New pedal build.....Wampler Paisley Drive clone (Trinity)

[Geezer]

Wanted to try some new pedals, the Paisley Drive being one, but at $200+ each, they're a bit out of my price range. Besides, just ONE of anything (guitar related) is never enough for me.

This video really impressed me, especially starting around 4:00
http://youtube.com/#/watch?feature=related&v=yHmuujRl6OM

So I found the schematic and vero (stripboard) layout online and built one, or rather, three in one box (1590DD). I had some of the parts already, so out of pocket was only around 60 to 70 bucks (probably even less)

Sounds really, really good...very transparent, and sustains for days. Best OD I've ever used. Doesn't "stack" very well though, so I only use one at a time, but that's all that's needed. I set each one up to be progressively more overdriven, so there are 3 different levels of OD, plus the clean, plus the 2x OD channels on my amp, plus the guitar volume pot, so I have a wide selection of tones and range of overdrive levels to choose from.

Another thing it's really good for is taste testing op-amps (and diodes)....you can load 3x different types, set the controls the same, and immediately hear the difference between them. I have an OP200 in one, an AD712JN in the next, and a JRC4558D in the third. They each give slightly different tones, clarity and touch sensitivity.
Next step is to try different clipping diode types and symmetrical / asymmetrical arrangements.

In the works is a triple ”Timmy"-type OD and a triple Wampler Ecstacy/Euphoria. I really enjoy building these things....it keeps my mind sharp and me out of trouble.  

[Geezer]

A few notes if you are going to build one of these:

Use sockets on the clipping diodes (D1/D2), the op amp, and also on the C4 cap.

Being able to sub different types and arrangements of diodes is nice, and the op amps are also good to try....the stock JRC4580 is my least favorite, so I'm glad I had a bunch of other op amps I had picked up off of eBay for cheap to try.

C4 controls the amount of bass/low end/fatness in the OD. The stock 220n (0.22uf) sounded good, but 320n (0.32uf) sounded even better to me, so I paralleled a 0.1uf with the stock 0.22uf cap.

G

[Lucifer]

three in one box (1590DD).

Hi Geezer,

Really cool pedal there !  Rather than having three identical pedals in one box, why not try a few different ones ?

I started out building by two Klon circuits into a 1590BB box.  Then I went crazy and built a ZenDrive, a Klon and a Hoochie Mama into a 1590DD box, with enough room for a pre-boost, a post-boost, and a Les Lius circuit too !  I called it the "Super-Hoochie-Zen-o-Klon".  It has all my favourite OD/boost pedals available at the touch of a footswitch - and they all seem pretty stackable too.

My latest creation (see attached pics) contains an optical compressor at the front end, followed by a de-noised Boss GE-7 graphic EQ (really great for slapping some mid boost into a 'clean' overdrive).  Then there's a Les Lius (which sounds like a 5E3 Tweed Deluxe, a Klon Centaur (my all-time fave OD . . . so far), and finally a little circuit called a Peppermill (designed by the team at Runoffgroove) to "add a little spice to your tone".  It's called "CompElectraPepperGraphiKlon".

The first picture shows the innards with the small circuits (compressor, left; Les Lius, centre; and Peppermill, right) and the pots wired and waiting for the Klon.  The second picture shows the completed innards - the Klon board is fairly big, but the GE-7 is comparatively huge and was hardest to accommodate.  The final picture shows the finished unit.

The pedal now sits as my 'ideal front end' to my hand-wired Blues Junior (stripped and re-built by VYSE amps, which used to be the UK arm of Torres).  The amp is no longer a Blues Junior, but is a Vyse design called BBQ Blue, and it is a serious bluesy amp.  I have a Line6 M9 in the effects loop for all the swirly stuff (not that I use much of that, but it's there for when I do).

The real advantage of having your favourite pedals in one box - apart from the kudos of having something unique - is the small footprint, with only one IN, one OUT, and one power lead.  Much smaller than a pedalboard, easier to carry, and dead easy to set up.  What's not to love ?

[Geezer]

Rather than having three identical pedals in one box, why not try a few different ones ?

If I like a pedal, I like to be able to have "presets" for live performance (so I don't have to reset all the time for different effects), so several of the same effect allows me to do that, plus do individual tweaks to each board for slightly different tones at the stomp of a switch.
If I don't like the pedal after living with it a while, I just gut it & build something else, but I listen to alot of demos of each one I'm considering, so I'm usually right when I think I'll like one and decide to build it.

G

[Lucifer]

Rather than having three identical pedals in one box, why not try a few different ones ?

If I like a pedal, I like to be able to have "presets" for live performance

Can't fault your logic there, Geezer - and that's why I originally made the double Klon. 

My initial logic for going further was that I like a few different 'boutique' ODs - so why not stick them in the same box and have them set up according to the numbers being played ?  Then I could select the most appropriate one for the job (a bit like your three presets).

It was after building the "Super-Hooch..." that I realised I could really do with a compressor for some numbers - and I'd previously tried a graphic in front of an OD with great results, so I'd really like to include one of those, too.  I could have just added more pedals, external to the "Super..." but that would mean spreading out into the next county, so I decided to ditch some of the ODs . . . and that's how the latest 'multi-box' developed.

I still have three excellent boost/overdrives (Klon, Les Lius and Peppermill) - with extra sustain or drive from the compressor if/when needed - but the icing on the cake, for me, is the graphic EQ.  Being able to push your favourite OD pedal a bit harder is really glorious.  And that's just with a bit of mid hump, which makes for great soloing tone.  But I've also found a great setting on the graphic EQ that gives me an almost nylon strung sound.  It's very inspiring. 

Now, what I could REALLY do with is three graphic EQs in a box . . . or maybe I'll just keep an eye out for a (discontinued) GE-20 !