must-builds

[notid]

Hi,

I'm new to effects building. I've built my own lpb-1 circuit and wired some guitars, but that's about it.

I'm a minimalist when it comes to effects, but I'm planning on filling out my pedal board for variety. Right now, I use a Line 6 DL-4 (mostly for looping), a Way Huge swollen pickle, a volume pedal, and a DS-1 that I never use.

I'm wanting to make sure I'm covered to get a good array of sounds, but I don't want to go crazy with too many. Here's the pedals I'm thinking about getting to fill out my pedalboard:
+ A wah (I'm thinking BYOC)
+ A tubescreamer (I'm thinking BYOC OD-2)
+ A phaser (maybe the tonepad phase90?)
+ A compressor (not sure-- something on tonepad?)
+ Another delay, so that I can easily delay and loop (I'm thinking about buying an MXR carbon copy)

I realize that this is very subjective, but I'm wondering two things. 1) Do you think there are any other must-haves or must-builds that I'm missing? 2) Are the choices for the pedal types I'm making good well-rounded choices?

Thanks,
Bryce

[phector2004]

Got a tube amp?

I never thought much about the rangemaster until I built one.
I've NOT used it once since then.

[notid]

Yes, a Traynor YCV-80. I've got Eminence Governors in it, which are supposed to closely match a Vintage 30. I'm no amp pro, but it's supposed to do a pretty good marshall dirt and a pretty good fender clean.

Thanks! Are you saying that the rangemaster might be a good build, or one to avoid?

Later,
Bryce

[jkokura]

+ A wah (I'm thinking BYOC) - Either that or get the GGG Wah board that's fully customizable...
+ A tubescreamer (I'm thinking BYOC OD-2) - I really recommend the Tonepad Tubescreamer layout. I have built both the OD-2 and the TS from Tonepad. The tonepad one is excellent. The OD2 is also good, but I like the TS circuit alone better.
+ A phaser (maybe the tonepad phase90?) - Tonepad Phase 45. Make sure you understand that you need matching FET's, and learn how to match them. Get 10-15 FET's when you order parts for this one. You also need matching FET's for the Phase 90, I just like the subtler sound of the 45.
+ A compressor (not sure-- something on tonepad?) - Ross Comp is great, I have one on my board all the time. It's like the Keeley if you want a comparable commercial product. I'm interested in looking for an Optical Compressor to build in the future.
+ Another delay, so that I can easily delay and loop (I'm thinking about buying an MXR carbon copy) - Look for Taylor Livingston's Echo Base PCB in the For Sale thread. No questions asked, it's the best delay I've built yet! I've built the Rebote 2.5, the PT-80 (haven't gotten it working right yet), and the Echo Base is the best I've heard yet, and that PCB is super easy to build on.

I realize that this is very subjective, but I'm wondering two things. 1) Do you think there are any other must-haves or must-builds that I'm missing? 2) Are the choices for the pedal types I'm making good well-rounded choices?

Everyone needs a Tubescreamer.

[notid]

+ A wah (I'm thinking BYOC) - Either that or get the GGG Wah board that's fully customizable...
+ A tubescreamer (I'm thinking BYOC OD-2) - I really recommend the Tonepad Tubescreamer layout. I have built both the OD-2 and the TS from Tonepad. The tonepad one is excellent. The OD2 is also good, but I like the TS circuit alone better.
+ A phaser (maybe the tonepad phase90?) - Tonepad Phase 45. Make sure you understand that you need matching FET's, and learn how to match them. Get 10-15 FET's when you order parts for this one. You also need matching FET's for the Phase 90, I just like the subtler sound of the 45.
+ A compressor (not sure-- something on tonepad?) - Ross Comp is great, I have one on my board all the time. It's like the Keeley if you want a comparable commercial product. I'm interested in looking for an Optical Compressor to build in the future.
+ Another delay, so that I can easily delay and loop (I'm thinking about buying an MXR carbon copy) - Look for Taylor Livingston's Echo Base PCB in the For Sale thread. No questions asked, it's the best delay I've built yet! I've built the Rebote 2.5, the PT-80 (haven't gotten it working right yet), and the Echo Base is the best I've heard yet, and that PCB is super easy to build on.

