Anyone Feel That There Is Just Too Much!??

[stutter]

Im a relative noob to pedal building and using SS components but have built a few amps.Im looking through this site but there is just toooo much i want to build.MXR phase 45 is definetly on my list but the vast amount of layouts for boosters,fuzzes,Distortions,Noisemakers etc is endless.What would you guys class as the Top 5 Ultimate Pedals of DIYStompBoxes that will go down in History And Are The @Must@ Builds?

[jonathan perez]

total matter of taste...

but if i had to, id say...

1. fuzz face
2. distortion+
3. wah
4. any phaser...
5. chorus

rebote is the runner up...

[tjcombs]

1. Dist + (easy)
2. Ruby (Easy)
3. Rebote (good 2nd or 3rd project)
4. Range Master (everyone needs a booster)
5. Whatever makes you happy

[RaceDriver205]

Well thats not possible. But I would recommend you 5 not-to-hard ones, with emphasis on 'broadness' of selection:
1. Rebote 2 Delay
2. MXR Phase 45/90
3. Small Stone Chorus
4. BSIABII
5. AMZ Mosfet boost

Of course, as there are so many types of effects, you will be missing out with only 5. I would recommend you listen to sound clips, and find one distortion you like the most. You could spend forever making them otherwise.

[brett]

Hi
Fuzz (Germanium Fuzzface (darker) or Axis face (brighter))
Booster (Stratoblaster) - non-treble boost
Harmonically rich distortion - (Rat (heavy) or BluesBreaker (light))
Dirty high gain distortion - (Maestro MFZ-1 or Hidrosis)
Phaser or flanger - (Phase 45 or a flanger)

That's about it - you're done with the basics.  But after 5 you'll be obsessed!
cheers

[Processaurus]

I just put a rangemaster i'd had kicking around in a box for a friend, I must say its pretty great if you like that sabbath (straight up rock) sound.  Different things for different people, but some simpler projects I've done that work with the music that worms its way out of my neck of the woods are:

Rangemaster with toggle switch for freq response
EA trem with Transmogrifox's depth cure
Great Cheddar with boost on input
Ross Comp with blend
Some kind of octavia with LP filter on the input (green ringer, scrambler, Foxx tone machine)

All these had something changed on them, thats the beauty of DIY stompboxes.  But if there were only 5 to build what be the point?

[alfafalfa]

Depends on what  your priorities are.

Is a distortion the most important one for you ?

1. BSIAB 1 & 2 
2. Highway 89
3. Ross comp
4. Tremulous Lune
5. Rebote 2.5  for not too long delays !!

and if I may go on:  6. Red fuzz
                             7. TS 808  a la Keely
                             8.  AMZ booster
                             9.  EA trem
                            10.  Maestro wah

Take your pick, it's  so  much fun building and adapting fx pedals to get just the sound you want.
The whole chain , guitar , pedals , amps, cabs  interacts,  and a pedal can sound great  in one rig and not so good or downright bad in another !!

Find out for yourself, 

Have fun , Alf

[MartyMart]

This thread is in danger of becoming a "What's best" type deal .... NOT good !

B U T  ....... having built pretty much EVERYTHING and designed a few too, here's my
idea of a "MUST HAVE" list ...... NOT limited to just 5 pieces though !!! 

Taken from a VERY long list of workers :

Dyna comp or Flatline for compression
BSIAB II or Thor or Blackfire or Tornado for high gain
Tube Reamer V2 or Liquid drive or Highway '89 for medium gain
Tonepad CE-2 with vibrato mod for chorus/vib
Tremulous lune for a VERY flexible Tremolo or EA trem for vintage tremolo
Easy Vibe for ...... well "vibe" !
Phase45 with univibe mod for phaser or Tonepad P90
AMZ mosfet boost for clean boost
Mark Hammers "The Crank" for boost n grit or an Austin Gold by H&K
RM or Cream Pie for vintage "dirty" boost
Condor or GGG marshall sim for a speaker sim
Tripple fuzz/Rock Face or Roger Mayer Fuzz .... for Fuzz
Univibe Superfuzz for HUGE fuzz/distortion
Neoctavia/ Green ringer for octave up

These are things that get recorded with and/or gigged with all the time
MM.

[markm]

Ya gotta build a comp! 
How about some of Dragonfly's designs.....those are always good too!

[alfafalfa]

Marty ,

I know you built just about everything , have you got clips of your easyvibe ?
I would like to build a "vibe" but hesistate between the easyvibe and the neovibe.
I have the neovibe board ready but hesistate because of the 12 V ,25 mA lamp.
It might be hard to get and it will break down sooner than leds.
Do you have any advice ?

Tia, Alf

[MartyMart]

Alf, I have not built a neovibe so can't comment, I'm sure it will be a cracker though !
RDV posted some Easyvibe samples, search !
It's real good and nails the old Gilmour vibe sound quite well
As with all this stuff " Choose carefully " or breadboard first to see what you like
and what works for YOU
I have far, far too many perf/vero builds in my "circuit scrapyard" !!
Slowly re-using parts though !

