

Jim

[dosmun]

VERY nice.  I would also like to know how you did the graphics.  I just bought some T-shirt transfer stuff last weekend.

[Peter Snowberg]

Wow! Very cool!

That is a GREAT looking pedal!

Take care,
-Peter

[ezanker]

Thanks for all the encouragement!

The graphic was done with the dark t-shirt transfer (Office Depot brand).  My wife built the picture in Photoshop.  We did not have a high res picture of the "Red Special", so she took a digital photo of some oak furniture in the house and used that for the woodgrain.  I then sprayed glossy, clear acrylic with UV protection over the box.

Again, I would never have thought to add a graphic this way without all the posts at this forum.  Thanks to all of you for creating this supportive community.  As I get better, I hope to be able to contribute to the community the way you guys do.
Erik

[Paul Marossy]

Job well done. To a jolly good fellow....