Dimetrodon Distortion - Production Prototype!

I'm very excited to release this new version of the Dimetrodon Distortion to the world. It represents several firsts for me, and it is something that I'm pretty much ready to put into (small) volume production either in a couple of standard configurations or bespoke builds. The original versions of the Dimetrodon Distortion consisted of two boards, a hand etched Distortion+ or Drivestortion board with a hand etched BMP Tone Stack (the DD1A) or an Effects Layout commercial Drivestortion board with a hand etched BMP Tone Stack (the DD1B). While I'll continue to make several of those (as I already have the boards, and have an interesting idea - which I hope to detail in a future blog assuming I get it to work!), I thought it would be cool if I could combine the boards into a single etch and not have to use hookup wire to connect the two together. So, I decided to try and merge my graphics skills with what I've learned about electronics and circuit design over the past year or so!

Steggo's Memorial Day Sale and Site Update!

Just a heads up, all Steggo Pedals are 10% off through the Memorial Day Weekend. This includes purchases here as well as on the Reverb shop! Buy early buy often!

Noventa Jazzmaster Project!

Last year Fender came out with their Noventa series of guitars - a Statocaster, Telecaster, and Jazzmaster. Each was armed with single coil (P-90) pickups. The Telecaster made do with one (bridge), the Stratocaster had two (bridge and neck), while the Jazzmaster had three (bridge, neck, and mid). I really loved the idea of a triple P-90 guitar, and played one of the Jazzmasters at my favorite local guitar store - Five Star Guitars. The feel and sound of the guitar was absolutely amazing, but there was only one major problem. The Noventa series guitars by and large harkened back to the 50s and 60s Fender paint schemes - when the current hip auto body paints were frequently used - for at least one or two of the three available colors. The Telecaster was available in Fiesta Red (too orange for my taste), Vintage Blonde (meh), and a pretty nice 2-Color Sunburst. The Stratocaster was available in Daphne Blue (nope!), Surf Green (double nope!), and a Crimson Red Transparent that was actually absolutely stunning. Unfortunately, all of the Noventa Jazzmaster colors fell firmly into my "nope" category with the Fiesta Red shared with the Telecaster (below) being the least objectionable. There was also the Surf Green shared with the Stratocaster, and something they called "Walnut." I've worked in actual walnut. This color wasn't walnut. It was brown - plain, boring brown.

The Thagomizer 2 - A Cornish ST-2 Clone

So as promised in my recent Thagomizer I update, there is indeed a Thagomizer 2, and I'm presenting the prototype build today. The Thagomizer I is a cone of the Colorsound Power Boost - at this point built with all vintage components. The Power Boost is very closely related to the Colorsound Overdriver, which I'd also previously built - though with all modern components. I first became interested in both of these pedals when researching David Gilmour's effects boards. In later years, however, David worked with Pete Cornish to develop a custom integrated pedalboard - which Pete later released as distinct effects pedals in their own right. The ST-2 is a major overhaul of the original Overdriver circuit with different component values (and therefore different voicing), a double buffer like the G-2, and an op amp gain stage tacked on to the end of the circuit. With new copies running over $500 (with a long wait) and used copies starting at about $650 - this is yet another pedal that screams for a good clone!

We've Sprung a Leak! Cloning the Very Precise Cornish G-2

It's been, what, three weeks since I posted a clone of a Big Muff Pi variant? Must be time for another one! This time around, I'm building the AionFX Cygnus, a clone of the Cornish G-2. This particular build has honestly been one of my more challenging builds for a variety of reasons. First off, it's a Cornish pedal, and Pete Cornish's designs are always absolute works of art with an amazing transistor-based buffer design. The component count is usually very high as well, and the circuits are typically extremely well balanced, and as long as you have high-quality components you can usually guarantee a good build from the outset. However, because the G-2 uses Germanium diodes for the clipping stages, that adds an additional level of complexity to the build, which I'll go into later. As you can't touch a real G-2 for under $500, this one screams for a good clone.

More Thagomizers Inbound! Vintage Colorsound Power Boost in a Modern Box!

