When Josh said “and now you’re going down a rabbit hole in your head and I can’t save you and I’m going to walk away” it was the first time I genuinely laughed in weeks. You know it’s been a long quarantine when pots are the only thing that bring you joy.
I really loved the fuzzface mod video! Can't wait for more videos about modding other pedals! Keep it up, this is a nice idea for videos! Thank you JHS!
I like this because...... it’s just great to hear an enthusiastic person talking intelligently about a subject they love, the wit is awesome but really just a garnish- the meat is the sharing of experience ,knowledge and love for the subject . I use shows like yours to keep me company when working ,or taking a break, and when at its best I’m left feeling as if a friend had popped by to say hi & and help with something we may have previously discussed. Hope this helps👍🎸🇬🇧
THANK YOU Josh for the Education. I've purchased several pedals after watching Your Videos. I'm a Bass Player and a lot of pedals are good for Bass Guitar. All the Best to You and keep on Rocking.
I'd love to see some DS-1 or RAT2 mods. Also, this stream was really good, aside from left ear getting all the attention and the fact that I completely missed it live lol
Thanks Josh. Good point about having an appropriately hot soldering iron to melt the solder on a PCB. Also, I find solder wick works more safely on those delicate PBC traces than a solder sucker when removing the solder for through-hole components. I built a germanium Fuzz Face last year with bias control on Q2. Love it! Next project is a Mosrite-style fuzz. PS - love that whisky shelf.
Show / make vid showing the Soul Food mod!! Pretty Pleeeease Josh, please. Thanks for all the killer info, I really like your enthusiasm for all things pedal.
I love you're show and you're enthusiasm for creating and sharing such a vast wealth of knowledge on pedals. No one here is asking for less info and if anything is asking for more of what you have to offer. If I ever had the chance I would apply to work for you. If I was to request something for you to make a video on I would ask about how to begin building a delay or reverb pedals. Or the understanding of how these work along with any neat mods you've done. I know you have a hole bucket of Boss Delay pedals. We love you, stay safe.
Have a look at Adam Savage's Tested one day builds / live builds. I think I'd like to see builds of DIY kits, or maybe you building one of the the JHS pedals (your choice on the design). I liked the conversation here.
Josh is the man!! Great products, Great Videos!! Great Company!! I love all my JHS pedals (Buffer, AB switch, Milkman, Spring Tank reverb, Twin Twelve) on my board. I wish I could get more but I have to answer to my wife first:)
Next Pedals to MOD: Boss DS-1... BTW my favorite weird Boss pedal is the XT-2 Xtortion. Also streaming ideas: bring on a live performance of a local band/artist as a way to do record time without “copyright RUclips police” 🤓 love what you do Josh👍
I vote DS-1 for the next mod. On a side note, I (and probably many people here) would love an episode devoted to the technical side of pedal design. I'd love to just hear you talk about stuff like transistor leakage, positive ground, etc.
For all those requesting mods to this and that: A number of "classic" pedals that were once thru-hole format have been converted to wave-soldered surface-mount over the years. As much as their *designs* are amenable to some very simple, pleasing and hip mods, modding surface-mount boards is a few orders of magnitude more difficult for beginners than modding a thru-hole board, and can easily wreck a pedal if not done right. So make sure your requests are for thru-hole units.
I really liked the mod video and this follow up. I would suggest maybe trying to take a question from chat in between each preselected question to make it less overwhelming at the end. Also I really like the idea of cheap pedal mods, so more people can realistically try it for themselves. Thanks for the great content!
A friend of mine knows all about electronics. I give him shit that it is all witchcraft. I dont even understand electricity. Listening to your explanations, I definitely don't understand electricity. I just love the way fuzz faces sound. And feel. Therefore, thank you. I have faith in you Josh. You are the witchmaster king boss.
The livestream was great! My vote if you do another mod video would be the Joyo or another affordable choice (100ish or under) so more people would have the chance to try it out. Thank you so much for the content as always!
Hey Josh, I like your videos because you're funny... and nerdy. I would definitely watch more pedal mod videos, and greatly appreciate the dropping of knowledge. How about a walkthrough on your Micro Vibe mod that I slept on and missed the boat? Cheers
Thanks for your time Josh. Really appreciated the knowledge sharing. 👍 Would definitely appreciate a Rat modding episode as I have an OP amp socket to install and a rotary switch with a bunch of diodes, Led's and FET's to play with.
As a Joyo Vintage Overdrive owner, I'd love a look into your mindset when looking over something I can literally follow along with you. Please give that idea its day in the sun! Or maybe if you're tempted by diving into a DOD Grunge...!
I like this platform because it's unedited Josh Scott, a guy like me who is 6'6", but weighs less than my 255, and is much wittier. We share many opinions, and like you I dig anything technical, and love vintage gear and the music it makes!
