Baron of Arizona (Fraudhacker) Flanger

[blackhatboojum]

Gather around kids.  It's story time.

I'm going to start with what this pcb is based off of.  The Boss BF-2.  This is the circuit that started my flanger obsession.  Back when I was in my late teens around 1998, I picked up a Boss BF-2 from my local guitar shop.  At the time, I didn't know anything about effects, how circuits worked, or even how to play guitar really.  All I knew is I loved the sounds I could get out of this pedal.  For the next couple of decades, the BF-2 became my boomerang pedal.  I sold off my original, moved onto other stuff, bought another one again, sold that one, several years later, buy another one... You see the pattern here.  No matter what, I was always coming back to the trusty BF-2.  At one point, I actually owned four of them.  2 of them I bought broken, was able to fix them, and then flipped them for some cash.  One I kept bone stock and another I modded the hell out of.  Those 3 BF-2s that I poked around in with a soldering iron, is actually what led me to building my own effects.  As you can see, I owe a lot to that purple box of swoosh.   I've studied this circuit, I've modded this circuit, I've got years of playing through this circuit, and this is the second time I've done a DIY of this circuit.  This purple bitch and I are pretty intimate at this point.  All that being said, our man Brian crushed it with this thing.  It is without a doubt, a Boss BF-2 through and through.  This thing is like an old pair of boots for me.  Yeah, I have nicer footwear but, that old pair of Redwings just fit and feel great.  Same can be said with this pedal.  It just fits and feels right to me. 

Build wise, this thing was a breeze.  Absolutely no issues at all putting it together and setting it up.  I actually boxed it before I rocked it.  Not the smartest thing to do but, I was confident as hell going into this one.  So confident that I didn't even look at the calibration instructions in the build docs.  I just went off of the boss service notes that I have memorized at this point.  Again, probably not the smartest thing to do but, it worked out perfectly for me.  Aesthetically, I went with a Tayda viola pink enclosure.  The color reminds of the last OG BF-2 I used to own.  It was no longer that byzantine purple and it had faded to pink.  Hence the color choice.  You're all probably wondering about the mutton chop fella and the name I picked out for this build.  Well... fear not because here comes the 2nd part of my story.

The man pictured on my enclosure is James Addison Reavis, aka The Baron of Arizona.  A fraudster and forger that almost ended up owning 18,600 square miles of land in the central Arizona Territory and Western New Mexico Territory.

Reavis was born in Henry County, Missouri in 1843.  When the Civil War broke he joined a Confederate unit, but soon got homesick.  He began writing his own military passes and forging his commanding officer's signature. Soon he was on leave more than he was on duty.  Finally he forged discharge papers and went home for good.

After the war he found work in a real estate office in St. Louis where he used his skill in forgery to earn money on some dubious land deals.  Honing his skills in forgery, Reavis was soon ready for the big time. 

Reavis invented a family lineage that began with a Don Nemecio Silva de Peralta de la Cordoba.  The fictitious Peralta was given the title of Baron de los Colorados by Kind Ferdinand VI in 1748, along with a huge grant of land.  To explain how he came into possession of the grant, Reavis claimed he acquired title from a George Willing, a mine developer, who'd come to Arizona and purchased it from Miguel Peralta, a poverty-stricken descendant of the Baron. Willing had recorded the deed in Prescott, in March, 1874, and died the next day.  Miguel Peralta was also a figment of Reavis' fertile imagination.

The land Reavis claimed was nearly twelve million acres, running through the heart of Arizona.  It extended from today's Sun City across to Silver City, New Mexico.  It included rich mining properties and the tall, rangy Missourian with the muttonchops beard had an incredible gift of gab, and was a natural born salesman and wheeler-dealer.  He was able to convince the owners of the Southern Pacific Railroad and several large mine owners his land grant claim was legitimate.

Reavis needed another connection to the Peralta family and he found her in the person of a sixteen-year-old Mexican orphan.  He convinced the youngster she was descended from the Peralta family, educated, and then married her.  To a master forger it was a simple task to alter church records and make her the last surviving member of the illustrious but fictional Peraltas. He traveled to Mexico City and Guadalajara, spending hours in museums and archives.  He experimented with various inks and paper, learning to match the ancient documents.  He even bought some anonymous old portraits in a Spanish flea market and designated them as various members of the Peralta lineage.

Reavis didn't plan to evict the occupants from his barony.  All he wanted to do was extort enough in fees for rent and quit claim deeds to support him and his wife in a courtly manner. The railroad gave him $50,000 and the Silver King mine paid $25,000. The large mine owners and Southern Pacific Railroad nabobs decided it was cheaper to pay the baron his fees rather than fight him and risk losing their valuable properties. It was the small landowners who took umbrage and caused his undoing.  At first they wanted to lynch the smooth-talking baron.  The federal government at one point considered paying him millions to settle the claim.

