Aquaboy Deluxe

[Thewintersoldier]

"I have many names. My people call me K'uk'ulkan, but my enemies call me Namor." What a Boss. Speaking of Boss, this is the boss of boss, the aquaboy deluxe, what waza craft wishes it would have done for the dm-2w.

The aquaboy deluxe is a reimagined dm-2 with expanded delay time and added modulation. The delay has been expanded from ~300ms to 550-600ms. The longer delay times make the repeats darker and softer. The signature dm-2 tone and percussive repeats are still there though. The optical modulation on the repeats is very versatile, from slow and shallow to deep and fast it's all there. The waveform switch can go from none in the middle, standard triangle wave or extreme square wave. The pedal is also given higher headroom with the addition of a charge pump for 18v and regulated to 15v.

There is also an added tails switch that allows you to switch between true bypass or a buffered style bypass that simply cuts the wet signal prior to the compander and giving you a tails fade out when used. I don't use the tails or care for it and wanted to streamline the bypass switching so it was ommitted in my build. The trimmer for maximum feedback is a nice addition as well for customizing how soon the pedal will oscillate, and the dm-2 spaceship oscillation is the best of any analog delay I have used.

I had one issue during the build, I had a low distortion on the repeats. After audio probing and following the signal path I traced it down to the compander and narrowed it down between 2 capacitors and it was a bum 220n cap. Once that was replaced all was perfect. On larger complex builds like this I didn't follow my own advice if checking each part before populating. Also an important reminder to build an audio probed and learn to read schematics. I calibrated according to the boss service manual.

I went with a matte pink tayda 1590BB2 enclosure with my boy Namor for the artwork. Really happy with how this one turned out and the sound is fantastic and perfect for my playing style and rig. Excellent layout and simple to bias I highly recommend the AQBDLX if you are looking for the DM-2 sound with added versatility.

[jessenator]

Damn! When did Namor go full Quetzalcoatl?! I haven't read since the '90s, so I'm dated

Super clean, man! I'm always impressed by this, because there's NO trace of rosin anywhere. Do you ultrasonic clean these? All the same, very impressed.

And you're crankin these things out like a madman while making every piece of the guts rank and file...

[jimilee]

Maaan, very clever!


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[peccary]

Beautiful looking build, as usual!

I'm loving that shade of pink, too. Killer.

[zombie_rock123]

Amazing build as ever man! Your reports are always fantastic but a double edged sword as I always end up thinking "Yeah, totally need this one too".

Love the on-brand knob choice too!

[Bio77]

Another banger, Chris!   

[Bret608]

You bet it is! This is awesome.

[peAk]

Gor jee us!!!

Very nice!

[Thewintersoldier]

 

Damn! When did Namor go full Quetzalcoatl?! I haven't read since the '90s, so I'm dated

Super clean, man! I'm always impressed by this, because there's NO trace of rosin anywhere. Do you ultrasonic clean these? All the same, very impressed.

And you're crankin these things out like a madman while making every piece of the guts rank and file...

That's namor from wakanda forever. I love the Aztec flare they gave him. As for the boards, no special method of flux removal, I really don't make a mess when I solder.

Maaan, very clever!


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Thanks Jimi

Beautiful looking build, as usual!

I'm loving that shade of pink, too. Killer.

I had to use this since it was like the original dm-2

Amazing build as ever man! Your reports are always fantastic but a double edged sword as I always end up thinking "Yeah, totally need this one too".

Love the on-brand knob choice too!

Thanks, another great layout and project from Brian.
Gotta have reflectors on a boss builds, and they are my favorite knobs now so I wanna put them on everything.

Another banger, Chris!   

Thanks John

You bet it is! This is awesome.

Thank you

Gor jee us!!!

Very nice!

Ahh shucks 🥴

[jessenator]

I really don't make a mess when I solder.

Now there's a benchmark

[blackhatboojum]

Hot damn, this is a banger! 

[dawson]

What an unlikely combination of colors to come together so nicely- it's tripping me out a bit.  Very well done.
Looks great inside too but that pink is quite remarkable!

[Thewintersoldier]

Hot damn, this is a banger! 

Thanks Clinton

What an unlikely combination of colors to come together so nicely- it's tripping me out a bit.  Very well done.
Looks great inside too but that pink is quite remarkable!

I like bright vibrant colors and we don't see pink enough on pedals, so I had to do another upcoming build with pink as well.

[jjjimi84]

Looking great my brother! Right out of the park

[culturejam]

Gorgeous!