RunoffGroove "Omega" build report

[John Lyons]

Omega
A nice little variable-tone booster.


Spalted Bubinga with Oak sides.

A keen eye will notice the lack of the ugly white nylon washer which is replaced by a chrome washer
(Thanks Ethan...love em!)


One side of the tone pot gets you a treble boost similar to the Dallas Rangemaster turning to
the other side gets you a full-range boost similar to the LPB-2 or MXR microamp.
The treble boost works well to boost a marshall type dark sounding tube amp into overdrive or distortion.
The treble boost gives you a bright tone that when mixed with a slightly dirty amp pushes it into a nice
distortion that stays articulate.

The Full range boost is good for a solo tone with more of a heavy flavor.
The full range boost works well with chords as well for a sluggy rock sound. Really depends on the amp.

The ability to blend between treble and full range boost is very handy in dialing in a sound on a variety of amps.
As with any boost pedal, a slightly overdriven tube amp will respond better than a very clean amp.

Here's a quick sound clip

Thanks to runoffgroove.com for the nice sounding circuit!




John

[96ecss]

Man I love those wooden enclosures. Nice work.

Dave

[JimRayden]

That is a total jawdrop. (like your previous enclosures) Lovely work.

Only thing that seems to bother me is the LED. Man, this needs a fender-style jewel lamp.

Sound clip is a sweety also. Heck, I'mma make me one of these Omegas. What amp is it? Sounds like a big-arse Marsha.

---------
Jimbo

[markm]

Man I love those wooden enclosures. Nice work.

Dave

+1
Real nice John, Great Job my friend! 
Some fine handywork for sure.

[Hiwatt25]

You gotta name that pedal the, "Bada-BuBING-a".  Just my thoughts

[96ecss]

I just went back and listened to the sound clip. Really great sounding. 

Dave

[Toney]

You're a craftsman John!
That, is lovely.

[John Lyons]

Thanks folks! I thought it turned out well.
The amp is a sort of modded marshall 50 watt I built into a bassman 100 chassis.
The amp was set to about 2.3 on the gain knob. ( it alsohas a master volume) The guitar is an Agile Les Paul copy.

The Omega is really cool in that it's so variable from thin to a thick boost. Depending on the amp you can dial in the pedal to match the boost tone you are looking for.

By the way...I forgot to thank MarkM for the layout...THANKS MARK!

[markm]

By the way...I forgot to thank MarkM for the layout...THANKS MARK!

Ha Ha!! 
That's great! 
But now, gosh darn it.....thanks........

[GREEN FUZ]

Very nice.
I`ve wondered about your builds John, what takes longer the Woodwork or the circuit itself?
I agree about the plastic washers also. They look crappy.
Love those knobs too.

[John Lyons]

The woodwork takes much longer all in all. Since the wood is thick the jacks and pots need to be rousted out in order to fit through the enclosure. Cutting the wood. Gluing the pieces together. Hollowing the top and short side pieces. Gluing the side on. Cutting the pieces flush. Sanding the whole thing X 3 different grit papers. Routing the radiuses of the whole box. Fitting the bottom panel. 5 or more coats or finish with sanding in between and 245 hours for each coat to dry. Buffing out the finish....Then making the PCB and the usual FX building stuff.
Takes a while for sure! But in the end I have a unique looking box, like nothing else.

The knobs are from smallbear. My only caveat is the the original 60's ones have the index inset and painted, and the new ones are just painted on..oh well. They look 99% the same...

John

[96ecss]

The knobs are from smallbear. My only caveat is the the original 60's ones have the index inset and painted, and the new ones are just painted on..oh well. They look 99% the same...

John

The wood is so beautiful that I didn't even notice the knobs.

Dave

[QSQCaito]

The knobs are from smallbear. My only caveat is the the original 60's ones have the index inset and painted, and the new ones are just painted on..oh well. They look 99% the same...

John

Sooo true..


Did you really ment 245 hours between coats? :$
The wood is so beautiful that I didn't even notice the knobs.

Dave

[ulysses]

hey john

thats really nice work. how long did the enclosure take?

who are you buing the chrome washers from? can i buy some?

cheers
ulysses

[John Lyons]

Probably something like 3 hours to build the enclosure for just the wood work. I try to make them in batches because once I set up what I'm doing making a few takes about the same amount of time as one. Or at least it's more streamlined. I have few more boxes built up that are just as nice as this so getting those built will be easier having made them all at once really.

The washers were from a guy named Ethan. Look in the for sale/trade page and you can ask him about them. I made sure to get a lot of them...

Yes, I really had to wait 245 hours in between coats...just kidding! 24 hours, I really need to spell check and proof read my posts.



John

[ethanw]

Nice looking build, especially them snazzy washers!  Great boards you built me too, thanks!

[kubton]

Man you have a good eye for wood.  The oak and bubinga contrast nicely.  It sounds great to.  Somehow I missed this at ROG but seems really useful.

[Mihkel]

Oh - mega sweet looking build!
You got talent!

[jlullo]

John,
GREAT looking build, and great soundclip!

[j.y]

hi..

great clip... i juz built one because of your soundclips... it sound excellent.. range pot goes cw from treble boost to full range.. theres very little warm clipping when i play harder.. very dynamic.. great pedal.. reccommended to build.