Steggo Out of the Office August 1-4

Steggo is going to be out of the office for a few days, so the Reverb shop is closed until late Thursday / early Friday. The dinos will still have access to messenger and email, but nothing will be shipped or worked on until the end of the week at the earliest - more likely Monday...

Cloning the Rare Boss CE-1 Chorus... Well... Kinda!

There are certain vintage pedals which are much harder to clone today than they were once upon a time. Among these are chorus pedals, flangers, phasers, and basically anything that relied on a specific integrated circuit to do the heavy lifting in terms of audio signal modification. While Moore's Law has continued unabated for over a half century, and despite the fact that modern semiconductors consist of  literally over 100 billion transistors on a single processor die, certain integrated circuits go completely out of production and ultimately become exceedingly rare. 

One pedal design I've always wanted to clone is the Boss CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, largely because (I'm sure you'll be shocked) Alex Lifeson used one at one point. However, there hasn't been a decent DIY clone out there - largely because the original uses obsolete Panasonic MN3002 BBD chip, and these are getting increasingly hard to find. PastFX has a clone of the original they've sold for years, but even after cornering the market on MN3002 chips, they're running out. As such they're released a version of the pedal using the more common MN3007 chip. Because of the rarity of the required chips, the MN3002 version runs about $350 US while the MN3007 version clocks in just north of $200 US.

Distortion Pedal Meets Business Card?????

In the world of guitar effects pedals, there are a lot of cool ideas and amazing variations on the theme. Some builders go the high tech route with programmable logic chips. At the other end of the spectrum you have builders still using perf board or direct connections (and their soldering is elevated to the level of art in many cases). One of the most interesting ideas I'd seen for a DIY pedal is the Godcity Instruments Brutalist Jr. distortion pedal. Kurt Ballou literally had his business card made up as a PCB that you could populate on your own. He provided a set of instructions and modifications on his website (which are still there). Sadly, the business card DIY version itself is sold out at the moment, but Effects Layouts has a trace and etching pattern - so I took the plunge!

Blues Driver with a Ukrainian Dinosaur - Redux!

A couple of weeks ago I posted a pedal I'd just finished which I'd intended to use as a donation for Pedals for Ukraine. Unfortunately once I got the enclosure back, I realized that there was a typo, and the there were some issues with the dinosaur - the contrast wasn't as good as I'd hoped. So, I resolved to revamp the artwork and give it another go. The enclosures finally came in today, so I got cracking!

Another Ceriatone??? The Goth Version...

When I finally finished my first Ceriatone Centura a few weeks ago, I still had a spare unpopulated board lying about. I'd picked it up several months ago along with the one I used for the gold enclosure built along with some other parts for... another project I'm working on. One I hope to feature on the blog in the future, but I digress! My previous Centura build sounds awesome, but now that I had one working, I really wanted to try and build one using the component load-out from the original Centura. So, I set about populating a new board!

Grab Bag Sale Update! Only 2 Pedals Left!

There are still a couple of pedals left in Steggo's second Grab Bag Sale. The Eggeaux Steggo G-2 has sold, but the Centurion and Meteor are still available (modeled by Kyle the Ankylosaurus below). In an effort to find these new pedals new homes, we've made a final markdown - $79 for one (your choice) or $149 for both!

New Allen Bradley Thagomizer I - With a Few Modern Replacement Capacitors

I knew the day would eventually come when some of the New Old Stock components I'd been using on my Thagomizers would start to dry up, I just didn't expect it to come so soon! While I'm pretty well set for resistors, tropical fish capacitors, ceramic capacitors, etc., it's the older validated (as opposed to dead) electrolytic capacitors which are drying up - which I guess shouldn't be a surprise. At this point the 22μF Bianchi - Phillips capacitors seem to be gone. I've therefore had to make a modern substitution, but it appears to be the same substitution my European source of parts is making on his sets with the Iskra and Phier resistors as well.

Steggo's Second Grab Bag Sale!!!!

