Opting for the botique side of pedals.

[guitarman2]

Well not that I was totally disatisfied with my newly acquired Boss CS3 compressor but I had a chance to hear the Keeley 2 knob compressor on Friday. I bought it and used it at a rehearsal today and all I can say is wow. Where have you been all my life. Of course at $250 ouch. I almost cried handing that much money over for a compressor that by looking at it, looks like its worth $75. But after using it today all crying stopped and sheer joy took over. I'm also dumping my newly acquired TS9 for the Wamper Hotwired 2 channel overdrive. Another wallet crusher at $300 + tax. This botique pedal stuff is going to send me in to bankruptcy. I'm also trying to figure out how to raise the money for a demo that this dealer has of a Diamond Halo stereo chorus. Quite a good deal at $250 from its normal price of $329. Oh man. Just seems to be no money in gigging lately.

[mhammer]

This is why you need to get off your arse and learn a few DIY tricks my friend. A pedal here or there, and I suppose the extra money doesn't hit you that hard. But once you develop a taste for the "finer things", unless you have an extremely well-paying gig, the things you crave will continue to force some hard choices on you. Hell, that's how I learned what I know - i couldn't afford the real deal so I learned to make the real deal. It may have taken me 30 years to get to where I am, but the resources available these days permit people to accomplish the same chops in less than 2 years. Seriously. I've seen kids go from asking how to read a resistor colour code to designing stuff that is to be reckoned with in that kind of time frame.

But I don't have the time, people say.

Eighteen months ago, I had the pleasure of being invited backstage at a Sheryl Crow gig because I knew one of the guitar techs. Peter Stroud, her longtime guitar player and co-founder of London 65 amps, needed a mica cap to adjust the bright function on his amp, so my buddy phoned me up before they came to town and asked if I might be able to score one before the gig. I arrived with a handful of varieties since I had them in my parts bin anyways. Pete selected a few suitable ones, thanked me profusely and proceeded to rip his amp apart and have at it with his soldering iron 90 minutes before stage-time. My wife and I went off and had supper before the show, but Pete apparently achieved his goal because when we came back the show started on time and when they launched into the Led Zepp nugget "Rock and Roll" for an encore, the treble on that sucker ripped my head off. Now, if a guy with a schedule like THAT can learn how and find the time to do it and fearlessly bring his gear on stage, so can you my friend. Not only can it be cheaper, but you can experiment, something one can't do with commercial gear. A guy like Pete also knows what his gear can and can't do, and is able to choose intelligently when DIY is the less practical way to go.

[iaresee]

+1 to mhammer's post. It's harder than you think and easier all at once. With companies like BYOC (http://www.buildyourownclone.com/) and GGG (http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/)around now it's at least relatively easy to cut your teeth on making your own pedals: all you need is a soldering iron, some time and the ability to read and you're set. And with forums like http://diystompboxes.com/ there's an overload of information and help available when you want to dig deeper or get stuck.

One thing is for sure: once you start building them yourself, yes you'll save a bunch of money, but I think you'll start to realize why boutique == expensive. Even the really big builds cost <$100 parts the time you spend in labour, figuring you're worth ~$20/hour, really adds up fast. Figure in a 40-50% margin to actually be profitable and you can see why boutique pedals add up quickly. Dano over at Beavis Audio (http://www.beavisaudio.com/) really put it in to perspective when spoke about why he's stopped Four Knob Rat production to redesign the board (http://www.beavisaudio.com/Projects/FKR/). It was taking him too much time to put them together.

[mhammer]

Although I will temper that last recommendation by noting that there are lots of in-between points. There are TONS of so-so pedals that are but a few simple mods away from being real keepers. Indeed, those folks who follow the boutique market closely can tell you that while there are many fine wholly innovative products from the boutique crowd, very frequently there are products whose basic claim to fame is that they took something fairly standard and gave a few twists to it with a part here or there.

The good news for guys like yourself is that you can buy yourself a 2nd hand pedal in perfect working order for peanuts, swap a couple of parts, and boom you have "boutique" quality. The hard work has been done for you already. Then, once you're ready, you can step up to total DIY if you feel like it. But there is certainly nothing wrong with simply modding. Indeed, there is a certain sinful pleasure in having someone stroll up to find out how the hell you DID that and find themselves face to face with stuff that on the surface looks familiar but sure don't sound familiar.

If you feel like it, contact me offline, let me know what diamonds in the rough you have, and I'll let you know what treasures might be hiding inside.