Again brilliant of you to share your knowledge and answer a few questions. My question was the one that got garbled as it might have crossed a page boundary. The first part of my question was the change of Output Volume Pot value. You answered that, it was not so much about the value as the change from Log to Linear. The second part of my question, (the rabbit hole of impedance) was about the why of the value of the 500k Pot. That value might well be obvious to you but I've seen circuits with widely varying values for the Output Pot and thus output impedance, so why do some designers choose 100k and why 500k, or anywhere in between? The obvious answer is to try it out and see, but given all the variables I can't try it out. By that I mean that in some ways an electric guitar is like the mouth piece of a brass instrument. It's part, a significant part, of the musical instrument as a whole. If between my electric guitar and my Amp I have 4 effects pedals, that entire system is the instrument. Each step of the way there's either an output impedance, an input impedance, or both. It's funny that someone asked a question about why pedal designers seem to have standardised on a circular shaft Pot, rather then a 'D' shaft. So they have sort of come to a consensus on Pot shaft, but not on the more significant impedances. In the above example I gave, of a guitar, 4 effects pedals and an Amp the whole could sound amazing, but if I changed one element in the circuit, as a whole the whole thing could change. Perhaps a Telecaster has a different output impedance effecting the entire system, perhaps for the better, perhaps for the worst. If I changed an Over Drive pedal for another I might have both a different Input impedance and a different output impedance. I know engineering is a constant juggling of constrains and trade offs, but I'm surprised that there's not a consensus. So the answer 'try it out' is valid for my limited set of variables, one Amp and too few guitars ;) but as a designer you have to design for both the Telecaster and Les Paul, which might possibly have different output impedances. (I'm not even considering output levels from differing pickup designs.) I have an effect pedal which has an input for an expression pedal. I don't have an expression pedal, but decided that I have a few Pots lying around so I'll solder one to a TRS connector and plug it into the pedal. Better first check what value of Pot is used and the connections. There doesn't appear to be a consensus about the Pot used in an expression pedal. I guess that's a bad example as the Pot in an expression pedal is purely a potential divider so who cares if it's 500k or 100k, if the expression pedal is in the middle and the Pot is in the middle of its travel then everything is good. That Expression Pot isn't something in the analogue audio path. I guess, to answer my own question, that there are so many variables you can't possibly design for them. I guess someone could change the cable connecting the guitar to the first effects pedal. So doubling the length, or adding a 'curly' cable, and some people might hear the difference as the impedances change. OK OK it's 500k forget it ;) But there are limits. I recently soldered up a 'Fuzz' circuit I got out of a book. My implementation didn't work, but I was fairly sure I'd got it correct. So after re-checking I went back to the book's text on the design and the text talked about the 47k input impedance. That's funny there is no 47k resistor in the circuit schematic! The circuit schematic had a 4k7 input resistor instead of 47k. I can tell you that 4k7 doesn't produce great results.
I'd just like to say that I think you're incredibly brave - doing a live show for all of us footswitch monkeys is truly an act of courage. I cannot imagine the avalanche of comments...I don't think anyone can. 🤔 I'd be very interested in your take on modding the standard GCB-95 Crybaby, but I'll second the suggestion of the Boss DS-1. (It would give me a reason to go ahead and grab a used one, as alas, I have never owned one.)
www.a1parts.ca, canada.newark.com/, www.mouser.ca, www.axeandyoushallreceive.com, nextgenguitars.ca/, www.digikey.ca ... Not that I've had experience with them. Just the ones I know of with Canadian locations. You can go to manufacture site and check the dealer search if you have a specific component in mind. Often if it's $20 or less you can get more from beyond our borders. ($20 < no tax or duties). I generally order from eBay, try and find standard or speedpak shipping and do multiple
Hey Matt, I'm in Newfoundland and regularly use digikey - super fast, but the catalog can be hard to navigate because there's just SO MUCH they carry, especially if this is new territory for you. But NextGen are also great folks to deal with and can give you some input (great little family business, at least I think). I've ordered speakers and some small parts from them several times. Scott at Axe and You Shall Receive is also deadly, but I don't associate him with small parts. more so a dealer for some great pedals and gear. Hope that helps.
I buy many of my passive components from a place in Niagara Falls named dipmicro ( www.dipmicro.com/store/ ) they don't have a HUGE inventory/catalog, but their prices are crazy cheap, they ship faster than some places, and it's Canada Post rates not UPS with surprise brokerage fees.
Just got a FF and it only sounds good cranked volume and cranked fuzz. Doesn’t need any knobs! The only adjustment needed is vol pot on single coil strat pickup. I’d move them inside just to not bump with foot.
Although you are correct about the resistors not having a polarity and that pots can be wired as resistors the lugs that you're using every time are important when it comes to the resistor value and let me explain. To use a pot as a resistor you must connect 2 lugs. The center lug, known as wiper and one of the outer two lugs. Here is where it becomes interesting. Based on which outer lug you use, the way that resistance changes, meaning if it increases cw or ccw is different. If you connect the wiper with lug 1 the resistance increases as you turn the pot cw and if you connect the wiper with lug 3 it decreases. So, based on what you want to use the pot for it makes a big difference which outer lug you choose. Additionally it's a good practice imo to always short the unused lug with the wiper, so if the pot for any reason becomes bad the resistance is at maximum, not at minimum and it may additionally help you with some noise reduction. For example if you use a pot to control the resistane of a LED and for some reason the pot becomes bad, then the resistance if you haven't shorted the unused lug with the wiper becomes zero. Zero resistance means infinate current and guess what infinate current for a LED means. I think you can get where I'm getting at. So it's also a good practice in some occasions to use both a resistor as an absolute minimum value and a pot in order to fine tune the exact resistance you want.
No. You don't get it. In this case, think of it like a door that can open either way, in or out. Regardless of whether you push or pull to open in or out, or which side of the door you're on, how skinny you need to be to fit through is the same. That's the most I know how to (no offense) "dumb it down". Not trying to be insulting, I just don't know a gentler way to say it.
