# BB-MB - So cool.



## HamishR (Jun 13, 2020)

After seeing what some of you guys present here I feel a bit inferior for my minimalist pedal exteriors. I do feel like I should probably try to at least label what the knobs do but I genuinely like the bare look. Overall though I am more interested in what the thing sounds like.

Anyway I am delighted to have finally built myself a version of the BB-MB overdrive. I used all the same mods I used in my BB I built on vero. I haven't had more than about 2 minutes on it yet but it sounds great already. One important mod which I believe existed on some BBs is to use four diodes in the clipping rather than two. It gives the pedal some extra punch and I love that. This has to be one of the punchiest, clearest, usable ODs around.

Thanks so  much to Mr PCB for responding to my request - I am stoked!


----------



## Barry (Jun 13, 2020)

Looks Great


----------



## TheSin (Jun 13, 2020)

HamishR said:


> After seeing what some of you guys present here I feel a bit inferior for my minimalist pedal exteriors. I do feel like I should probably try to at least label what the knobs do but I genuinely like the bare look. Overall though I am more interested in what the thing sounds like.
> 
> Anyway I am delighted to have finally built myself a version of the BB-MB overdrive. I used all the same mods I used in my BB I built on vero. I haven't had more than about 2 minutes on it yet but it sounds great already. One important mod which I believe existed on some BBs is to use four diodes in the clipping rather than two. It gives the pedal some extra punch and I love that. This has to be one of the punchiest, clearest, usable ODs around.
> 
> Thanks so  much to Mr PCB for responding to my request - I am stoked!View attachment 4918View attachment 4919


Nice build! I keep my pedal exteriors plain we well, just a decal on the knobs only. It takes so much time to build these things (especially vero builds) that I don’t have the urge to spend even more time designing decals & buying printers, etc....someday maybe I’ll take a dive into it. 
I bought this pcb but haven’t built it yet. After seeing yours I can’t wait!


----------



## Nostradoomus (Jun 13, 2020)

Clean as hell man, very nice!


----------



## HamishR (Jun 13, 2020)

Well thanks guys!  Maybe on the next run of these (if they do such things) Mr PCB could make space to put four diodes or two diodes in the clipping section? I'm happy to stand mine up but it shouldn't be too hard to make room for four diodes?

I was really keen to see how Xotic implemented the mid-boost bit. It's quite clever from a lay-person's viewpoint because it doesn't happen in the EQ section. So the mid boost isn't affecting the bass and treble and almost acts more as an overall boost than adjusting the mid frequencies in the EQ would do. It's better than the typical 3-band EQ IMO. Well different anyway!


----------



## cooder (Jun 13, 2020)

Very nice build, I'm curious about this one too! On my list...


----------



## HamishR (Jun 13, 2020)

Well I've actually had more of a chance to play this new pedal today. It's different from my (very brief!) experience yesterday. At around noon nudging the mid boost up a little does seem to thicken the tone. But as you increase the level of the mids know it gets a lot brighter too. So I checked the schematic I drew up from the board against a TS schematic and the mid-boost is simply the tone control of a TS, unless I've got something wrong.

But it all seems to work. If you turn treble down when you bring up the mid-boost it changes the tone, subtly thickening it. I suspect you could turn the board into a straight BB if you wanted by putting the right resistors into the mid boost pot's connections.

So it's odd that they call it a mid-boost. I don't really care because it sounds so good anyway. I don't remember my old BB-MB responding quite this way but then that was a long time and hundreds of overdrives ago.  I'll be interested to hear what you guys think once you build it. To be fair I have gently modded mine but not in any ways which should affect how the MB works.


