Pictures of DIY FX pedals

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If I show you mine, will you show me yours?

'Box of Rock' :

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_0066.jpg

The obligatory tube-screamer:

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_0064.jpg

And a tube screamer type circuit made with vacuum diodes (Merlin Blencowe's 'Spark Gap') with colour changing LEDs for extra bling (just don't step on it!):

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_9007.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_9003.jpg

A second one with a 'roll cage':

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_9122.jpg

Zen drive - ish thing with switchable diodes, etc. inside:

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_0692.jpg

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_0696.jpg

And lastly a nice sounding compressor (based on a 'Love Squeeze'):

http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/DSC_0062.jpg

Now show me yours... ;)
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Comments

  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9987
    tFB Trader

    Nothing fancy ... a Pedal Parts UK TS808  kit ... ! bunged it in a case intending to do fancy things ... but it sounded so good that that's the way it's going to stay ... as I can't spare it to make it more beautiful :)


    image
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • LongtallronnieLongtallronnie Frets: 1197
    edited August 2013

    @MisterG

     

    Those enclosures look awesome, did you do them yourself? If so, how?!

    Haven't built anything for a while and sold those I had. Below is a crybaby that I did the usual mods to. I tried painting it with copper hammerite but it came out gold which looked hideous so I took a wire brush drill attachment to it!

    image

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  • DanielTDanielT Frets: 2
    This is my build of runoffgroove's peppermill transparent overdrive. Really basic with only two transistors but really does make some amps come alive.

    Not much creativity in the case however. It came, fully finished from Maplin's. A real shame they don't stock these cases anymore.

    image
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Double post deleted
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • juansolojuansolo Frets: 1773
    @misterg loving the etched finishes there!
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  • MistergMisterg Frets: 293
    edited August 2013
    Cheers!

    Longtallronnie said:
    Those enclosures look awesome, did you do them yourself? If so, how?!
    I used the same "Press'n'Peel" toner transfer paper as is used for pcbs to mask the boxes and etched them with ferric chloride pcb etchant NB don't just dip the box in - the reaction is quite violent:

    In brief:

    1) Create your design and print it as a mirror image onto the Press'n'Peel paper (needs to be done on a laser printer).

    2) Sand the box with wet & dry until it's completely smooth and flat. This takes ages, especially for cheap boxes.

    3) Iron the Press'n'Peel onto the box - this is the trickiest bit. I find it helps to pre-heat the box with the (clothes!) iron then to use a silicone baking sheet between the iron and the P'n'P to even out the pressure. With luck, the pattern will transfer evenly without lifting when you peel the backing film off.

    4) Mask around the edge of the design with 3M blue masking tape, and continue to mask the edges of the box, as any drips or splashes of etchant will make marks pretty much instantly.

    5) Put a strip of masking tape around the top of the box so it forms a raised dam to contain the etchant*** like so:

    http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh143/werdnayarg/webstuf/etchbox.jpg

    ***Do not be tempted to immerse the box in etchant***

    The 3M blue tape will be fine with ferric chloride etchant - other makes may not.

    6) The etching reaction is very vigorous, so you should expect fizzing, steam and the box to get hot. Ergo, you should take the appropriate precautions to keep your skin, clothes, lungs and eyesight intact. Have a bucket of water handy where you can dump things if it gets out of hand. Do not do this in the house - it stinks.

    7) Suitably attired, tip somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon full of ferric chloride PCB etchant onto your design and gently swill it around. Nothing happens for a few seconds, and you will think I'm being over cautious. Then it starts fizzing. Keep swilling it around or stirring it with a small paintbrush, etc. for a few minutes untill the fizzing dies down and bubbles stop appearing, then tip out the mess and give it a rinse. Repeat the etching  two or three times.

    8) Rinse the box thoroughly and remove the masking tape. Scrub the etch with a stiff brush & some fairy liquid.

    9) Remove the P'n'P mask with solvent or fine wet/dry paper and drill the holes in the box, etc.

    Different boxes seem to etch differently, so don't expect perfection. Narrow raised lines don't work, as they get undercut during the etch (see the BOR above for an example). If you use old ferric chloride, it deposits copper onto the box which looks pretty, but washes off.

    The reaction between ferric chloride and aluminium is horribly vigorous - it's entirely possible that the box will become far too hot to hold, even with just a tablespoon of etchant, and for the etchant to boil and release acrid fumes.