@@samroney6644 I think it's more like having a door always (normally) open and you close it or having it always closed and you open it, rather than push/pull
1. I would love to see a tone bender mk III mod....MAKING IT AN OCTAVE FUZZ?!? 2. I'd also be really interested in seeing you do some mods to an octave fuzz, something like a joyo voodoo octave (other than just flipping 2 caps).
"Be your best you, because only you are who you are." Definitely the Quote of the Day. Why is this not on a T-Shirt? Is it because T-Shirt Designers Suck?
Mod one of those new Afterneath v3's... mix its guts with a korg sq-1's guts but in the same box. And of course have the sq-1 hardwired to modulate the reverb...
25:44 is funny. The question was funny and Josh reminded me of Charles Grodin in "So I Married an Axe Murderer......", when Mike Myers' brother in the movie tried to commandeer Grodin's car. I wonder if Josh even knows that scene? Perhaps.
Hey Josh. I’ve been meaning to let you and your team know that the interesting subject matter and quirky sense of humor mixed with album recommendations has made your videos some of my favorite. The live stream idea is awesome, and I’d love to get in on another Jam w/ JHS. My wife is tired of me talking about guitars and pedals lol. I did tell my Mom tho, she thinks you’re cute. 😂
Great video on the mod and enjoyed the comments follow up. Would love to see the Rat 2 mods. Wampler has a great video on rat schematic but would love to see the mods being done
Would love to see how to add a Wet/Dry knob to a pedal, assuming there's enough place in the pedal. Like a blend knob in a RAT... Thanks for your videos!
Regarding soldering units: this finnish "boutique quality" (meaning they search for in their opinion the best sounding parts and combinations, sometimes NOS components, sometimes not depending on where it matters in their opinion) DIY parts and kits shop suggests Yihuan products (mainly something like 939D+ and 938 units) for beginner builders when it comes to soldering stations. The reasoning is Yihuan building them for some other companies as well, and them being good enough to build pedals or amps and to use with lead free solder (as required to use by law here, regular citizens can't access solder with lead anymore and that puts new requirements for soldering irons). Where it falls short, they say, is professional use where you use them daily for hours, but for amateur building where you only use them with your projects they will be just fine. Adjustable temperature with lcd monitoring display, automatic temperature lowering for idle, automatic shut down, both customizable to your preferred time window. Changeable tips. So I would suggest checking out Yihuan when it comes to soldering stations, via the recommendation of some respectable builders who are very transparent in product descriptions of what's good, what's not so good but does the job if you're on a budget. The price falling to 80-90 euros.
It was good! Would love to see a couple sessions where you design a new pedal of some type, or perhaps walk through creating some of the more “simple “classic circuits. Please nerd out on the the tech. 🤘🏻
it would be really awesome if you did a video about modding the reissued big muffs! show us how to add noise gates, mids controls, internal feed back controls, voice selectors and tone stack bypassing like you did on your line of modded big muffs!
maybe a mod video where you take a pedal you might not normally recommend (cheap, certain function not ideal, failure prone) and explain a mod we could do to make the pedal sound better/last longer/work better, making it worth adding to a board!?
Josh... thanks for all this good stuff! Why hasn't anyone come up with a a toggle switch mod for germanium/ silicon diode selection on this great pedal? I mean we have similar vintage/modern options on varius pedals... so why not this? Both ARE great sounds... and why be forced to choose between them when buying??
I'm about to replace the on/off switch in a Boss CE5 that was gifted to me several years ago. Do you think I'll one day be a great pedal designer/modder and get to hand out with the guys from That Pedal Show?
14:38 & 21:21 What pedal(s) do I want JHS (Josh Scott) & Wampler (Brian Wampler) to see modded?!? Dear Wampler & JHS: I want to see you "mod" two pedals for your adoring fans! We -- the Royal We -- need a "Morning Tumnus Redux" pedal. The "Tumnal Morning" pedal. The "Tummy" pedal,...if you're not into the whole brevity thing. The "Yummy Tummy" if you are hungry for serious TONE! Along the lines of a JHS Double Barrel or Sweet Tea combo pedal,...and inspired by almost buying a Ceriatone Horse Breaker recently (I chose the black Ceriatone Centura instead),... Wampler and JHS need to get together and combine a JHS Morning Glory with a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. Add in the switch to order the pedals either way, and,.... you're welcome! Bye bye Malaysian made Ceriatone Horse Breaker with that god-awful YHUGE horse-centaur-guitar logo (probably the only reason I chose the Ceriatone Centura); and, hello USA made mojo magic! Lightning in a pedal! Sincerely, - El Daverino p.s. If We are just talking JHS modding a single pedal, Concept #2 would be to take a Keeley Electronics' Vibe-O-Verb pedal and mod it to have a tap tempo feature in place of the rate knob. Tap Tempo for all three variations: harmonic, vibrato & phaser. 'VERB is the word! Make. It. Happen. Josh. Scott! Concept #3: Take a Lovepedal Rubber Chicken and mod it so I can get an expression pedal, so I can use it like a variable wah-wah! For shits and giggles, add a modern and a vintage tone mode switch, please. Thank you. JHS needs an envelope filter pedal in its lineup!
Hi Josh ! Could you please make an episode on the Boss Ds-1 because it's pretty cheap and easy to find. A remember some years ago JHS had a synth mod version. It might be great to learn that can of stuff. Have a great day !
You should show how you do the builds of the 66 series. I would love to have my kids help on a project. Do it with your family (if you’re cool putting them on the internet).