[guitarman2]

Although I will temper that last recommendation by noting that there are lots of in-between points. There are TONS of so-so pedals that are but a few simple mods away from being real keepers. Indeed, those folks who follow the boutique market closely can tell you that while there are many fine wholly innovative products from the boutique crowd, very frequently there are products whose basic claim to fame is that they took something fairly standard and gave a few twists to it with a part here or there.

The good news for guys like yourself is that you can buy yourself a 2nd hand pedal in perfect working order for peanuts, swap a couple of parts, and boom you have "boutique" quality. The hard work has been done for you already. Then, once you're ready, you can step up to total DIY if you feel like it. But there is certainly nothing wrong with simply modding. Indeed, there is a certain sinful pleasure in having someone stroll up to find out how the hell you DID that and find themselves face to face with stuff that on the surface looks familiar but sure don't sound familiar.

If you feel like it, contact me offline, let me know what diamonds in the rough you have, and I'll let you know what treasures might be hiding inside.


Ok. I think I'm going to further research this. I've joined the site DIYstompboxes.com. Where do I start in terms of the learning process? Should I be doing some preliminary reading. FAQs, books, etc. What would be a good first project? I know very little electronically but am very quick at learning new things.

[Wheeman]

I highly recommend this one: An IC-Based Overdrive. (a.k.a. the DOD 250 Overdrive) (http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?PHPSESSID=76c5062bcf607053cb566dd9a87410 90&board=33.0)

Its very well laid out and sounds really nice. Plus, you don't have to deal to much with straight up transistors right out of the gate. Its really flexible with regards to parts and mod-able. Uses the common LM741, but any single op-amp should do the trick.

Good luck! Its addictive after the first pedal and you probably won't look at your other effects the same way afterwards.

[Edutainment]

I'd start with this: http://www.mooj.com/guitar-o-rama.htm
I've heard it sounds pretty good. Even if you don't want that pedal, it's a good page to read 'cause it's geared for beginners, and it goes over the whole process in detail. It's a pretty cheap pedal though. You can get the kit for $40.

[mhammer]

Ok. I think I'm going to further research this. I've joined the site DIYstompboxes.com. Where do I start in terms of the learning process? Should I be doing some preliminary reading. FAQs, books, etc. What would be a good first project? I know very little electronically but am very quick at learning new things.

1) There is an excellent FAQ/wiki thing at the site, that strives to make use of the best posts on various topics, and often includes illustrations. Well worth checking out. I recommend taking a peek at RG Keen's www.geofex.com site and clicking on the "Technology of..." in the upper left hand corner. Some serious classics there. I also recommend Jack Orman's AMZ page (www.muzique.com) which also has some entry-level materials in the lab notes and blog sections.

2) The project I almost always recommend for beginning builders is a loop selector of either an A/B type or simply loop-vs-straight-thru, since it is all jacks and switch there is little electronic theory to master beforehand, nothing to burn out, and it is a build that will likely remain useful for your life as a musician.

If it makes any difference, John Mayer apparently bought himself a BYOC tremolo, built it, and uses it. So, it can happen. Frank Marino makes all his own stuff too.

[PaulS]

Doing your own pedal mods is a good thing but it can also be very frustrating at some points. All the above sites are good spots for info and ideas. I'd suggest building yourself an audio probe and learning how to use it, it will save all kinds of time and frustration. It's a simple device, I made one with an old 1/4" phono jack cord I had. Attach a clip to the ground and solder a .1Uf cap to the hot. You feed an audio source into the pedal and track it with the probe which you plug into a small amp. As for projects, start with a power booster (LPB1) and then work up to an overdrive. They go hand in hand.
Good luck and don't give up.... :food-smiley-004:

[mhammer]

Doing your own pedal mods is a good thing but it can also be very frustrating at some points.
Hell, it can be frustrating at every point. It depends on how big a leap you take each time. Even those of us who have been at it years sometimes venture beyond the perimeter of our own chops and find ourselves stuck or making regrettable choices. The good thing is that those choices generally cost a whole lot less than making poor choices with commercial gear. The other good thing is that, at this particular point in pedal/music/web history, there is no end to the splendid and generous support one can obtain on-line and off-line when you DO get stuck.

[guitarman2]

Hell, it can be frustrating at everyThe good thing is that those choices generally cost a whole lot less than making poor choices with commercial gear.

