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Homemade Distortion vs. Boss DS-1 with Cigar Box Guitar

Posted by Mike Bingham on December 21, 2011 at 8:14pm

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DS-1, cigar, box, guitar, Boss

Here's a homemade distortion put together on a breadboard. This thing is pretty dang good. I compared it with my Boss DS-1 and really like the sound of the homemade one. It isn't as fuzzy as the DS-1 and it seems to preserve the guitar's tone. Here's a link to the plans:http://www.runoffgroove.com/grace.html. It's the Grace version and I will definitely build a permanent version for my pedal board.

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Mike Bingham December 23, 2011 at 10:59am

Thanks James
Mike Bingham December 23, 2011 at 10:58am

Thanks Silent Jim! These would make cool stocking stuffers fer sure!
James December 23, 2011 at 7:03am

good work on that thing sounds nice !!!
Mike Bingham December 22, 2011 at 7:36pm

Thanks Wes. Yep that's a cool website. I figger I'll be back there for sure.
Mike Bingham December 22, 2011 at 7:35pm

Thanks for the comment Andy. Let us know how your build comes out,
Mike Bingham December 22, 2011 at 5:11pm

Thank you Ed. It is pretty easy to build. I plan on doing a final version this weekend. If you have trouble locating the right transistor you can use an MPF102. That's what I did, anyway. Also, I didn't have the 0.0068 mfd capacitor so I used a 0.0047 mfd ceramic disc cap. It works fine. Let us know how your project works out.
Mike Bingham December 22, 2011 at 5:05pm

Thanks John. I am really pleased with it. I can't take credit for designing it though. (Wish I could!) See Ya!
Mike Bingham December 22, 2011 at 5:01pm

Hey Jeff,

The left control is the drive control. It adjusts the amount of distortion the effect puts out. The other control is just a volume control. Enjoy!
eK December 22, 2011 at 3:41pm

That's a nice sounding distortion circuit. Most are way too over the top for my tastes - except maybe for my GF's Fulltone Plimsoul. ($$) This one's tone seems a much better fit for the innate twang you get with a CBG. Looks pretty easy and inexpensive to build too. Only 10 parts if you count the two jacks. Or 11 if you put it in a box. Gonna definitely wire one of these up this weekend. Thx for sharing!
Roadkill a.k.a. John Maw December 22, 2011 at 3:20pm

I agree with the general consensus. I think yours sounds a great deal better. Nice work.

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