@JHS Pedals Hi Josh... Around the net, I see figures for the HFE ranges listed as 70-85 for Q1 and 120-140 for Q2, and I see the bias of the collector of Q1 & Q2 listed as .7v for Q1 and 4.5v for Q2. However, it is not clear if these parameters apply to Ge, Si, or both types of transistors. I want to know the HFE and collector bias for both Ge and Si transistors in the Fuzz Face.
I would love to see a mod of the EHX Op-Amp Big Muff. I love love love my Keeley Psi Fuzz that I think is half Op-Amp, half transistor (???, don’t know if that makes sense but also Robert is a wizard) and I’d love to mod something myself along those lines. Also I’d love to see a mod for the Danelectro Dan Echo. I know you used to do mods for it; it’s my favorite delay ever and I’d happily pick up another to mod if you do a video on it.
Can you mod the RAT, boss DS-1, the joyo tubescreamer, and possibly show how to include the Octavio portion of the fuzz face. Also where did you get the Fluke you have on your desk? Love all of your content, it has truly pushed me to start actually taking my electrical engineering degree and applying it to my love of music rather than just doing a job, thank you!
That mod is great but what I'd like to see is a video on how to transfer the guts of a Fuzz Face into a standard rectangular box and add an LED and an external power input.
Hey Josh, lovin the modding videos, I've been modding a lot of boss pedals recently. Could you do a show on the ds-1 and/or the metal zone? I think these pedals get a lot of flack but I love em. Be nice to show people they can get some great sounds out cheap pedals
This is great Josh! Can you explain the ratings on germanium transistors? Why are low gain germaniums so hard to find even though they are recommended for great fuzz face kits. Even Smallbear doesn't guarantee low gain transistors on their expensive pairs.
Speaking of doing mods for purely selfish reasons, I just bought a JHS Pack Rat mod and I love it, but now I have an extra RAT lying around, so it'd be awesome if you did a RAT mod video so I could have a fun project to do with it while we're still quarantined.
16:20.. I epoxy goop anything that might dance around loose. I also solder over my stove with a Silicon sheet on my glass surface.. 18:31 Sziklai USSR germanium like a gt320a ..with a 1kvr between base and emitter. And a s9018 as the Driver. 20:00 so you don't series a resistor for parts count.. Just set a Variable. K. Have you ever messed with Variable Capacitors in a Fuzz Face.. I imagine the fuzz cap would be coolest to swap but having a HPF adjustment in one sweep.. Reeves 2n2face. 26:34 Complimentary Feedback Pairs with a Silicon npn and a Germanium PNP targeting really low HFE. and lots of feedback network
Mod request... I own a *lot* of gain pedals but I *always* keep coming back the the lowly Boss SD-1. The SD-1 Waza has a switch between Standard and Custom. What's up with that?
When you stood up, I saw your bottles of liquor at the back. And then I imagined you building an effect in a bottle, just like guys building a ship inside one. That would blow my mind to see a bottle effect board! But how would you activate the effects?!
What resources do you recommend to start learning how to make pedals? Maybe a small signal engineering book? You mentioned smallbear electronics for parts, so thanks for that! :) Cheers!
I just like your stream of conscious banter... I'm not kidding. It's hysterical.
When Josh said “and now you’re going down a rabbit hole in your head and I can’t save you and I’m going to walk away” it was the first time I genuinely laughed in weeks. You know it’s been a long quarantine when pots are the only thing that bring you joy.
I don't even do mods i just appreciate your way with words, and your sense of humor..
Thanks for the knowledge my brotha! We need more folks like you in the universe.
I really loved the fuzzface mod video!
Can't wait for more videos about modding other pedals! Keep it up, this is a nice idea for videos!
Thank you JHS!
I like this because...... it’s just great to hear an enthusiastic person talking intelligently about a subject they love, the wit is awesome but really just a garnish- the meat is the sharing of experience ,knowledge and love for the subject . I use shows like yours to keep me company when working ,or taking a break, and when at its best I’m left feeling as if a friend had popped by to say hi & and help with something we may have previously discussed. Hope this helps👍🎸🇬🇧
Phase 90 mod! I love the history of the pedals, and your schematics were really easy to understand while you explain them.
Modify a big muff, I absolutely love this series, it make me feel so inspired, please make more!!!!!!
THANK YOU Josh for the Education. I've purchased several pedals after watching Your Videos. I'm a Bass Player and a lot of pedals are good for Bass Guitar. All the Best to You and keep on Rocking.
I'd love to see some DS-1 or RAT2 mods. Also, this stream was really good, aside from left ear getting all the attention and the fact that I completely missed it live lol
Thanks for the knowledge. You keep pointing out rabbit holes and I keep jumping down 'em.
I love that your workshop is the same as mine - section for whiskey, section for plans, section for to do, and tools
Thanks Josh. Good point about having an appropriately hot soldering iron to melt the solder on a PCB. Also, I find solder wick works more safely on those delicate PBC traces than a solder sucker when removing the solder for through-hole components. I built a germanium Fuzz Face last year with bias control on Q2. Love it! Next project is a Mosrite-style fuzz. PS - love that whisky shelf.
Instead of Record Time could you do a "Whiskey Time" and tell us about your favorite whiskeys? Also, more circuit explanations would be dope. Thx.
Show / make vid showing the Soul Food mod!! Pretty Pleeeease Josh, please. Thanks for all the killer info, I really like your enthusiasm for all things pedal.
