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Finally.

Presenting the Vault Boy delay.  MN3005 chips... bought 5, 4 of which turned out good.  5th one... not so much.  Nevertheless, still enough to do two of these for myself (stereo rig).  The build fired up on the first try, no small miracle.  Cramming the charge pump in was fun... but I'm particularly proud of also cramming in a Cusack clickless bypass system, as I prefer these on delays.  Doesn't eliminate the pop completely, but certainly lessens it.

The plate etching was done by our own Josh (gtr2), who did an absolutely STELLAR job!  He was gracious enough to take on this project for me and I cannot thank him enough given how well it came out.  Any Fallout fans here?  (please let there be some other nerds on here... please....)

So happy to get this up and running.  Thanks for all the encouragement thus far, friends.  Completing this one was quite a milestone for me!

This is number 3 for me this week... finally have time to wire stuff!  Yay!

First off, I love TubeScreamers... and this one blows my old Keeley one outta the water.  It's quieter, more versatile... build it.  Details:

- moved the switches to the outside because I didn't want anything else to clutter up the graphic.
- used an on-off-on switch to get the "no diode" sound, which actually is pretty neat
- this thing is dead quiet, even with the gain dimed.
- I did some taste-testing before settling on the diodes.  1n270s weren't giving me enough gain/output.  Tried BAT46s and loved 'em - really great for edge-of-breakup sort of sounds.  Tried some LM313Hs that I had left over from my Sunking build, and they were pretty neat... then came the 1n60s EDIT: Just realized that they are actually NTE5019A's.  Immediately after plugging them in, my wife yelled "THOSE" from the kitchen.  They're crazy ballsy... they don't compress as much as the BAT41/46s, and have a thicker midrange about them, if that's even possible.  Unbelievable for lead playing.  TONS of gain on tap as well.

So, I've got BAT46s in the asymmetrical slots and the 1n60s in the symmetrical.  Killer combination, gives me LOTS of different sounds in this pedal.

My bassist is just now getting into using effects... so I'm "helping" him 

He's a huge Ben & Jerry's fan, so I surprised him with this artwork, which I think came out nice on the vanilla-flavored enclosure (PPP's "Almond").  The LowRider came together pretty easily!  Very clean design on this one... loving these designs with board mounted pots. 

I kept it stock instead of trying to increase the strength of the upper octave. Oddly enough, the upper octave control actually seems to be acting more like a filter or EQ, adding a sort of midrangeyness to the sound - which actually ended up being really useful when used with the bass!  Anyone else experience anything similar?

I've been sort of lax about posting my builds lately, but I'm pretty proud of this little fella!  This is the latest in my series of Pixar-themed pedals (as seen here:http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=2428.0).  It's a Sea Urchin delay made on a board etched by our own Haberdasher - which is excellent, by the way.  I kept everything stock build-wise, but added an infinite feedback switch at the suggestion of tyronethebig.

I LOVE THIS THING.

I'm currently running it in stereo with my Dirtbag (pics of that coming soon) and having a blast.  Well worth the build.  Thanks Bean!

I have a friend who want to turn his Vox Amplug into a pedal - says he likes the AC30 tone he gets from it.  The Amplug (as seen here: http://www.voxamps.com/amplug/#page_specifications) runs off of 2 AAA batteries, or 3V. 

Is it possible to use a road rage board (or something similar) to actually drop the incoming voltage to 3V?  What would I need as far as IC/regulator for that?  Thanks friends!

This is my latest addition to my Oatmeal-inspired series of pedals (visible here:http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=2523.0).  My bassist's favorite comics were the Bobcats and the Sriracha Rooster Sauce ones... and in the latest episode of the Bobcats (www.theoatmeal.com), those were gloriously married into the image used for the pedal.

This is my second Sabertooth, and I freaking love these things.  One of my favorite fuzzes ever.  I hope MB is planning on releasing some tweaked form of this pedal in the future, because it rocks.

Other random details:
- The sexy oversized caps are back again.  I'm actually enjoying finding ways to make them fit into things.
- The eyes are not LEDs; they're what Mammoth now refers to as "sub-miniature incandescent bulbs".  I was under the impression that I was ordering 3mm LEDs... this has now been corrected on their website.  These are not polarized, do not require a current limiting resistor, and they're bright as hell.

Just finished this up for a buddy of mine.  I'm sure this name has been used before... if not, it's high time that it was!  I was surprised how good this thing actually sounds for guitar - the "Bite" control sort of controls sustain at the same time... you can get everything from glitchy 8-bit sounds to sustained-out "guitar is alive" type gain.  Only gripe: if this ever gets produced again, pcb-mounted pots would be greeeeaaat 

Please note that the sexy oversized electrolytics have made another appearance.