----------



## cooder (Jun 13, 2020)

HamishR said:


> Well I've actually had more of a chance to play this new pedal today. It's different from my (very brief!) experience yesterday. At around noon nudging the mid boost up a little does seem to thicken the tone. But as you increase the level of the mids know it gets a lot brighter too. So I checked the schematic I drew up from the board against a TS schematic and the mid-boost is simply the tone control of a TS, unless I've got something wrong.
> 
> But it all seems to work. If you turn treble down when you bring up the mid-boost it changes the tone, subtly thickening it. I suspect you could turn the board into a straight BB if you wanted by putting the right resistors into the mid boost pot's connections.
> 
> So it's odd that they call it a mid-boost. I don't really care because it sounds so good anyway. I don't remember my old BB-MB responding quite this way but then that was a long time and hundreds of overdrives ago.  I'll be interested to hear what you guys think once you build it. To be fair I have gently modded mine but not in any ways which should affect how the MB works.


I'd be keen to see the schematic of the BB MB in.... would be interesting to see how the mid control is implemented.


----------



## HamishR (Jun 13, 2020)

Well I am loath to post it here because Mr PCB hasn't posted his yet - plus I may have got it wrong! But it does seem to me to be exactly how the tone control is done in a TS808 or TS9. The tone section is on the second chip. There is a lot of stuff (to use a technical term) in a BB and I suspect that's why it has so much punch.


----------



## music6000 (Jun 13, 2020)

You might have to build the just released PedalPCB Oxide Distortion, Ibanez's first 3 band Overdrive pedal!


----------



## HamishR (Jun 13, 2020)

Was that the Mostortion?  I built one of those. Quite forgettable - I've forgotten what it sounds like!


----------



## music6000 (Jun 13, 2020)

Yes, Look at my other post in *General Questions* for the Demo's!


----------



## ~nick~ (Jun 13, 2020)

I’m very interested in hearing this pedal and building it if it has that clear punchy OD. That’s exactly what I’m looking for tbh.  Gonna follow this thread.

edit: I searched and it seems it’s the XB-MB. Right?

Have you tried putting LEDs into the clipping stage?


----------



## HamishR (Jun 13, 2020)

I'm generally not a huge fan of LEDs as clipping diodes. I get why a lot of players like them but they're not for me. The stock BB-MB has two 1N4148s for clipping while the regular BB has been reported as having used two and in some models four 1N4148s. I would recommend using four if you want punchy.


----------



## ~nick~ (Jun 13, 2020)

Punchy is desired. May I ask, how dynamic is it with pick attack, and also rolling off the volume on the guitar compared to other dynamic?


----------



## Chuck D. Bones (Jun 13, 2020)

Nice!


----------



## HamishR (Jun 14, 2020)

Nick my whole thing is that range where if you pick softly it's clean and if you hit harder it's dirty. I use less gain than most of my guitar-playing friends. That's why I used an audio-taper gain pot too. The BB-MB is very good at that hit-it-harder-to-get-vocal thing. I am building a small collection of pedals which are good at this! It's ok with cleaning up with the volume rolled back but really Ge fuzzes are best for that. The Barber LTD Silver is slightly better I think, but most op-amp with clipping diode ODs are just ok for cleaning up with the volume control.

If you want to be as anal as me you could use 2x 1N4001>1N4148 as clipping diodes.


----------



## ~nick~ (Jun 14, 2020)

Your reply is as informative and helpful as a few days worth of google searching.. thanks Hamish! So you put two diodes in series and double that? I’ll try this. And I’ll check out that other pedal. Which one is least forgettable to your ears? Most satisfying?

I’ll try both pedals.


----------



## HamishR (Jun 14, 2020)

I'm still trying to work out whether I prefer the LTD Silver or the BB-MB right now! Bear in mind my BB-MB is a modded version while my LTD Silver is closer to stock.  And in both I have used my favourite clipping diode combo which I stole from Rockett. It's a 1N4001 in series with a 1N4148 one way and the same the other way.  You can use all sorts of diodes obviously but I have found this simple combination to work really well in my builds in this application. Others like LEDs, BAT41s, all sorts.  Like this:





Using four diodes like this instead of two makes it punchier and less compressed. Chuck can tell you why - I can't! And different pedals work better with some amps and guitars than others. You might want more midrange if you play with a BF Fender because it has a mid-scoop in the EQ.  I like the BB with my Gretsch but seem to prefer the Barber with my 335.  I hope this helps. And there are loads of guys here who know way more than I do. This is a great forum.


----------

