# I built a bunch of PCBGM pedals so you don’t have to



## sticky1138 (Nov 3, 2022)

I just finished my last build from the stack of PCBGMs I bought on sale a while ago, and looking back, I built a lot more of them than I realized.

I would advise against ordering from there if you can, but if you happen to already own some of their PCBs, this might help you decide what is worth (or not worth) spending time on. Feel free to add to the list if you’d like.


*Acapulco Lite* (Acapulco Gold) – Works and sounds great, the pre-gain mod is useful and convenient to have on the PCB

*Forestal Device* (Westwood) – Works, but definitely does not sound the original, it’s more aggressive and fuzzy which you might find interesting, but I don’t necessarily recommend

*Sunn Beta Lead *– Works and sounds excellent, but some of the pot values or tapers are a little off and the build doc wrongfully states it fits in a 1590BB, when in fact you need a deeper enclosure if you want the jacks to fit (don’t ask me how I know)

*Terminal Device* (Terminal Fuzz) – “Works” but not like the original, it's the worst sounding POS I’ve ever heard, like a dying Gameboy blended with the clean signal, it was included with my order for free - I can’t imagine why?

*Death By Reverb* (Reverberation Machine) – Swallowing a Belton brick would be a more pleasant experience than attempting to build this horrible sounding abomination

*La Rata *(RAT) – Perfectly fine RAT clone if you build it without the mods, the sweep mod does work but I couldn’t get the softness mod to do anything

*Crisalida *(Chrysalis) – Works and sounds great, but I couldn’t get the clip toggle to do anything (maybe my fault, maybe not)

*Acapulco Tone* (Acapulco Gold with EQ) – Couldn’t get it to work and didn't care enough to troubleshoot

*Death By Overdrive* (Interstellar Overdriver) – “Works” but sounds nothing like the original and is a completely unpleasant overdrive that spikes weird frequencies, second worst dirt pedal I’ve ever played after the aforementioned Terminal

*Angry Carlos* (Angry Charlie) – Works and sounds great, but the extra clipping options don't sound good enough to include

*Cherry Fuzz* (Peach Fuzz) – Works and sounds great, no complaints


----------



## Mentaltossflycoon (Nov 3, 2022)

I only ordered there once. Acapulco tone was the one that worked for me. Sounds great, though it's quite low in the ranks within my dirt box collection. Tremolo factory, a medium sized white whale.


----------



## Diynot (Nov 3, 2022)

The Cosmos is a total bust, but I did have success with the Master Phaser and the Vutron. I have not compared to originals, but the master phaser sounds good regardless, the Vutron is a pretty meh envelope filter, whether that is circuit or pcb maker I can’t really say


----------



## Fingolfen (Nov 3, 2022)

I actually got their electric mistress clone to work... and it sounds good... though I'm planning on building the Madbean version in the not so distant future for comparison...


----------



## sticky1138 (Nov 3, 2022)

Just remembered a couple more:

Their Ghost Echo clone works as it should and sounds identical to the PPCB Spirit Box I built (obviously you should buy that version instead).

Their Gray Channel clone technically works, but it sounded kind of harsh compared to my gray spec 250 build, so I stripped it for components and then built the Effects Layouts version (Black and Tan), which is way better.


----------



## Coda (Nov 3, 2022)

Their Dark Side fuzz is shit…


----------



## giovanni (Nov 3, 2022)

I have a Cosmos but I am not sure I will ever attempt it if it’s problematic…


----------



## phi1 (Nov 3, 2022)

I helped a friend finish a tremolo factory recently. It was quite unpleasant as the layout doesn’t seem well thought out since the jacks would interfere with the pcb. He had followed the drill doc. I guess low profile jacks could have fit above the pcb (when viewed from gut), if drilled all the way to the edge. But it was too late, he cut away some of the pcb that seemed unused to put the jacks on the face. Turns out that cut through a trace that we had to track down, but in the end it works. I saw another build where they couldn’t fit the jacks so they just have 1/4” cables soldered to the pcb coming out of the jack holes, so it wasn’t just our problem.

But now there’s a PPCB version!


