Vendetta Drive - Grapevine/Prince Albert 2in1

[eldanko]

After having these two fine circuits sit on my bench for considerably longer than they deserve, I finally found time to rig them up the way I'd always wanted. This is a dual drive consisting of the MadBean Grapevine in the first stage and Raulduke's wonderful Prince Albert circuit in the second. The Grapevine is rigged with an optional 18v switch, which I highly recommend with that circuit - you get a considerable gain in headroom and overall ballsiness. (Yes, "ballsiness" is a tone term. It should also be noted that the spell correct did not flag it as "not a word") I did not add an 18v option to the PA side, as headroom isn't really an issue there.

Hooked up with my Strat, I was able to dial in some pretty neat sounds with the PA side - it adds a good deal of warmth and bottom end to the sound... nice, chunky midrange in that thing. The EQ controls are interesting... the bass and mid controls, at least to my ears, are more dramatic than the treble, which was subtle at best. I tested through a Chieftain and a Super Reverb with similar results.

This morning I decided to plug in my Les Paul. Holy mother. Yep, that's where this thing shines. I'm a Strat guy at heart and no stranger to dialing in single coils, but this thing just flat out works magic with 'buckers. I was able to nail the Jimmy Page thing (as you would expect), but also managed to push it into high gain territory and get some stellar results.

Final note: the Grapevine side of this was my first Madbean build EVER. It didn't work for over a year because I had D1 in backwards. By the time I figured that out, I had ravaged the board for parts and wasn't sure if it would even function anymore. Nevertheless, I built it back up and it fired on the first try. So... my first build is finally done!    This build was, in part, inspired by midwayfair's "Build-a-versary" thread a month or two ago.

[hammerheadmusicman]

That's a great looking build dude! Love the graphic!!

George

[jprizz]

Did you use a Road Rage for the 18v?  I think your control layout is one of the best dual pedal layouts I've seen. Flows seemlessly between the two, I really like the looks of it.
-Josh

[eldanko]

Did you use a Road Rage for the 18v?  I think your control layout is one of the best dual pedal layouts I've seen. Flows seemlessly between the two, I really like the looks of it.
-Josh

I did! The RR boards are quite convenient. Thanks for the kind words... the Prince Albert is pretty much already arranged due to the board mounted pots, so I just tried to mirror that with the Grapevine side.

Every time I look at the gut shot, I can't help but chuckle at how clean the wiring is on the PA side (board mounted pots, no switches, no charge pump) compared to the GV side (the opposite on all counts).

[wolfingsworth]

Dammit thats shiny! Is the top envirotex? Looks great!

[wolfingsworth]

Dammit thats shiny! Is the top envirotex? Looks great!

ok, I mistook the grey part in the corners for glare. Beautiful build nonetheless. Also "balsiness" is a very important charicteristic of good tone.

[eldanko]

Dammit thats shiny! Is the top envirotex? Looks great!

ok, I mistook the grey part in the corners for glare. Beautiful build nonetheless. Also "balsiness" is a very important charicteristic of good tone.

Haha, I do believe that is indeed glare, but I haven't graduated to envirotex yet. I use this stuff with pretty good results:

[hammerheadmusicman]

"Rust-oleum, for chairs and pedals"

[wstimson]

Dude, that's really awesome. 
V for Vendetta is one of the best comics ever.  :-)

Well done.

[wolfingsworth]

Dammit thats shiny! Is the top envirotex? Looks great!

ok, I mistook the grey part in the corners for glare. Beautiful build nonetheless. Also "balsiness" is a very important charicteristic of good tone.

Haha, I do believe that is indeed glare, but I haven't graduated to envirotex yet. I use this stuff with pretty good results:

wow, I'm 0 for two! Good to know what works for others. I have this can of clear that I got from a craft store. It is really shiny but scratches if you look at it too long and fingerprints don't wipe off without leaving a smudge.

[midwayfair]

My favorite thing about this pedal is how good the control layout is. I had difficulty getting only 9 controls to work on an enclosure half again as big as this, and somehow this STILL looks like it's easier to twist the knobs without knocking something else out.

It should also be noted that the spell correct did not flag it as "not a word")

[eldanko]

My favorite thing about this pedal is how good the control layout is. I had difficulty getting only 9 controls to work on an enclosure half again as big as this, and somehow this STILL looks like it's easier to twist the knobs without knocking something else out.

The ironic part is that the only real logic that I employed while arranging the controls was trying to make sure the artwork still showed through adequately 

[idgit]

that is just plain bad ass

[jimilee]

My favorite thing about this pedal is how good the control layout is. I had difficulty getting only 9 controls to work on an enclosure half again as big as this, and somehow this STILL looks like it's easier to twist the knobs without knocking something else out.

The ironic part is that the only real logic that I employed while arranging the controls was trying to make sure the artwork still showed through adequately 

I have yet to master this art!

[jubal81]

Spectacular! Again with the controls - I'm impressed at how you got top-mounted jacks to work with them. Nice measurin' & squeezin' skills.