Took a Gamble; Succeeded!

Unverified layouts are a gamble, especially if you're like me and haven't the slightest clue how to fix them if they happen to go wrong. I've built a few circuits from unverified layouts, ending up with mixed results. If you'll remember, last year I built a circuit that didn't quite work out from a layout that was removed entirely from the layout website. I'm assuming the builders of the pedal it was based on asked the site owner to do so, which I totally understand. The pedal is supposed to simulate Stevie Ray Vaughan's sound. What I ended up with sounds ok, but it has a few quirks I'm not sure how to fix. So, it stays as-is until I can figure it out.

This new one is called the Lovepedal Super Six "Stevie" (or SRV) Mod. I'm a fan of the blues, and I'm also a fan of Stevie Ray Vaughan, so why shouldn't I take a gamble on a layout for a circuit that helps me sound like him, again? Yeah, I guess it's an on-going theme that I'm wanting something that helps me sound like Stevie. More based in reality though, I'm finding the pedals that can get me a good SRV tone, such as the King Tone Blues Power that I built two years ago, are just generally good circuits for a nice blues tone. That's really what I'm after, and the more blues inspired circuits I can find, the more I'm going to build.

I guess this layout isn't entirely unverified, because in the forum where I found it there is one other person who claims to have built it. I've been burnt on layouts that were verified simply because one person claims to have built it. The copious amounts of fellow befuddled commenters below such layouts only serves to prove me right. If you Google it, as written above, and go to the images, it should be within the first row. Make sure you read the comments in the forum post below it for a few things, but let me assure you it is 100% verified.

When I added the Lovepedal Super Six onto my build roster last year I found a lot of questions about the "SRV Mod", which made me want that layout instead. Come to find out, it wasn't a mod at all, but rather a complete redesign. The Super Six is MOSFET based, while this uses a NE5532 op-amp. I was hoping it was simply a few parts swapped and voila, but no such luck. After building it I will say I'm glad the author of the layout put in the time and effort. I've not seen a schematic for the original pedal, but this circuit sounds good. There is another SRV inspired circuit I'll be putting together sometime this year. That layout has been verified for quite some time, so I'm not too worried. I'll just have to wait and see what it sounds like once I've built it.

That's A Muff Outta Ewe! Ram's Head Clone Build

If you've read enough of my previous entries you'll know sometimes I'm a ball of contradiction. I'll say I don't like fuzz pedals, while talking about how much I like a fuzz circuit I've just built. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm still growing up, and appreciating fuzz for what it is. Today's entry is about my latest build, a Ram's Head Big Muff clone. In the past I've built a few BMP tone circuits, because they're low component, very simple to build and are quite good at shifting tone. That's probably why people tend to like them. That being said, I never thought I would actually find myself building a Muff clone. What actually started this was probably when I built the Rotten Apple clone. I liked it, but my build wasn't Muff enough.

I did build the Muff Fuzzes, but they're a completely different creature from the actual Big Muff circuit. I resisted long enough and felt it was finally time to relent and build a Big Muff clone. While researching which version I wanted to build I noticed the Big Muff circuit has changed quite a few times. The Ram's head seemed to be the most interesting variants to me. I don't fully know why it's called a Ram's head, as the face on the enclosure looks more like a hippie version of the Gerber baby to me, but what do I know? All it took was finding out the Ram's head was David Gilmour's secret weapon. I figured that's enough for me to want one at my disposal.

I checked the layout website's and settled on Dirtbox Layout's V2 Big Muff Ram's Head '74. Almost all of the Muff layouts look the same, with a few small changes here and there. The only part I didn't have were the transistors, so I did some research for suitable replacements. After a little while I found one person suggesting 2N3904s so I used those. Does mine sound like a Big Muff Ram's head? *shrug* To me it sounds similar to a Big Muff. I'm sure to the ears of someone who has played hundreds of Big Muffs it may not sound anything like one. That's just how things work. Some people say no two Big Muffs sound alike, so maybe mine isn't far off. Regardless I built it, I like it and I'm sure I'll be able to do something with it, which is really all I want from the pedal circuits I build.

This won't be the last fuzz circuit I build this year. I've got one more planned and I'm hoping it turns out as well as the demos of the circuit sound. I've wanted to build a clone of this circuit for a while now, but it's notoriously difficult to get right. Hopefully this one turns out alright. I may even build another Muff clone. Who knows. With this year's kits I will need to find two more circuit to build so that I can end the year with 150 total circuit builds since I started in 2020. I've built so many clone circuits, and eventually came around to build clone circuits that I never thought I ever would that I'm running out of circuits to choose from. While the pedal market is vast, the topology isn't as deep as one would be led to believe. I'll just have to dig deep in the layouts and see what appeals to me to finish up the 150th build.

