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I've been looking for a nice small electronics project so I took some time out to build a new guitar fx pedal. I've never really seen the point of a fuzz pedal, always seemed to deteriorate the signal too much for my liking. I do like boost pedals, especially nice clean ones that push the preamp just to the point where it starts to distort the signal nicely.

Triboost

The Triboost from Build-Your-Own-Clone looked to be a good way to have a boost and go part way towards fuzz. It's not described as a beginner's kit although is suitable for beginners. I can testify to that. I am a beginner and although I can solder audio jack-sockets and cables together, it's generally messy.

This pedal took me three hours to put all the electronics and hardware together from start to finish. That included some time to find some tools that I'd forgotten I'd need (e.g. spanners and wire-stripper).

From the website:

• A germanium boost that uses an NOS European made germanium transistor
• A Silicon boost based on the Linear Power Boost for a full frequency kick with tight punchy low end
• A MosFET based boost for sparkle and chime

The toggle switch also allows for switching between treble, full range and mid-range boost on the germanium setting.

The Sound

I've no calibrated measurements for this, just my own ears and plugging the guitar into a 50W valve amp.

Well, it's clean in bypass. No additional hum there.

In clean boost, it's very nice. Just a pure gain (or reduction if you turn the knob down). I couldn't detect any noticeable tonal differences, although it does allow you to push the clipping the signal at the pre-amp stage.

The MosFet boost is useful, almost as an overdrive. I had some fun with this one, especially with the bridge humbuckers.

The Germanium setting is quieter. Could be that this was the part I messed up. It's currently held onto the board with red

insulation tape. I'd cut the legs too short. It's a rookie mistake and I'm actually happy with that. That was the only mistake I made and even so it still manages to work as long as I don't shake the pedal.

The 3-way toggle switch is only active on the germanium setting and makes a vast difference. Unfortunately, I found I had to change the boost level for each setting of the toggle switch. As it's a single button pedal, that's not really a problem, unless you want to use different settings throughout a live set.

The Board

The main part of the build is the PCB. And the one thing I noticed was that the layout was really well thought out. Everything fitted in nicely. Look around elsewhere and you'll find PCBs that look a lot worse than these.

What's left to do?

Now for the fun part: the painting. Haven't got a clue where to start. Well, actually, I'll probably start on the forum and go from there.

Hints

Take some time to read the notes on the forum for your pedal. The advice on how to put the pedals together is spot on.

Download the manual. The order in which to install and some of the advice in the manuals is invaluable.

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