# First Combo build....and it works! Mach 1/Southern Belle



## MichaelW (May 14, 2022)

This was my first attempt at a combo build, mainly because the more I listened to the video demo's of these two pedals (Greer LightSpeed and Southland) the more they seemed to belong together. I figured I'd probably wind up using them as a pair if I used them at all.

Thanks to the PedalPCB.com wiki page I was able to find the wiring scheme I needed for what I wanted to do, just a simple 2-in-1 build.

It was very gratifying to have it fire right up but I did learn a few things I'd do differently next time, mainly around the drilling. Instead of treating it as two drilling templates side by side I'd probably tweak it a little make the lay out more symmetrical and allow for more knob size options. 

Jury's still out on these pedals for me. I thought that I would like them a lot more than I initially do. Running the Mach 1 into the Southern Belle is a bit fizzy for me. Seems to work a lot better with my humbucker guitars than single coils, which is ironic since what sold me on these pedals was Mike Herman's demos on his tele mainly. I think they sound the best in low gain mode which is what they were designed for I think. The Southern Belle takes things up a notch beyond the Mach 1 by adding in some BAT41's to the complement of 1N914 diodes but whether running in tandem or individually, for me the best sounds I was getting was with the gain around noon or 1 o'clock.  

But I am very happy that I've successfully built a combo pedal and it's got me thinking about the next one already


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## Feral Feline (May 15, 2022)

Looks great!

Ahh, but shouldn't the Blue LED go with the blue knobs? 😉


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## szukalski (May 15, 2022)

Looks nice. I haven’t had much luck stacking my Mach 1, always too much high end. Alone, it’s really useful for shoegazer stuff.


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## MichaelW (May 15, 2022)

Feral Feline said:


> Looks great!
> 
> Ahh, but shouldn't the Blue LED go with the blue knobs? 😉


Hadn't thought of that, hmmm......maybe....


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## MichaelW (May 15, 2022)

szukalski said:


> Looks nice. I haven’t had much luck stacking my Mach 1, always too much high end. Alone, it’s really useful for shoegazer stuff.


Yah, that's what I'm running into, I really have to back down the tone knob to make it work. Both pedals have a deceptively large amount of high end that really gets accentuated when stacked.


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## szukalski (May 15, 2022)

I found it working well into a cranked Fuzz Face or Muffin Factory, but then it’s just a boost and I may as well use a boost. It’s a pity because it’s a really beautiful pedal in its place.


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## EGRENIER (May 15, 2022)

Nice build…. Looking at the schematic, the Mach 1 and the southern belle use a 220n in the tone stack (Mach-C8 and Belle-C6).  Maybe replacing those with a 470n would help trim the highs ?


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## swelchy (May 15, 2022)

What size enclosure is this ? 1590XX?


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## manfesto (May 15, 2022)

I like the stack the other way around, South -> Speed. Then it’s kinda like how lots of people use the KoT - the first channel is the “high gain” one that’s your base dirt tone (I *really* like the South circuit’s dirt character - very full), then the second channel is more like a boost to add some volume and brightness on top.

(Built using EffectsLayouts’s Light Land boards)


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## MichaelW (May 15, 2022)

swelchy said:


> What size enclosure is this ? 1590XX?


It’s just a 1590BB.


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## MichaelW (May 15, 2022)

manfesto said:


> I like the stack the other way around, South -> Speed. Then it’s kinda like how lots of people use the KoT - the first channel is the “high gain” one that’s your base dirt tone (I *really* like the South circuit’s dirt character - very full), then the second channel is more like a boost to add some volume and brightness on top.
> 
> (Built using EffectsLayouts’s Light Land boards)


Haha I must be backwards then: I like to use my KOT/Paragon Ch1 for a clean-ish boost and bring the rain from Ch2. I didn’t get a chance to play today but I need to experiment a bit more with these pedals. I feel like the potential is there for this combo to really kick ass but I’m missing something. I may try changing the tone caps as @EGRENIER suggested.


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## MichaelW (May 15, 2022)

EGRENIER said:


> Nice build…. Looking at the schematic, the Mach 1 and the southern belle use a 220n in the tone stack (Mach-C8 and Belle-C6).  Maybe replacing those with a 470n would help trim the highs ?


Thank you! I might give that a shot.


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## spi (May 15, 2022)

Nice looking build.  I also did a dual build with these.  I added an order switch, so I'd have the option of either order.  I usually run it LS->SL.

I like both these circuits, but I prefer the LS more than the SL. 

The SL does have a lot of high-end sizzle.  I swapped the TL072 to a LM1458 and I think I like it better that way, seemed to tame some of it.