Everything was going well for the baron but the wheels of justice were slowly turning to expose the fraud.  Investigator Royal Johnson released his report in 1889 disclosing forgeries and historical inaccuracies.  It was also claimed that a water mark from a mill in Wisconsin was found on one of the historical documents.  Another said the calligraphy used in the documents was a recent design.   Some parts of the documents were written in quill, while others were in steel pen. The steel pen didn't come into use until the 1800s.   After some encouragement from "friends in high places", Reavis overplayed his hand by suing the U.S. Government for eleven million dollars.  Not taking kindly to being sued, the US government went on the offensive and begin to investigate Reavis.

The evidence against Reavis was overwhelming and he lost the case. The moment he left the courthouse U.S. Marshal's placed him under arrest, charging him with fraud. His friends in high places evaporated overnight.

In 1895 Reavis was brought to trial, found guilty, and sentenced to only two years in the penitentiary in Santa Fe and fined $5,000.

So, there you have it.  My inspiration for the Fraudhacker being called the Baron of Arizona.

[jimilee]

Gather around kids.  It's story time.

I'm going to start with what this pcb is based off of.  The Boss BF-2.  This is the circuit that started my flanger obsession.  Back when I was in my late teens around 1998, I picked up a Boss BF-2 from my local guitar shop.  At the time, I didn't know anything about effects, how circuits worked, or even how to play guitar really.  All I knew is I loved the sounds I could get out of this pedal.  For the next couple of decades, the BF-2 became my boomerang pedal.  I sold off my original, moved onto other stuff, bought another one again, sold that one, several years later, buy another one... You see the pattern here.  No matter what, I was always coming back to the trusty BF-2.  At one point, I actually owned four of them.  2 of them I bought broken, was able to fix them, and then flipped them for some cash.  One I kept bone stock and another I modded the hell out of.  Those 3 BF-2s that I poked around in with a soldering iron, is actually what led me to building my own effects.  As you can see, I owe a lot to that purple box of swoosh.   I've studied this circuit, I've modded this circuit, I've got years of playing through this circuit, and this is the second time I've done a DIY of this circuit.  This purple bitch and I are pretty intimate at this point.  All that being said, our man Brian crushed it with this thing.  It is without a doubt, a Boss BF-2 through and through.  This thing is like an old pair of boots for me.  Yeah, I have nicer footwear but, that old pair of Redwings just fit and feel great.  Same can be said with this pedal.  It just fits and feels right to me. 

Build wise, this thing was a breeze.  Absolutely no issues at all putting it together and setting it up.  I actually boxed it before I rocked it.  Not the smartest thing to do but, I was confident as hell going into this one.  So confident that I didn't even look at the calibration instructions in the build docs.  I just went off of the boss service notes that I have memorized at this point.  Again, probably not the smartest thing to do but, it worked out perfectly for me.  Aesthetically, I went with a Tayda viola pink enclosure.  The color reminds of the last OG BF-2 I used to own.  It was no loner that byzantine purple and it had faded to pink.  Hence the color choice.  You're all probably wondering about the mutton chop fella and the name I picked out for this build.  Well... fear not because here comes the 2nd part of my story.

The man pictured on my enclosure is James Addison Reavis, aka The Baron of Arizona.  A fraudster and forger that almost ended up owning 18,600 square miles of land in the central Arizona Territory and Western New Mexico Territory.

Reavis was born in Henry County, Missouri in 1843.  When the Civil War broke he joined a Confederate unit, but soon got homesick.  He began writing his own military passes and forging his commanding officer's signature. Soon he was on leave more than he was on duty.  Finally he forged discharge papers and went home for good.

After the war he found work in a real estate office in St. Louis where he used his skill in forgery to earn money on some dubious land deals.  Honing his skills in forgery, Reavis was soon ready for the big time. 

Reavis invented a family lineage that began with a Don Nemecio Silva de Peralta de la Cordoba.  The fictitious Peralta was given the title of Baron de los Colorados by Kind Ferdinand VI in 1748, along with a huge grant of land.  To explain how he came into possession of the grant, Reavis claimed he acquired title from a George Willing, a mine developer, who'd come to Arizona and purchased it from Miguel Peralta, a poverty-stricken descendant of the Baron. Willing had recorded the deed in Prescott, in March, 1874, and died the next day.  Miguel Peralta was also a figment of Reavis' fertile imagination.