I realize that this is very subjective, but I'm wondering two things. 1) Do you think there are any other must-haves or must-builds that I'm missing? 2) Are the choices for the pedal types I'm making good well-rounded choices?

Everyone needs a Tubescreamer.

Very helpful! Thanks for the info. Just to be clear about what I meant by OD-2, I meant the BYOC that is based on the tubescreamer circuit, NOT a Boss OD-2. It is supposed to be a tubescreamer with like 3 common mods available via switch. I could easily be convinced to build the tonepad one, just for the cost savings, but I thought that the BYOC OD-2 would be more versatile.

Later,
Bryce

[phector2004]

Yes, a Traynor YCV-80. I've got Eminence Governors in it, which are supposed to closely match a Vintage 30. I'm no amp pro, but it's supposed to do a pretty good marshall dirt and a pretty good fender clean.

Thanks! Are you saying that the rangemaster might be a good build, or one to avoid?

Later,
Bryce

Good build, but it doesn't "wow!" me on solid states, thats why I asked.

Good luck and happy building!

[amptramp]

The musicians I know usually have three different distortions on the same pedalboard.  Some of them give an output that is clean until loud with gradual entry into distortion whereas others are total fuzz or grunge right from low levels.  It depends on whether you are trying to get a specific sound or would rather have the capability to mimic various artists.  Also, if you are playing live where you cannot stop to change settings, it may be better to have two identical distortions doing the same job but with different settings.  What you MUST build d=is determined by what you want to do.  But I agree that a Tube Screamer should be one of them.

[notid]

The musicians I know usually have three different distortions on the same pedalboard.  Some of them give an output that is clean until loud with gradual entry into distortion whereas others are total fuzz or grunge right from low levels.  It depends on whether you are trying to get a specific sound or would rather have the capability to mimic various artists.  Also, if you are playing live where you cannot stop to change settings, it may be better to have two identical distortions doing the same job but with different settings.  What you MUST build d=is determined by what you want to do.  But I agree that a Tube Screamer should be one of them.

I agree about the distortion effects. I think that with a Tubescreamer I'll have a pretty good array of distortion effects. I'll have a fuzz, a tubescreamer, a clean boost (to drive the tubes), and 2 gain channels on my amp.

I think that my main focus is just versatility. I'm not really looking to mimic any artists. I'm also not too picky when it comes to getting a particular tone-- for me "good" is "good enough." I think I'm just looking to get a couple of effects to get me experimenting and get my creative juices flowing  (I'm especially looking forward to the phaser and wah for that reason).

I will definitely look into the rangemaster.

Thanks for the recommendations. Anything else? Maybe a flanger, or a ring modulator?

Later,
Bryce

[jkokura]

Sorry if what I said didn't seem clear. I knew the OD-2 you meant, and as I said, I've built both and prefer the simple Tubescreamer from Tonepad. I'm also finishing the TS from GGG to compare also.

If you want another to build, there's a HUGE range of overdrive, distortion, and fuzz clones available through Brian at Madbean http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/index.html

I very, very much recommend his PCB's. Also, there's a rangemaster clone PCB available there. Check out some of the other potential builds you could do there for some other ideas. I've build several projects there, and have a list of about 10 more I'd like to build.

Jacob

[MmmPedals]

I appreciate a good tone control on a distortion for versatility. A 3 or 4 band EQ would be the most versatile. Check out a guv'nor, dr. boogie. umble (from ROG). or add a tonestack to anything.

[boogietube]

I think the ROG Tonemender is a must have. It's a clean boost with a crazy versatile tone stack...

[stringsthings]

.... Anything else? Maybe a flanger, or a ring modulator? ....

as stated before, it depends on what kind of music you want to play .... there are clips on youtube of all the pedals that you are inquiring about ... if you live near a music store, they will also be happy to let you try out their wares ...

building effects is also a separate process than using effects ....

it's really impossible for anyone to give you specific answers to your questions ....