The Return of the King (of Tone)

One of my earliest builds was a clone of the boutique Analogman King of Tone pedal. The King of Tone itself is a very sought after double overdrive pedal, with a variety of clipping options (most of which are set using internal DIP switches). The "real thing" is currently in Version 4, and on Reverb they still tend to start at around $600 for a real one and go up from there. The waiting list for an original remains long as well. My first build was in my "pre-dino" days - and I'd bought a kit from Germany that included an unpainted enclosure, the PCB, and all of the parts. I substituted some good matches for the original diodes rather than using the stock ones with the kit, though, as depending on who you ask the King of Tone has "magic diodes" much in the same way the Klon Centaur / KTR does. I'd always wanted to circle back and make a real "dino" version of the pedal, so I finally took the plunge.

A Truly Dino Bluesbreaker Clone!

The Marshall Bluesbreaker is one of the all-time classic pedals which sought to re-create the sound of the legendary Marshall Bluesbreaker amplifier from 1962. Original units have gone out of production and command a fairly high price, and there are some recent re-issues that aren't terribly expensive, but aren't terribly cheap either. I'd previously built an AionFX version of the Bluesbreaker, the Cerulean, which adds some different clipping modes to the circuit, but I'd never built a "stock" Bluesbreaker clone. My friend at South Obolon FX was kind enough to make a Steggo version of his board, so I started from there for an awesome dinosaur version.

An Pair of Updated Thagomizers!

The Colorsound Power Boost is one of my favorite utility / boost pedals which I've built under the "Thagomizer" name in several varieties. Given all of these have the volume knob modification, the pedal can be used as a very nice clean boost and equalizer, or it can be used to add bit of a dirty overdrive depending on where the drive / gain knob is set. I worked with my friend in Ukraine, South Obolon FX, to finally develop a Steggo version of the power boost board with a charge pump, and I've now finally gotten a couple of varieties of the pedal together!

Cloning the Famous EQD Monarch

The EQD Monarch is an out of production FET based overdrive pedal that gained a lot of popularity as a dirty boost without a lot of extra distortion or compression. It was also available as a DIY kit for many years through StewMac (and others), but while StewMac still offers many DIY effects pedal kits, the Monarch is no longer among them. I had a friend who wanted a Monarch clone - largely to allow a bandmate to leave his original unit in the studio and gig with a more easily replaceable copy - so I started doing some investigation on boards and kits available. As it turns out, the pedal is more than a bit finicky, and there were some flaws in the original design which likely led to a fair amount of frustration for both the users and the DIY community. Chuck Bones (of the PedalPCB Boneyard) did a great analysis of the circuit, suggested some modest improvements, and then took that a few steps further ultimately creating the Viceroy - a six-knob, two footswitch Monarch on steroids. Down the road, I plan to build the Viceroy, but for now I was more interested in getting a good direct clone of the Monarch working well - and across its full range.

Updated Geisha Drive Clone!

About a year ago, I posted a build using a hand-etched board cloning the out of production Way Huge Geisha drive. It was a really fun build, but recently I've been having trouble with my photoresist which has made creating hand-etched boards very difficult. I have an alternative in the works, but it's not ready to go yet, so watch the blog for more info there! In the meantime, South Obolon FX had laid out a version of the Geisha, and was kind enough to create a Steggo version of the board.

Cloning the Lovepedal JTM - a New One Knob Pedal!

As Steggo and Kyle announced earlier this week, there is a new entry in Kyle the Ankylosaurus' "one-knob pedal" line of effects - the Philovenator Overdrive. This one is a clone of the Lovepedal JTM with an added twist (which does add an extra control, but it creates a fairly fun and unique pedal in the process). The Lovepedal JTM itself is essentially mid-60's British tone in a box, but it's not exactly a cheap pedal with new examples running around $225 (US). The original just has one control that varies the volume at the clipping stage, so it was an ideal choice for a Steggo clone!

Another Combo Pedal - Well, Sort Of! Cloning the ThorpyFx Heavy Water

The boost pedal market has exploded over the years. I believe part of the reason for the proliferation is some pedals tend to work better with specific amps, many pedals tends to work better with specific guitars, or more importantly specific pick-ups on those guitars. With many guitarists chasing specific or unique sounds, all of these subtle variations come into play. If you've watched any of the Anderton's guitar store videos on YouTube, you've likely encountered Danish Pete - a session guitarist and manager of their YouTube channel. He has a signature pedal called "The Dane" from ThorpyFx that combines a boost and distortion circuit (which would be a good future project...). There had been calls to produce the boost section as a standalone pedal, so ThorpyFx did just that, but took it one better. Instead of just having a single circuit, they created a dual effect pedal, the Heavy Water, which has the clean boost on the right, and a modified "grittier/dirtier" boost on the left. They also created a custom version with dual input/output jacks for people who wanted to create effects loops. I figured this would be a fun one to try since I already knew how to wire up a dual I/O jack pedal where it would function normally just using the input one and output two jacks (my recent Duo-Phase build). So in the final analysis, this is sort of a combo pedal as there are two circuits that can be accessed independently, it's marketed and sold as a single pedal normally.