I love you're show and you're enthusiasm for creating and sharing such a vast wealth of knowledge on pedals. No one here is asking for less info and if anything is asking for more of what you have to offer. If I ever had the chance I would apply to work for you. If I was to request something for you to make a video on I would ask about how to begin building a delay or reverb pedals. Or the understanding of how these work along with any neat mods you've done. I know you have a hole bucket of Boss Delay pedals. We love you, stay safe.
Thank you josh for giving me the lovvvve and passion for pedal (since I start to watch your clips).
Josh on why the DC power jack wasn't done: "I was Hungry"
Too funny dude
Have a look at Adam Savage's Tested one day builds / live builds. I think I'd like to see builds of DIY kits, or maybe you building one of the the JHS pedals (your choice on the design). I liked the conversation here.
Thanks for doing this great Q&A! Would love to see you do a Boss TR-2 mod for volume/tone issues.
A DS-1 mod would be good because everyone could follow along as everybody on earth has one👌
Danny Upton, I would prefer an SD-1/OD-1 (also Boss) but the DS-1 is pretty cool too.
Yes! Either the Lexi-Drive or the Synth-Drive mod! :D
Josh is the man!! Great products, Great Videos!! Great Company!! I love all my JHS pedals (Buffer, AB switch, Milkman, Spring Tank reverb, Twin Twelve) on my board. I wish I could get more but I have to answer to my wife first:)
Next Pedals to MOD: Boss DS-1... BTW my favorite weird Boss pedal is the XT-2 Xtortion. Also streaming ideas: bring on a live performance of a local band/artist as a way to do record time without “copyright RUclips police”
🤓 love what you do Josh👍
I vote DS-1 for the next mod.
On a side note, I (and probably many people here) would love an episode devoted to the technical side of pedal design. I'd love to just hear you talk about stuff like transistor leakage, positive ground, etc.
For all those requesting mods to this and that: A number of "classic" pedals that were once thru-hole format have been converted to wave-soldered surface-mount over the years. As much as their *designs* are amenable to some very simple, pleasing and hip mods, modding surface-mount boards is a few orders of magnitude more difficult for beginners than modding a thru-hole board, and can easily wreck a pedal if not done right. So make sure your requests are for thru-hole units.
I agree. A DS1 mod video would be great. Theres so many to choose from and it's fun to play with those diodes.
I really liked the mod video and this follow up. I would suggest maybe trying to take a question from chat in between each preselected question to make it less overwhelming at the end. Also I really like the idea of cheap pedal mods, so more people can realistically try it for themselves. Thanks for the great content!
Yes!!! Please do a break down of ratt, but really the ultimate would be a breakdown and mods of a MK1 expandora and/or a univox superfuzz!!!
A friend of mine knows all about electronics. I give him shit that it is all witchcraft. I dont even understand electricity. Listening to your explanations, I definitely don't understand electricity. I just love the way fuzz faces sound. And feel. Therefore, thank you. I have faith in you Josh. You are the witchmaster king boss.
The livestream was great! My vote if you do another mod video would be the Joyo or another affordable choice (100ish or under) so more people would have the chance to try it out. Thank you so much for the content as always!
Hey Josh, I like your videos because you're funny... and nerdy. I would definitely watch more pedal mod videos, and greatly appreciate the dropping of knowledge. How about a walkthrough on your Micro Vibe mod that I slept on and missed the boat? Cheers
Thanks for your time Josh. Really appreciated the knowledge sharing.
👍
Would definitely appreciate a Rat modding episode as I have an OP amp socket to install and a rotary switch with a bunch of diodes, Led's and FET's to play with.
We love this because we can pick your brain live & we all learn from that!
Let's modify Metal Zone! I like this live stream thing, because you're you and only you are who you are!
As a Joyo Vintage Overdrive owner, I'd love a look into your mindset when looking over something I can literally follow along with you.
Please give that idea its day in the sun! Or maybe if you're tempted by diving into a DOD Grunge...!
I like this platform because it's unedited Josh Scott, a guy like me who is 6'6", but weighs less than my 255, and is much wittier. We share many opinions, and like you I dig anything technical, and love vintage gear and the music it makes!
I like the live engagement. You need to give us a heads up in advance of when the livestream will be.
Again brilliant of you to share your knowledge and answer a few questions. My question was the one that got garbled as it might have crossed a page boundary. The first part of my question was the change of Output Volume Pot value. You answered that, it was not so much about the value as the change from Log to Linear. The second part of my question, (the rabbit hole of impedance) was about the why of the value of the 500k Pot. That value might well be obvious to you but I've seen circuits with widely varying values for the Output Pot and thus output impedance, so why do some designers choose 100k and why 500k, or anywhere in between?
The obvious answer is to try it out and see, but given all the variables I can't try it out. By that I mean that in some ways an electric guitar is like the mouth piece of a brass instrument. It's part, a significant part, of the musical instrument as a whole. If between my electric guitar and my Amp I have 4 effects pedals, that entire system is the instrument. Each step of the way there's either an output impedance, an input impedance, or both. It's funny that someone asked a question about why pedal designers seem to have standardised on a circular shaft Pot, rather then a 'D' shaft. So they have sort of come to a consensus on Pot shaft, but not on the more significant impedances. In the above example I gave, of a guitar, 4 effects pedals and an Amp the whole could sound amazing, but if I changed one element in the circuit, as a whole the whole thing could change. Perhaps a Telecaster has a different output impedance effecting the entire system, perhaps for the better, perhaps for the worst. If I changed an Over Drive pedal for another I might have both a different Input impedance and a different output impedance. I know engineering is a constant juggling of constrains and trade offs, but I'm surprised that there's not a consensus. So the answer 'try it out' is valid for my limited set of variables, one Amp and too few guitars ;) but as a designer you have to design for both the Telecaster and Les Paul, which might possibly have different output impedances. (I'm not even considering output levels from differing pickup designs.)
