I like its versatility insofar as changing the compressor/preamp order gives you plenty of squash or more open with compressor first. The Dumbletone is great for subtle (or not so subtle) drive and plenty of toan variation from fat clean to…Read more

Well, I eventually managed to fit this all in as originally hoped for. I had to re-drill the jack holes and do quite a bit of intense fiddling, so now the box is an unholy mess.

Two points to note: 1) these are robust, high-quality boards,…Read more

The gain switch gets you into serious overdrive and t…Read more

I thought I’d try fitting these into a 1590BB for fun, despite the BD clearly stating the requirement of a 1590BB2 or BBS. All went well apart from the jacks which don’t fit. So, I’m treating this as a failed experiment, my bad entirely but no loss since I’ll rehouse it properly later.

While I was working on this, Barry released the Lynyrd…Read more

hanks, Barry.

You’re dead right on the fuzz aspect (wink icon here) but the updated Vibe is to me the secret sauce. Light years better than the previous incarnation, if I may so, which was ok but had far fewer options. Just a rate knob IIRC.

Groovy on the dual combo idea, as JMH himself might have said.

My first time using the order switcher board and it really makes a big difference to the overall character of the sound.

And there you have it, my little tribute to the…Read more

For instance, the highlighted spots there might indicate an intermittent connection. Look for similar ‘starved’ points on the board and carefully retouch them. All this falls away if the circuit’s working as expected outside the box. Then we move on to plan B…

This troubleshooting exercise is very good for learning how to fault find: I…Read more

Here are my voltages as promised. Seems to me the big discrepancy is the 4558, where you’re getting positive readings on the right hand side of the chip and I’m around 0 as you see. Try maybe first checking for any shorts at or near that socket, then replace the chip if possible.

What worries me is the different readings when you first measured…Read more

I’ve just checked pin 1 of the 4558, which reads 4.5V (correct, since this is bias voltage = 1/2 of 9V). Is there a way you can bypass the DC socket and connect the adapter directly to the board?

Here are some pictures of boxing up this marvellous pedal. I find this method simplest for attaching the 3PDT boards to the switches but YMMV of course.

Neat and tidy, if I say so myself. Those cable coupling thingies…Read more