DIY Effects: Delay Pedal in a Fossil Watch Tin with Gas Can Amp


I’m a sucker for delay. Some guys can’t get enough fuzz or will pay a gazillion dollars for the ‘perfect’ overdrive, but my weakness is for anything that let’s my guitar get repeated ad nauseam in all manner of zaniness*.

I usually have at least one delay pedal with me on stage, but I’ve always wanted one that really pushed the envelope, which is where guitarPCB’s ‘D’lay’ circuit comes in, as there are some really zany mods that can be added with the stomp of a switch. See the video above for what I mean, as I added as second stomp switch that, when held down, lets the repeats in my signal ramp up like crazy (you can read about the mods here). It’s already been a lot of fun at the last few shows.

Not only is it a very fun pedal to use, but take a look at that awesome tin! Fossil was kind enough to send me a box full of their watch tins after I expressed that they were perfect for building pedals (in my humble opinion, anyway). You’ll be seeing a lot more of these beauties!

Not only that, but I recently found a weird old amp at Goodwill called “The Can” and couldn’t resist checking it out. It’s a solid state amp from the 80’s that’s shaped like a gas can. Made in the Crate factory in St. Louis, there were supposedly only 10,000 of these made. It’s actually pretty cool sounding too!

Fossil Watch Tins

DIY Effects: Cookie Tin Paramix Pedal Video Demo

I’ve been building a few crazy pedals lately, so expect a lot of video demos in and around things like our upcoming animated music video for “People”.

Case in point, the very versatile and useful Paramix circuit from Guitarpcb.com (designed by Tonmann). This sort of pedal can be a bit difficult to explain (as you can no doubt infer from my nonsensical ramblings in the video demo), but, while it’s no in your face fuzz or swirly phaser, it adds new options to how things like your fuzz or phaser can interact. You can almost think of it as allowing them to live beside each other instead of mashing on top of one another.

Just trust me when I say it really is an awesome pedal. I wouldn’t steer you wrong, would I? Also, that oranges and lemons tin is pretty great anyway…

Check out the build documents at the forum here (where you can also buy the circuit board) and the mods I did are here.

Paramix

DIY Effects: Video Demo of Stutter Tremolo Pedal

DIY Stutter Tremolo Tin PedalIt’s been a while since I built a new guitar pedal. Putting together that gallery of all the ones I built in 2011 made me realize that I only finished a half-dozen or so the whole year. I guess that means I’m spending the rest of my time actually making music, right?

In any case, here’s a lovely lady I like to call ‘Stuttering Ginger.’ As I explain in the video demo below, I had to eat a lot of candy to empty that tin out (the pedal builders diet?). What’s inside now is a very choppy tremolo circuit called the ‘Stutter Trem’ designed by Forced Fire Pedals.

She’s a real beaut and I don’t actually have a standalone tremolo these days, so she’ll fill that niche very nicely. Check out the demo below if you want to hear me ramble…

DIY Stutter Tremolo Tin Pedal

DIY Effects: Homemade MKC1 Mini Klon Pedal

DIY Klon Centaur pedal with mods

With all the hype the Klon Centaur pedal gets I couldn’t help but try my hand at a project based on its likeness. This isn’t really a clone, as guitarpcb.com (where I get a lot of circuit boards for these projects) has stripped their MKC1 down to the bare essentials, while also adding some really useful modifications, like a bass toggle and extra stomp for even more gain.

I can’t really say how close to the “real thing” this circuit is, but a) it’s a great sounding overdrive and b) this build reminds me how perfect Fossil watch tins are for building pedals.

I’ve started gigging with this bad boy and it works very well with my BYOC 250 (the first pedal I built) to create some great lead sounds.

DIY Klon Centaur pedal in a Fossil watch tin with mods

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