In February I posted my first build of a Colorsound Power Boost pedal using the AionFX Nucleus board. I'd initially been interested in the pedal and is sibling, the Overdriver, as they were some of the early pedals used by David Gilmour. For my Overdriver build, I'd gone with all modern components and an enclosure which harkened back to the original case. For the Power Boost, I sort of went the opposite direction, I used all vintage components and created a unique dinosaur themed enclosure for it to sort of establish the "Steggo" brand version of the pedal. Honestly I really love this particular pedal, and I think in terms of build enjoyment it is right up there with the Big Muff Pi and Distortion+, so I decided I'd try and build a few more to "support the habit" as it were.

A Big Thank You - Pedals for Ukraine

I just wanted to give a shout out and thanks to the people who bid on the Ukrainian Army BMP pedal in the Pedals for Ukraine auction. It ended up going for $260 which was donated to World Central Kitchen to support ongoing relief efforts in Ukraine. 

The pedal was mailed out yesterday and is on its way to its new owner!

Old School Distortion + A Cool Enclosure!

A few weeks ago I posted the prototype of my Dimetrodon Distortion pedal, which melded a classic MXR Distortion+ pedal with a Big Muff Pi Tone stack. I have more of those coming soon, including some really fun variants, but today's subject is the very first Distortion+ variant I built together with its finally completed enclosure. A few months ago I was looking to expand the range of distortion pedals I had available, so I went hunting through the gear used by my favorite guitarists at various points in their career. Unless you've been under a rock, you'll know I'm a huge Alex Lifeson / Rush fan, so one of the pedals I decided to build was an MXR distortion as it was one of the pedals Alex used during the Moving Pictures era. For that initial build I went with the AionFX Aphelion, though I have a variety of other boards I can use (including my own) for future Distortion+ (and related) clones.

Improving My Workspace - The Electronics Cart - Part 2

Warnings and apologies in advance, but this is going to be a very long post as it will detail not only the rest of the construction of the cart, but its finishing and then actual fitting out with my components as well! 

At the end of Part 1, we'd just finished gluing up the bottom of the cart's three shelves. As you can see from the photo below, the tape has come off of both of the I structure and the bottom shelf. With those sub-assemblies complete it was time to go ahead and work on building the other two shelves.

Improving My Workspace - The Electronics Cart - Part 1

Unless you only buy enough components to build one project at a time, building effects pedals eventually leads to collecting a large number of active, passive, and other components. Keeping all of these small parts organized in some meaningful way is, at best, a challenge. I've posted some photos in the past of my organization scheme for diodes, transistors, and ICs, but unfortunately I never had a great place to hang those organizers. They therefore tended to sit on the floor along with the bins for my resistors and capacitors. Given I have multiple hobbies, desk space is at a premium, and since I have also some larger electronics projects I want to work on, I needed something to give me additional work space and storage space for all of my bits. I settled on some sort of cart, and immediately went shopping. Unfortunately the closest thing I could find was a cart at Ikea which, like just about every useful piece of furniture there, was out of stock. I therefore figured since I'm already working on some insane woodworking projects with a friend, I may as well add a bespoke electronics cart to the list.

Browncoat Serial Number 3 Now Available - $120

I just finished up Browncoat serial number 3, and it is now available both here and on the Reverb store. Externally this one looks just like the previous two. The only change is I'm using a different brand of 33n film capacitors I picked up from Pedalhacker because I ran low on the WIMA ones.

Steggo Studios Reverb Shop is Now LIVE

I've decided to try and sell some of my pedals through Reverb. I'm not sure how well it is going to work, but I guess we'll see! My personal shop on Reverb is now under the Steggo Studios banner, and I'll slowly add a few pedals to the page as I get them built. 

Ukrainian Army BMP Auction is LIVE!

My Ukrainian Army BMP serial number 2 went up for auction on the Pedals for Ukraine Instagram site this morning. Bidding starts at $50 and goes through Thursday May 7 at 11:59PM. The bidding takes place via replying to the comment with the most current high bid. I'm hoping that the pedal will bring in some decent money for relief efforts in Ukraine.