Sunday 29 October 2017

Friedman Dirty Shirley

Original info:
"The Friedman Dirty Shirley all-tube amp is well known for being one of the most flexible and touch-responsive single-channel amplifiers on the market. Now you can get that same tonal versatility, sensitivity and harmonically rich overdrive in a pedal. The Dirty Shirley Overdrive packs the same intuitive control set as the amplifier, allowing you to dial in your perfect shade of rock in no time. It doesn't matter if you want a high-output cleaner tone for pushing your amp hard or a thick gritty drive that will sit well in any classic to modern rock band, a sweep of the gain control easily gets you there. If you ever want reign in the low end, for a punchier feel, simply flip the side-mounted Tight switch and away you go. If you want to experience the amp’s accolade-garnering tone in the convenience of a pedal, put the Dirty Shirley Overdrive on your board today.
British rock at its best
Though the Dirty Shirley overdrive can scream with an unabashedly rock 'n' roll voice, you'll be surprised at how truly versatile it is. To get more out of the amp you already have, roll the pedal's gain knob back, crank the volume and get a killer dirty boost. And of course, roll up the gain and witness how well the pedal responds to every touch and manipulation of your guitar's controls.
● Friedman Dirty Shirley amp tone in a compact pedal format
● Responds to guitar controls and picking nuance exactly like the amp
● Gain control takes you from gritty to hard rock in no time

Ready for your rig
The Dirty Shirley Overdrive pedal delivers tube like tone in a small pedal format which can be used either into a clean amp or to boost an already over-driven amp. If your amp, or other overdrive gets a bit loose in the low end, throw ON the Dirty Shirley's Tight switch to bring back the percussive attack you crave
"
Original FSB thread and schematic available here.


Saturday 28 October 2017

EarthQuaker Devices Palisades

Original info:
"The Palisades is something we said we would never do… an overdrive based on the legendary TS808! Gasp! The horror! Another tubes creamer?? In 2014?? Really?? After loads of requests we finally buckled. We ran tests with every popular clone on the market as well as several vintage originals, compared, contrasted and took loads of notes. It was exhausting but informative. In the end, we threw it all away, used our ears and came up with what we feel is the most versatile relative of the 808 available today.
With 6 different clipping voices, 5 bandwidth settings and 2 gain channels you will be hard-pressed to not find a setting that will wipe every mid-boosting overdrive off your board. The clipping voices determine how transparent and open or tight and crunchy the distortion is. They will vary drastically depending on where the gain is set, what channel is active and how much bandwidth is being used. The bandwidth sets the frequency response of the distortion and goes from thin, light and clean through fat heavy and crunchy. It may very well be the single most important control the palisades has and what really sets it apart.
Gain A is a lower gain channel with a wider range of grit that is great for strumming open chords. Gain B is a higher gain channel with a tighter range that is great for palm muting and/or shredding solos. The Palisades also has a foot switchable volume boost with adjustable level to take it over the top when you want to throw your foot up on the monitor and rip your sweet leads… or maybe just push the front end of you amp a little harder. Not enough? How about a normal/bright switch to mix and match the overall tone to different amps and guitars. Still not enough? OK then, how about a buffer on/off switch to tighten up the tone and make it sparkle when set to “ON” or warm it up and make it sag when set to “OFF”."
Original FSB thread and schematic (still unverified) available here.


Friday 27 October 2017

Rozz Dead Heat

Here is an 18V Big Muff version from the 70s.
Original FSB thread and schematic available here.


Wednesday 25 October 2017

JHS Twin Twelve V1

From the source:

The JHS Twin Twelve is the first effects pedal to go after the sound of the short-lived but revered Silvertone 1484 Twin Twelve. Available through the Sears catalog from 1963 - 1967, the Twin Twelve was not regarded in its day as a premier amplifier. However, modern players looking for a vintage sound have increasingly turned towards this Silvertone as a primary stage and recording amp. Artists such as Beck, Death Cab For Cutie, Vampire Weekend, The White Stripes and even Coldplay have used the Twin Twelve amp on stage, making it the vintage amp with the most indie-cred. With the market for original specimens drying up and prices increasing, JHS has come to the rescue by putting that sound in an easy-to-use pedal.

 The original was a 60 watt, all-tube head with a separate 2x12 cabinet. At the heart of its sound was a Baxandall tone circuit, powered by a pre-amp the broke up in a way that few other amps do. It wasn't as glassy or snappy as a Fender Tweed, or as treble-rich as a Vox from that period. Rather than going into harmonic crunch like a dimed Marshall, the Silvertone 1484 would get borderline fuzzy, with a very saturated and thick natural overdrive. Its satisfying clean-ish grit and woolly overdrive have become a defining sound in modern indie rock.

Part of the magic is in the charge pump, which ramps up the standard 9V power it takes to 18V, giving the Twin Twelve pedal even more headroom and punch. The Twin Twelve then uses a series of discrete transistors that mimic the valve stages of the original Silvertone. Bass and treble controls remain true to the ratios of the original amp, while separate Gain and master Volume knobs help you achieve the thick, high-gain saturation at low volumes that was only possible by diming the amp back in the '60s.  





Sunday 22 October 2017

Castledine Electronics The Wizard

From the source:

The Wizard is a new distortion pedal, inspired by Tony Iommi's guitar sound on the early Black Sabbath albums. It is well known that he used a modified Rangemaster to drive his amps, so the same principle was used for The Wizard. The first gain stage is essentially a Rangemaster, using a germanium transistor, but tweaked for a full range boost. That drives a distortion circuit which has been designed to give something of the tone and feel of a Laney Supergroup amp. Obviously, there is no substitute for a full stack at volume, but The Wizard has a similar distortion character and responds well to picking dynamics.





Monday 16 October 2017

Nine Volt Nirvana Tone Dog

Another Nine Volt Nirvana fuzz. Cna't find anything info on it, but as usual if it's from Joe Gagan it's got to be good.




Saturday 14 October 2017

Nine Volt Nirvana Nitroburner Fuzz

Another from the man, the myth, the legend Joe Gagan. Not much to out there as far as info go, but it's another fuzz, based on the fuzzface with a bunch of tweaks. The only change I made is i removed the test switch, since I bought anyone wants to wire up a voltmeter in the pedal.

Here's Joe's notes on setting up the effect:


  • Set the bias pot to 0
  • Bias Q2 using the trimmer to -4.2V
  • When you change the bias pot it should max out at -7.4V
Note: I put it in the notes, but Q2 should be a high gain PNP Germanium transistor





Thursday 5 October 2017

EWS Little Brute Drive

From the source:

Following the very well received Brute Drive, we are proud to introduce the newest pedal from EWS, the Little Brute Drive (LBD). From its small body, jumps out an intense distortion similar to its big brother, the Brute Drive.

Its compact design takes us very little real estate. It will fit anywhere you desire on your pedal board. But don't let the small size fool you. This simple one-knob powerhouse produces heavy crunch to fiery distortion sounds. Output level and treble control can be adjusted with 2 trimmers located on the PC board inside the pedal.


This is an overdrive/distortion pedal that is compact in size, user-friendly and surely to become your work-ready weapon! And of course, it's true-bypass.


 I took the liberty to make some modifications from the schematic. Like many of us I like having the ability to make changes on the fly, so I changed the trimpots to external pots.






For those that want the stock version with trimmers