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I love Cyanide and Happiness, read them every day!

Really JohnL?! Very interesting, good info, thank you! What made you think some of the other caps (the non-electros) had leaked? Could you visibly see something wrong with them?

Thanks for the replies guys.

I've heard mixed things about pot cleaner. One thing I do know is that WD-40 is NOT pot cleaner. I don't know why anyone would use that. I've got a can of the standard Radio Shack stuff. It helps with pots that are scratchy & have been sitting a long time.

I did make an audio probe years ago, but have never used it. Hope I can find it, lol. I'll look up the schematic.

It has a sticker stating ACA adapter, so I made sure to plug it in to one of the ACA outputs on my Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2 Plus.

Good call on the leaky electros, that hadn't crossed my mind.

Thanks again!

I've got a 1986 Boss HM-2 that I haven't used in a long, loooong time. I figured I should sell it. I plugged it in today to make sure it still works OK, and guess what? It doesn't. The LED is dead, which I can probably replace no problem. But the sound is wrong... I know these things sounded bad to begin with, but something is wrong. Way too raspy/fuzzy, and the volume is going up and down a bit. I pulled up some youtube videos to refresh my memory about how it's supposed to sound, and there's definitely something wrong with mine.

So, any advice on where to start? Should I spray the pots with pot cleaner? Are there any known issues with these, as in, are there any components I should check first?

It's entirely possible that a bonehead friend of mine damaged it decades ago when he borrowed it. His name way Ray, and he was an idiot. Knowing him, he may have plugged the wrong power supply in to it. I seem to remember trying the pedal some 20 years ago and thinking "hmmm, something sounds wrong", then putting it back on the shelf and forgetting about it.

Any advice, tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated.

Very cool, thanks for sharing this mod! 

This looks so cool! Great build.

The octave on/off switch gives a whole new flavour of sounds. Really worthwhile adding this simple mod.  Thanks to Guitarmageddon and Jacob for their help with this.

Woah, I didn't know you could do that. Is there a thread on how to do this?

I love that enclosure, Jefe. I bet it sheds beer better than the average box! I think that enclosure would look amazing done up all steampunk. And that would definitely make for inspired playing!!

Lol, thanks Leevibe! I'm not sure if I'd play any more or less inspired if my pedals had a different look. I finished this particular pedal about 5 years ago, so I pretty much stopped caring what it looked like long ago. On the other hand, I still do appreciate the fact that I built it like a tank, it works flawlessly, and it still sounds killer.

We're definitely visual animals. Despite anything I may have said earlier in the thread about looks, I definitely care about looks, lol. It's just usually directed at other things than what's on the floor in front of me.

I almost always prefer black pickguards, for some reason. And I doubt I would ever have the cajones to play something like a Hello Kitty guitar on stage. Speaking of being on stage, I want to look "cool" up there, meaning 9 times out of 10, I'll be wearing a black t-shirt and jeans.

And all that said, I definitely DO care what my pedals look like to an extent. See the pedal in my avatar? I made that from a junction box cover from a electric motor. These covers are sometimes referred to as a dog house, or a pecker head, for some reason, lol. When I first saw a box of these in a pile of junk at work, my first thought was "wow, that would make a cool looking pedal".. Then I thought about the ergonomics of the sloped front, etc. I guess I like an "industrial" look. I also really dig the "distressed" look, like the stuff Grindy does.

So when I say "looks" don't matter, I'm full of crap! Lol.. In reality, I just don't like to spend a lot of time doing a finish on the outside of my boxes, because I know they're going to get messed up anyways. I mean, it's a foot pedal, it's meant to be stepped on! And sometimes it's gonna get banged around, beer spilt on it, etc.

Much respect for those of you with the patience to do them up all fancy, though.

All this being said, why were care about the insides of a pedal are beyond me   

Lol, yeah, that's a mystery to me. Don't get me wrong - there's a lot to be said for neat and tidy looking guts. It shows a certain level of craftsmanship, and that can translate to overall good build quality. If it looks super tidy, chances are that the solder joints are good, and that pedal isn't going to die on you in the middle of a song. There are also some cases where wire dress is important, to prevent hum and interference, like in some high-gain circuits.

However, it amuses me how some folks go to great lengths to make sure every component on the circuit board is blue - resistors, capacitors, etc. Or when someone comments how they like when all the wires are one color. That kind of stuff leaves me scratching my head, but hey, to each his own! I'm sure it makes the OCD builder feel better knowing that the inside of their pedal is all matchy. 

One thing I've noticed is that the girls dancing in front of the stage couldn't care less what my pedals look like. They don't even know what a pedal is.

My priorities are
1. Has to sound good
2. Has to be rugged and reliable
3. Looks.. I guess. I don't really care.

Of course, I've never sold a pedal, they're all for my own personal use. I've been kicking around the idea of selling a pedal or two, so now I find myself thinking more about appearance.

I actually haven't built many pedals. I always breadboard first, and if I don't care for the sound, I don't even bother soldering up a perf of the circuit. I've breadboarded waaay more circuits than I've finished.

Thanks Grindy 

Your enclosures are equally rough and industrial looking, and hella cool. Fuck the pretty pedals!  \m/

Thanks Leevibe! To be honest, I probably will just leave this one in the junction box as is, because I'm too lazy to change it, lol. I may build another nicer looking one to sell, since I have all the parts on hand, and I could use the cash ;-)

Thanks guys!

Gut shots of my completely sloppy- but-functional work. This is by far my worst job cutting a piece of perfboard, lol. Enjoy the rats nest.