I had previously built the original version of the blue steel from Brian. It has been a mainstay on my board and become my go to overdrive with humbuckers. The added brightness, the more open texture of the drive, the more neutral mid-range and the touch sensitivity all make it a great base overdrive for me. So when he released the revised layout I had to build one.
The first thing I decided to do was to ditch the subs switch. As I usually use humbuckers with it, I find the the stock circuit has more than enough low end. Perhaps people using single coils might find that useful. I also prefer having as few controls as possible, so having the stock layout made sense. The updated SMD jfet footprint is great, like aion, and space saving. I also went with a relay bypass from @szukalski . With Brian's new standard layout I only had to swap the 9v and ground leads.
I love the sound of the pedal. I think it really shines with humbuckers. The looser texture of the drive coupled with the added compression of humbuckers makes for a very nice overdrive that cleans up well. I also think the added brightness of the circuit melds well with the darker nature of something like a Les Paul or 335. I really like boosting it with an OD-3 or SD-1 for some midrange punch.
For the enclosure I went with a matte black tayda box and UV print. I went with a new design this time and used Nightcrawler. He really pops and I'm really happy with how it came out. Being as Nightcrawler is German I adjusted the name. Fantastic pedal and another great layout from madbean pedals.(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240913/0b6d4416017abafb1dcb729b88e0b37b.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240913/6da8730ae6143560854e387231645a5b.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20240913/6419a9e94ec1871beaf23f2ca558ff68.jpg)
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Now that's wicked!
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Superb build Chris. Great write up too, I'm going to have to revisit this.
That's awesome!
I have one of these from Lectric, I need to revisit the sound of this circuit.
sehr schoen! Nicely done.
Quote from: jimilee on September 13, 2024, 03:34:24 PMNow that's wicked!
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Quote from: gordo on September 13, 2024, 03:49:04 PMSuperb build Chris. Great write up too, I'm going to have to revisit this.
Quote from: Bio77 on September 13, 2024, 04:26:50 PMThat's awesome!
I have one of these from Lectric, I need to revisit the sound of this circuit.
Quote from: jessenator on September 13, 2024, 04:27:40 PMsehr schoen! Nicely done.
Thanks guys, a great pedal that's been heavily modded in the boutique world but I think it stands just fine on it's own.