Pictures!

[loves_guitar]

What do you use for decal softener?

Microscale Industries Inc.: "Micro Sol"
Got it at the same little hobby store I got the decal paper from.

Gorgeous etch on that Banana fuzz!!! Love the colours on the sides (very fitting with the name). Watched your explanation video. Can't wait for the demos!!

[Slade]

Thanks!
Here's the video demo at last!

[~arph]

Nice demo! sounds very cool and versatile.
It does seem that you need a gain recovery stage after the tone control, because as you change tone and diodes you need to crank up the volume to the max, but other then that very nice!

[Slade]

That's a good idea. I think I'll give it a try.
Thanks for your comments!

[leeranya]

Thanks everyone for the kind words! Seriously, I am blown away by the talent in this place, so to you have guys compliment my work carries a lot of weight. Thanks!

I'll try and answer everyone's question with describing my workflow (and no, I'm not a graphic designer - more of a 'graphic-designer-as-a-hobby!'):
1) Sand the enclosure starting with 150 grit. Continue sanding with finer and finer grit. Then sand with steelwool going from coarse to fine.
2) Wash box with water and dish soap.
3) A shot of primer (using Rustoleum). Let dry overnight.
4) Apply spray paint (mostly have been using Rustoleum - have also tried automotive spraypaint from the automotive aisle which works good, but pricey and Testors model spraypaint). Spray once in the morning before work and once in the evening. Typically about 4 coats. Just until the box has good coverage, watching specifically for the edges.
5) Once happy with paint, let dry for 3 days before applying clearcoat.
6) Once I'm happy with the design in Photoshop and I know it will line up with the holes, print off waterslide decal (been using Testors clear decals). I usually do this during the 3 days I'm waiting for the box to fully dry.
7) Clearcoat decal paper with 3-4 coats.
8 ) Apply decal. Once dry, apply decal softener. Then once dry again, cut out holes and give it some more decal softener around the holes.
9) Clearcoat box. Typically 6 coats. Wet sand (under a running tap) with 2000 grit automotive sandpaper after the first 3 coats. Nothing the final 3 coats.
10) After it's dry (typically leave it overnight), grab my "Mother's Carwax" and wax and buff the box.
11) Grab a drink and enjoy!

Hopefully that explains everything. If anyone has any questions, feel free to fire me a PM. You can also check out my blog for future progress.

does the decal cover the entire top of the enclosure (being a single big decal), or does it cover specifically the areas around the text, so, it's divided into smaller pieces of decals, one per text (gain, volume, pedal name etc.)?

[rousejeremy]

My last pedal, the Banana Fuzz!!






Check out the features in this video!

Soon I'll upload a video demo.

Regards,

Fernando.-

Nice layout. I really dig your gear demos on Youtube as well. Keep up the good work.

[loves_guitar]

does the decal cover the entire top of the enclosure (being a single big decal), or does it cover specifically the areas around the text, so, it's divided into smaller pieces of decals, one per text (gain, volume, pedal name etc.)?

Yes, it's a full face decal. Both on the top and on the sides. I tried at first just cutting around the image (for example the guitar or amp for the input and output), but I could never feather the edges of the decal enough that you couldn't see it. So now I cut out the decal the size of the surface face (the top or the sides). That way the edges of the decal get lost in the edges of the actual pedal.

[Crazyyellowfox]

I wasn't sure how I was going to go about labeling these PPP boxes, but suddenly, I was inspired by
Freekmagnet's Funky Popsicle graphics.

I drew the kangaroo on the tremolo. These were experimental, I'll probably put a little more effort
into future graphics, but I think I like this method a lot!

[ianmgull]

Rebote 2.5:

[Brymus]

Rebote 2.5:

I really like the Art work on this one !!!!!! Amazing

[Magnus]

Hello together,
really great pedals again - especially the etched enclousures  

Here is the next one, my "Rectifier IN A BOX" (Dr. Boogey)
i built from an own layout based on the 4thlevelmedia-layout:

(Click to load larger images)










Greetings from Germany
Magnus

[Slade]

That's a pretty nice building, Magnus. I like how you wired the trimmers. It's not necessary to use the 3 wires though, you can do it just with the two that comes from different pads.
Excellent wiring!

[Renegadrian]

TRIBUTE DOD 308 YJM with mods




The DOD 308 is the pedal that got me into DIY - I received one for my 2k7 birthday (2 years ago, in november) and I wanted to add a LED, make it true bypass, etc...I always thought I'd build one from scratch sooner or later, but other projects always came first, so only now I finally built one!!! But this one had to be special!!! So I went with a great pic of the man, add diodes switch (how I love the LEDs clipping!) and the LED border...Here is the result...

[edd101]

TRIBUTE DOD 308 YJM with mods




The DOD 308 is the pedal that got me into DIY - I received one for my 2k7 birthday (2 years ago, in november) and I wanted to add a LED, make it true bypass, etc...I always thought I'd build one from scratch sooner or later, but other projects always came first, so only now I finally built one!!! But this one had to be special!!! So I went with a great pic of the man, add diodes switch (how I love the LEDs clipping!) and the LED border...Here is the result...

Adriano, your pedal is looking cool and the led border adds that little something I personaly like the sound of 308 very much because I used to have one and which was very close to my heart!

[ShortScaleMike]

[oliphaunt]

Tell me about the Blend knob please!

[Insanekane]

Little Black Wonder 

[noelgrassy]

Little Black Wonder 

Wholly Poop-inna-Pita Pocket pal! You nailed this one too. The filigrees the vines almost resemble
the engraving work one can have done on a firearm or edged weapon. That's at $1,000+ per
square inch! Your lines are not only deep but they retain their crisp edge everywhere I look. Did
you go through a lot of R & D to find this perfect resist method. I must try etching a box before I'm
so old and feeble that I eventually put my eye out while picking my nose.
Great looking product by the way,

NG.

[solderman]

Hi,

seems to me that I started there a little flame war which I didn't intended to start. The already posted layiout over there is wrong an way too big. That's why I started to make my own one using the gutshots posted there. If the pros over there give their ok to post it, I will do it. Until then I won't post it anywhere, I'm sorry.

@Lucian: Sorry, but I soldered the PCB directly onto the switch so that I would have to desolder it to make some pic of the components side. Didn't make any before I built i together.

Regards
Helge

It's all good man.  I found the thread




PS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QyYaPWasos     (nsfw)

I must say that I'm a bit surprised by the pics from the guts of the commercial Heliotrope by Catalinbread. It willl probably last but...
seems to me that a lot of folks around here makes  higher quality stuff than those pic shows. And they sell them on the open market  .
Probably that's just me having too high thoughts of commercial box manufacturing  

[Taylor]

]
I must say that I'm a bit surprised by the pics from the guts of the commercial Heliotrope by Catalinbread. It willl probably last but...
seems to me that a lot of folks around here makes  higher quality stuff than those pic shows. And they sell them on the open market  .
Probably that's just me having too high thoughts of commercial box manufacturing  

Try searching for "Schumann lion" at the other forum and see if you can hold down your lunch. I'm not normally snarky about build cleanliness, but seeing gut shots of some of the most sought-after boutique boxes makes you realize that, what is important to us doesn't really matter to most players.