Done With Pedal Building

[Big O]

After 70 pedals built from 2006 til now, I am pretty much calling it quits.  I now will be modifying and improving some of the pedals I have built in the past, including using GPCB 3PDT boards to add LED’s to a few pedals that don’t have them.  I am also going to work on playing guitar instead of pedal builder.

The last two of my builds are below.

Foundry Fuzz – a Germanium Fuzzrite.  Definitely better than the silicon Fuzzrites I have built in the past.

The second is a Parametric Overdrive based on the Pearl OD-5 Overdrive.  It has a parametric equalizer built into it.  I was going to attempt to build something similar using GPCB boards but the second version of the Tone Tweq having an adjustable midrange similar to a parametric EQ was discontinued.

 

[brd]

Big O

I have been around this forum for a while, long enough to know you are one of the most prolific build posters here. Your graphics and finish are second to none. I can make them work but I can’t make them pretty. I built my “Omega” petal a while ago, but there is a breadboard on my desk now with some half baked idea that just might make it into a box. Hopefully something will inspire you again.

[Big O]

Brd, the tip I can give for artwork is using the free program paint.net as it really took my artwork design to an new level.  The Pougnet Pedals Youtube channel has a video on pedal graphics that started me with this program – ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXnGe68dGCY ).  Just cut and paste the link.

Paint.net allows you to do layers and reorder them as well as select and deselect different layers.  For example, I would make alignment layers with lines to keep knob labels even with each other, then deselect the alignment layer to take it out of the final graphics image.  Also, borrowing and modifying images available on the internet is helpful to do your designs.  Images can also be manipulated with MS Paint if you have a PC. I think doing the graphics has been equally fun for me as actually building the pedal and have it work.

Below is the first pedal I built and the last – you can see how my graphics abilities have developed over the years.

 

 

[brd]

Thanks for the tip, I wish I had that information a few years ago. However, talent and patience are the missing ingredients here. Below is a photo of my first and last pedals, clearly showing no improvement in my art or my ADHD.

[Author]

Posts