Steggo's first grab bag sale went so well, Dimetrius decided that it would be a good idea to run another one! So here to present the three pedals in this group is our founder Steggo and his younger sister Steggi, our resident electronics expert!

Steggo's First Grab Bag Sale!!!

EDIT: Well, Dimetrius was right... these are all now sold!

So as I mentioned in my teaser article, there are a lot of cool things in the pipeline. I just put in a large order for enclosures this weekend. Of course, now Dimetrius (the dimetrodon - our office manager - don't worry, he's cool - he'll never ask for a TPS report) has indicated that we have too many pedals, especially early prototypes, lying around. He also hinted it would be "really cool" if we could find a way to get some of them to new homes. So, introducing Steggo's first "Grab Bag" sale!

Dimetrius Dimetrodon - our office manager - with his coffee

Tone Geek Mini-Taur - Early Silver Configuration (Warning: Graphic Klontent)

I've built several Klon clones at this point, including several Mini-Taur boards from The Tone Geek - most recently a fairly early configuration one for my personal use. As I mentioned in my teaser post a few days ago, one of the upcoming production pedals was going to be a Klon Centaur clone, but I wanted to finalize the part load out and configuration so I could buy in bulk. I had one last Mini-Taur board and faceplate lying around, so I decided to build one last one up with the faceplate before moving to the new enclosure (and hitting up Ryan for some boards sans faceplates!). 

Boss Blues Driver with a Ukrainian Dinosaur - For a Good Cause!

When Russia began its illegal and pointless invasion of Ukraine in February, I posted a "yellow and blue" pedal I'd recently finished - my first Boss Blues Driver - in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Later on I donated Ukrainian Army BMP serial number 2 to the Pedals for Ukraine charity auction on Instagram. That pedal did very well, raising $260 for relief efforts. I ultimately plan to build more of those, but I wanted to do something a little different for a second Pedals for Ukraine donation. Something more dino related, so I hit the web looking not only for dinosaurs native to Ukraine, but I also wanted to come up with a fun pedal to put into said enclosure! Given my first "blue and yellow" pedal was a Boss Blues Driver, I thought that may be a good place to start.

You Can Call Me Jan, or You Can Call Me Ray... Cloning the Vemuram Jan Ray Overdrive!

This build sort of picks up where I left off last time with my Vemuram TSV808 build, I now turn to the Vemuram Jan Ray. This is another Tube Screamer variant, and while expensive (at least $375), it is still in production. According to the Vemuram site:

"The Jan Ray was designed to recreate the punchy clear tone of the Blackface Fender amps from the 60's. So-called the 'Fender Magic 6' sound. An easy to handle overdrive keeping the characteristics of the guitar with great sustain without any unnatural compression. The end result is an ultra-smooth drive that retains the Tube Screamer’s trademark mid bump; however, it opens it up with the full-range clarity of the Jan Ray."

There are a few clones of this pedal out there, and it is better known than the TSV808, but for this build I'm also using one of the brand new Tone Geek boards - the Black Triangle project. 

Above Top Secret! Cloning the Vemuram TSV808

The Ibanez Tube Screamer is one of the most common and popular overdrive pedals out there. The pedal itself has gone through many iterations, perhaps not as many as the Big Muff Pi, but it has a long history. Analogman has a decent write up on the history of the tube screamer on his page, and there is another decent write-up at Premier Guitar. As with many pedals, earlier variants or boutique modifications are especially prized by players, and these often command a premium price. The Ibanez TSV808 Vemuram is one such pedal, and it is sadly now out of production. If you refer to the original Sweetwater page, it states:

"The TSV808 employs a refined version of the original Tube Screamer circuit: Instead of four stages like the Tube Screamer (buffer -> overdrive -> tone -> buffer), the TSV808 contains three stages (overdrive -> tone -> +7dB gain boost). The end result is an ultra-smooth drive that retains the Tube Screamer’s trademark mid bump; however, it opens it up with the full-range clarity of the Jan Ray."