You said it right there. I had just bought a TS9 and CS3. After hearing the Keeley Compressor and Wampler Hotwired I knew I made a mistake. Luckily, even though it was beyond the 30 days allowed to return the pedals, Long & Mcquade took them back anyway and I only lost 10% restocking fee. Otherwise I would have lost alot more for a recent purchase.

[Teleplucker]

I'm not saying this is the best place to start, but I began modding pedals with a Boss SD-1 that I found locally for $40 in mint condition. I've replaced about half the parts on the board and it sounds really good. I'd imagine my $150USD MojoDrive and $105 Timmy still eats it for lunch, but no one, including me, knows the difference in a noisy club with a cooking amp. And, it's a heck of a deal compared to the expensive boutique pedals.

Now, I'm a Boss modding fool since the boards are pretty easy to work with once you get your soldering skills down (although, some of the denser boards are more tricky). I've only had one failure and it turned out to be a poor solder joint or two.

I'm sure I could do a BYOC kit and make a compressor or overdrive that's as good as anything out there (well, I have to admit, I'm partial to the Diamond opto comp - and Diamond pedals are fantastic products that are worth every penny).

I haven't started building from scratch, but that's next after some more research on how circuits work.

[mhammer]

At the risk of dragging this thread out well past its lifespan, I will note that a great many pedals are actually designed to underperform. Not that they are designed to sound poor but rather that many of the features that could be built in easily are simply neglected.

Electro-Harmonix is perhaps the worst offender in this regard, but MXR was never that far behind. EHX has released a surfeit of what I like to call "one-knob wonders" over the years, whose main purpose seems to have been use of a singular machining template (one knob hole and one switch slot to punch out), and whose secondary purpose seems to have been producing a pedal that no user could screw up via their misunderstanding. In other words, a lowest common denominator pedal. If you only knew what was possible to extract from pedals like the Bass Balls, Small Stone, and Small Clone, by the simple addition of a toggle to select between 3 values of a single component, or replacement of a single fixed component with a variable control.

In MXR's case, their constraint was that they chose to go with a small box (the Eddystone equivalent of the seemingly omnipresent Hammond 1590B) and big knobs, making it next to impossible to put more than 2 controls on any pedal until they eventually worked their way up to larger chassis.

If you look at ads for pedals over the last 3 decades, you'll see that year by year the mean number of controls on any pedal has steadily increased to the point where companies like DOD start with the presumption that all their chassis will have four holes for panel-mounted controls. I occasionally trade notes with Jeorge Tripps, who made/makes the Way Huge line of pedals. Jeorge now has a distribution deal with Dunlop and has resurrected the Way Huge line with their help. While he could turn out 3-knob pedals in 1996 that did not disappoint, these days he is almost obliged to up the number of both panel-mounted and circuit-board adjustable controls to suit consumer expectations; particularly if he is going to expect to command the same price-point he had during his first run over a decade ago.

I mention these two instances to highlight the fact that there are many pedals currently in production with all the controls you might expect or ever have time to fiddle with, but plenty that are now out of production (and available at decent 2nd hand prices) that can be easily upgraded to have the sort of feature set we have come to expect these days. In many instances, all it really wants is a drill press (or a friend with one), a wee bit of know-how or good advice, and a couple of parts. Though a great many commercial pedals don't easily accommodate mods because of space constraints, a great many DO, and small parts can be readily obtained to make the slightly-awkward cases bend to our will.

It is also worth noting that anyone wishing to commit to large-scale production of effects, without providing the extensive tech support needed for effects that go out on a limb, tends to aim for the less adventurous. So, for example, speed controls on modulation pedals have only very recently started to go fast enough to produce more jarring sounds, even though they could have done so decades ago. Pedals that could have been easily adapted to produce vibrato have only recently done so. External expression-pedal and voltage control has been rarely implemented in past because it confuses too many beginner users. And some sorts of pedals yielded effects that were so hard for many users to grasp that they faded from the horizon. Hell, I still have to explain to folks why that "attack" mod they have installed on their compressor doesn't seem like its "on" (because its audibility depends on how you play).

Manufacturers are intent on avoiding confusion for their customers and demand on their tech support, so they stick in less than what they know is feasible because that works for them. Boutique-makers, on the other hand, tend to deal with a more knowledgable clientele, and often make a point of being available and providing tech support, so their pedals often take the sorts of chances that a Boss or DOD won't. But there is no reason why an interested and motivated player can't take those chances themselves and make/mod the sort of pedal that is possible with a few simple extensions of even very conventional designs. Boutique adventure isn't so very far away from folks with bare-bones skills and a fairly mundane complement of boxes on their pedalboard.