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## MichaelW (May 15, 2022)

spi said:


> Nice looking build.  I also did a dual build with these.  I added an order switch, so I'd have the option of either order.  I usually run it LS->SL.
> 
> I like both these circuits, but I prefer the LS more than the SL.
> 
> The SL does have a lot of high-end sizzle.  I swapped the TL072 to a LM1458 and I think I like it better that way, seemed to tame some of it.


I was thinking about maybe swapping out the TL072 for maybe a 4558 or even an LM741. I gotta see what else I have in the bin to try.


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## Feral Feline (May 16, 2022)

EGRENIER said:


> Nice build…. Looking at the schematic, the Mach 1 and the southern belle use a 220n in the tone stack (Mach-C8 and Belle-C6).  Maybe replacing those with a 470n would help trim the highs ?


I'd start with 330n on the breadboard, but probably go for the 470n, because BASS!


Nonetheless for guitar, I'm wondering if the "excessive" high end would be good once its in the mix, help the guitar cut through the keyboard and cymbals...


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## Grubb (May 16, 2022)

Welcome to the Greer of Tone club!

I made my own PCB for a 2-in-1 of these circuits in a 1590BB. I like them both a lot, in fact the Mach 1 is one of my favourite builds so far. I haven't noticed any high-frequency issues, but the SB can get sizzling, in a good way. I have it set up natively to run the SB side into the M1 and mostly use it that way. The order switch I built into the pedal wasn't that useful.

Tidy-looking build Michael!

(Edited 1590B to say 1590BB)


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## MichaelW (May 16, 2022)

Grubb said:


> Welcome to the Greer of Tone club!
> 
> I made my own PCB for a 2-in-1 of these circuits in a 1590B. I like them both a lot, in fact the Mach 1 is one of my favourite builds so far. I haven't noticed any high-frequency issues, but the SB can get sizzling, in a good way. I have it set up natively to run the SB side into the M1 and mostly use it that way. The order switch I built into the pedal wasn't that useful.
> 
> Tidy-looking build Michael!


How did you fit them both in a 1590B? 

I have a Hydra Delay about 90% finished on my bench, once I get that buttoned up I'm planning on messing around with the "GOT" (hahah) a bit and maybe do some slight surgery with the tone caps.


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## Grubb (May 16, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> How did you fit them both in a 1590B?
> 
> I have a Hydra Delay about 90% finished on my bench, once I get that buttoned up I'm planning on messing around with the "GOT" (hahah) a bit and maybe do some slight surgery with the tone caps.


Typo! I lost a B. They are in a 1590BB. Good luck with the cap surgery.


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## MichaelW (May 16, 2022)

I just messed around with it a bit more just now testing my Hydra build that I just buttoned up (build report coming). 

I definitely like the Mach 1 with the gain around noon. I think I'm going to leave that side alone, it's a great sounding pedal. 
The SB side is the one I think that I need to tame a bit. That's the next project. I think I'll start with some different OpAmps then move onto tone caps if necessary. Will report back.


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## MichaelW (May 18, 2022)

Update: So my modifications on the Southern Belle side of the pedal was a total bust. I killed something when I removed C1 and R4 and can't seem to track down what I broke. I could very well be one of the solid core hook ups that I used.

So I was thinking about breaking out the audio probe to try to track down the problem but then said to myself "Self, why are you troubleshooting a pedal you don't even like?" So I decided to bag it. I re-housed the Mach 1 side (which I DO like) in it's own enclosure. I had a raw 1590B that I started drilling for another project but wound up not using.....so that part worked out. (You can actually see an extra punch mark below the footswitch)

The Southern Belle side is going on the shelf for some future troubleshooting if I ever get too full of myself and need a dose of humility.

The dual enclosure I'm sure will be used for another project.

In the context of the single pedal I really dig the Mach 1 as a low gain pedal. It joins the ranks of my Cornish CC-1, Seashore, and (yet to be built Tommy) as another flavor of low gain. Definitely has it's own thing going on and has some cool "sizzle" to the overdrive quality.


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## spi (May 18, 2022)

If you wanted to stick with a double-Greer build, put the Mach 1 back, but replace the Southern Belle with the Hatchet.  I liked the Hatchet better than Southern Bell, and it's made to be stacked behind another drive, so perfect for a double pedal.


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## MichaelW (May 18, 2022)

spi said:


> If you wanted to stick with a double-Greer build, put the Mach 1 back, but replace the Southern Belle with the Hatchet.  I liked the Hatchet better than Southern Bell, and it's made to be stacked behind another drive, so perfect for a double pedal.


Have you looked at the Soma 63? There's a PCB for it (Neurocyton) plus I have an extra TY-141P that I got for my Duocast build that needs a home. 

We're chatting about Fender Brownface era amps in the other thread, this pedal sounds right up my alley. Mach 1 into the Soma 63 sounds like it could be tasty......