I have an effect pedal which has an input for an expression pedal. I don't have an expression pedal, but decided that I have a few Pots lying around so I'll solder one to a TRS connector and plug it into the pedal. Better first check what value of Pot is used and the connections. There doesn't appear to be a consensus about the Pot used in an expression pedal. I guess that's a bad example as the Pot in an expression pedal is purely a potential divider so who cares if it's 500k or 100k, if the expression pedal is in the middle and the Pot is in the middle of its travel then everything is good. That Expression Pot isn't something in the analogue audio path.
I guess, to answer my own question, that there are so many variables you can't possibly design for them. I guess someone could change the cable connecting the guitar to the first effects pedal. So doubling the length, or adding a 'curly' cable, and some people might hear the difference as the impedances change. OK OK it's 500k forget it ;)
But there are limits. I recently soldered up a 'Fuzz' circuit I got out of a book. My implementation didn't work, but I was fairly sure I'd got it correct. So after re-checking I went back to the book's text on the design and the text talked about the 47k input impedance. That's funny there is no 47k resistor in the circuit schematic! The circuit schematic had a 4k7 input resistor instead of 47k. I can tell you that 4k7 doesn't produce great results.
I like this. Good insight into your process and matter of fact presentation
I'd just like to say that I think you're incredibly brave - doing a live show for all of us footswitch monkeys is truly an act of courage. I cannot imagine the avalanche of comments...I don't think anyone can. 🤔
I'd be very interested in your take on modding the standard GCB-95 Crybaby, but I'll second the suggestion of the Boss DS-1. (It would give me a reason to go ahead and grab a used one, as alas, I have never owned one.)
Q: where's a good place to buy pedal parts/pots, particularly in Canada?
In the Good Ole USA, of course
www.a1parts.ca, canada.newark.com/, www.mouser.ca, www.axeandyoushallreceive.com, nextgenguitars.ca/, www.digikey.ca ... Not that I've had experience with them. Just the ones I know of with Canadian locations. You can go to manufacture site and check the dealer search if you have a specific component in mind. Often if it's $20 or less you can get more from beyond our borders. ($20 < no tax or duties). I generally order from eBay, try and find standard or speedpak shipping and do multiple
Hey Matt, I'm in Newfoundland and regularly use digikey - super fast, but the catalog can be hard to navigate because there's just SO MUCH they carry, especially if this is new territory for you. But NextGen are also great folks to deal with and can give you some input (great little family business, at least I think). I've ordered speakers and some small parts from them several times. Scott at Axe and You Shall Receive is also deadly, but I don't associate him with small parts. more so a dealer for some great pedals and gear. Hope that helps.
I buy many of my passive components from a place in Niagara Falls named dipmicro ( www.dipmicro.com/store/ ) they don't have a HUGE inventory/catalog, but their prices are crazy cheap, they ship faster than some places, and it's Canada Post rates not UPS with surprise brokerage fees.
Yes, please do a video on modifying the Joyo vintage overdrive! I have it but have never liked it so I'd love to see what you'd change about it!
Great episode, gentlemen. Thank you for it.
Man... This show is so great you should think of a course, like: "Electronics for pedals! Even dummies can"
Fernando Hildebrand I can only press like on this once...
@@BillyTalentguitar1 ? I don't understand.. " press on" what?
Just got a FF and it only sounds good cranked volume and cranked fuzz. Doesn’t need any knobs! The only adjustment needed is vol pot on single coil strat pickup. I’d move them inside just to not bump with foot.
Although you are correct about the resistors not having a polarity and that pots can be wired as resistors the lugs that you're using every time are important when it comes to the resistor value and let me explain. To use a pot as a resistor you must connect 2 lugs. The center lug, known as wiper and one of the outer two lugs. Here is where it becomes interesting. Based on which outer lug you use, the way that resistance changes, meaning if it increases cw or ccw is different. If you connect the wiper with lug 1 the resistance increases as you turn the pot cw and if you connect the wiper with lug 3 it decreases. So, based on what you want to use the pot for it makes a big difference which outer lug you choose. Additionally it's a good practice imo to always short the unused lug with the wiper, so if the pot for any reason becomes bad the resistance is at maximum, not at minimum and it may additionally help you with some noise reduction. For example if you use a pot to control the resistane of a LED and for some reason the pot becomes bad, then the resistance if you haven't shorted the unused lug with the wiper becomes zero. Zero resistance means infinate current and guess what infinate current for a LED means. I think you can get where I'm getting at. So it's also a good practice in some occasions to use both a resistor as an absolute minimum value and a pot in order to fine tune the exact resistance you want.
No. You don't get it. In this case, think of it like a door that can open either way, in or out. Regardless of whether you push or pull to open in or out, or which side of the door you're on, how skinny you need to be to fit through is the same. That's the most I know how to (no offense) "dumb it down". Not trying to be insulting, I just don't know a gentler way to say it.
@@samroney6644 I think it's more like having a door always (normally) open and you close it or having it always closed and you open it, rather than push/pull
Thanks for this! And more of this please!
