Clean Machine (mixed bean content)

[GermanCdn]

So I've been desperately wanting to fall back in love with my strats.  I love how they play, but they're always just a little too thin for my liking.  Now, I could tweak out my amp settings just for my strats, but I'm more of a find one amp setting that works and tweak it on the the floor type of guy.

I'd built a Bloviator and a Fat Pants before, and liked them both, and figured I'd try them both in series with a buffer and try to thicken up the signal without overly colouring the tone or making it into another overdrive.





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I ran the signal through the buffer, into the 3PDT, then routed it through the Bloviator then the Fat Pants.  If I were to do it again, I might put the buffer in the circuit, as it pops a little when I switch it.

It does exactly what I want it to do.  Running my strat with SD Alnico pros in it and diming the contour and the fat controls, I get a thick old Fender-ish type twin tone to it without overly altering the initial tone.  It also takes some of the ice off the Texas Specials, and am going to try it with my Holy Grail loaded hard tail and my burst with gold Laces in it this weekend.

It also works as a really nice, thick overdrive without getting too gainy.  Threw it between my Keef-ish tele with a Jerry Donahue in the bridge, and it growls up nicely.

For shits and giggles, I tried it as an acoustic preamp as well.  Does a nice job of getting rid of the shrill end of the piezo range, and can dirty up the signal just enough to still be idenitifed as an acoustic, but still have a cool edge to it.

Going to build another one once the Bloviators are back in stock, with an Afterlife in the front, maybe a cornish type buffer, and the mode switch on the Fat Pants wired to a footswitch.

Anyway, if anyone else is looking to thicken up their single coil tone, this is definitely the way to go.

(Man was my spelling atrocious the first time, must not post build reports until after first cup of coffee).

[Axe_34]

Great idea and nice build. I've been thinking about building a small acoustic board and this -- along with a compressor, chorus and reverb -- should fit the bill.

[TNblueshawk]

Great job and nice work spending time thinking it through as to how to improve your sound for you.

[sgmezei]

Very cool idea and a great build!