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## spi (May 18, 2022)

MichaelW said:


> Have you looked at the Soma 63? There's a PCB for it (Neurocyton) plus I have an extra TY-141P that I got for my Duocast build that needs a home.
> 
> We're chatting about Fender Brownface era amps in the other thread, this pedal sounds right up my alley. Mach 1 into the Soma 63 sounds like it could be tasty......


The Soma is in my future, but I haven't built it yet.
Another reason Hatchet came to mind is that it's the same knob layout as the Southern Belle, so will fit into what you already drilled.  (And I don't know if the transformer will fit in the shallower depth of the 1590BB).


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## MichaelW (May 18, 2022)

spi said:


> The Soma is in my future, but I haven't built it yet.
> Another reason Hatchet came to mind is that it's the same knob layout as the Southern Belle, so will fit into what you already drilled.  (And I don't know if the transformer will fit in the shallower depth of the 1590BB).


Hmmm good point, I'd have to mount it off board to make it fit. Although there IS a lot of room for that.


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## moonlightpedalbuilds (Jul 11, 2022)

The Mach 1 is not available now. Is it possible to build the Mach 1 on the Southern belle pcb?


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## MichaelW (Jul 12, 2022)

moonlightpedalbuilds said:


> The Mach 1 is not available now. Is it possible to build the Mach 1 on the Southern belle pcb?


The PCB's and circuit do look really close. The SB has the extra set of clippers. But they're not exactly the same. You might be able to get close.
Btw, just looked at your Facebook page. Some REALLY awesome builds man!


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## OldManAP (Jul 20, 2022)

szukalski said:


> Looks nice. I haven’t had much luck stacking my Mach 1, always too much high end. Alone, it’s really useful for shoegazer stuff.





MichaelW said:


> Yah, that's what I'm running into, I really have to back down the tone knob to make it work. Both pedals have a deceptively large amount of high end that really gets accentuated when stacked.


My trick has been to stack it with an overdrive that most people complain has TOO MUCH bottom end: the Nobels ODR-1. The last few guitar gigs I’ve played (now, to be fair, they’ve been country gigs) I’ve mostly lived on the back pickup (split to single coil) of a Squier ‘51, Boss CS-3 always on, Lightspeed always on, Nobels for leads, EQ pedal always on set flat with just a slight push on the middle band and about the same push on the level control, into a Blues Jr. A little bit of tape-style slapback, tremolo for the pretty songs, Phase 90 for Waylon tunes. I keep a Mostortion clone for neck pickup bluesy stuff, and a Rat for the 80s.

Like I said, that has been for country gigs, but I’ve used the same board for a more typical bar rock gig, and it sounded great, even with a Gretsch or a Les Paul. I think the Nashville guys might just have it right with the Lightspeed into the Nobels. I’m a bit surprised nobody has done a commercial double pedal with derivatives of these two circuits yet.

My Nobels copy was made by KEP, and looks like a near-copy of the Aion Andromeda but built on KEP’s own PCB. Whatever it is, it has a bass control, which I did have to roll back to about 2-2:30 with humbuckers. With a bridge single coil, I leave the bass wide open, and the top end from the Lightspeed seems to balance it out just fine.


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## MichaelW (Jul 20, 2022)

OldManAP said:


> My trick has been to stack it with an overdrive that most people complain has TOO MUCH bottom end: the Nobels ODR-1. The last few guitar gigs I’ve played (now, to be fair, they’ve been country gigs) I’ve mostly lived on the back pickup (split to single coil) of a Squier ‘51, Boss CS-3 always on, Lightspeed always on, Nobels for leads, EQ pedal always on set flat with just a slight push on the middle band and about the same push on the level control, into a Blues Jr. A little bit of tape-style slapback, tremolo for the pretty songs, Phase 90 for Waylon tunes. I keep a Mostortion clone for neck pickup bluesy stuff, and a Rat for the 80s.
> 
> Like I said, that has been for country gigs, but I’ve used the same board for a more typical bar rock gig, and it sounded great, even with a Gretsch or a Les Paul. I think the Nashville guys might just have it right with the Lightspeed into the Nobels. I’m a bit surprised nobody has done a commercial double pedal with derivatives of these two circuits yet.
> 
> My Nobels copy was made by KEP, and looks like a near-copy of the Aion Andromeda but built on KEP’s own PCB. Whatever it is, it has a bass control, which I did have to roll back to about 2-2:30 with humbuckers. With a bridge single coil, I leave the bass wide open, and the top end from the Lightspeed seems to balance it out just fine.


I actually built a combo with the LightSpeed and Heavy Hand, It seems to work pretty well. LightSpeed and ODR-1 sounds pretty interesting too. I might dig out my old Nobles and see how they sound together.


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