The land Reavis claimed was nearly twelve million acres, running through the heart of Arizona.  It extended from today's Sun City across to Silver City, New Mexico.  It included rich mining properties and the tall, rangy Missourian with the muttonchops beard had an incredible gift of gab, and was a natural born salesman and wheeler-dealer.  He was able to convince the owners of the Southern Pacific Railroad and several large mine owners his land grant claim was legitimate.

Reavis needed another connection to the Peralta family and he found her in the person of a sixteen-year-old Mexican orphan.  He convinced the youngster she was descended from the Peralta family, educated, and then married her.  To a master forger it was a simple task to alter church records and make her the last surviving member of the illustrious but fictional Peraltas. He traveled to Mexico City and Guadalajara, spending hours in museums and archives.  He experimented with various inks and paper, learning to match the ancient documents.  He even bought some anonymous old portraits in a Spanish flea market and designated them as various members of the Peralta lineage.

Reavis didn't plan to evict the occupants from his barony.  All he wanted to do was extort enough in fees for rent and quit claim deeds to support him and his wife in a courtly manner. The railroad gave him $50,000 and the Silver King mine paid $25,000. The large mine owners and Southern Pacific Railroad nabobs decided it was cheaper to pay the baron his fees rather than fight him and risk losing their valuable properties. It was the small landowners who took umbrage and caused his undoing.  At first they wanted to lynch the smooth-talking baron.  The federal government at one point considered paying him millions to settle the claim.

Everything was going well for the baron but the wheels of justice were slowly turning to expose the fraud.  Investigator Royal Johnson released his report in 1889 disclosing forgeries and historical inaccuracies.  It was also claimed that a water mark from a mill in Wisconsin was found on one of the historical documents.  Another said the calligraphy used in the documents was a recent design.   Some parts of the documents were written in quill, while others were in steel pen. The steel pen didn't come into use until the 1800s.   After some encouragement from "friends in high places", Reavis overplayed his hand by suing the U.S. Government for eleven million dollars.  Not taking kindly to being sued, the US government went on the offensive and begin to investigate Reavis.

The evidence against Reavis was overwhelming and he lost the case. The moment he left the courthouse U.S. Marshal's placed him under arrest, charging him with fraud. His friends in high places evaporated overnight.

In 1895 Reavis was brought to trial, found guilty, and sentenced to only two years in the penitentiary in Santa Fe and fined $5,000.

So, there you have it.  My inspiration for the Fraudhacker being called the Baron of Arizona.

Very cool. No audio?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[harryklippton]

These are my new favorite build reports

[Thewintersoldier]

I love my this. So proud of my flanger friend.

[blackhatboojum]

Very cool. No audio?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks.  Nope, no audio.  I should really get a proper recording setup and record but, all I have is my amp, guitar, pedals, and a busted ass Iphone.

These are my new favorite build reports

Thanks Will.  This means a lot  .

I love my this. So proud of my flanger friend.

I love you too flanger friend 

[Bio77]

Awesome build! A triumph 

[gordo]

Killer story and a pedal to match.  Well played.

[madbean]

I'm going to read that post as soon as I have, err, retired! In the meantime the pics are :chef's kiss!

[blackhatboojum]

Awesome build! A triumph 

Many thanks!  And again, as a big fan of your builds, this means a lot.

Killer story and a pedal to match.  Well played.

Thanks Gordo!  I'm glad you enjoyed the story along with the build.

I'm going to read that post as soon as I have, err, retired! In the meantime the pics are :chef's kiss!

A massive thanks Brian!  The fact that you even commented on my build is a huge honor.  I have a long history and love for this circuit which I outlined in my build report.  So, if you ever have the time to read it, by all means go ahead.  The important part is you crushed it with this pcb my friend.  It is without a doubt a BF-2, and that makes this flanger loving nut a happy man. 😁

[zombie_rock123]

Now that was a build report! Bloody love the history and the write up (boss that you could calibrate from memory, I can barely do that with a FF..) and the flanger looks shit hot! That colour just fits a flanger so well.

[LaceSensor]

build report of the year we have a winner

[blackhatboojum]

Now that was a build report! Bloody love the history and the write up (boss that you could calibrate from memory, I can barely do that with a FF..) and the flanger looks shit hot! That colour just fits a flanger so well.

Wow!  Thank you so much!  It's awesome you guys dig my history and stories behind these builds.  That's been the most fun for me.

build report of the year we have a winner

Again... wow!  I dunno about build report of the year but, that is a huge compliment and I thank you! 

[Invertiguy]

I don't know which is more epic, the build or the story behind it! Nice work!

[blackhatboojum]

I don't know which is more epic, the build or the story behind it! Nice work!

I think the story is better than the build 😂 but, hey... thanks for the compliments 😁!

[Jakes Dad]

That story is amazing!  The pedal ain't too shabby either.

Chuck