Another Plateosaurus Preamp!

I'd previously built a couple of the PedalPCB clones of the Benson preamp - one for a friend to gig with, and one for myself. As these are a little tricky to get set up right, I only make them on request as a part of a custom order. Another regular had requested one as a larger batch of pedals, so I pulled out my last PCB and started working!

Another Cool Custom Pre-amp! Cloning the Peavey Decade

I got a request for a pedal that recreated the pre-amp portion of the Peavey Decade amplifier. The Peavey Decade is an old-school solid state amp that has been used by a lot of bands. It has waxed and waned in popularity over the years, but it is popular enough that there are a couple of fairly boutique guitar pedals that emulate it's preamp section. PedalPCB makes a preamp board, called the Decadence Preamp. So with board in hand, I got cracking!

An Updated IVP Preamp! With a Really Loud Dinosaur!

One of the most complex builds I've done in the past is the AionFX Intersound IVP pre-amp. I finished one up almost two years ago. It was a beast of a build. I was happy with the build itself, but the enclosure I used was both fairly unimaginative and had a minor error in the UV printing. I had recently gotten a request for an IVP build, so I decided to go all out this time and come up with something really amazing.

Second Son of Ben??? Steggo's Personal Preamp

A few weeks ago I finished up a Benson Preamp clone for a friend. He has an original unit, but wanted something smaller for his gigging board, so using the PedalPCB Son of Ben board I made him something that fits in a standard 125B enclosure size. His board has a lot of purple pedals on it, so I made his from a purple metallic enclosure with matching knobs using my laser etcher. I wanted to try something a little different on my copy - though it falls very much in the same theme.

Son of a Ben - Cloning the Benson Preamp

Benson Amps is an amazing boutique amplifier and pedal builder based in Portland, OR (very near to where Steggo is based!). One of their guitar pedal offerings is a pre-amp based on the Chimera 30 amplifier, and it is an awesome pre-amp. I have a friend who has an original unit, but was looking for something a little smaller to put onto his pedal board for gigging, so he asked if I could build him a version in a smaller form factor. Fortunately PedalPCB offers a board that fits in a 125B enclosure, so the project was a go!

Aion's IVP Preamp - Tough Build, But So Worth It!!!

The complexity of effects pedal builds varies widely from circuit to circuit. Some of the most ubiquitous pedals out there, like the Big Muff Pi, are relatively simple circuits and fairly easy builds - at least in stock configurations. Component choice and modifications can, however, raise the level of difficulty quickly. Then there are other builds that you know are going to be turning things "up to eleven" in more ways than one. The AionFX Blueshift / Boss Dimension C DC-2 clone I built last year was incredibly complex - though AionFX only lists it as an Advanced (4/5) build (honestly I'd quibble with that...). I was looking for a unique challenge and I wanted to build up a few pre-amps to use with my planned computer recording interface. I'd built PCB Guitar Mania's Wolfgang 5051 pedal, and while it is a gain monster, I was looking for something with a bit more flexibility. Enter AionFX's IVP Preamp - one of their few builds that gets the full Expert (5/5) difficulty rating.