----------



## MichaelW (Nov 3, 2022)

sticky1138 said:


> I just finished my last build from the stack of PCBGMs I bought on sale a while ago, and looking back, I built a lot more of them than I realized.
> 
> I would advise against ordering from there if you can, but if you happen to already own some of their PCBs, this might help you decide what is worth (or not worth) spending time on. Feel free to add to the list if you’d like.
> 
> ...


I'll add that the Submarine Device (EQD Depths)
And Eagle Claw (EQD Talons) are solid builds. But why bother when you can get them from PPCB?

(Unless some really cool dude gifted you a bunch of boards


----------



## Diynot (Nov 3, 2022)

giovanni said:


> I have a Cosmos but I am not sure I will ever attempt it if it’s problematic…


Don’t do it man, not even worth the headache. Save those pt2399s and get the legit Sagan from Carcharias fx. It’s a fun build. May not have the exact same functions, but there is a reason the circuit was redesigned.


----------



## geoffrey (Dec 21, 2022)

sticky1138 said:


> I just finished my last build from the stack of PCBGMs I bought on sale a while ago, and looking back, I built a lot more of them than I realized.
> 
> I would advise against ordering from there if you can, but if you happen to already own some of their PCBs, this might help you decide what is worth (or not worth) spending time on. Feel free to add to the list if you’d like.
> 
> ...


I just received the Sunn Beta Lead and am glad to here it sounds good because I had my hopes up when I ordered it.

A couple of questions based on your comments: do you think the extra height of a 1590BBS would be sufficient? And as far as the pot tapers, do you think I should use different than what the build doc says?

Thanks for posting this!


----------



## sticky1138 (Dec 21, 2022)

geoffrey said:


> I just received the Sunn Beta Lead and am glad to here it sounds good because I had my hopes up when I ordered it.
> 
> A couple of questions based on your comments: do you think the extra height of a 1590BBS would be sufficient? And as far as the pot tapers, do you think I should use different than what the build doc says?
> 
> Thanks for posting this!


The EQ section is fine, but experiment with different pots for Volume and Gain. If I recall, they were both hair triggers.

Mine did fit into a BBS. I drilled the pot holes first, put the PCB in, then measured for the jacks and had a decent amount of room to work with.


----------



## Paradox916 (Dec 21, 2022)

“Death By Reverb (Reverberation Machine) – Swallowing a Belton brick would be a more pleasant experience than attempting to build this horrible sounding abomination”

Had me rolling🤣


----------



## giovanni (Dec 21, 2022)

Diynot said:


> Don’t do it man, not even worth the headache. Save those pt2399s and get the legit Sagan from Carcharias fx. It’s a fun build. May not have the exact same functions, but there is a reason the circuit was redesigned.


Yeah I think I’m just gonna get the Sonomatic instead. It sounds pretty good and people have had no issue with it so far.


----------



## geoffrey (Dec 22, 2022)

sticky1138 said:


> The EQ section is fine, but experiment with different pots for Volume and Gain. If I recall, they were both hair triggers.
> 
> Mine did fit into a BBS. I drilled the pot holes first, put the PCB in, then measured for the jacks and had a decent amount of room to work with.


Thanks for the advice!


----------



## jesuscrisp (Dec 22, 2022)

The Terminal worked for me, sounded just as shitty as the demos 🤷‍♂️

While we're on topic: Uno Fuzz (Superfuzz), Transport Device (Disaster Transport), Submarine Device (The Depths, didn't attempt adding the switch), Sea Device (Sea Machine, personally didn't like the speed taper but it seems OK according to other schematics), Podcaster (Broadcast Dual), Whiteboard (White Pedal), Stoner NFT (Catalinbread SFT, hope they fixed the 2 resistor values by now), Patreon (Wampler Pantheon), Tremolo Device (Hummingbird, skip the rate LED or find how to actually do it for the transistor you're using) and Face Melter (Pussy Melter, high gain mode felt too noisy for me but maybe that's just the pedal) all do work as they should, caveats in the brackets. 

Cosmos V1.3 was a mess both in terms of function as it wouldn't work and no fix was ever posted and the drilling template absolutely does not work as they laid it out. There are little or big issues that pop up all the time (pots wired in reverse, missing components that need some degree of hacking, wrong values even though the schematics are copied from other PCB sellers for sure) and even though they appear to be testing their boards finally, I feel like their reputation will be tarnished. 

