MLP Group Buy 'n Build Pedal Project

[V!N]

A wise man once said "if you need an amp for anything, your pedal sucks."
Then he parked his posterior on my couch and turned around to ask me if there were any more pork rinds. "No, there aren't any more, you already went through three bags of them ! Now get out of my house, wise man ! Who invited you anyway..."

You can say what you want about this wise man, but he sure was on to something ! I think...



I've been wanting to build another pedal for a while now and his words of wisdom have inspired me to do this with you, my forum brothers.

So, how would you lads feel about making a pedal ? We can help each other out if it doesn't fire up right away and if one of our less experienced brothers needs some advice along the way. Also, we can get a nice discount from suppliers as it's much more efficient to process batches. I've already talked with a few about this idea, they're as excited about it as I am and have been very forthcoming with their service and discount.

I might even get a friend to supply us something really cool, but he'd like to see if this idea sparks any interest first. Hopefully, more about that later.



It'll have to be a pedal that's easy to build, so the less experienced pedalists could join in on this as well. It'll have to be sweet to the ear and of course versatile and foolproof to use. There are plenty of kits out there for the same old same old, so something rather unique would be nice as well. If possible, a pedal that every guitarist could use, no matter what genre he plays or what other gear he has. Then there's really only one kind of pedal that pops to mind: a booster ! What else.

From the smoothest jazz all the way up to the most brutal metal, everybody could use a single knob boost pedal and I think I know one that you'll really, really like.

Once upon a time in California, there lived this Dutch born lad with a single PAF loaded Frankenstrat who loved his solid state tape delay units. He used these Echoplex EP-3 gadgets not only for the delay, but also to add the sweetness of the preamp in this unit to his sound. He knew that transparency is overrated and just loved that certain something that the Echoplex added to his tone.

Eddie Van Halen is just one example, Eric Johnson and Jimmy Page are also known to have used these gizmos as tone sweeteners.



Some DIY techs have taken this to the next level by cloning the preamp circuitry from the EP-3 and sticking it in a compact pedal. You know where this is going now, don't you ?

What would you say to a single knob boost pedal that takes a regular 9V battery and/or any regular external power supply, internally pumps up the Voltage to where it is in the EP-3 and runs your signal through exactly the same preamp circuitry that makes those elusive vintage delay units sound so sweet ?

A rough estimate, a complete kit will cost you between US$ 60 and US$ 80.



One more thing though. With most of the MLP members living in the USA, I really need the help of a treasurer and partner in crime who lives there. Your job will be to receive the money from the forumites on your PayPal account, then use that to pay for the orders.

I will arange for the tiny parts to be delivered in a big box with separate project bags and a bunch of small cardboard boxes so yo don't have to go through hundreds of parts to compile the kits yourself. The the finished enclosures and the etched and drilled PCB's will also be delivered to your doorstep. Then all you have to do is put one bag, one PCB and one enclosure in a box, flap on an address label and send them out.



Let me know if you want to be in on this !

[Syn]

I won't be able to take part this time around, but great post as always V!N!

I'm interested to see this one develop and hope this project gets the support and attention it deserves!

[voices]

i would like to see the schematic of this.

[snaredrum]

sounds interesting. i've never wired a pedal or even a circuit board before. only guitars.

[firesgt911]

What boost did you have in mind? The confidence booster with a pot instead of trimpot and a foot switch may lower the price a bit, is easy to build and doesn't sound too bad. A DOD OD/Preamp 250 would be cool too with an internal trimpot for the gain so you could set it as clean as you want and give you the 1 knob booster. Hmmm...

I may be in. I love building pedals!

[V!N]

Originally Posted by Syn

I won't be able to take part this time around, but great post as always V!N!
I'm interested to see this one develop and hope this project gets the support and attention it deserves!

Come on, you know you want to !

Originally Posted by voices

i would like to see the schematic of this.

Here's the source of inspiration:
http://www.schematicheaven.com/effec...9451-12960.pdf

Originally Posted by snaredrum

sounds interesting. i've never wired a pedal or even a circuit board before. only guitars.

I thought you made a Marshall Shredmaster clone once ? It takes more time, patience and somewhat of a more delicate when you're building a pedal instead of wiring a guitar. If you feel you're up to it, this might be a nice way for you to start.

Originally Posted by firesgt911

What boost did you have in mind?

A boost that's a copy of the pre-amp from an Echoplex EP-3, with a charge pump added to turn a 9V battery / wall wart to higher voltage and a few tiny tweaks to make it function as a standalone pedal.

Originally Posted by firesgt911

The confidence booster with a pot instead of trimpot and a foot switch may lower the price a bit, is easy to build and doesn't sound too bad. A DOD OD/Preamp 250 would be cool too with an internal trimpot for the gain so you could set it as clean as you want and give you the 1 knob booster. Hmmm...

There are many places on the Internet where one can buy kits for those pedals already and even more ready made versions: originals, reissues, home-made or boutique clones, etc. I think those are nice to do on your own, but there's not much of a point creating a group project for the same old same old that you can buy anywhere.

[Syn]

Originally Posted by V!N

Come on, you know you want to !

Haha, if only I had the time and the knowledge of how to solder without cooking everything.

[snaredrum]

Originally Posted by V!N

I thought you made a Marshall Shredmaster clone once ? It takes more time, patience and somewhat of a more delicate when you're building a pedal instead of wiring a guitar. If you feel you're up to it, this might be a nice way for you to start.

i've owned two BYOC shredders - built neither of 'em.

