Double Preset Mod Updated & Volume Drop Mod & More!

In the next coming weeks, UnderGroundPedalMods.Com will be releasing an updated Double Preset Mod, Expression Wheel Mod, Volume Drop Mod, LED Replacement, Switch Replacement, Tone Upgrade Mod eBooks!

The Line 6 DL-4, or Line 6 DL4 (whichever you prefer) has become an iconic pedal and we’re very pleased to be able to release updated eBooks covering the following mods:

1. Double Preset
2. Expression Knob
3. Volume Drop Mod
4. LED Replacement
5. Footswitch Replacement
6. Tone Upgrade Mod (not for the faint of heart..)

We’ve streamlined our eBooks to include less fluff and more of the “meat and potatoes” of the processes.

Stay tuned for an official release date!

>> www.undergroundpedalmods.com

Beavis Audio Research

Projects, Projects, and more Projects

This guy has a crap load of projects. And not crap projects, good stuff.  Fuzzes, pedals, amps, digital, analog, simple, advanced. Very good resource of inspiration as well as stuff to make.

Check out his Projects Page for starters and after that, hit up the blog-style postings at his landing page as well as his Hi-Fi Projects. Commentary is great as well as the electronics content.

 

>>  http://www.beavisaudio.com/

Viva Analog.com

Lots of info here.  Obviously focusing on analog circuitry.  It seems this guy knows his math and his way around a schematic.  I was mainly drawn to the ‘organic’ nature/look/feel of his site and builds.  Fun.

>> viva Analog

Robert Keeley Electronics

Guitar Pedal Mods and More

If you’ve been in the guitar effects pedal modding/DIY scene for any length of time you’ve probably heard of Robert Keeley and the magical work he and his team does.

They mod, they build, they have swag.  You probably know a guitar player that has a ‘Keeley modded’ pedal on their board.  They just do good work.

Keeley broke into the scene with his Keeley Compressor pedal.  Transparent, punchy and clean compression that doesn’t mangle your tone is a very desirable thing.  Check out the product page for quotes from some of the names using the Keeley Comp.  Good Stuff.

 

>>   www.robertkeeley.com

Pedalboard Planner

Plan that pedalboard layout

Another rewarding aspect of guitar playing is laying out the perfect pedalboard.  The right amount of spacing, perfect button placement, just enough room to snap in the input and output jacks, a tidy wiring job and good lines all make for an awesome experience playing.

PedalPlanner.com allows you to pre-layout your board and see what it’ll look like.  You can even download an image of your board when you are done.  Great stuff and lotsa fun to see a board take shape!

 

>>  www.pedalplanner.com

custom etched enclosures

ridiculously cool pedal vibe

how to etch an enclosure

So, you’ve built the perfect $400 boutique overdrive circuit that makes your guitar sing the sweetest of songs.  Your wiring is immaculate and the parts are top shelf.  How do you add that cherry on top: The Pedal Enclosure Art

For us DIYers, a lot of the time the pedal art is the last thing we’re thinking about.  We want the tone, and settle for a pedalboard of Sharpie-labeled boxes.  That shouldn’t be.  When we look down to stomp that newly soldered creation, it’s look should inspire us as we play.

Let’s face it: We aren’t necessarily graphic designers, we don’t usually have airbrush gear, we don’t have vinyl cutters, sand blasters and powder coating machines.  How are we supposed to make our boxes speak to us visually?

We can ETCH THE ENCLOSURE! We etched the PCB, why not the enclosure!?  You can achieve some pretty wicked looks via etching and the proces isn’t that bad or expensive!

PrestonsMusic.com has a great tutorial that walks through the process from preparation to the etch.  I’ve etched a few boxes myself and his steps as well as knowledge learned from his experience is spot on.  Suffice it to say, the first one I tried I nearly burned the house down…follow his instructions and you’ll be fine 🙂

Here are some examples of the possibilities of etched enclosures.  As well as here.

 

>>  www.prestonsmusic.com

 

Pedal Parts Plus

Guitar Effects Pedal Parts Heaven

Let’s face it, sourcing parts for a build is a pain. What values do I need? What physical size should I choose? What brand should I buy? Metal? Ceramic? NonPolar? Polar? Shaken? Stirred?  The list goes on and on.

PedalPartsPlus.com gets you in and out with the RIGHT, GOOD parts every time.  They don’t offer fluff, only the stuff you’ll use.  Pictures of actual components, not just a white-paper sketch.

Not only do they do parts, they do enclosure drilling, powder coating and screen printing to polish off your build, making it truly one of a kind.

Their forum and gallery should get you stoked to finish your new build as well as help answer questions along the way.

And their pricing is great.  $3.80 for a 3PDT switch ain’t bad at all.  You’ll have quite the time finding a price in that ballpark, or should I say basement…

 

>> www.pedalpartsplus.com

AMZFX

Analog Music Zone

Guitar Pedal DIY

From the front page:

AMZ is a resource with information about guitar effects pedals, stompboxes, audio circuits and tips on how to build them. There are fuzzbox schematics, signal booster projects, audio mixers and much more available free. Take some time to browse the site and discover information that can help you with your next DIY effects pedal project. You might decide to build your own clone of a classic!

AMZ is a great guitar effects pedal DIY stop for the avid DIYer. Apart from the usual effects projects, schematics, and  general tips and resources, AMZ has a cool “Lab”

The Lab Notebook is sort of a raw, ‘stream of consciousness’ type thing of notes and lessons learned through the different projects over the years.  Great nuggets of wisdom and experience are hidden within, it’s worth a look.

They also offer PCB boards for many of their projects so if you don’t want to etch, you can simply order!

This site is one of the guitar effect DIY pioneers, so some homage is due!

 

>>   http://www.muzique.com/

RunoffGroove.com

Perf Layouts & Sound Clips

One of the sometimes frustrating things about guitar effect DIY is what seems like a lack of sound clips for many pedal projects.  Some places offer PCBs, great, but what does this thing SOUND like?

Enter RunOffGroove.com.  Custom DIY projects and a crap load of sound clips to actually HEAR what you’re thinking about building!!  It’s great!

As of this posting they have 25+ different projects in their archives. Things like “The English Channel“, an AC30-type top-boost project to the “Umble“, inspired by the infamous Dumble amplifiers.

Most projects include a sound clip, schematic, perf-board layout as well as a brief history of the project’s development.  A couple have PCBs contributed by outsiders.  All in all, it’s a great site to browse and get inspired to build after cruising through all of the clips and project pages.

 

>>  www.runoffgroove.com

MusicPCB.com

Wicked Cool Fab’d PCBs

As you can see from the pic on the right (actual musicpcb.com board) these things are the real deal.  Here’s an excerpt from their website:

MusicPCB offers PCB projects to build guitar and bass effects, and synth modules. All PCBs are professionally manufactured, and include soldermask, a silkscreened component legend, and plated through holes and pads. They are designed to be easy to build, provide simple and clean wiring, to work well with your other pedals, modules, and instruments, and most of all to sound great and provide sounds and features not available in commercial designs.

That sums it up.  the boards look stunning, the PDF accompanying each build/board is very informative and easy to follow.  I haven’t actually built any of their projects, but, looking at the documentation as well as the board, it’s an ‘all-inclusive’ package for sure.

They’ve got seven projects up at the time of this post as well as a few on the way.  Very clean website as would be expected from such detailed, all-encompassing projects.

 

>> www.musicpcb.com