Always check in the Facebook groups and forums whether the board is vetted and only buy while they're on sale... and you're European. In the US there are just so many better options really.


----------



## szukalski (Dec 22, 2022)

jesuscrisp said:


> The Terminal worked for me, sounded just as shitty as the demos 🤷‍♂️
> 
> While we're on topic: Uno Fuzz (Superfuzz), Transport Device (Disaster Transport), Submarine Device (The Depths, didn't attempt adding the switch), Sea Device (Sea Machine, personally didn't like the speed taper but it seems OK according to other schematics), Podcaster (Broadcast Dual), Whiteboard (White Pedal), Stoner NFT (Catalinbread SFT, hope they fixed the 2 resistor values by now), Patreon (Wampler Pantheon), Tremolo Device (Hummingbird, skip the rate LED or find how to actually do it for the transistor you're using) and Face Melter (Pussy Melter, high gain mode felt too noisy for me but maybe that's just the pedal) all do work as they should, caveats in the brackets.
> 
> ...


As a European, I still skip them. Anything trouble free is easy enough to build on vero. Anything harder has too much of a risk factor. 

PCBs for sale need to be taken care of. That means they just work, or any fixes need to be documented and discounted.

Especially as a European, with EU taxes on top of all we buy from overseas, it’s an expectation that if something isn’t working, it’s our fault, not the PCB designer.


----------



## mcluff (Dec 27, 2022)

The Cosmos Delay was a nightmare that made me question my skills. Traced that like crazy until I saw people on this forum say they couldn't get it working either. Death by Reverb was where I decided it was them, not me. Wasted a whole Belton Brick on that one.

I'm so sad that the Carcharias Effects Sagan delay isn't available. I'm bound and determined to make one of these.  

That said, I've made a few that worked beautifully --- will list 'em soon.


----------



## chongmagic (Dec 27, 2022)

mcluff said:


> The Cosmos Delay was a nightmare that made me question my skills. Traced that like crazy until I saw people on this forum say they couldn't get it working either. Death by Reverb was where I decided it was them, not me. Wasted a whole Belton Brick on that one.
> 
> I'm so sad that the Carcharias Effects Sagan delay isn't available. I'm bound and determined to make one of these.
> 
> That said, I've made a few that worked beautifully --- will list 'em soon.


I built the Sagan delay a few years ago, it is totally worth it!


----------



## mcluff (Dec 27, 2022)

chongmagic said:


> I built the Sagan delay a few years ago, it is totally worth it!
> 
> View attachment 39025
> 
> View attachment 39026


Oh that looks SWEET. I need a PCB that works! Major FOMCB (fear of missing circuit boards) going on here...


----------



## chongmagic (Dec 27, 2022)

mcluff said:


> Oh that looks SWEET. I need a PCB that works! Major FOMCB (fear of missing circuit boards) going on here...


Have you tried to reach out to Daniel at Carcharias Effects? Super nice guy, could maybe give you an ETA to when more Sagan boards will be available.


----------



## mcluff (Dec 27, 2022)

Just messaged him, thanks!


----------



## mcluff (Dec 27, 2022)

Here's the status of all of my PCBGM attempts. It's entirely possible that some of these don't work because I screwed up somehow. (FWIW I have a _much_ higher success rate with PedalPCB and other PCB makers.) But I've heard that others have had trouble with Death by Reverb & Kheiron Klon especially.

*DIDN'T WORK*
Corruption Device
Death by Reverb
Kheiron Klon
Paolo Gilberto

*CURRENTLY TROUBLESHOOTING*
King Centaur

*EITHER IT DOESN'T WORK AS INTENDED OR I DON'T LIKE IT*
Corpulent Bee
Dead Robot
Germanium Percolator
Podcaster

*WORKS*
Death by Fuzz
Fuzz Maker II
Knight of Tone
LoveCheese
Mr Tea
Shotgun
Uber Bolt


----------



## MobyOctopad (Dec 27, 2022)

Has anyone tried building their Zombie Choir before? I've held off on ordering from them given the issues people have flagged before and on this thread but I supposed I've found dumber ways to waste ~$10 bucks + shipping before


----------



## Feral Feline (Dec 27, 2022)

MobyOctopad said:


> Has anyone tried building their Zombie Choir before? I've held off on ordering from them given the issues people have flagged before and on this thread but I supposed I've found dumber ways to waste ~$10 bucks + shipping before


I'd go Down Under for Lich King PCB from DIY Guitar Pedals  .

