140th Circuit Built

In the month since I've last updated everyone on my builds, I've built my 140th circuit build in total, which is nice. After the purple smoke I built a treble booster, that didn't turn out sounding too trebly, so at some point I'll need to go back over that one and adjust it. Then I built a Menatone Red Snapper, which is actually a really nice overdrive. Then I built a Caline White Heat clone, which is an op-amp based booster, which is also pretty nice. I socketed the op-amp and tested an NE5532, then an LF353, and finally one of the fake TL072 I have an abundance of, and I couldn't tell any difference. This excites me to no end, as I've been hunting high and low for a circuit that I can use these fake TL072s in without them sounding horrible. Now, not all of the fake TL072s sounded bad, but a majority of them do. I figure at some point I may test a few mods to this circuit and see if I can come up with something useful, that way the fake TL072s will finally have a purpose.

My 140th build is my latest project, which is another Lovepedal JTM Electra-based circuit. I'm playing around with it to see where I can take it. I've tested different clipping diodes to see what sounds best, and right now I'm liking 1N60P diodes. I added a volume control to the output, which isn't on the original. Using the 1N60P diodes quiets the circuit down quite a bit, so I'm not sure how useful the volume control is now, but it's a nice option to have. I might try some more clipping options, but that's for future testing. I knew this circuit was an experiment, so I mainly wanted it to be functional. There is still a lot I want to try with this one, and a lot I'll need to adjust. Regardless it is my 140th build.

I would like to say I'm going to stop building at 150 builds in total, but I'm sure I'll continue to build the occasional circuit beyond that. Currently I only have nine more kits ready to build, and I have two or three more that I want to put together, but I'll need to make another parts order. That might take a little while before I can make that happen, so I'm not sure when that will be. After the main 150 builds, my main focus will become to get the circuits that aren't currently working, or aren't working properly, finalized. Lately when a circuit doesn't work it's just been a silly mistake, so that's what I'm hoping for when it comes to everything that's been waiting years to be fixed. Although I may put together some more builds, I don't foresee myself building another fifty circuits to reach a total of 200. It's time I wrap this up and get my prototypes finished, housed, and fully ready to be used, as they were intended.

Another Involuntary Internet Detox

Imagine paying way too much for the internet you get, but only getting it occasionally. Or more accurately, only getting it at your ISP's leisure. That's the BrightSpeed experience. They are firmly amongst the world's most detested internet service providers, if you can even call them that. A few years ago our internet was out for an entire month, and more recently out for two weeks. Since BrightSpeed took over from or previous ISP, who themselves were pretty deplorable yet BrightSpeed is somehow worse, there have always been moments where the router needs reset, the internet drops out random, or slows down for seemingly no reason, amongst the complete outages without warning. BrightSpeed, should really run an escort service; as long as you're paying you're getting fucked. Everyday. Guaranteed. They lied about there being an outage, then acknowledged it and said it would be fixed in a few days. That time came and went, then they claimed it was fixed, when clearly it wasn't. After far more hassle than they're worth they finally said they would send out a tech, in a fucking month! Which proves they are such a mess of a company their techs are backed up fixing their horrible mess for a month.

I've been housebound since I had quite a hellacious anxiety relapse in June of 2018. I was making good progress in my recovery, that is until the plague of 2020 derailed that. In 2024 I decided it was time I made a massive change in my life, so I started seeking medical assistance to overcome this once and for all. I even started doing virtual therapy, which was pretty abysmal. Don't get me wrong, my therapist and I got on very well, but it just didn't give me the confidence I originally hoped it would have. In fact, I would be filled with anxiety a few days before the next session, so much so to the point it was actually better to just stop. Well, here we are over eight months later and I'm finally getting out of the house! After the first week of having no internet I finally decided it was way more advantageous to get out of the house and risk it than sitting and rotting away. For anyone else suffering with debilitating anxiety, let me assure you; I was in the house – apart from medical outings – for seven long years, and getting out isn't anywhere near as bad as your brain tells you it will be. I promise you! I PROMISE you! And it's worth it! The world is fucking amazing! So much has changed, but yet so much has stayed the same. Again, if you're reading this, and you been housebound for any period of time, please try it. Baby step it. I promise it's worth it. I'm actually finding getting out of the house has become addictive.

