On Target! Cloning the EQD Arrows

The Earthquaker devices Arrows is a simple tone sculpting pre-amp booster. It stacks well with other pedals, taking the mud out of heavy fuzz pedals or brightening light boost pedals. It can also be used on its own to really make your signal stand out – especially on neck pickups. This project is the last of the first three pedals in Kyle the Ankylosaurus' "one knob" collection, and as with some previous Earthquaker Devices builds, I ended up liking it a lot more than I thought I was going to.

Ice Age Fuzz - Cloning the ZVEX Wooly Mammoth

Fuzz pedals are one of the oldest types of effects pedals out there, but there is always something new coming out with tweaks and variations on various circuits and concepts. The ZVEX Wooly Mammoth is a newer niche pedal with a fairly distinguished following. It is also unfortunately fairly expensive, making it a great candidate for cloning. Once again, South Obolon FX had laid out a really decent board for this build, so I took the plunge!

More Deja Vu - A Truly Steggo Acapulco Gold Clone!

So this is the second official build report for the new "one knob" collection from Steggo, and this one goes back to where the blog started with a build of an EQD Acapulco Gold clone. In a lot of ways it's hard to believe how far the blog and Steggo Studios as a whole has come in a little over a year, and I'm looking forward to what the next year brings!

Back to the Beginning - Revisiting the Tone Geek Valve Screamer

The first guitar pedal I built (that worked - I'd attempted a Ceriatone Centura as my first build, but debugging that took a while!) was a Tone Geek Valve Screamer. It was probably a bit ambitious for an early build, but I've always been sort of a dive in with both feet kind of guy. I used the Tayda recommended BOM for the pedal, and it even came with a faceplate for the enclosure. As this original build pretty much took up permanent residence on my pedal board, I figured much like the BMP it was high time to develop a true "Steggo" version of the pedal.

Finally a True "Steggo" BMP Clone!

Any long time readers of this blog will know that I really like the Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi in all of its forms. It is one of the main pedals of choice for some of my favorite guitarists, including David Gilmour, and is a key ingredient in their overall sound. I've built several BMP clones over the years, but all of them have had enclosures that mirrored the original in one way or another. Recently I've tried to do a "make over" of any of my "Steggo" pedals with a focus primarily on creating fun dinosaur names for them, and I've finally come up with a dinosaur themed BMP clone!

The Astrodon Physicist - A Brian May Treble Boost Clone

Many guitarists have a very unique and distinct sound which has been honed over the years. While a great deal of tone comes from playing technique, contributions from pickups, pedals, amplifiers, tone wood, etc. are often critical elements of the overall sound. Brian May is well-known for having a very bright sound, much of which came from the use of treble boosters in his amplifier or effects loop. This first pedal in the "One Knob Collection" replicates that treble boost circuit in an easy to use pedal.

The New "One Knob Collection"

I tend to build a lot of either vintage pedals or complex pedals, but there are a lot of really good pedals with only one knob. In fact, the first actual build I posted on the blog was a clone of the one-knob Acapulco Gold pedal, even though that wasn't the first pedal I'd built. I've recently been experimenting with some boards I've been able to order direct, which makes it cost-effective to offer some simpler pedals for sale through the studio. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce the first three pedals in the "One Knob Collection," but in typical Steggo fashion, there has to be a fun story to go with it!

A New Klon Klone - from a New Source!

I don't often wax political on this blog. When Russia began it's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine back in February, I was angry (and remain so), and wanted to show solidarity with and support of Ukraine. At the time, I posted a build report covering the "blue and yellow" Blues Driver pedal build I'd just finished. In the interim I've built a couple of pedals for auction on Pedals for Ukraine. I've also donated to various agencies supporting Ukraine. A few months ago, a Ukrainian builder, South Obolon FX, began posting files so you could get your own circuit boards made. All he asked in return was a donation to the ongoing efforts in Ukraine, donations I was more than happy to make. One of the boards he provided files for was the Kent Rev 2, a Klon Centaur clone with a few added twists, so I figured I'd take a chance and have a few boards made up!

More NG-2 Clones!

The Cornish NG-2 is a high end fuzz pedal used most famously by John Mayer. I'd previously done a couple of clones in a hybrid Cornish style / dinosaur enclosure, but I really wanted to go with something more unique going forward. At the same time, I got a request for a couple of NG-2 pedals, but they wanted a custom enclosure similar to the original pedal. So, I had a lot of building to do!