The Best Bluesbreaker Overdrive Ever? *shrug*

In the previous entry I talked mostly about a Bluesbreaker circuit I had built which was inspired by a post I found on Reddit. Thanks to that post I used 2N5457 JFETs as clipping diodes, and it sounds really good. I have since done a few further mods, the first of which was swapping the 220k resistor for a 330k, which should add more gain. I'm not sure I like it. The gain increase is negligible to my ears, but there also seems to be a loss of touch sensitively. At first I thought it was just a placebo effect where my brain knew something had changed, so I became overly sensitive about the outcome. After taking a break from the circuit, I later cranked it up and tried it again. At least on mine there certainly is less dynamic range, but it's not completely gone. Whether this mod will stay in the final form is up for debate. I do have 300k resistors, which may give a slight increase in gain and bring back some touch sensitivity. We'll see.

Another mod I did was adding a presence control, which is inspired by the King of Tone's internal trimpot for presence, sometimes also called the treble adjustment. The Bluesbreaker already has a tone control, but adding a little more treble on top of that gives it more tonal options. It's simply taking a B50k potentiometer and placing it between the 6.8k resistor and 10nf capacitor that connect at volume lug 3. This is a very simple mod, and helps it sound and feel a little more like a King of Tone/Prince of Tone. I don't like how it works counter-intuitively, but at least it works. This mod absolutely will be making it to the final form.

The layout I used came from the tagboard effects website, which used the GGG schematic for their layout's base. This is (at least) the second time I've used this layout, as my very first Bluesbreaker circuit was born from the very same. The volume seems sufficient, so I assume any volume mod is already done in the GGG schematic. I did use a B100k for the volume, instead of Log, and the sweep works just fine. I've built quite a few Bluesbreaker clones and they've all been pretty good, but there just seems to be something special, to my ears, about this build. For the most part it sustains the Bluesbreaker tone while offering added versatility. 

Bittersweet Bluesbreaker Build

On this day, Tuesday 22nd of July 2025, I sat outside blissfully putting together one of my most exciting builds of the year. Six months ago I saw a post on Reddit where OP had built a Bluesbreaker overdrive and used J-fets instead of 1N4148 diodes in the clipping section. I was so impressed I put the kit together that night. Of course I had to order the J-fets, which were the tiniest little things you would ever see, and converter boards, but once they arrived I was excited. As much as I was excited, I was also quite put off by the fact I was going to have to solder the J-fets to the converter board. My micro soldering is absolutely horrible, but I knew I eventually had to make it happen.

Roosevelt is using a J-fet as a bluetooth ear piece

I was actually quite concerned about soldering the J-fets to their converter boards, but I did the micro soldering inside, in case anything went fucky, thankfully it didn't. The next day, today, I built the pedal and put the J-fets in the clipping section. It was a beautiful sunny day, with low humidity and decent 80 degree temps. I listened to my music as I was soldering, and just as I finished up and was about to head inside to test the circuit, I received a message saying Ozzy Osbourne has passed away. My heart sank.

On this day, the birth of this circuit, it also happens to be one of the saddest days in heavy metal. The overdrive turned out great by the way, but the glee of another successful build was smothered by the passing of heavy metals God Father. May he rest in piece.

Crazy ... but that's how it goes.

Bluetooth Headphones Are a Blessing... and a Curse!

Ever since I can remember headphones have been my most preferred way of listening to music. In the past I've discussed, and even reviewed, a few sets that I've owned over the years. It must have started when I was young, and I would sit in a Little Tikes plastic chair in front of my Dad's stereo cabinet. (70s, 80s and 90s kids know the one) One of my parents would set it up for me and I would listen to either the radio, their cassettes, or their vinyl records. My Dad had these puke green colored headphones from the 70s that I used. The main issue though was the fact I was tethered to the stereo by the headphone's cable. Being the rambunctious little scamp I was, I couldn't sit still. What if young Sam wanted to listen to his music AND get a snack, or some Mountain Dew, or my Teddy Ruxpin?

Back in the day there were some, let's just say very primitive sets of wireless headphones on the market. The ones I've tried weren't very good. They ate batteries quicker than a Sega Game Gear play-a-thon, and the range was pretty abysmal. My parents bought one set, which was meant mainly as a means to listen to TV quietly. There was a microphone which mounted onto the TV's speaker, that plugged into a transmitter, which sent that signal to the headphones. The transmitter could also be plugged into a headphone jack. Overall, they functioned, but they just weren't very good. There were probably much better, and more expensive, options on the market, but this was my experience with early wireless headphones.

It's now 2025 and I finally decided to delve into the world of bluetooth headphones, just to see what they're all about. Bluetooth has been a thing for quite some time now. I remember the days of thinking people were talking to me in stores, only to be 3 responses deep before I finally saw their bluetooth earpiece. Thank goodness those embarrassing days are gone, right? Right? I picked the least expensive pair I could find, just in case I hated them, and I have to say they're actually pretty nice. I've never been one to scrutinize the fidelity of headphones, so this pair may not be for someone who does. All I really require is something that delivers music to my ear holes. Most of my MP3s were ripped from CDs years ago, in mud quality, so I'm not a purest by any means.

It took me a while to adjust to wireless because I kept worrying about the non-existent cable in situations where I previously had to worry about the cable. After a while I noticed myself really letting go of the whole cable notion, to the point where I would sometimes forget where I left my phone. Now that I'm not tethered to my cellphone, I would set it down, walk around, and listen to my music as I went on about my day, forgetting where I had left it. I think the worst part is that sometimes I even get so caught up in what I'm doing that I forget I'm even listening to music, or that I have headphones on at all! I love the freedom of bluetooth headphones, but throughout my first 42 years of life I had become accustom to headphones being a certain way, that now I had to unlearn. Once I'm adjusted to them I'm sure everything will be alright. Finally at 42 I've learned it's better than being tethered to the music source, unable to listen to my music AND go get my Teddy Ruxpin.