Rub a Dub Reverb with volume mod

[Vice/President]

Hey guys, here's my completed Rub-a-Dub from 1776effects.com.  You can skip the wall of text and look at the pictures, but I'll also share just a bit of what I've learned for any other beginners who may be attempting this same build.  Cheers!

This was my 2nd build and I had a blast putting it together.  I also encountered lots of difficulties that were all completely my fault (funny how that works isn't it? ), but with the help of the lovely people here at the Madbean forum I now have a fully functional Reverb that sounds even better than I was hoping it would.  Personally, I'd compare it to the EHX holy grail with perhaps a more defined "spring" sound, as well as some wilder and spacier tails/modulation when the reverb is maxed.   I also added a volume pot, which when all the way up takes the signal quite a bit past unity.  I used the long Belton brick, and ordered it and all components and hardware from Mammoth Electronics.  I think I'll continue buying from them, their website is incredibly easy to use and they seem to have a pretty solid selection. 

The paint is Rustoleum's "American Accents" smooth gloss, I had it lying around and figured I could attempt using it on this pedal and I was really happy with the way it turned out.  The bicycle and text was drawn using some drawing pens that I have.  It applied really nicely, but be careful if you're writing on gloss because the ink rubs off really easily.  After I drew it on, I clear-coated the entire pedal with three coats of gloss clear coat. 

A few take-aways that I've learned from this that may be helpful to other beginners:

1.  BE PATIENT. Getting frustrated at the problems you encounter will definitely happen, but getting angry at something that you are literally ignorant about does not help. 

2.  Use bits of component leads to solder the ground parts of the switch, it makes it much easier to fit everything that way(thanks to whoever pointed that out to me the other day).  Also, don't overheat your switch. BUT...if you do overheat it, like I did, there is a great video about how to clean the contacts inside and salvage your switch. 

3.  If you use a punch to tap a starting point when drilling enclosures, don't strike it too hard.  That's the reason one of my pots looks bent; the inside is just slightly warped from striking it with the punch. 

4.  ASK QUESTIONS.  It's great to try and figure problems out yourself, but save yourself countless hours and ask the good people of the forums to give you some advice.  I wouldn't have been able to fix my wiring issue without so many people offering advice on how to fix it. 

5.  (Beginners only) Remember that you are in the beginning stages of this hobby.  This was only my second build, but subconsciously I think my brain was telling me that I was a master that should be encountering no problems.  I am a noob in every sense of the word and will definitely be approaching my next build with that attitude in mind instead of just assuming I've got nothing else to learn. 

6.  Show off your completed build to your friends.  They will treat you like you are indeed a genius and will marvel that you are so DIY. They may even begin to worship you. 

Sorry for all of the text, your feedback is most welcome! Thanks again to all who helped me by answering my questions. 

[selfdestroyer]

I am glad you got it going. Looks great, I love the yellow and the bike art. Enjoy one of if not "the" best DIY reverb. It never leaves my board and is on 80% of the time.

[evildead222]

Awesome second build! You have just inspired me to make one.

[DutchMF]

I really, really like the bike graphics!!! And the way you detailed your experiences while building this is also pretty awesome, bet you're a teacher? Keep it up dude, cool job on both the build and the post!

Post

[gtr2]

Awesome, good to see it going!  Now enjoy your hard work!

Josh

[micromegas]

Dig the black&yellow grafics. Now I want to build one on the pcb I have laying around, I've heard so many good things about this reverb that it compensates the expensiveness of the brick.

I love the suitcase for your pedalboard too by the way.

[jimilee]

Fantastic build mang! I didn't realize mammoth had  the long bricks, I'm gonna buy one there also. FYI you don't gotta use a stereo in jack if you're not using a battery clip. That will save you a little room and a lot of headaches.

[Vice/President]

Fantastic build mang! I didn't realize mammoth had  the long bricks, I'm gonna buy one there also. FYI you don't gotta use a stereo in jack if you're not using a battery clip. That will save you a little room and a lot of headaches.

Sweet! I've got one more spare stereo jack that I'll be using for my next build since I still have it, but after that I think I'll just use two monos. Thanks for all your help when I was troubleshooting!


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[jimilee]

No problem, glad you got it going.

[Vice/President]

I really, really like the bike graphics!!! And the way you detailed your experiences while building this is also pretty awesome, bet you're a teacher? Keep it up dude, cool job on both the build and the post!

Post

Thanks! I'm actually a student in college, but figured it may help others to be a detailed as I could be with my low experience.


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[Vice/President]

I am glad you got it going. Looks great, I love the yellow and the bike art. Enjoy one of if not "the" best DIY reverb. It never leaves my board and is on 80% of the time.

Yeah I think i will build a second one because I like it as a bit of a transparent reverb but also love the big spacey sounds it gets.


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[Vice/President]

Dig the black&yellow grafics. Now I want to build one on the pcb I have laying around, I've heard so many good things about this reverb that it compensates the expensiveness of the brick.

I love the suitcase for your pedalboard too by the way.

Yeah I'd definitely encourage you to build one. It's a bit pricier than other DIY effects but you'll be paying over $100 for any production level reverb.


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