I've had this thing 99% finished for a couple of weeks now waiting for an AC127.  The transistor showed up tonight, so I popped it in, mixed and matched a few BC109s to voice it and voila - it's done.  I love it!  It's like a well behaved fuzz with really great controls.  Stacks really well - I can see why lots of guys have these.

BTW - Oversized electrolytic caps are dead sexy.  Just sayin.

Translation: ordered a bunch of the wrong size from Newark.  Expect to see more of these in my build reports.   

Side note: used t-shirt transfers for the graphics on this.  I'm having a love-hate relationship with them right now.  Sometimes, I get them to adhere and look all pretty with no problems (as in this case).  Other times, they bubble up and get all ugly when I spray them with poly.  Anyone else trying to use them instead of decals?  The colors print so much better on these things...

Anyway, would love any feedback you guys have!

[Gatling Kitty]

Howdy friends.

I've started a second series of pedals, this time featuring the artwork of the Oatmeal.  If you are not familiar with this comic, head over to www.theoatmeal.com and check it out.  You're welcome.

Gatling Kitty
FINALLY got my Quadrovibe done!  This thing is reeeeeally cool.  Very swirly.  Sorry for the lack of gut shots - just took a quickie of the outside, and frankly this was a slightly more crammed build than I expected.  Excited to see the next rendition of the QV!




The Bear-o-dactyl
With a name like that, it had to be a fuzz.  This is just a straightforward Mangler using two OC140s (NPN) from Smallbear.  Sounds frickin' nasty, which is kind of what I was hoping.  




T-Rex Echoplex
A Fatpants build, and my first full build with a 1590A enclosure.  It's a very tight fit, as I went ahead and used 16mm pots, but everything's in there!  I was worried about noise with everything crammed in, but it's actually dead quiet.  It sounds fantastic!  Everyone should build one of these...




Will be adding to this series in the future, but wanted to go ahead and toss these out!  Enjoy!

The series I posted earlier today was sort of geared at the 5-to-9 year old demographic of pedal buyers.  This one is aimed at the same demographic, but for entirely different reasons.  It's a Neutrino build.  Yes, it groans suggestively every few minutes.  Enjoy.

[Boost-E]

Howdy friends -

This little series sort of represents my DIY journey so far.  Hope you enjoy!  First up...

Boost-E
Boost-E was born as a BYOC Confidence Boost, but is now home to a Slambox.  The enclosure came from Road Rage before they stopped selling them...



Scrat Drive
The Scrat Drive was my first MadBean pedal - a Grapevine.  Killer drive box, still one of my favorite "amp in a box" style pedals.




Minion Drive
This one is an Ego Driver.  I needed something to replace my OCD, and this did it perfectly.  Several of my friends have commented on the questionable placement of the stomp switch.  That minion just looks a little too happy...



Unicorn Squeeze
Ok, so I really liked "Despicable Me".  This one's a Cupcake.  IT'S SO FLUFFY!



The Kloooooooooon
This one sort of represents the culmination of the series.  While I know that naming clones after the original designs can be taboo at times, I just couldn't help myself with the titling on this one.  I didn't really "get" the Klon until I hooked this thing up last night.  I had tried one in a music store before and it didn't to much for me, but I guess there's a lot to be said for hearing something through your own amps and gear.  Nevertheless, this thing is killer.




Would love to hear your feedback!

Hey guys -

Been tinkering with my Serendipity build lately, and it sounds pretty nasal to me.  Based on several reviews and audio/video demos, I was expecting something considerably smoother sounding.  I'm currently running it with an OPA2604 opamp, but I've also tried a TLC2272 and an NJM4580 with similar results.  Current theories:

1) I used Topmay Box Caps for C1 and C5, but just noticed that several people use Sprague Orange Drop caps here.  Will switching those make a pretty big difference?

2) If I were to have mistakenly switched the tone and voice pots, could that cause it?  (I don't think I did, just trying to think of any possibilities.)

I will try to get a gut shot up soon as well as a video demo to better explain what I'm hearing.  In the meantime, any thoughts would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Howdy friends -

This is my first Mad Bean build, and I gotta say I'm REALLY impressed with the pedal.  Extremely quiet.  It has the touch sensitivity of the OCD, but with a much flatter frequency response.  This might be one of my new favorite drives. 

Sorry, no gut shots... my wiring isn't what you would call clean... 

I've been testing this thing for 2+ hours now and can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.  Here's the details:

Bypass works, but no signal or LED when engaged - just a clicking noise that responds faintly to the volume knob.

Is this a grounding issue?  I've checked the border of the grounded area and cannot locate any traces that have leaked onto it.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

I know we've already got a GREAT selection of drives to get us started, but I'd love to see something from the Jetter line - preferably the new JetDrive?  Thoughts?