Wampler Plextortion or Plexi Drive DIY equivalent

[rjkanejr]

OK so I am revamping my pedalboard.  I started off with a ToneLab LE into a Line6 210, then got rid of the Line 6 amp replacing it with a Fender HR Deluxe, then began making and adding pedals.  I am to the point where I am going all pedals and removing the ToneLab LE from the mix.  My current setup is as follows:

Guitar -> MXR Dynacomp -> TS9 -> Boss SD-1 -> Madbean Glitteratti -> Boss BF-2 -> MXR Phase 90 -> Behringer noise suppressor -> Tonelab LE -> Amp -> Effects Loop out -> Madbean Fat Pants -> Eventide Timefactor -> TC Electronics HOF -> Effect loop in.

I need to additional pedals for modulation (chorus, tremolo, univibe type sounds, rotary speaker), a Wah, volume pedal,  additional delay, and a good distortion.  I have recently purchased a Vox 847, Morley little alligator, a Jekyll and Hyde, and a Flashback delay. 

I am looking at either a MM4 or TC Electronics Nova Mod for modulations.  Also am looking at a good 80's type (think George Lynch, Ratt) type of distortion.   I have been looking at the Wampler Plexi Drive or the Plextortion.

So.... here are my questions.  I could do DIY pedals in place of the MM4/Nova Mod.   
1. What are GREAT sounding chorus, rotary speaker (heard a Tech 21 WOW!), vibe pedals - madbean or otherwise (preferably the MB). 
2. Which is better for that 80s metal tone - the Plexi Drive or the Plextortion (or even the Pinnacle).  What are the DIY/Madbean equivalents of the Wampler?  The Boneyard?

[jkokura]

The Boss CE-2 is still heralded as the best option for Chorus available. Of all the choruses I've tried to either build or play, it's still the one I like the most. You're looking at the Madbean Porkbarrel for that project.

The original Boneyard is actually a clone of the Carl Martin Plexitone. Due to some issues seen with the original Boneyard, Brian revamped it into a slightly modified version that's worth checking out. The Boneyard 2 will be a very good project, one you should wait for.

Jacob

[pryde]

I agree with Jacob. The Boneyard is a crushing distortion for 80's metal and more modern stuff as well. Definetely worth the wait.

The Wampler Plexi-drive is a VERY good overdrive but may fall short of having the ubber-gain you might be looking for. That said, there are good vero projects for it and you should give it a go as well.

Just another idea Bean's chunk-chunk will serve up some bad-ass "Mesa Boogie" type distortion. Check it out as well.

[Rockhorst]

The Plexi Drive by Wampler is great for 80s hard rock/metal, think GnR to 80s Priest. I find the Carl Martin Plexitone to be a different pedal, despite the similar name. Quite frankly, I didn't like that one. Similar to the Wampler is the Dirty Little Secret, which was an old Madbean project by the name of Grapevine. I think Haberdasher can get you that one on PCB. There's a few component values you can tweak to make it a bit more aggressive. That pedal also reacts very well to being boosted into even more overdrive/distortion by just about any gain/boost pedal.

I also did a version of the PlexiDrive with some modifications. I've got a PCB of that left, but there were a few (minor) mistakes and I don't have a complete build doc. It is otherwise verified and sounds slightly sweeter than the Wampler.

Best bet: go for a Grapevine and play around with some capacitor values.

[Rockhorst]

Additional notes: the Plextortion is quite a bit more 'modern' and higher gain than themPlexi Drive. Don't know a DIY version of it.

If you're feeling adventurous: the PD is basically 3 cascaded single JFET boosters with a tonestack at the end, the Grapevine resembles the famous BSIAB2 layout with some tweaks. That might be a good starting point to cook your own. The basic recipe is to take two buffered Mini Boosters, tweak the capacitors and add a tone control. So if you happen to have two Mini Boosters around, add an EQ pedal and see if you can get something you like. You could then use the AMZ double booster board as a starting point, you just have to add the tone control between the two boosters or after them, on vero. I've got one of those PCBs that I'm looking to sell. PM me if interested.