    Just be careful...


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  • ourmaninthenorthourmaninthenorth Frets: 3418
    edited August 2013
    Excellent write up, and a really fine end product  =D>
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9500
    World's first Welsh fuzz pedal, named after my favourite Super Furry Animals album:

    image

    Actually a Devi Ever Soda Meiser with the Chaos switch. No gutshots because it's a car crash in there (veroboard and lead-free solder...)

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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9500
    edited August 2013
    And a DIY Pedalkits ADD (Another Damn Drive):

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  • dchwhitedchwhite Frets: 182
    I did not make it, but like it both in looks and sound. When I get five minutes, I will be bothering those what know such things how I find out whether it has a standard power connector, and how I work out where the loose wire inside is supposed to be attached...

    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/9517345728_9e9ceb18ce.jpg
    Stonevibe: 'The best things in life aren't things'.

    Trading feedback: Previous (+18) and Current

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  • MistergMisterg Frets: 293
    Love it!
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  • juansolojuansolo Frets: 1773
    edited August 2013
    dchwhite said:
    I did not make it, but like it both in looks and sound. When I get five minutes, I will be bothering those what know such things how I find out whether it has a standard power connector, and how I work out where the loose wire inside is supposed to be attached...

    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5528/9517345728_9e9ceb18ce.jpg
    That looks suspiciously like a very old one of mine ;) Did it have Wall-E on the front of it beforehand by any chance? It was a re-fettle of someone else's effect (hence it's upside-down). So it's a little awkwardly done inside with it all mounted on the lid and wires to the bottom. http://juansolo.demon.co.uk/stompage/images/fc-i.jpg

    I'm a lot neater these days (I'd have just rehoused it and started again) ;) Bob me a pic of the wire that's loose and I'll tell you where it goes.

    Power will be a standard Boss style, centre ground jobbie.
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  • dchwhitedchwhite Frets: 182
    @juansolo awesome, thank you :) From your excellent picture, I think I can see where the loose wire should be attached - there's a nine-contact blue wotsit on the bottom left, and it's the purple wire on the left that's come astray. My assumption from its position was it went in one of two places, and from your pic, I can see which :)

    Thank you also for the confirmation of the PSU type - I've read so many horror stories of people applying the wrong sort of power to their pedals which then are fried... I don't usually use pedals that much, but now have a few that I really like, which is prompting me to look for a One-Spot or similar at some point. I just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything to hurt it!

    Couldn't speak for the picture on the case previously, this came to me as it is, sorry. It is EXCELLENT though, and it's making me move on a number of now redundant pedals as a result :)


    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5466/9526841177_74f6410578.jpg

    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7412/9526840527_20093a2970.jpg

    http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3765/9526841743_49c3bf6ec0.jpg
    Stonevibe: 'The best things in life aren't things'.

    Trading feedback: Previous (+18) and Current

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  • juansolojuansolo Frets: 1773
    It's always fun when these turn up!
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  • Here's my "Class IV Fuzz" (fuzz factory)

    image
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  • juansolojuansolo Frets: 1773
    Thought I'd post a pic of the current stash. It's not often that they're all out. I may have a problem...

    image
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  • FelineGuitarsFelineGuitars Frets: 11497
    tFB Trader
    whats the pedal with the van halen cartoon on it?

    Many guitars have a re-sale value. Some you'll never want to sell.
    Stockist of: Earvana & Graphtech nuts, Faber Tonepros & Gotoh hardware, Fatcat bridges. Highwood Saddles.

    Pickups from BKP, Oil City & Monty's pickups.

      Expert guitar repairs and upgrades - fretwork our speciality! www.felineguitars.com.  Facebook too!

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  • MistergMisterg Frets: 293
    @juansolo: Awesome! Are the images waterslides?
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  • juansolojuansolo Frets: 1773
    whats the pedal with the van halen cartoon on it?
    MXR117 Flanger.

    Misterg said:
    @juansolo: Awesome! Are the images waterslides?
    They're adhesive decals. I started out with waterslides and just didn't get on with them. Once you get your head around the decals they're much easier and tougher. Anything new is coated with Envirotex too rather than paint and lacquer. Coloured enclosures are powdercoat these days.
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  • EdGripEdGrip Frets: 736
    My Musket Fuzz, which a friend of mine now has.

    image
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