As a David Gilmour fan, I wanted to build an Electric Mistress to get the live guitar tone from the Animals and The Wall era. The 9V Electric Mistress project from the DIYStompboxes forum (markusw) seemed like a nice starting point. I run my own on 12V (upped the zener diode) instead of 9V. I built this about 2 years ago, when getting a SAD1024 was still possible (though very difficult, paid 20 euros for mine). Today finding a SAD1024 is almost impossible, so you might want to try a MN3007 retrofit. Below is the project file and a picture of my finished stompbox.
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Voodoo Vibe
I wanted some chorusy vibe and tremolo, and Roger Mayer’s Voodoo Vibe offered a lot of features in one pack. This was the first time I etched a PCB, and was very surprised that everything turned out so well. It is a very complex project, but the sounds are amazing. For help and mods check out this thread on FSB.org.
Layout (PCB Tracks can be downloaded here)
Ross Compressor
To extend my pedalboard and add some sustain to my sound, I decided to build a compressor. Having heard good things on the Ross Compressor (variant of MXR’s Dynacomp), I decided to try to build one. I used the schematic from Fuzz Central, and a layout by R.M. Rivers (note that capacitor C13 has incorrect (reversed) orientation on the layout).
The veroboard layout
Dark Side of the Fuzz – A BC108 Fuzz Face
Inspired by the heavenly guitar tone on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, I built a Fuzz Face based on Phillip Bryant’s Axis Face. I used BC108 transistors and made a DSotM inspired artwork. Below is the schematic, layout, and some pictures of the finished stompbox.
The schematic and veroboard layout.
Krogerus Bluesmaster – 5E7 Bandmaster Build
In the summer of 2009 I finally finished my guitar tube amplifier build. The amp is based on Sean Kilback‘s modified Fender 5E7 Bandmaster schematic. The modifications include a grounded power cord, modified bright cap, PaulC phase inverter mod, Pre-PI master volume, a bypassable extra gain stage, and variable bias. The schematic is below (click to enlarge):
I used a modified version of Ceriatone’s 5E7 layout (sorry, only have original layout):
Here is some info on my build:
1 * 5751 (First preamp tube)
2 * 12ax7 (Second and third preamp tube)
2 * 6L6GC (Power amp tubes)
1 * 5U4GB (Rectifier)
Uraltone TV17 power transformer
Hammond 1645 Output Transformer
Sprague Orange Drop and Atom capacitors
Carbon Film resistors
Power: ~30W
Interior of the amp. I apologize for the rat’s nest.
The top of the amp. Notice the huge power transformer.
The front panel of the amp. Ugly labeling.
The cabinet I built for the amp
American IPA – Second Attempt
Here is my second attempt on making an American IPA. This time I wanted some more sweetness, so I added some Crystal Malt, and more hop flavor, so I increased the amount of late hop additions. Below is the recipe, targeted values and a couple of pictures:
Recipe:
1.7 kg Coopers Traditional Draught
1 kg Light Spray Malt
0.5 kg Extra Light Spray Malt
1 kg Maris Otter Pale Ale Malt
300 g Crystal Malt
Wyeast 1056 starter (and US-05 as backup if fermentation doesn’t start)
10g Cascade @20 min
10g Amarillo @20 min
10g Simcoe @20 min
10g Cascade @10 min
10g Amarillo @10 min
10g Simcoe @10 min
10g Cascade @5 min
10g Amarillo @5 min
10g Simcoe @5 min
10g Cascade @0 min
10g Amarillo @0 min
10g Simcoe @0 min
25g Cascade @Dry Hop
25g Amarillo @Dry Hop
25g Simcoe @Dry Hop
25g Citra @ Dry Hop
OG 1.062
FG ? (estimated 1.015)
22L, IBU ~55, EBC ~18, ABV ~6.5%
The probable label. Name and color scheme inspired by Pink Floyd.
Hopefully the beer turns out good. It’s been a week in the fermenting vessel, will add dry hops in about two weeks and bottle in three weeks.
American IPA – First Attempt
My first attempt of homebrewing. I was attempting to make an American IPA inspired by Sierra Nevada’s Torpedo Extra IPA. The result was a quite fruity and bitter beer, but I felt it lacked a bit of hop flavor and sweetness. Below is the recipe and some pictures of the brewing process.
Recipe:
2 * 1.7 kg Coopers Traditional Draught
0.5 kg Light Spray Malt
0.5 kg Amber Spray Malt
US-05 Yeast
15g Cascade @20min
15g Amarillo @20min
10g Citra @20min
15g Cascade @5min
15g Amarillo @5min
10g Citra @5min
25g Cascade @Dry Hop
25g Amarillo @Dry Hop
20g Citra @Dry Hop
OG 1.059
FG 1.010
25L, IBU ~65, EBC ~13.5, ABV ~6.4%
Weighing out the hops in a hop bag
The fermenting vessel after 3 weeks