Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

I just built a few more pedals (a proco rat, rangemaster, and am mxr micro amp) and took a shot of my collection-so-far and wanted to share. If you've got a pedal setup... and a pick of it... post it here.

Jeepers, man! How many times do you need to change your tones in a night? Most ppl I play with use maybe 4 different tones, max.

I never play out... music is not my profession anymore... just an obsession!

Just like gtrs tho... (i have 13 despite that fact that you can only play one at a time) -each fx has it's own peculiar character.

I love to compare and contrast all the dif od sounds and I really feel like I've been enlightened by having access to so many unique ones.

Plus I enjoy building them so much... I'm not going to stop adding fx that way for a while.

oh, if you think my setup is big... you should see some of the boards over there at the gear page... omg makes mine look tiny.

100 tones.

But a MUCH cleaner floorspace.

Here's my current setup man.





Dude, I swear I wanna learn how to make some pedals in a big way. I just haven't had a lot of time. We're playing out a lot lately. But this setup is working great.

I bought me a suitcase at the Salvation Army for $10. Its a nice cheaper alternative to the over-priced pedal bags you see anywhere. Has wheels and a nice handle too.

I know I've asked you before, but I can't remember which thread. Where did you say you got the graphics stuff to make your Olympia pedal? I'm not going to steal your idea and make another Olympia one, but I'd like to try doing something else. Maybe doing something cool with my name on the back-side of the board or something

Secondly, if you don't mind asking. Did you learn how to make the pedals on online sites? If so which ones?

I don't mean to be a pest, I'm just really interested in it.

I tried to get a photo but the dark dusty corner of my closet where the pedal board stays now just wasnt suitable for photography.

Dude, I swear I wanna learn how to make some pedals in a big way. I just haven't had a lot of time. We're playing out a lot lately. But this setup is working great.
I know I've asked you before, but I can't remember which thread. Where did you say you got the graphics stuff to make your Olympia pedal? I'm not going to steal your idea and make another Olympia one, but I'd like to try doing something else. Maybe doing something cool with my name on the back-side of the board or something
Secondly, if you don't mind asking. Did you learn how to make the pedals on online sites? If so which ones?
I don't mean to be a pest, I'm just really interested in it.

my take on learning to make pedals is this:
step 1) mod an existing pedal: I modded my big muff. You can find sites on the inet with info on how to mod just about anything. I used student.uk.blablabla you can find by googleing big muff mods

step 2) try building a kit from buildyourownclone.com or generalguitargadgets.com

step 3) buy a pcb and source the parts yourself from smallbearelec or mouser or pedalpartsplus or effectsconnection

step 4) consider making your own pcb

--------------------------
-generalguitargadgets.com =has the best layout files (that's all you need!)
-amz = tons of info/projects
-freestompbox.org = they have layouts for anything/everything on the market
-tonepad.com = layouts/tutorials
-beavisaudio = tons of info/projects
--------------------------

the graphics for my olympia pedal were built using photoshop, then printed out onto 'water slide decal stock'. A google search will yield hundreds of links to places you can buy this stuff. I got mine from small bear elec - it's on the 'enclosures' tab as I recal.

You simply print it, spray some clear spray-paint on it... let it dry, soak in luke warm water for 10 min and slide off onto the enclosure... let dry and clear the shitzen out of it.

you can use olympia... I'm flattered that you like my idea.... in fact I'll send u my file if you actually want it, and I won't be offended if you just want to 'do your own'.

Thanks for all the info man. I've been looking at those sites all day. I do think a gradual learning process is the way to go. When I modded my Crybaby I was all excited to get into the project of it, only to have it take me all of 15 minutes..

I like the blank enclosures. I think the first one I'd like to try is a basic analog delay. But I could just as easily get a Mod Tone and focus on the band stuff. I think It's gonna be all about how much time I have to mess with it. I certainly don't want to get into making my own PCB right now. The acid etching process wouldn't be too forgiving on my nasal passage and voice. I'd rather not mess with that stuff. Since I don't have a garage, I do everything in my living room anyway.

But I do want to think about something custom to make for my rig. Just for my own satisfaction. More research is in order for now though since I have an inner wallet infection at the moment.

Dude, check this out, it's just f**king cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gic4BCBf ... re=related

Once again, thanks for the info. About the Olympia thing, I'd love to make one. I actually would appreciate that. It just reminds me of my uncle John so much. I love him to death. It would be cool to be reminded of him every time I play. Thanks a lot for offering. I usually don't like taking other people's ideas for myself, but in this case, It's just too hard to refuse.

I'm sure I'll have some more questions for you man. I'll make another topic for that when the time comes.

Peace.

wow, that link was crazy. I was wondering what those probes did... so it's just like a theramin... interesting.


I'd def not recommend an analog delay right off the bat... 1.) the chips are an investment and when you are learning you'll want to go cheap (overdrive!). 2.) an analog delay is going to be a pretty complex project... many components
just my 2 cents.


or hell, build the nurse quacky... it's an easy build and it sounds very funk seventies. you can get the pcb at general guitar gadgets for $15. the parts will add up to maybe another $20, and you'll have a boutique quality envelope filter. here's the graphics for the one I built... right click and save image as 'imagename' for future use.

cheers

http://www.digitech.com/products/Multi-Effects/RP50.php this is pretty much the pedal I have, the case was different (but it broke anyway) so I just have the chip itself works fine for what I'm doin which is messin round at home, only 40 customizable settings but I can do what I want as far as tone goes

Actually I like those pedals. I used to have one. Kinda wish I still did.

But in reality, for my live applications, I like the single pedals for fast usage. I tap dance a little sometimes, but I didn't find it to be effective enough to have preset type pedal boards like the Line-6 Pods. I actually improvise my pedal usage a lot onstage, sometimes using as much as 4 effects at a time. I can click certain ones on and off at will. I used to also have the Boss ME-50. I liked the effects it had to offer, but one wrong move and you stomp it into Tuner mode and all sound is cut-off. That's why I decided to go with the more traditional pedal board setup.

I wouldn't mind having one of the RP-50's though for smaller stage setups where space is an issue. Usually when that's the case, I only bring my wah and nothing else.

build the nurse quacky... it's an easy build and it sounds very funk seventies. you can get the pcb at general guitar gadgets for $15. the parts will add up to maybe another $20, and you'll have a boutique quality envelope filter. here's the graphics for the one I built... right click and save image as 'imagename' for future use.

cheers

Thanks again man..Actually that sounds cool. I could get some good use out of an envelope filter with Reggae. Solid advice dude. I'm definitely gonna look into that.

yah I wouldn't mind having to tap dance to get the right sound, cuz that'd mean I had the right pedals, wish list is pretty simple, flange, delay, wah (maybe even a BP 200 instead), whammy/tone bend, auto wah, distortion maybe ok yea, and fuzz on the other channel

I've owned everything from the rp-7 to the rp-14 to the rp-20 and on. I have a digi 2112 with a control one foot pedal. It's great. But as I've said on many occasions it has it's ups and downs just like pedals. W pedals you can have the best of the flanges, the best of the delays, the best of the od boxes, etc. W digitech u get presets and you can access them very easily, you also get very exacting control.

Ive got a floorboard full of pedals and I also have a POD PRO with footpedal.

There is nothing like the old analog pedals plugged into the front of an amp in my opinion.