Cloning the Fulltone OCD - The Ominous Carnivorous Dinosaur!

Founded in 1993, Fulltone made a variety of pedals over the years and was in many ways at the forefront of the boutique pedal market - in the US at least. The owner had been mired in some recent controversy and announced in August 2022 that it would be closing shop. If you go to the company website now, you get a Looney Toons "That's All Folks" banner, and that all of the individual pedals (which had been marked down) are sold out. The Fulltone OCD was a very popular overdrive pedal that, much like many popular pedals, underwent several parts transitions over the years. There are several variants, but I wanted to focus on some of the 1.X variants initially - especially the 1.4 which threw in a Germanium 1N34A transistor.

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.

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.

An All New Thagomizer... Almost Literally...

Unless you've been under a rock, you know I really like the Colorsound Power Boost circuit, especially clones that use vintage components. Unfortunately, there are a finite number of vintage components available in the world at this point, and eventually supplies will run out. Vintage components are also more expensive than their modern counterparts, so I wanted to build a Power Boost clone on the AionFX Nucleus board with new components to see what impact it made on the tone of the pedal.

The Official Steggo Klon Clone - The Kloned Centrosaurus!

In my teaser post a few weeks ago, one of the pedals I indicated was coming soon was a Klon Centaur clone. I've done several of these through the years, but I ultimately settled on the Tone Geek Mini-Taur as the base for the "official" Steggo clone of the Klon. I promised that it would have a fun dino-themed enclosure as well, and I think that I've managed to deliver (with some serious help)!

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.

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!

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!

A Third Thagomizer!?!!??? Another Vintage Power Boost Build

I have a real weakness for vintage pedals. Over and above that, vintage pedals built from vintage components probably reach the level of my kryptonite (along with chocolate, or a good steak... good seafood... I'm doomed...)! I've made a few forays into that territory with my Big Muff Pi builds (most notably my recent Violet Ram's Head build) and my builds of the Colorsound Power Boost (also known as "The Thagomizer I"). The army green enclosure version uses Iskra resistors (as well as tropical fish capacitors and vintage axial capacitors) while the orange enclosure version uses Phier resistors (and the same mix of other components). I'd sourced these parts as sets from a wonderful chap in Italy, but the problem with vintage parts is there is a finite number of remaining NOS in the world. So if the supply of Iskra and Phier sets dried up, I wanted to have another option for building vintage Thagomizers - so I decided to go shopping and assemble my own set of parts.

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!

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.

Vintage Overdrive Build - The Colorsound Power Boost

When this blog entry goes live on Sunday morning, I'll likely be heading out with a friend to go pick up a vintage British sports car he just purchased - and then trying to drive it home several hundred miles... Wish us luck! In honor of the occasion, I thought I'd post a recent build of a vintage British effects pedal - in every way I can possibly make it! A few weeks ago I posted a build of the AionFX Plasma, a direct copy of the Colorsound Overdriver with an added volume control. Apart from the BC184 transistors, I built that pedal with all modern parts - metal film resistors, film capacitors, etc. I honestly love that pedal, but I wanted to take it a step back and try something fun - using as many vintage parts as possible to build its immediate predecessor, the Colorsound Power Booster. AionFX has released this PCB as the Nucleus, and as with the Plasma it is pretty much a direct copy of the original with a volume knob added. With even the reproductions running $700+, this is yet another great cloning opportunity.

One of the Original Three - Cloning the Boss SP-1 Spectrum

Three Pedals for the Shredder-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Metal-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Power Groups doomed to die...

Excerpt from Lord of the Pedal Board...

In 1977 Boss entered the world of compact guitar effects pedals with the release of three pedals - the OD-1 Overdrive, the PH-1 Phaser, and the SP-1 Spectrum. In honor of the 40th anniversary of their release, Boss produced a limited run anniversary set of 1500 units with reproductions of all three of these pedals. They had to make a few changes to the circuit and some component substitutions, of course, but the final circuit adjustments were all still performed by hand on the new production units just as they were with the originals. The SP-1 was essentially a parametric equalizer pedal that could really create some unique sounds if fed into a boost pedal. With original copies costing anywhere from $500-$800 - and the limited reissues at nearly the same price point, this would seem to be an ideal candidate for DIY clones.