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#31

VFE Projects / Springboard parts question

Last post by greysun - October 02, 2026, 12:51:42 PM

Hi everyone! Just ordered a Springboard PCB and looking forward to messing with that.

I have most of the parts on hand and just need a few odds and ends, which is where my questions start. I'm hoping to get a one-stop shop sort of thing happening here, but it's looking unlikely UNLESS the following questions can get a little clarity...

- The parts list mentions a 150uf cap, but there's a small disclaimer in the BOM notes that 47u (which I have a decent amount of) would be fine. I just want to verify this is true before I scour mouser. I have a ton of 100u, as well.

- (this is the really dumb question, cause it feels very obvious, but I have to ask) I have 18v Zeners, but it looks like this VFE project asks for 16v - being less familiar with Zeners than I like to admit, I assume I can't sub an 18v here?

I'm throwing this into a 125b, so spacial issues shouldn't affect the build, and I've built a couple VFE boards before so I know some of the quirks there, but any advice for this one going in?

Thanks in advance! This place is the best!

#32

General Questions / Re: Windbag and Springboard re...

Last post by greysun - October 02, 2026, 12:38:16 PM

You may need to alternate the orientation of them. take your time and consider the clearance for the adjacent components. There's also resistor kits on Ali that run pretty cheap.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL7tbuB

I think I'm gonna do the springboard and see how that goes - just ordered the board and I have most of the other parts on-hand (I truly do whatever I can to avoid ordering extra parts - city boy here with city storage; e.g. full storage, hehe).

Thank you to those who replied, btw - very helpful! like I said, I've angled or vertical oriented a part here or there, but never an entire board. The Boss example is a good one (or is it? depending on your opinion of boss pedals, hehe), so thank you all for the tips. :-) This is why I keep coming back to this forum!

#33

General Questions / Re: Windbag and Springboard re...

Last post by jwin615 - October 01, 2026, 12:42:13 PM

You may need to alternate the orientation of them. take your time and consider the clearance for the adjacent components. There's also resistor kits on Ali that run pretty cheap.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mL7tbuB

#34

Open Discussion / Re: Looking for people in Euro...

Last post by djaaz - September 30, 2026, 07:12:27 PM

I'm in Paris but why wouldn't you build the stuff yourself. No need to be a rocket scientist. Do you have the basic tools?

#35

General Questions / Re: Windbag and Springboard re...

Last post by NorthCoast - September 30, 2026, 06:52:15 PM

I know it would not look pretty and I'm okay with that, but would there be a sonic repercussion if I angled some 1/4w in place of the 1/8w resistors in either the springboard or windbag?

IMO it can definitely look pretty tons of old classic pedals did this—even full vertical—with resistors, diodes, you name it. As long as you have the vertical real estate, it's no biggie.

Yep, this is a Boss DM-2... I wouldn't worry about it! Looks pretty to me...

#36

General Questions / Re: Windbag and Springboard re...

Last post by greysun - September 30, 2026, 03:38:49 PM

Regarding the 1/4W resistors, shouldn't be an issue as long as the leads or solder joints don't cross any adjacent parts/connections. IMO it can definitely look pretty tons of old classic pedals did this—even full vertical—with resistors, diodes, you name it. As long as you have the vertical real estate, it's no biggie.

You cannot view this attachment.

I've certainly done it before for a part here and there - but not for an entire board, lol - especially one of these sizes. Didn't know if it would induce radio signals or something with so many leads exposed. Good to know! thank you, as always! :-)

#37

General Questions / Re: Windbag and Springboard re...

Last post by jessenator - September 30, 2026, 03:17:17 PM

Regarding the 1/4W resistors, shouldn't be an issue as long as the leads or solder joints don't cross any adjacent parts/connections. IMO it can definitely look pretty  tons of old classic pedals did this—even full vertical—with resistors, diodes, you name it. As long as you have the vertical real estate, it's no biggie.

You cannot view this attachment.

#38

General Questions / Windbag and Springboard resist...

Last post by greysun - September 30, 2026, 01:45:47 PM

I fully understand this is probably a dumb question, and I searched to see if anyone had mentioned something about it before, but came up short...

I have exactly zero 1/8w resistors, but I have thousands of 1/4w resistors in so many varied values - I know it would not look pretty and I'm okay with that, but would there be a sonic repercussion if I angled some 1/4w in place of the 1/8w resistors in either the springboard or windbag?

Also, help me decide if you will... I have a Meris polymoon, so I'm thinking the windbag might be overkill given its half-delay situation, but if I wanted a good reverb without getting a mercury 7 or something like that, the springboard would be the ticket yea? (I have a couple rub-a-dub DIY etched pedals, which are single knob reverbs and sound great, but I'm looking to get a little more control these days).

Any thoughts? Appreciate the help in advance!

#39

Build Reports / Re: DS-1 modded and rehoused…

Last post by greysun - September 30, 2026, 01:19:31 PM

Worth noting: you could easily take the buffers out if you've already gone this far into modding the pedal, but I liked where it landed and didn't wanna push my luck. If you really don't want them even with the effect on...

www.electrosmash.com/boss-ds1-analysis slope game breaks down where the buffers start and stop. Remove those parts and set your in and out wires accordingly.

That's a pretty ambitious DS 1 project, especially keeping the original Boss board and adding true bypass afterward. I like the idea of making C3 selectable instead of committing to a single value. Having stock, darker distortion, and fuzzier lead tones in one pedal seems like a practical use of the extra switch space.

I certainly wouldn't have done anything like this when I started tinkering with pedals, at least successfully - Pretty sure I had to re-solder some wires that twisted themselves out of place during all this, which I'm usually pretty good about avoiding at this stage, but... there we were! hehe.

10 months later this finds itself on and then off my board, cycle repeating every couple months - its articulation with finger picked chords while getting deep into distortion/fuzzy territory is among the best of my entire lot of pedals, but it's also the most prone to feedback (like the original was) if I'm too close to the amp or playing through certain pickups (I have almost all hum bucker/hum canceled pups) - at least moreso than any other pedals I have, so I keep finding myself back to a RAT with either no clipping diodes or LED (this has its own set of fun, which is partly why I wanted to see watt the DS-1 update would do). If I'm into its fuzzier areas I kind of need to have the Blue Steel (BD-2 clone) to really smooth it out, so it's not a perfect solution by any means (but it does sound really good with a boost or overdrive going into it, and the Blue Steel is an excellent circuit and build).

The so-called "synth mods" are useless for me - hard/impossible to control, not really worth the effort to get the switches in... I'm tempted to 3D print fake knobs or something and just remove them and cover the holes up.

Anywho - will likely record with it, but find the RAT is better in a live mix.

#40

Global Annoucements / Re: Jan 2026 restocks

Last post by BricksnBeatles - September 26, 2026, 06:37:15 AM

Any chance we see the Freekout and/or Edgelord soon? Wanna pick up a SludgeHammer board, but it feels so wasteful to only order one board lol