Pedal Building Depression!

[alteredsounds]

Is it just me?  All the DIY pedals I have done sound great and I love doing them but when I look at my pedalboard and pedals I regularly use, they're all one's I've purchased.  A good example is a trem pedal, I've built all the popular ones and done every mod to the EA trem but I've bought a Catalinbread Semaphore and all my trem builds may as well go in the bin now lol.  As for OD, I cant get any TS build anywhere near as good as my Ladipo P&J.  Depressing!

[Branimir]

Hm, dunno, my tremulus lune and opamp big muff sure kicked out my moded DS2 out of use

For the money spent on building an effect i appreciate the more the fact i can tweak it to suit my playing style, momentary sound mojo or any stupidity like that, and if the basis of the pedal is good (well designed, good sounding pedal), i usually find my sweet spots...

Unlike opening a CH-1 to see a SMT board... Yuck... Yes, i spent 15 minutes on that pedal, 13 minutes in the store on trying it and 2mins paying it, but I like better my ugly looking DIY pedals.

People at gigs use to stare and ask question, and money can't buy that, nor that feeling of turning on the pedal after the build is done.

Maybe the problem is in the effects you make? I know i did like 3 or 4 dist. boxes until I found the ones I like...

[alteredsounds]

I dont think it is really the ones I've built that are the problem but maybe just the ones I've bought are that good.  For example, the Catalinbread Semaphore is just so much better than any schem I've seen to build, I'm not likely to build a delay better than my dm-2 or dd-20.  None of my pedals have smt's, either to old or decent brands.  It's hard to explain but i'm just dissapointed overall with it.

[gez]

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way, but compare the level of complexity of commercially available non-distortion FX pedals with many DIY builds and it's easy to see why you're more likely to get better results from your commercial stuff.  That's not to say simple circuits can't sound good, or that building something of complexity is outside the realm of the average DIYer (many 'advanced' projects are modded clones of old classics), just don't expect much from simple little circuits.

Having said that, the fun you can have building stuff is another thing.  Personally, I hardly build anything unless it does exactly what I want it to do...which means I don't build that much (forever experimenting though).

[MartyMart]

I can see your point, you have to either do as Gez suggests and research a build that is "exactly"
what you want/need, or build dozens of things to find the one or two "crackers" amongst them.
You will of course learn an awful lot in the process, the latter is what I've done over the last three
years. !  ( make that MANY dozens !! )
Or clone your most "prized" stompers and then sell 'em 

MM.

[Mark Hammer]

Sometimes, it's not whether the circuit itself is better or worse, but rather the build quality and the layout.  Most of us can make or purchase decent PCBs on our own or from any of several places familiar to us here, but none of us/them make double-sided PCBs with ground planes, etc.  So, right there, there can be a difference in things like noise level.  Obviously noise is not tone, but it certainly helps to make the tone less acceptable or more.

[alteredsounds]

I agree totally with all the points, I think it was prob the amount of time I put into making a trem pedal (tried all with all the mods) and then buying the Catalinbread which quite honestly wipes the floor with anything I've done.  It is great fun building them and I love learning along the way.

[BDuguay]

Is it just me?  All the DIY pedals I have done sound great and I love doing them but when I look at my pedalboard and pedals I regularly use, they're all one's I've purchased.  A good example is a trem pedal, I've built all the popular ones and done every mod to the EA trem but I've bought a Catalinbread Semaphore and all my trem builds may as well go in the bin now lol.  As for OD, I cant get any TS build anywhere near as good as my Ladipo P&J.  Depressing!

Guilt as charged
With the exception of my power supply and dynacomp, the rest of my pedals are 'store bought'. I really wanted to build a tremulus lune until I discoverd the Cusack 'Tap-o-Whirl' which ended that project before it started. For me, it's all about the finish. I know I can build the kinds of effects I need/want but I'm a sucker for the look of a nice professionally finished pedal. I know my dynacomp is every bit as good, or better than the current model offered by dunlop but still, when I look down on my pedalboard to engage that puppy, I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of dissatisfaction with my efforts. I know it sounds silly and superficial but I'd be lyingif I sayed it didn't bother me.
B.