[firesgt911]

I am definitely interested! Keep us updated on the specifics!

[JMV]

Count me in. Could be fun!

I actually have an Xotic EP Booster and it would be fun to compare. I've had fun building a couple of BYOC pedals along the way, and you can never have too many boost pedals.

[Ekoms]

I'm in!

Sounds very cool.

[V!N]

Thanks guys, good to have some people aboard now ! That's three in, including yours truly, and one definitely interested. My suppliers can only put in the extra effort and give the discount if we can get at least ten of these kits out.

Anybody up for being the treasurer and my right hand on this ?




The Xotic is a nice sounding booster, that's for sure. But the only reason the letters "E" and "P" are on there is to tag along with the cool stories about the Echoplex units and the way that some legendary guitarists used them as tone sweeteners.
The only thing they have in common is that they both use a common-source FET amplifier. There are virtually unlimited ways to wire up such a circuit and at Xotic, they chose to make one that's completely different from what's going on inside the EP-3. On top of that, they even added an output buffer to it.

Not every single cut guitar with two humbuckers is a '59 Burst, not every CS-FET circuit is a preamp from the Echoplex EP-3.

[JMV]

Thanks for the info! I hadn't counted on the EP Booster being a faithful reproduction. I just know I love the way it sounds!

There must be some more tinkerers around here that would be interested.

[firesgt911]

Go ahead and put me down as in!

[greenalbatross]

Count me in.

[V!N]

That makes five already ! Halfway there.

The position for treasurer and packager is still open.

[oliverphoto]

Sounds interesting, I've never done anything like this and I'll probably start myself on fire but I'm in.

Oh, and I understand I'm new around here and all so I'm willing to jump through whatever hoops you need me to for you to make sure you're not getting ripped off by me.

[snaredrum]

Originally Posted by oliverphoto

Sounds interesting, I've never done anything like this and I'll probably start myself on fire but I'm in.

Oh, and I understand I'm new around here and all so I'm willing to jump through whatever hoops you need me to for you to make sure you're not getting ripped off by me.

this sounds awfully tempting...

just kidding

[Beerdog80]

Originally Posted by oliverphoto

Sounds interesting, I've never done anything like this and I'll probably start myself on fire but I'm in.

Oh, and I understand I'm new around here and all so I'm willing to jump through whatever hoops you need me to for you to make sure you're not getting ripped off by me.

Soldering isn't really that hard bro. Go to youtube and hit some of their videos on 'how too' and then go to radio shack, get some vero board and handful of cheap components and practicing on your new skill by soldering the components to the board and then take them off. Their irons aren't the best but they aren't the worst either so it will suit your purpose just fine.

[Beerdog80]

Originally Posted by V!N

That makes five already ! Halfway there.

The position for treasurer and packager is still open.

Now that I'm back from my running around the country, I'm all in bud. Going to finish two projects for myself and take care of Sludgeburn's new pedal I'm building for him and that's about it.

[firesgt911]

So that's 7! There must be at least 3 more out there!!!

[VastHorizon]

Looks like a good project. I'll think hard about this one...

[V!N]

I'm very pleased to announce that Beerdog80 will be the treasurer and packager for this project !

Also, a big thank your for Led Zep Fan, who was kind enough to make this a sticky.


Pictures of various things and a schematic soon !

[Beerdog80]

Always glad to help out fellow forum members when I can!

[JMV]

Woohoo!

We still need a few more people, don't we?

[VastHorizon]

I would need to know the final cost before I can commit.

[Guitar Freak]

Count me in. You can't go wrong with V!N

But one thing, I have NEVER made and/or modded a pedal before. the only technology skills I have is with computers....

[ledlover01]

this would be cool if it happened.Ive been wanting to build a pedal for the longest time now,ive been fooling around with my Danelectro pedal for a while now.

[V!N]

I was expecting somewhere between 10 and 20 tinkerers on this forum, I might have to do a little cross-posting soon to wake up the rest. I'll await some updates from my suppliers and then I plan on typing a big post with pictures, schematics, links, etc. I might be able to be a bit more specific about the actual cost by then as well. For now, the estimate of something between US$ 60 and US$ 80 still stands.
I call that a bargain for a complete kit of a project you can't get at the regular kit stores. It will include a drilled and powdercoated enclosure in an exciting colour !

Ten people is the minimum, but certainly not the maximum. It might be unwise to start everything once our group has reached ten. Experience taught me that not everybody who is "in" on such projects will actually pay up when the time is there.
Parking ticket, leaky sink, dried out plants in the garden... Somebody always has a reason to let the group down. If we have a bit more aboard, we'll still meet the minimum requirement of ten by the time it's ready to pay.

Originally Posted by Guitar Freak

Count me in. You can't go wrong with V!N

But one thing, I have NEVER made and/or modded a pedal before. the only technology skills I have is with computers....

Thanks man ! Though the project is relatively simple and has a low parts-count, I'm not sure it's the right project to learn how to solder small parts on a PCB.
If you know you're handy, patient, dedicated and you have the right tools for the job, you might give it a shot. Think about it for a while.

[Guitar Freak]

ok, But I'm pretty sure I don't have the right stuff for the job. do you know of any place I could find them? which ones should I need?