Josh will not feed trolls, lol. Awesomeness!
I wish for an episode, where we/you can troubleshoot and fix broken pedals.
How about a mod for the DS1 - just because everyone already has one, love your work etc...👍🎸🇬🇧
Totally sought out video again today, after a 24 hour self-debate, to say DS-1. ... so I concur, Dr...
1. I would love to see a tone bender mk III mod....MAKING IT AN OCTAVE FUZZ?!?
2. I'd also be really interested in seeing you do some mods to an octave fuzz, something like a joyo voodoo octave (other than just flipping 2 caps).
"Be your best you, because only you are who you are." Definitely the Quote of the Day. Why is this not on a T-Shirt? Is it because T-Shirt Designers Suck?
Quote shirts are for folks that don't think a bumper sticker gives them enough attention.
Thank you for these it helps tremendously.
My pick is the voodoo octave by joyo
Mod one of those new Afterneath v3's... mix its guts with a korg sq-1's guts but in the same box. And of course have the sq-1 hardwired to modulate the reverb...
25:44 is funny. The question was funny and Josh reminded me of Charles Grodin in "So I Married an Axe Murderer......", when Mike Myers' brother in the movie tried to commandeer Grodin's car. I wonder if Josh even knows that scene? Perhaps.
The video paused on my TV when you said, “Alexa, stop”. Took me a while to figure it out. 😂
For some reason I couldn’t comment while this was live, but good morning from New Zealand 🇳🇿, and thanks for doing this Q&A session follow up!
Bluesbreaker mods... PLEASE JOSH
Hey Josh. I’ve been meaning to let you and your team know that the interesting subject matter and quirky sense of humor mixed with album recommendations has made your videos some of my favorite. The live stream idea is awesome, and I’d love to get in on another Jam w/ JHS. My wife is tired of me talking about guitars and pedals lol. I did tell my Mom tho, she thinks you’re cute. 😂
You're awesome Josh !
Mods- Op amp Big Muff, Rat and the Joyo tube screamer you mentioned! Cheers Josh!
Great video on the mod and enjoyed the comments follow up. Would love to see the Rat 2 mods. Wampler has a great video on rat schematic but would love to see the mods being done
Would love to see how to add a Wet/Dry knob to a pedal, assuming there's enough place in the pedal. Like a blend knob in a RAT... Thanks for your videos!
Josh waiting for the parts and fuss to mod enjoyed the live QA. Your you tube channel is awesome!!
Explain more circuits. How does the signal travel through? What does every single part do to the sound?
Regarding soldering units: this finnish "boutique quality" (meaning they search for in their opinion the best sounding parts and combinations, sometimes NOS components, sometimes not depending on where it matters in their opinion) DIY parts and kits shop suggests Yihuan products (mainly something like 939D+ and 938 units) for beginner builders when it comes to soldering stations.
The reasoning is Yihuan building them for some other companies as well, and them being good enough to build pedals or amps and to use with lead free solder (as required to use by law here, regular citizens can't access solder with lead anymore and that puts new requirements for soldering irons). Where it falls short, they say, is professional use where you use them daily for hours, but for amateur building where you only use them with your projects they will be just fine. Adjustable temperature with lcd monitoring display, automatic temperature lowering for idle, automatic shut down, both customizable to your preferred time window. Changeable tips. So I would suggest checking out Yihuan when it comes to soldering stations, via the recommendation of some respectable builders who are very transparent in product descriptions of what's good, what's not so good but does the job if you're on a budget. The price falling to 80-90 euros.
It was good! Would love to see a couple sessions where you design a new pedal of some type, or perhaps walk through creating some of the more “simple “classic circuits.
Please nerd out on the the tech. 🤘🏻
it would be really awesome if you did a video about modding the reissued big muffs! show us how to add noise gates, mids controls, internal feed back controls, voice selectors and tone stack bypassing like you did on your line of modded big muffs!
The more everyone can be educated by you the better for the world.
Yes thanks Josh ... Like the new format .. especially because you cut the rubbish and chased the truth in 30 mins or so
maybe a mod video where you take a pedal you might not normally recommend (cheap, certain function not ideal, failure prone) and explain a mod we could do to make the pedal sound better/last longer/work better, making it worth adding to a board!?
Josh... thanks for all this good stuff!
Why hasn't anyone come up with a a toggle switch mod for germanium/ silicon diode selection on this great pedal? I mean we have similar vintage/modern options on varius pedals... so why not this? Both ARE great sounds... and why be forced to choose between them when buying??
The mxr dookie has 2 internal pots that can be adjusted, it's right in the manual like you said
Missed it live, but enjoyed it.
I'm about to replace the on/off switch in a Boss CE5 that was gifted to me several years ago. Do you think I'll one day be a great pedal designer/modder and get to hand out with the guys from That Pedal Show?
14:38 & 21:21
What pedal(s) do I want JHS (Josh Scott) & Wampler (Brian Wampler) to see modded?!?
Dear Wampler & JHS:
I want to see you "mod" two pedals for your adoring fans! We -- the Royal We -- need a "Morning Tumnus Redux" pedal. The "Tumnal Morning" pedal. The "Tummy" pedal,...if you're not into the whole brevity thing. The "Yummy Tummy" if you are hungry for serious TONE!
Along the lines of a JHS Double Barrel or Sweet Tea combo pedal,...and inspired by almost buying a Ceriatone Horse Breaker recently (I chose the black Ceriatone Centura instead),... Wampler and JHS need to get together and combine a JHS Morning Glory with a Wampler Tumnus Deluxe. Add in the switch to order the pedals either way, and,.... you're welcome!