[alteredsounds]

o/t - it was a choice between the tap-o-whirl or the Catalinbread which won-out in the end.  Tap-o-Whirl does sound awesome though.

[Doug_H]

My pedal board is relatively simple with 9 boxes on it. Most of it is time-based stuff which I have no interest in building myself. I have 2 loops with one distortion in ea loop. I may add another in one of the loops but right now the only homebuilt pedals on my board are two- a loop switcher and a rangemaster. (The other distortion in the other loop is a fab od... Laugh if you like...) I don't know why I don't have any of my designs or more homebuilt stuff on there but I just don't. This seems to work pretty well for me right now. I do rotate stuff around from time to time and use other home built distortions, but still I don't use a lot of different "flavors" of distortion so they are always in the minority. I am using a home-built amp so I guess that's where my diy spirit comes in.

Doug

[nelson]

My board is now 100% DIY. I have a Whammy on the way that might change that.

I thought the semaphore was just a modified pulsar....but I could be wrong.


I buy commercial effects but I end up selling them all because I prefer my own pedals.

Even pedals I have wanted for years.

To me its the difference of making your own custom car or going to the dealer to buy one.

The custom car might have the engine of the dealer car but its hot rodded and looks like I want it to.

Once you look under the hood of the dealer car you want to mess with the engine anyway.

Building clones is fun but messing around and coming up with something unique that does exactly what you want it to do is the goal of DIY imo.

I guess I am not happy with something until I have vested some creativity in it.

I cant see any amount of free market activity, market research, PR or focus group research ever being able to mass produce a product that fits me exactly. That extends beyond effects pedals.

[Mark Hammer]

A lot of folks here build stuff that uses nominal value components.  They may or may not possess the equipment to measure components and select them strategically.  They may possess the equipment and expertise, but not know until too late in the game that they should have selected component X to be such and such a value.  As a result, what stands the potential to be a great little pedal/circuit can often underperform.

The bad news is that one may have to revisit a pedal several times to make it as pleasing as something bought commercially.  The good news is that you can.

[Ge_Whiz]

When I took up guitar again a few years ago, I thought my Digitech RP100 would do everything.

Then I realized I didn't like the fuzz effect. It didn't sound anything like my old Fuzz Face (which was stolen) so I did a trawl on the web and discovered that I could build my own, which I did, with germanium transistors. Then I wondered what a silicon FF would sound like...

I like the clean sound and reliability of solid-state amplifiers, but the Digitech amplifier models sound too harsh to my ears, and that box just switches too darned slowly, so a combined Supreaux and Professor Tweed meets my distortion needs. I like the craziness of the Green Ringer, so I have one of those on my board. I built the Phuncgnosis 'cos the simplicity of the circuit intrigued me, and I found I liked it more than the digital version, more dynamic. The EA tremolo meets all my trem needs (though I do like the sound of that Tremulus Lune...).

When I can't be bothered to have my Burns 12-string to hand for a gig, or if I just need a lusher sound, I want a chorus. Again, the Digitech doesn't quite cut it, but with the AXL so cheap, it makes no sense for me to struggle to build one. If I need reliable, controllable feedback at low levels, my Digitech Metal Master does it better than anything I have yet built. On the other hand, I built a dedicated Hammond organ emulator because I've never seen a commercial one. I'm constantly swapping pedals about on my limited-size board for new sounds and ideas, and the number and ratio of homebrew-to-commercial varies from week to week.

Finally, when I found a brand-knew RP50 for £35, I couldn't resist it, so I have it as a permanent addition to my pedalboard. Most of the time, it sits there working as a tuner, but as a backup to my other boxes or when I have a sudden urge for a phaser or delay, it's ready for use. And if I'm doing an Open Mic (like last night), I always have my Peppermill to hand because it's a sound I can rely on.

[David]

Hey, Ge!

Care to dish about that thar Hammond emulator?