MM.

[RaceDriver205]

I built the neovibe and its exceptionally good.
I didn't use a 12V 25ma lamp, I used the closest thing to it I could (small 'grain' style lamp), and it worked just as well. I put the bulb in pin-sockets so it could be easily replaced.

[alfafalfa]

Racedriver,

Have you got any clips available of the neovibe and what bulb did you use instead of the 25 mA ?
Any advice before starting ?

Here's the board I'm going to use.http://www.esnips.com/doc/2a52b2fc-b769-4061-92db-e1213e74b7e5/NV-board-3

Alf

[R.G.]

Anyone Feel That There Is Just Too Much!??

I realize that to a beginner this might seem like a problem, but I was one of the first people to put *any* information on the web about cloning *any* pedals, so this the very idea that there is just too much strikes me as ingenuous.

A fundamental principle of DIY effects is that there is no best/worst/must/yada/yada pedal. The whole idea is to get what your ears like to hear. What your ears like and what my ears like is almost certainly different, and different yet from what anyone else likes.

The only possible advice that is meaningful here is to choose a starting point from either completed pedals you have heard or to pick one which has a complexity matching your skill level in building effects.

[Dragonfly]

Im a relative noob to pedal building and using SS components but have built a few amps.Im looking through this site but there is just toooo much i want to build.MXR phase 45 is definetly on my list but the vast amount of layouts for boosters,fuzzes,Distortions,Noisemakers etc is endless.What would you guys class as the Top 5 Ultimate Pedals of DIYStompBoxes that will go down in History And Are The @Must@ Builds?

Not a "Top 5"...but, useful and easy "beginner builds".

Fuzz Face (or Easy Face)
AMZ Mosfet Boost (or AMZ Minibooster, or Sparkle Boost)
Orange Squeezer
EA Tremolo
DOD OD 250

Theyre all easy builds, and if you build those, you'll have a really nice sounding pedal board !

after those, move on to...

Rebote 2.5 delay
TS-808
Neovibe (or EZ Vibe)
Colorsound Overdriver
Phase 45 (or Phase 90)
Ross Compressor (or Dynacomp)
Obsidian
Skyripper

Once you've built those, you can get just about any sound you need.    ...but You'll still want to build more !

AC

[markm]

Andy, you forgot to mention the Creampie.....still one of my faves! 

[mac]

0.0: small tube amp 30w or less, epiphone, laney, peavey, or diy tube amp ax84.com, 18watt.com.

1.0 to 5.0: up to your taste. If you are +41 like me simple projects will do it, fuzz face, rm, dist+, ea trem, some phaser, delay & chorus. If you are about 16 then some supra hyper ultra high-gain first... most likely  

6.0 Call your therapist because this is more addictive than 'maria juana'. Once you turn your first diy pedal on there is no way back!

7.0: go to 0.0
...

I will start with simple projects. If you have some knowledge about electronics then read all schematics you can digest. You'll find that there are basic blocks that are repeated on and on like fet stages, tone stacks, opamp distortion, diode clipping, etc. This may help you to tweak things or build your own stuff so as to get the sound your're looking for.

mac

[Dragonfly]

Andy, you forgot to mention the Creampie.....still one of my faves! 

[stutter]

0.0: small tube amp 30w or less, epiphone, laney, peavey, or diy tube amp ax84.com, 18watt.com.

1.0 to 5.0: up to your taste. If you are +41 like me simple projects will do it, fuzz face, rm, dist+, ea trem, some phaser, delay & chorus. If you are about 16 then some supra hyper ultra high-gain first... most likely  

6.0 Call your therapist because this is more addictive than 'maria juana'. Once you turn your first diy pedal on there is no way back!

7.0: go to 0.0
...

I will start with simple projects. If you have some knowledge about electronics then read all schematics you can digest. You'll find that there are basic blocks that are repeated on and on like fet stages, tone stacks, opamp distortion, diode clipping, etc. This may help you to tweak things or build your own stuff so as to get the sound your're looking for.

mac

Yes ive already built a p1 extreme and small HO Combo,working on a 36watter at 18watt just now.But this is my first steps into the realm of transistors etc.Ive been searching through alot of clips and my first 3 build will probably be a bsiabi 2,mxr phase 45, and a booster of some sort.  that should get me started on the DIY Pedal road.

[mac]

Yes ive already built a p1 extreme and small HO Combo,working on a 36watter at 18watt just now.But this is my first steps into the realm of transistors etc.Ive been searching through alot of clips and my first 3 build will probably be a bsiabi 2,mxr phase 45, and a booster of some sort.   that should get me started on the DIY Pedal road.

Welcome aboard.
Now get some good germanium transistors and begin fuzzing & treble-boosting.

mac