Or try the Puzzle Sounds PCB, if you can stand side jacks (or just offboard wire some compact jacks if you can squeeze 'm in. )

You could go for a perf layout from Effects Layouts.

Vero from Sabrotone or Tagboard are also options.

Etch your own PCB using GeoFX's layout (PDF).


Maybe see if this Dutch PCB supplier has it or this Polish PCB supplier — hunt around, there may be other places that offer it under a different name such as the aforementioned Lich King.


----------



## readingaregood (Dec 28, 2022)

CARCHARIAS, COME BACK! I'd buy that Sagan PCB too.

Re: Guitar Mania, I bought two from them when I started building, and I received three:

Uberschall: Kind of early build for me so I was sure it had to be me. Could be. But, I put some care and effort into troubleshooting, feel like I found a problem spot, didn't get anywhere on their FB fan page. Might pick at it sometime, a year wiser now. Girlfriend's review, "It sounds like a bad guitar player trying too hard."

Maestro Stage Phaser: I hesitated, but it was just sitting on my bench and I've wanted a phaser. I just built it and It sounds great! Problem is, I didn't order it, I ordered something else. He said sorry by throwing in an overdrive I don't want/won't try with it. But I do like my phaser!


----------



## jesuscrisp (Dec 28, 2022)

mcluff said:


> Corpulent Bee
> Podcaster


The Bee worked for me, but I messed up 2 values first. At least with J113s it works fine if you build it correctly. BUT it's a sort of dark/warm, lowish gain and somewhat flubby and slightly fuzzy drive by Design which I personally didn't like either. 

Podcaster I built just to be sure I don't like the Broadcast, which I built once before. Thought maybe the Dual footswitch version might make it more usable for me but nah... Also works fine, I guess the germanium transistor, charge pump and second footswitch wiring might be the problematic parts of this one but I had no issues at all. I just think it's an overrated as hell pedal that didn't work for my setup.


----------



## mcluff (Dec 28, 2022)

readingaregood said:


> CARCHARIAS, COME BACK! I'd buy that Sagan PCB too.
> 
> Re: Guitar Mania, I bought two from them when I started building, and I received three:
> 
> ...


He told me he's on pause because he had a kid this year -- understandable reasons!


----------



## Phil hodson (Dec 28, 2022)

mcluff said:


> He told me he's on pause because he had a kid this year -- understandable reasons!


I have been waiting all year for one….. let’s hope he puts a run in of them soon.


----------



## Harry Klippton (Dec 28, 2022)

So I should build the Sagan I've been sitting on to make you guys drool?


----------



## Diynot (Dec 28, 2022)

readingaregood said:


> Maestro Stage Phaser: I hesitated, but it was just sitting on my bench and I've wanted a phaser. I just built it and It sounds great! Problem is, I didn't order it, I ordered something else. He said sorry by throwing in an overdrive I don't want/won't try with it. But I do like my phaser!


Funny, that’s how I got my maestro board too. Ordered the vu-tron, got the master phaser board. Did eventually get the vu-tron. It works, but it’s meh for my tastes in envelope filters. Agree the maestro phaser sounds very good.


----------



## Feral Feline (Dec 29, 2022)

mcluff said:


> He told me he's on pause because he had a kid this year -- understandable reasons!


So what you're really saying is he needs to crank up some production, promotion, and purchase-orders to help feed & clothe the wee bairn!

Carcharias' Sagan PCBs for all!


----------



## jojofogarty (Dec 29, 2022)

Out of curiosity, why do folks not recommend PCBGM?


----------



## giovanni (Dec 29, 2022)

jojofogarty said:


> Out of curiosity, why do folks not recommend PCBGM?


It sounds like some of their boards are incorrect and few if any people managed to get them to work.


----------