Bye bye Malaysian made Ceriatone Horse Breaker with that god-awful YHUGE horse-centaur-guitar logo (probably the only reason I chose the Ceriatone Centura); and, hello USA made mojo magic! Lightning in a pedal!
Sincerely,
- El Daverino
p.s. If We are just talking JHS modding a single pedal, Concept #2 would be to take a Keeley Electronics' Vibe-O-Verb pedal and mod it to have a tap tempo feature in place of the rate knob. Tap Tempo for all three variations: harmonic, vibrato & phaser. 'VERB is the word! Make. It. Happen. Josh. Scott!
Concept #3: Take a Lovepedal Rubber Chicken and mod it so I can get an expression pedal, so I can use it like a variable wah-wah! For shits and giggles, add a modern and a vintage tone mode switch, please. Thank you. JHS needs an envelope filter pedal in its lineup!
Yaas!
Hi Josh ! Could you please make an episode on the Boss Ds-1 because it's pretty cheap and easy to find. A remember some years ago JHS had a synth mod version. It might be great to learn that can of stuff. Have a great day !
I have a Soulfood was wondering if you think of any mods that could help it any i like it as is but i want to love it
Great show man!
You should show how you do the builds of the 66 series. I would love to have my kids help on a project. Do it with your family (if you’re cool putting them on the internet).
To me reading schematics like reading music notes, why can’t we have tabs for everything :D
Reading schematics is way easier than music notes, actually.
How would you filter out radio stations the pedal pics up? Granted everything else in the signal chain is working properly…
@JHS Pedals Hi Josh... Around the net, I see figures for the HFE ranges listed as 70-85 for Q1 and 120-140 for Q2, and I see the bias of the collector of Q1 & Q2 listed as .7v for Q1 and 4.5v for Q2. However, it is not clear if these parameters apply to Ge, Si, or both types of transistors. I want to know the HFE and collector bias for both Ge and Si transistors in the Fuzz Face.
I would love to see a mod of the EHX Op-Amp Big Muff. I love love love my Keeley Psi Fuzz that I think is half Op-Amp, half transistor (???, don’t know if that makes sense but also Robert is a wizard) and I’d love to mod something myself along those lines. Also I’d love to see a mod for the Danelectro Dan Echo. I know you used to do mods for it; it’s my favorite delay ever and I’d happily pick up another to mod if you do a video on it.
Can you mod the RAT, boss DS-1, the joyo tubescreamer, and possibly show how to include the Octavio portion of the fuzz face. Also where did you get the Fluke you have on your desk? Love all of your content, it has truly pushed me to start actually taking my electrical engineering degree and applying it to my love of music rather than just doing a job, thank you!
How does your livestream look amazing when everyone else's look like they were filmed on a 90's Nokia
That mod is great but what I'd like to see is a video on how to transfer the guts of a Fuzz Face into a standard rectangular box and add an LED and an external power input.
Hey Josh, lovin the modding videos, I've been modding a lot of boss pedals recently. Could you do a show on the ds-1 and/or the metal zone? I think these pedals get a lot of flack but I love em. Be nice to show people they can get some great sounds out cheap pedals
This is great Josh! Can you explain the ratings on germanium transistors? Why are low gain germaniums so hard to find even though they are recommended for great fuzz face kits. Even Smallbear doesn't guarantee low gain transistors on their expensive pairs.
Speaking of doing mods for purely selfish reasons, I just bought a JHS Pack Rat mod and I love it, but now I have an extra RAT lying around, so it'd be awesome if you did a RAT mod video so I could have a fun project to do with it while we're still quarantined.
So the stock Fuzz Face is rather designed for a Gibson (500K vol) or for a Strat (250K vol) ?
Awesome channel !!
16:20.. I epoxy goop anything that might dance around loose. I also solder over my stove with a Silicon sheet on my glass surface..
18:31 Sziklai USSR germanium like a gt320a ..with a 1kvr between base and emitter. And a s9018 as the Driver.
20:00 so you don't series a resistor for parts count.. Just set a Variable. K.
Have you ever messed with Variable Capacitors in a Fuzz Face.. I imagine the fuzz cap would be coolest to swap but having a HPF adjustment in one sweep..
Reeves 2n2face.
26:34 Complimentary Feedback Pairs with a Silicon npn and a Germanium PNP targeting really low HFE. and lots of feedback network
I want to see how to mod a Boss TR-2! These are excellent videos!
I'd like to know about your whiskey collection. What is the best to drink while modding pedals?
You're the king. I want to see your favorite boss mods.
Mod request... I own a *lot* of gain pedals but I *always* keep coming back the the lowly Boss SD-1. The SD-1 Waza has a switch between Standard and Custom. What's up with that?
When you stood up, I saw your bottles of liquor at the back. And then I imagined you building an effect in a bottle, just like guys building a ship inside one. That would blow my mind to see a bottle effect board! But how would you activate the effects?!
Magnetic reed switch or Hall effect switch.
Hey Josh! love the dad joke!!! and now im guessing i need to go out and get a fuzz face!!
I’d love to see you mod the joyo tubescreamer. I got one on the shelf, don’t know what to do with it. And I got the box
What resources do you recommend to start learning how to make pedals? Maybe a small signal engineering book? You mentioned smallbear electronics for parts, so thanks for that! :) Cheers!