Building a pedal from a kit

[Hulakatt]

So I got itchy to build another pedal and decided to document my build for anyone interested. I picked the WH Red Llama from GGG because I've been pleased with GGG stuff in the past, I have never played a red llama and could not afford one and it is a pretty simple circuit to work with. I already had an enclosure lying around that I scored on ebay with a cool paint job that I've been looking for something to stick in.

Test fitting all of the hard ware to the case




I pre-bend the resistors to help getting them onto the board


I populate the board with the resistors 1st because they are less sensitive to the heat as I solder everything else and they have the lowest profile to ease placing other components


Quick, clean solder points on the back of the board. I bend the leads a little to help the resistors stay in place as I solder them


Next the diode and the capacitors go on


and the last part for the board is the IC socket


I figured this was a good place to stop for the night. I'll finish wiring the board to everything else tomorrow night and then post the rest of the build afterwards.

[Hulakatt]

started to wire in the non pcb connections


using tape and tuck to keep wire runs clean


skipped a whole buncha steps cause the pics didn't come out


and away we go! don't mind the extra hole, the guy I bought the case from pre-drilled it and some of the holes are in awkward places but I really like the design


It sounds pretty cool! Definitely a sound I don't have already, kinda gnarly like a muff but brighter and more transparent. yeah I know it's not hard to be more transparent than a muff

[Glass Onion]

That is a nice looking build up and very clean looking. I have to try even harder to get the picks and clips up of my pedal from the other thread.

[WarrenZ]

How does it sound?

[Hulakatt]

Thank you.

It has a sound that is unlike any other overdrive/distortion/fuzz I've played with before. It's hard to nail down which it is as it can be used pretty effectively as each with better use as an overdrive or distortion. It's odd because it can be quite "buzzy" but let a good amout of "cleanish" sound through, almost like a dual amp setup. Single notes have clarity with kind of a buzzy halo around it that increases as you dig in to it. Reacts differently with strats and LP's and to my Marshall and my 5e3. With the LP and the Marshall I can get some pretty great rock tones. It works well with rhythm and lead playing but I think it is better suited for rhythm.

I'll try to record some clips and post them later this weekend.

[Hulakatt]

oh, and it's brighter than most dirt boxes. most dirt pedals seem to emulate an overdriven marshall and this is more like an overdriven blackface.

[Sixa]

Hulakatt,

Thank You for this. Looks GREAT so far!
Please keep us posted.

[Hulakatt]

thank you,
one of my friends with a decent camera is coming over tonight. we'll try to record some clips with different guitars and amps.

Got one more bag of parts and an enclosure, probably start that one on monday night. I picked up a wonderful bubble gum pink metallic sparkle box from pedal parts plus that does not fit in at all with any other piece of gear I own. Gonna build a fine, fine overdrive into it. visually reminds me of a glittery version of the the Frantone cream puff. I used to own one and loved the look but it really could get harsh.

[Once Far Off]

Yes, yes, yes. Clips with audio please...

[marvelboy_04]

would this be a good first build?

[Hulakatt]

This would be a pretty solid first build. It has a low parts count so there are less things to keep track of and screw up. My kit shipped with extra resistors, might have been a fluke or just to be available for tweaking values. Just make sure you use a decent soldering iron rated around 15watts or so. A soldering gun will not be accurate enough and a higher wattage gun can damage some of the parts pretty quick [especially the caps!]. It also helps that I got mine for only about $30, ggg has them on sale for the month and I didn't need the enclosure.

[Hulakatt]

oh btw, here you go
please excuse my playing, I'm a tech playing guitar not a guitarist playing tech.



It's a Gibson LP studio mahogany -> red llama -> soultone/marshall 20watt lead & bass -> avatar 2x12 w/hellatones

I recorded another vid with my mim strat and will get that up tomorrow. It does react differently with different guitars.

[Hulakatt]

ok,
here's a mim strat [callaham bridge] -> red llama -> the same marshall 20watt lead and bass w/avatar 2x12 cab

[Hulakatt]

bump

[dmc777]

Nice build. What IC does the Red Llama use? Also, any particular place you find prepainted housings like that for cheap like that on ebay or did you just stumble across it?