Hello, Semi-Hollow Part 2: Upgrades

As I stated in the previous post I had been searching for a 335 style guitar for quite some time, but only recently turned serious about my search. It's been a little over a month since Cherrie King and I met, and I'm still learning the eccentricities of her personality, but I'm very pleased I made the purchase. After a quick setup, she's playing and sounding amazing; acoustically at least. Being a complete semi-hollow guitar newbie, I'm shocked how quickly a semi-hollow seems to react to the environment around them. Cherrie's sustain wasn't very strong when she first arrived, but her tone warmed up, and her sustain came through after acclimating. Could it be all in my head? Sure it could, but regardless I'm greatly enjoying finally owning a 335 style guitar.

Since the purchase I've been doing a lot of research into where mine was made, what year it was made, and just general information about it. Using the web archive I see the JF-1 series first appeared on the Peavey website in 2004. I believe Cherrie to be one of the earliest models, because the specs from 2004 line up exactly, but change in 2005. The website never says exactly where these were manufactured, but I did contact a Peavey rep who claims, generally Peavey guitars with EXP were Indonesian, and EX guitars were Chinese. For sake of argument I'll just assume Cherrie was probably made in Indonesian around late 03, early 04.

The specs indicate pretty decent quality, and I can confirm this guitar is super nice. In the original 2004 specs Peavey claimed the body to be a lightweight maple ply, but never explained if it's laminated like normal 335 guitars. The neck is a maple set-in, slightly angled, with a 22 fret rosewood fretboard, and pearl block inlays. The scale length is the standard 24.75", like most 335 guitars will be. What shocked me the most about this guitar is the long neck tenon, which wasn't mentioned anywhere. Another missing detail in the original specs is the flame maple top veneer, but the images of the guitars on their website were clearly flame maple tops. Nor did they bother to mention the body is bound front and back, all the way up the neck and headstock, as well as the F holes are bound. To put it simply, this guitar has some features I wouldn't expect for a guitar that was this affordable. MSRP $399.99

The long neck tenon marked, I hope "JF1".

If I had one gripe at all about Cherrie, it would be her pickups. Ideally I want to give her a nice set of PAFs, but these "Peavey designed humbuckers" aren't half bad. They seem highly inspired by the Seymour Duncan Hot Rodded set. The neck pickup is decent sounding, and kind of reminds me of a Jazz, albeit currently microphone. The bridge is fairly beefy and spicy, like a JB. That doesn't mean I can't dial in a really nice blues tone with them though. Even so, I still want a nice PAF set, but I'm in no hurry. I also plan on building Cherrie a 50s style wiring harness. I'm not sure how that's going to go, because of the whole 335 style guitar thing, but it's a plan.

One of the easiest upgrades has been the knobs. Originally the knobs were just black speed knobs, but almost every ES-335 style guitar has black bells with reflector centers. I decided that would be the way to go for me as well. The next project is to get a round, knurled nut for the selector switch - and maybe a cream tip - because the hexagonal nut looks way too industrial for my liking. I've seen newer JF-1s with the round knurled one, so I want that look. Worst case I'll buy a Gibson switch, so I'll have the low-profile nut they use. For what I paid for this guitar it's one hell of a guitar. Sure, I've had my ups and downs getting to know this guitar, as one does with any guitar, but there is so much potential with what Cherrie offers. I love this guitar!

Cherrie with her new bling (knobs)

Slow Going: Pedal Builds 2025

The weather this year hasn't been very cooperative at all. By this time last year I had nine circuits built, but as of April 12th 2025, I have only built a total of three circuits. Granted, at least two of the circuits built last year were done inside because it was February. If I had more space to solder indoors I would, but I really do prefer to get outside when I'm working. There's something that I find peaceful about getting wrapped up in the process while being outside in the elements.

I started off this year with a medium sized circuit in the Greer Southland clone, and greatly enjoyed the circuit. I did feel a bit of a disconnect with the whole building thing though. I'm still not sure what that was all about. The second build was a Hornsby-Skewes treble boost, which worked out so well that it had me feeling better about pedal building again. The newest is the Lovepedal Tchula, which I was excited to build. At the tail-end of last year I started getting into the Electra world, especially the Lovepedals variants. The tchula sounds really nice, and as with the first two builds of the year, it worked the very first time.

I'm hoping this year's weather gets itself together and lets me finish all of the circuits I have planned, and of course the ones I know will cross my path and be added to my list of planned builds. As I've always been guilty of, I've found a few circuits that I need to build. The only limitation is the parts available to build them. I'm trying to cut back on ordering parts because I'm not sure how many more circuits I'll be building. On the plus side Cherrie has been helping me test my circuit this year, and I'm greatly enjoying her company.