a line of new protoboards posted 13april 09

Lots of people are using the beavis protoBread to create awesome pedals, especially from creations designed on the beavis board. To make the protoboarding experience easier and more convenient, we have designed two new protoboards to round out the original protobread's capabilities. The new Small Proto and Pico Proto boards are designed for smaller projects and can easily fit inside a 1290NS enclosure!
Check them out....

CMOS Synthesizers posted 25 march 2010

from schmo to pro: Soldering 101 posted 18 march 2010

I've written a new article on soldering, sort of an introduction with a discussion of good soldering irons, types of solder and tools, and tips and tricks for a great soldering experience.

Beer Can Leslie posted 17 march 2010

Another ongoing project of questionable utility: making a leslie type rotating speaker with a beer can.

Vox Night Train Amplifier Disassembly posted 16 march 2010

Over the Christmas holiday, I bought a Vox Night Train low-wattage amp. It is a fine beast and delivers everything from great chimey cleans to growling distortion, all at reasonable volume levels. But that really isn't important. What is important is what's inside. Here are pictures of the amp's internals.

The 5 dollar Bum Drum posted 15 january 2010

Tape a piezo element to a sheet of metal. Run from reverb into your amp. Fun. So simple even #16 could build it.

DIY Compact Plate Reverb posted 14 january 2010

I am attempting to build a compact plate reverb.

hey, meet Preston posted 17 dec 2009

This fellow does some of the most awesomely accurate and well done etches I've ever seen. The extra bonus is he also makes some very good music. Preston is also master of the Ikea Gorm pedalboard tutorial, which makes him a level-9 ninja in today's ass-like economic times. Give him a visit.

new section: library posted 7 october 2009

I've added a new section called the Quick Reference Library. Here there are pages for specific devices that we use a lot in stompbox and guitar DIY stuff. This will grow over time--consider it your one-stop-shop location for information on a particular device.

Visit the Quick Reference Library

build an inexpensive hi-fi amplifier for your bookshelf system posted 11 august 2009

Over on beavis hifi, I've posted a lengthy article on building a compact stereo amplifier for use with my iPod. (In fact, I'm pretty sure the article breaks the Beavis record for most pictures and content in a single page. As for the amp, it is an efficient Class D type, sounds great, is cheap, and makes for a perfect bookshelf speaker system.

Check it out!

new beavis site! posted 31 march 2009

A recently re-kindled love of hooking up, and hacking, hi-fi equipment and ipods has led to a new site: Beavis Hi-Fi. Check it out! Of course, the pedal madness will continue unabated.

MOSFET mini amp posted 10 march 2009

Completed! Click for larger view

stutter pedal posted 18 feb 2009

One of the great cheap guitar tricks is to make your guitar stutter. This is usually done by turning one of your volume knobs all the way off and then using the pickup selector back and forth to get a rapid on/off effect. I've received some emails from folks trying to build these, and some with a few interesting variations. There are loads of resources on the web for adding a stutter switch directly to your guitar, so I'll concentrate on building this simple device as a pedal.

blocks & fragments posted 4 feb 2009

With all the bits of schematic goo I've been obsessively drawing over the years, it seemed like a good idea to put some of the fragments and misc blocks up on a page . Here it is: Blocks and Fragments. I'll update this page over time as I draw up new things. Note that most are fragments and some are unverified, but there should be some useful bits in there for you.

BYOC ESV fuzz mods posted 4 feb 2009

Many moons ago I drew up various mods for the BuildYourOwnClone fuzz kit. The resulting mod diagram has been a very popular item. Somewhere along the line, Keith at BYOC updated the fuzz kit to the new ESV type and I never updated the mod sheet to reflect the new PCB. So finally I got around to it. Check out the new BYOC ESV Fuzz Mods PDF for voltage sagging, switching transistors, the Flaming Howl of Death, and more!

batteries suck posted 23 jan 2009

There. I said it. Batteries suck. Here's why we shouldn't play that game anymore.

the huminator posted 18 jan 2009

Tired of getting hum in your pedals from a crappy cheap power supply? Build the huminator to solve the problem. A fun and easy project that takes about an hour.

modular fuzz posted 6 jan 2009

Insanity I tell ya! It could only be insanity.

optochopto tremolo posted 12/8/2008

The old Colorsound Inductor-less wah circuit is a fun and easy project. You don't need an inductor and it lends itself to all sorts of fun variations. In this project, we'll build the original in pedal form for a 'cocked wah' pedal, then add an LFO and Vactrol to create the optochopto wah-based tremolo, and finish it all off with a very simple and good-sounding booster.

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