I’ve been posting pretty sporadically this year. I’ve been working hard on projects for the band and such, but the muse to write and an actual electronic work station have been missing since the wife and I found ourselves together in a single bedroom apartment. Oh yeah, and I work a lot, funneling most of my paycheck to pay off debt. Funny how life gets in the way of, you know, this self-aggrandizing bullshit.
Well, last night I found myself on the floor of our rehearsal space, trying not to lose screws in the carpet and diagnosing bandmates’ broken gear. Sean managed to fry out the zener projection diode in his just-acquired DigiTech Black-13 pedal by plugging in the wrong voltage. Ben’s B-52 Stealth Series ST-100A had some bad power tubes. It’s all stuff that’s very important to fix, but not very interesting to write a post on. So, I thought maybe it’s a good time to stop exulting myself. Instead, I’ll let others do that by showing off their work that some of my posts helped along. Altruistic to the end.
Sam wrote me about after reading my article on the DOD FX-90 Analog Delay. I can’t find the original missive, but he used some of my article to hone this little beauty.
Sam completely rehoused the FX-90 in a new enclosure with a snazzy old-school amp light he says is his “thing.” Along with the true-bypass mod, he added his own cool innovation. He added a momentary switch that shorts out the legs of the “repeat” potentiometer and sends the delay instantly into self-oscillation, no knob-twisting required. Simple, yet effective.
Rolf read my article on lighting up a vintage MXR Phase 90. He did such a good job recreating the work, I feel like I’m looking at a picture of my own pedal.
I don’t know if Rolf true-bypassed his Phase 90, but he did an excellent job on adding a light plate. I love this mod because it’s completely reversible, so as to not devalue your vintage pedal. And it looks like fucking Tron.
It’s nice to get feedback like this. Running a tiny little blog off my own website offers very little reward when 99% of the comments I get are from spambots. Were that some editor discovered my writing or art and offered me a job. Lacking that, I do find reward in helping people out with what limited knowledge I have. I thank them for sharing their successes with me. Cheers, Sam and Rolf!
Hey Ross, I love your articles, especially the ones involving electronics. I might not have replicated your work, but your articles are educational, interesting and funny! Keep up the good work!
I too really enjoy your articles. Although I'm a drummer I still find your work with electronics and general pursuit of DIY inspiring. Your posts on here make me wonder, "Can I add bluetooth to a car stereo and install it myself?" or "How can I open my garage door with my cell phone?" and go about these accordingly with soldering iron in hand and ignorance as my guide.
I hate to read about your hardships but to me it sounds like your living a much more fulfilling life than any techie bubble riding asshole in the Bay. I just hope you'll continue writing because even non-gear heads such as myself can gain a lot from your determination and creativity in fixing gear and life on the road. Thank you.
I just wanted to say how thankful I am for your website! I was able to do this to my Phase 90 and a friend’s Distortion +. I also followed your guide on true bypassing the DOD pedals and did it on my FX-53 Classic Tube pedal (had to do the “circuit bending” and did an actual circuit bend as well haha).
Thanks for all of your guides! Without this website I would have never gotten into modding!
happy to help and thanks for sharing your successes!