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That is an absolutely exceptional looking pedal you've got there! I'd love to read a guide on how you did the enclosure if you feel like it 

Was this sold by a 3rd party seller or Amazon? I don't have any problem using that old a product but I'd have concerns about how it was stored being that old.

Thanks for all the input people. It was a store called Parts2000 through Amazon. It doesn't look all that clean, but I guess most things from 1992 are a little worn out, myself included 

I've never used 63/37 solder before, but I noticed that it doesn't seem to rush into the PCB hole like my 60/40 does. It's hard to explain, but the 60/40 would sort of sit around the lead and the hole, and then once it got to a certain temp or something, the solder would almost get sucked into the hole like there was a vacuum on the other side. This doesn't seem to happen with this new stuff. My connections seem to be coming out alright but I'm pretty used to the vacuum thing and it feels strange without it happening. Is that typical for 63/37 solder, or am I experiencing some age related challenges here?

Why tell people their solder lasts their lifetime, when you can get them to throw away and buy new every three years?

That makes a whole lot of sense my friend... I tried it out last night and it works like a charm. Thanks for the input everyone   

Forgive me if this is painfully obvious or stupid on my part 

After reading quite a few recommendations from different pedal builders, I ordered one pound of Kester 245 63/37 solder from Amazon. I got it today and the manufacture date is from way back in 1992. The Kester site says the product has a shelf life of three years. Should I be concerned about this? The interweb seems to say that the flux goes bad...

I know I should just try it out and see for myself, but I'd hate to use it and then not be able to return it on account of it being used. I'd appreciate any advice you could give.

Looking good man. You have a bright future in pedal building! Keep it up!!

That's an awfully nice thing to say. Thank you! On a side note, I made an electrolytic explode for this first time last night. I felt like a real pro when that happened 

Couldn't you just replace the DPDT on/on with a DPDT on/off/on directly on the board?

I really like those two pedals, simple and nice, and I like your choice of knobs. And nice wiring too!!

That would be great if it was that simple... Maybe we should take a vote, as I really have no idea. Also thanks, I love those giant aluminum knobs! I was kind of thinking that they were sort of like a modern nod to the old Rat knobs or something.

In order to get a diode lift setting on the 8 ball you would need a different switching scheme completely. Right now the DPDT gives the builder the choice at having the 4148's in the feedback loop of the opamp (soft clipping) OR the Led's to ground (hard clipping). the DPDT changes the circuit.

The easiest way to do it would be to put in another DPDT (on/on/on) switch, and have it wired so that in one orientation their is LED switching, one is diode lift, and one is 1n4001's.

Check out this thread for more:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=103127.0

You could also set up a multi clip selector like the one Ben (rullywow) put up on Oshpark.

Thanks very much for that! Good thing I didn't just throw in a different switch like I was thinking about...

I'm looking in to your suggestions now. If anyone has played an 8Ball or other BB with a diode lift, I'd be curious to hear if you think it would be worth the trouble.

Your wiring on that 8Ball is how I want all my builds to look.

That's very kind of you! You probably don't need the help, but if you're interested in advice this is what I'd recommend.

I've found the most useful tools for getting the wire straight like that to be a pair of long needle nose pliers, and a small flathead jewelers screwdriver. You can use the pliers to bend right angle corners in the wire, and you can also use the flat, long part of them to squeeze the wire straight, if that makes sense. The screwdriver is useful for pushing the wires into the right place, and comes in really handy where the wires start, under the PCB, and around the footswitch. Also lots of patience 

I had a busy weekend! These are my 9th and 10th pedal builds, and I'm happy to report that these are the best sounding pedals I have built to date. I see many more Madbean boards in my future!

