# two sticks of derm



## jspake (Jun 7, 2020)

this is my first pedalpcb project, and i hope to have many more to come! i dabbled in pedal building in my early college years, but that mostly only served to generate a small box full of partially functioning 3ms pedals that were far beyond what i should have been attempting. anyway, a lot has changed since the late 90s!



. 



thanks so much to those of you who helped me to get the transistors sorted out. i wound up leaving a 2n3904 in Q1, but after sampling a number of options (sockets) i went with a 2n2222a in Q2 (my new parts tester tells me the hfe is around 180) and a 2n2484 in Q3 (measured around 520 hfe, can that be right?). once i was happy with my selections i popped the sockets out and permanently mounted the transistors. i really am enjoying this pedal a lot. it has cool sounds in its entire range, and even cleans up pretty nicely on the guitar volume when the pedal is cranked. sounds good with my SG and my jazzmaster. still have not tested it with my high output les paul, but i am expecting good things!

i really liked the size and shape of the 1590g box, but quickly discovered it is a tricky size due to its shallow depth. luckily it all worked out. i used solid core wire, which made it a bit of a wrestling match to get it all in there. i really felt that the wiring was going to be nice and tidy, until it sort of went all over the place upon installation. to be honest, i'm just happy that it still worked after i closed the box. the enclosure is my first attempt at an etch. SORT OF. i make knives, and i have an electo-etch machine (personalizer plus) that i use to mark my blades. i made a vinyl stencil using a cricut maker and etched the art with the electro etching machine. wasn't sure if this would work, but i'd say it did the job just fine. once i cleaned the stencil goo off i filled in the etch with black 2.0 paint and then sanded that off once dry, and followed up with a couple of coats of clear krylon.


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## gri (Jun 7, 2020)

Nice!! this was my first build on here also. i posted it.  love the different Q's. im tempted to socket and test a few out. i have a box of NOS germanium coming from russia atm.  i also dabbled in the late 90s. but now so much more out there now that it was back in the day. and i  may be a bit smarter  lol.


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## Robert (Jun 7, 2020)

Gotta admit, when I saw the PCB sideways my first thought was "What in the hell did you do??"....  Then I noticed the enclosure size.    

Dang good job. ?


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## CodyTheWizard (Jun 7, 2020)

That etch looks nice! Also, nice job on that tiny enclosure.


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## Barry (Jun 7, 2020)

Very nice!


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## jspake (Jun 7, 2020)

gri said:


> Nice!! this was my first build on here also. i posted it.  love the different Q's. im tempted to socket and test a few out. i have a box of NOS germanium coming from russia atm.  i also dabbled in the late 90s. but now so much more out there now that it was back in the day. and i  may be a bit smarter  lol.



i have to say that even though i was having a high pitched frequency problem when i initially populated the board with all 2n304s for whatever reason the tone of the thing didn't really light my fire that much. after coming on here and asking for pointers i just tried some different things with what i had. maybe if i'd had 2n3904s with the right hfe range that would have sounded better too, but MAN this thing really came to life with these new selections.



Robert said:


> Gotta admit, when I saw the PCB sideways my first thought was "What in the hell did you do??"....  Then I noticed the enclosure size.
> 
> Dang good job. ?


hah, i don't blame you for thinking that, i was not expecting to have to go that way either! luckily there was just enough room on either corner of the board to drill holes for a short standoffs to let it hover over the pot and wiring. its not as tidy as it might be, but i am just happy the lid closes!


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## gri (Jun 8, 2020)

jspake said:


> i have to say that even though i was having a high pitched frequency problem when i initially populated the board with all 2n304s for whatever reason the tone of the thing didn't really light my fire that much. after coming on here and asking for pointers i just tried some different things with what i had. maybe if i'd had 2n3904s with the right hfe range that would have sounded better too, but MAN this thing really came to life with these new selections.
> 
> 
> hah, i don't blame you for thinking that, i was not expecting to have to go that way either! luckily there was just enough room on either corner of the board to drill holes for a short standoffs to let it hover over the pot and wiring. its not as tidy as it might be, but i am just happy the lid closes!



i may have a 2n2222 about. i know i have some MPSA13 AND MPSA18. those i know get nasty! in my cloven hoof


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jun 9, 2020)

Looks really really good!


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jun 9, 2020)

Robert said:


> Gotta admit, when I saw the PCB sideways my first thought was "What in the hell did you do??"



Wait 'til HamishR sees it!


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## jspake (Jun 9, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Looks really really good!


thanks a bunch!



Chuck D. Bones said:


> Wait 'til HamishR sees it!


oh no, am i in trouble?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jun 9, 2020)

jspake said:


> thanks a bunch!
> 
> 
> oh no, am i in trouble?



Hardly.  HamishR gave me some  over how I mounted a board, so I'm always interested in how he treats other people who colour outside the lines.


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## jspake (Jun 9, 2020)

the struggle is real. especially with these 1590G boxes. i bought a few thinking "these are great!, and not realizing they are much more shallow than the 1590A or B... i can't seem to do anything the easy way.


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