2nd Real Build: Cherrybomb!

[mshuptar]

Hey everybody!

This was the pedal that got me interested in building pedals. A year ago, I saw this vintage interview with Jeff Beck and I was like, "Man, that Colorsound Overdriver sounds cool. I wonder where I can find one." So I did some digging on the internet and found that original versions of the pedal were, like, $500 and that the Throbak reproduction was $200-$300. I did a little more research and found this site and a few other DIY sites and thought, "Well, I should probably try building my own CSOD for a fraction of the price."

So, long story short, I did a few kit builds back in the summer (BYOC Octave Fuzz, GGG Phase 45) and worked up to a non-kit Fuzz Face (using Madbean's "Mangler" board). After being successful with those, I started working on the Cherrybomb. I screwed up the cap values on my first order from Smallbear, but eventually got the right values.

The first time I hooked up all the pots and jacks, nothing happened. I let the project sit unfinished for two days. I did some reading, learned how to troubleshoot, and went back and cleaned up my soldering and my wiring. On the second attempt, the pedal fired up right away! Right on!

Here are the pics:



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I like the way it sounds right now, but I had a few questions:
1) The overdrive gets super intense when I turn the "Gain" knob past 12 O'clock. It starts to sound really "splatty" and compressed. Is this normal? Or is there a way to smooth out the sound as I turn up the gain?

2) I used BC109C transistors from Smallbear. Are these transistors sensitive to temperature changes like the germanium transistors in my Mangler?

Finally, here's the Jeff Beck interview that started my new hobby. The picture quality sucks, but it's still pretty cool.

[DutchMF]

Hey man, great one! Looking really good, diggin' the color, and the drilling on your enclosure is spot on!! Did you use the 1kC pot for the gain? If you used a different taper, you might experience what you're describing... The docs on this one specify a C taper....

Paul

[mshuptar]

Hey man, great one! Looking really good, diggin' the color, and the drilling on your enclosure is spot on!! Did you use the 1kC pot for the gain? If you used a different taper, you might experience what you're describing... The docs on this one specify a C taper....

Paul

Thanks! I started drilling my own enclosures this summer when I got a drill press from my grandpa. Having the right tools certainly helps.

As for the gain pot, I did use a 1KC. Maybe this is just how the circuit sounds?

[nzCdog]

Cool build and cool video!

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

Your doing really good for your second pedal! I'm amazed at how perfect its all drilled. That ribbon wire looks really sturdy, is it from grindcustoms?

[mshuptar]

Your doing really good for your second pedal! I'm amazed at how perfect its all drilled. That ribbon wire looks really sturdy, is it from grindcustoms?

Thanks! And the ribbon wire is from SmallBear and it really kept me from confusing the terminals on the pots.