[jonathan perez]

all my pedals are the ones that are valuable in some way or another. like my Landgraff DO, or Ibanez DFL, or WH1 whammy.

but my AREA51 wah is essentially my favorite, simply because i modded it to my own specs. its was an amazing wah already, but i wanted to take it a bit further.

i had an EVH phase90, and it was pretty good...

but i built a phase 90 clone from scratch, and decided it was not only much better sounding, but i also got to do my own artwork. ill post that in a bit.

alot of times, "boutique" (or commercial) pedals sound good because of the price tag. (would you be happy to know that your $400 overdrive sounds like shit?)

[Unbeliever]

alot of times, "boutique" (or commercial) pedals sound good because of the price tag. (would you be happy to know that your $400 overdrive sounds like shit?)

I think most people are honest enough with themselves to admit that even an expensive purchase wasn't what they hoped it would be. I could equally say that people who don't have expensive boutique pedals think that the expensive boutique pedals had by others who have the money sound bad. Certainly, just because it's more expensive doesn't mean it will sound 'better', in fact at a higher price boutique pedals should be held to a higher 'standard', especially for non-subjective things such as build quality, parts quality and so on.

[kvb]

I started learning about building effects because I love effects. I played for a long time with no effects, and I am glad that I did not waste any money on certain cheap, semi-useless, pedals.

I did splurge and buy some good stuff though. Now I'm hooked. Plus I realised that if one is intending to be professional, you need what professionals use.

So, right around the time that I started being able to make some sense of a schematic, I decided that I needed a booster.
I also decided that I was not willing to pay for one - because I knew they were not that complicated.

So for now, I will choose the pedals I intend to build based on need.

The mini-diy-pedalboard I've got is : Electra distortion (light dirt) > Orange Squeezer (evens things out) > Mosfet Booster (oh yea!).
This all goes into the 5w Epi valve Jr., and it ads up to some sweet sounds. 

[jonathan perez]

which is a terrible thing. some pedals, i wont say what, go new at 300, and are absolutely useless to 60 percent of musicians.
and i admit, ive bought things due to hype, and sold them the same day simply because i didnt like it.

its your mind telling you (and wallet) that what you just purchased, for 600 smackers, is and must be the best, simply because it retails for so much.

but when you look past the money spent (wasted), a $50 splurge can often sound better than a $200 investment, with just a few bucks and a couple of tweaks.

a bit OT
a friend of mine spent over 800 in mods on his amp...paying a grand total of 2500, and it still sounds like garbage, but he wont admit to it because he paid 2500!

on the other hand, my 6505+ sounds fantastic, stock, and i only paid 700.

perspective is a terrible thing to waste.

Plus I realised that if one is intending to be professional, you need what professionals use.

be careful with that one, itll bite you right where your wallet resides.

[Ge_Whiz]

Hey, Ge!

Care to dish about that thar Hammond emulator?

Yes, I do. Trouble is, I don't have time to organize links to photos and sound samples at the moment. But RSN...

[somasix]

Although I haven't been at this very long, I can honestly say, building pedals is awesome.  And let me make this completely clear, I would not have any signal processing gear other than my old Ibanez analog rack without this site.

When I was in college (early nineties), I started driving around Texas and Oklahoma, buying old pedals (as well as guitars and amps) in small towns.  I owned just about every piece of gear I ever wanted.  Had a Bi-Phase, Echoplex, Moogs, AC30, Fender Jaguars, Roland 707 guitar synth... you name it, all for less than you would expect, at Clinton era gas prices.  All gone now, but it was great.  I would just buy and sell things as my sound developed.  All of this stuff seemed ripe for the picking.  Then came eBay.  Now every small town pawn shop has eBay.  As far as I know, this is no longer any such thing as the "pawnshop prize".

So far I've built a Tonebender and a Kay Tremolo.  I owned both of them back in the day.  I'm definitely not going to go back a buy them again for "Vintage" prices.  Not when I could buy them for the cost of parts (about 1/4 of what you're local music giant would sell the originals for) and know that I built them.  And new effects... this doesn't mean all of you feel the same way, but I haven't heard anything new that I absolutely have to buy.

If I buy any commercially produced effect again, it'll be a tape echo, other than that, I'll build it.