The controls on the TSV808 Vemuram are also a bit different as well. The normal Drive, Tone, and Level knobs are there, but there are also trimmers for bass and saturation. The pedal also included internal dip switches that allowed you to toggle between smooth and asymmetric clipping. So in short, this was an amazing pedal. It wasn't cheap new, if I'm reading my Goggle wayback machine correctly, it original cost $449, and I'm not sure exactly when it went out of production. Currently prices on the open market are exceeding $2000, with $2400-$2500 price points showing up for nice examples.

Teaser Time! Upcoming Pedals from Steggo!

One of my goals for this year was to get to the point to where I could sell pedals with all original and/or licensed art. A few of these, like the Steggo-san Overdrive, the various Thagomizers, and the Browncoat are already out there, but I really wanted to get some of my favorite pedals out there in unique dino form. Now that all of the dinos are back from vacation, there has been a lot of prototyping and art layout going on in the background, so I figured it was time for some teasers!!!

Steggo himself somewhere in the skunk works!

Jazzmaster in Warmoth Guitar of the Month Competition

I made it in just under the wire and got my Noventa-style Jazzmaster entered in the Unofficial Warmoth Forum guitar of the month contest. This month is the "Warmoth or Professionally Finished" category, and since Warmoth finished mine it works. Voting is now open (HERE) and goes through July 19th. A lot of really awesome entries this time around!

Noventa Jazzmaster - Steggo Style - Finaly Done!

I made it by the Five Star Guitars to pick up my freshly set up Noventa Jazzmaster clone. A couple of months ago I'd gone through the full construction article of how I built this beauty, but I also related that I'd unfortunately gone as far as my tools and skillset would allow. I'd purchased a new neck directly from Fender, and the nut wasn't set up yet - it just had pilot grooves for the strings. I lacked the proper file set to finish the work, so I (wisely I think) decided to hand it off to the professionals...

A Galaxie Far Far Away? Modding the Boss BD-2

A few months ago I posted my first build of the Aion Sapphire clone of the Boss BD-2 Blues Driver overdrive pedal. At the time I mentioned that the board supported the Galaxie modification by Machine Head Pedals, and I planned to complete a second build of that version. It took a bit longer than expected (as I was working on other projects), but here it is, and from what I can tell so far, it is amazing!

Way Huge Aqua Puss Mk I AP2 Clone

Out of production pedals have started to reach fairly dizzying heights in terms of price. The Klon Centaur is well-known for high prices, but when you think of expensive pedals, something like the Way Huge Aqua Puss may not come immediately to mind. After all, you can buy a current production Aqua Puss for about $150 brand new. However, the one that is available today is the Mark III, and it sounds different than its earlier incarnations. One of the most prized versions of the pedal is the Mark I AP2 that uses the MN3005 BBD chip, and you can currently get an original on Reverb for $4250. Fortunately the Tone Geek has a PCB clone of the original for a far more reasonable price - as long as you can find all of the parts!

Independence Day Sale - EXTENDED!

Steggo's 4th of July sale was such a success, he's decided to extend it through the end of the week! There are still some great pedals available, or you can commission your own pedal and get 20% off!

First Pedal Started - Just Now Finished - the Ceriatone Centura

Despite the number of clones on the market, the original Klon Centaur remains an extremely expensive pedal to buy with originals approaching, or exceeding, the $9000 mark. The "affordable" Klon variant from Bill Finnegan seems to run anywhere from $700-$800 (used) and over $1500 (new). As I mentioned in my Tone Geek BFK build entry last September, the very first pedal I tried to build was a Klon Centaur Clone - the Ceriatone Centura. I'd picked up the kit intending to use it to help my son get his electronics merit badge in Scouts. To say that the build was not "entirely successful" would be a bit of an understatement. I'd tried to populate a second board, but received similar poor results. My debugging skills at the time were poor, so I decided to have one last crack at it...

Steggo's 4th of July Sale!!!!

The industrious dinos of Steggo Studios are back from their travels and are ready to get some awesome pedals in your hands! From now through July 4th, take 20% all Steggo Studios pedals here or on the reverb store! That also goes if you have a custom pedal request - just Contact Steggo! in the side bar. Buy early, buy often!