The only Bluesbreaker variant I ever played was a King of Tone I had bought a few years ago. I waited for years to get it and really wanted to love it, but it just didn't do it for me. I have changed guitars and amps since then, so perhaps that's part of it, but I must say, the 8Ball delivers where the King of Tone left me wanting. It is full and vibrant sounding, with just enough of it's own character to add a little something special to the amp. I really, really like this overdrive 

As a side note, I'm wondering if anyone has used an on/off/on with the 8Ball for a diode lift mode? If anyone has tried it or has an opinion, I'd appreciate any insight you could give. It gets pretty clean as it is, especially in the LED mode, but if a diode lift would work and make it louder and cleaner still, I would be very interested in trying it out.

I have played a bunch of Rats and Rat clones, and while I loved them all, the Slow Loris takes the cake, without a doubt. The Sweep knob really opens up the tone shaping possibilities, giving a whole new spectrum to work with. I find this incredibly useful for dialing down some of that inherent "Ratiness" that I could never really get away from on every Rat that ever existed. The filter knob has a more usable sweep than any Rat I can recall. It is gradual and sweet sounding throughout it's range. I used an on/off/on switch rather than the on/on that the BOM called for. I have had several Rats with a diode lift setting before, and I never thought it sounded all that good. I have no idea what's different about this one, but I think it sounds absolutely awesome. This pedal covers everything from cutting low gain drive to bloated, overloaded fuzz, and sounds phenomenal doing all of it. I have been searching for the perfect Rat for me for some time now, and I think I found it in the Slow Loris. Big thanks to Madbean for making that happen!





These jacks are going to take some getting used to. I think they are made for PCB mounts. Oops...







I intend to re-do the text on this one. I did a bit of a sloppy job because I was impatient and wanted to play!



My bench is a terrible, terrible mess. Don't judge me 

Lars> Glad you liked it!

I'm currently not quite brave enough to make the leap away from dirt boxes, but when I do, I can't wait to make one of these.

It's seriously not a difficult build, as long as you take your time to plan everything well.

I'd recommend to socket all opamps and PT2399 of course, but also :
R4 (feedback resistor. In mine, 33k)
R35 (mod rate. In mine 56k)
R37 (mod depth. Kept it stock in mine)
C8 (just in case, cf build doc. Stock in mine)
C9 and C10 (in mine C10 is 1,5nf, helps with the noise, though it cuts a tiny amount of treble response. Still bright enough for me. Far brighter than the analog mode of my Echo Park, which is supposedly modeled after a DMM)
C13 (will alter the way the repeats degrade, keeping more treble in a tape-like way, cf build doc)

And I definitely recommend a charge pump to run it at 18v. So much better in both my builds!! (and that's the reason I use a IR9022 instead of TL062 for the LFO, since 18v is the maximum voltage allowed for TL062)

I appreciate the advice, and will definitely reference your notes when the time comes. I have a pile of PCBs to get through first, but we'll get there 

Absolutely beautiful, inside and out! I'm not usually one for orange, but you pulled it off with style.  Also this.

I'm currently not quite brave enough to make the leap away from dirt boxes, but when I do, I can't wait to make one of these. Awesome builds that sound really cool and usable in your videos. Nice work!

I refuse to believe that's only your eighth build. I've been doing this for six years and I wish I could make my wiring look that good!

Thank you for the kind words everyone!

I double checked my count to be sure, and it is indeed number eight, although I've been tinkering around in guitars and occasionally accidentally destroying all manner of electronics for some time now. With six years of building behind you, I promise you there's way more that I could learn from you than you could from me!

Top shelf work. Really nicely done. He'd have to be a crazy good luthier to beat the build quality of the guts.

That is some beautiful work, man! Your friend is going to love it. Welcome!!

Thanks so much guys! I appreciate all the kind words 

He is really happy with it, and said it was perfect with the band. That brought a smile to my face.

Welcome to the board. that's very clean, I bet he'll love it

Thank you kindly! I've been lurking here for a while now, so it's great to have something to contribute, humble as it may be. I just gave it to him a moment ago and he was excited to get to band practice and try it out. I just might have to build another one for myself   

Looks great! Nice and clean. Update us with your friend's enclosure decoration if you can.

Thanks Chris! I definitely will