So, what have I learned from all of this? Firstly, I missed the world far more than I thought I did. I'm having a blast creating a network of places with open wifi. There are almost enough places that my VOIP phone app could get me through without ever activating my phone. Secondly, I hate normal TV these days. Without internet I only had access to local digital TV, which is mostly reruns of stuff I've seen ten years ago, or more. I hate the massive quantity of hokey infomercials trying to sell me junk too. The upside is, being forced to watch normal TV I've officially decided which local news anchor I have a crush on. I'm pretty sure she's married, but she is beautiful! Sucks to be me, I guess! I'll update you on circuit builds in another entry. This lack of internet stuff has really been draining.

Humbled by Humbuckers

When Cherrie King first arrived in my life, I knew I wanted that PAF humbucker goodness to accentuate her 335 tone. At first the stock pickups didn't sound very complimentary, so I just wrote them off as being from the era when stock pickups were simply placeholders. From the cheap import boom of the 80s into the mid 2000s almost all stock pickups were eventually replaced with Duncans, DiMarzios, or EMGs. It's only more recently that guitar companies have stepped up their game on stock pickups, now offering pickups that sound really good, and usually stay in the guitars they came with. My favorites are the new Epiphone pickups, which have become vastly more optimal than they once were. I'm not talking about the Gibson Burstbuckers they're putting into Epiphones, I mean Epiphone Alnico Classic Pro, and ProBucker pickups.

In my quest to find Cherrie the most budget friendly set of PAFs I've listened to a lot of youtube demos of the Alnico Classic Pros, and decided those are what I want. I even tested Cherrie's stock pickups side by side with a youtube demo of Alnico Classic Pros in an Epiphone ES-335. It's not the most scientific experiment, I grant you, but it did teach me something. These stock pickups aren't very far off the Alnico Classic Pros. They do have some characteristics of PAFs, even though they're super cheap, and I'm quite sure the magnet is ceramic. The bridge pickup has that Tele sound that everyone raves about in a "good PAF". The neck is a bit fatter, but doesn't muddy the clarity, although mine is microphonic. Again, this isn't anywhere near the best way to compare, but it did open my eyes to the fact that these pickups aren't far off from where I want to be. I shall call them PeaveyAFs.

I decided to take my experiment one step further and tested my Burstbucker Pros side by side with the PeaveyAFs. I recorded myself playing both my LP and Cherrie, then I listened back to the examples through headphones to see what any differences were. Again, two totally different guitars so this isn't the most scientific, but I found the neck BB Pro has a bit more of that nasal quality than the neck PeaveyAF, but it's certainly there, just more subtle. Also both neck humbuckers had a chime, like every note was wrapped in glass, that I really like. Cherrie's neck pickup was a bit warmer, but that's to be expected. Now, the bridge humbuckers were so close it really didn't matter. There was a slight difference, but again I think it might be the 335 warmth. The nasal quality was there, the chime was there, and again they both offer that Tele sound everyone wants in a PAF. I would need a computer analysis to really break down the difference in the bridge humbuckers. It was that close.

So, what have I learned? A set of ceramic magnet import pickups can sound really close to Gibson USA Burstbucker Pros, apparently. Even though these pickups were super cheap, I think Peavey may have put some real thought into them. There are no markings on them, which is super common on import guitar pickups, so I can't be sure they're anything special, but I will confess they're not as bad as I originally thought they were. I was wrong. Now, should I find a set of decent PAF copies at a fairly cheap price I'll most likely buy them, with plans of later swapping them out. Especially if they're Gibson 57 Classics, or some other really nice PAF copies. For now though, I'm pretty happy with what I'm hearing from the PeaveyAFs. I guess it shows how preconceptions can really cloud your mind into thinking one direction or another.