El_JimBob

Looking good! Maybe knock up a tiny circuit on stripboard to test all is working ok? Something like [url="http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/ehx-hogs-foot.html"]THIS[/url]?

[quote name='2 left thumbs' timestamp='1496540799' post='3312209'] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Ok so I've made a start on the ultra tester,[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]If someone who understands this stuff could advise me, would be gert lush.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]The instructions were written for version 1,[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I've got version 2, some of the resistor values have changed.[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Just want to make sure I've got them right,[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]And the right way around before soldering[/font][/color] [/quote] That looks just fine to me. And resistors don't care which way round you solder them...

[quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1496305528' post='3310299'] That sounds like a belter of a build! Looking forward to seeing the finished product, and also how it sounds regarding the G&L comparison. [/quote] Honestly, not expecting much similarities in sound. I'm more after the flexibility in tone that I'm used to with my G&Ls...

[quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1496248636' post='3309938'] I'll be keeping an eye out for your order. Jazzus is my favourite of the non-standard body shapes Adrian and Co do. What specs have you gone for? [/quote] Ah, I see you're a G&L player, too - I fell in love with the Jazzus shape as the shallow upper body taper reminds me a lot of the old G&L body shape. Specs-wise, I've gone for a chambered ash body with burl maple top. Twin MM pickups in the L2000 position, Noll 2-band EQ, birdseye maple fingerboard, slightly wider nut (48mm) and 19mm string spacing. Hipshot hardware and luminlay on the side of the neck (because why not!?) Cannot wait

Money sent. That was super easy, thanks for the recommendation. Custom Jazzus 5 ordered

Thanks chaps, much appreciated...

Quick question - have you guys used any particular method that you'd recommend to wire Adrian a deposit, or just regular bank transfer? Cheers

I've had one for over a year now and very happy with it... My G&L basses are all quite high output (especially the low end) and I've had no trouble running them into the Micromark at full whack (active preamps on and tone controls wide open) - even with the volume between 2 and 3 o'clock for some live shows. The manual shows a limiter just before the output, and I suspect this helps keep things under control - don't let that worry you though, the little thing can go real deep, and I've never had any breakup or distortion. The fan is really tiny, but not whiny - more a 'whoosh' sound - audible when you're playing very quietly. It's fairly directional, so if the amp is angled upwards so the speaker is pointing at your ears, you don't really hear it. Can't comment about mic-ing it up, but I suspect if your mic was fairly directional, you'd have no issues. There is a DI onboard, which works really well... My only bugbear is the aux input comes before the tone control, but it's not a dealbreaker... I think you'll be very happy with one. Certainly nothing else like it on the market that I'm aware of.

[quote name='Johnny Wishbone' timestamp='1495720201' post='3306129'] Wow! That enclosure looks amazing! I've had the kit lying around a while but haven't got round to building it yet. Getting the artwork looking somewhat decent around the toggle switches is putting me off a little, in all honesty. [/quote] Thank you! Artwork done in GIMP, printed on vinyl decal and a few coats of laquer. As you can see, I too wimped out of trying to curl the text around the switches, Darkglass-style. Too tricky for me. There's actually a printable layout amongst the build instructions on the chap's website - perhaps you could just take the switch labelling from that? It was a fun build, but board mounted jack sockets should be illegal...

Finally finished my GUMA Drive B3K clone last night...

The block diagram in the manual suggests the speaker on/off switch disables both the internal speaker and external speaker socket. I've had my 801 hooked up to another cab without losing sound from the internal, and there's nothing to suggest the 802 works any differently...

Is that its normal behaviour? It's not how my micromark works, and I don't recall the manual mentioning anything of the sort. Perhaps a fault?

no personal experience, but my guitarist uses his for looped percussion (lots of percussive, deep, bassy sounds from his acoustic) and it performs extremely well... I have a Digitech Jamman Express XT myself and I can't fault it, if you're willing to consider alternatives...

[quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1494482494' post='3296290'] Now available in 5 string too.... [/quote] With a 4+1 headstock no less! *drool*

Starting with a simple kit with a low parts count is a good way to get your confidence up, if you're committed to doing it yourself - something like [url="http://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/Bazz_Fuzz/p847124_6346768.aspx"]THIS[/url] for example... Getting the sound of the Alpha/Omega might be tricky, dependent on what electronically is going on inside. If the two circuits are comparable to their previous work (B3K, Vintage Microtubes, etc.) it could be possible to knock up something similar using various PCBs and schematics already available, but it would likely end up needing a much larger enclosure than Darkglass use. I'm building a B3K clone myself, so interested to see how it interacts and blends with other effects on my pedalboard...

Just got my Guma Drive kit through, too - going to be having a go at drilling the enclosure myself - not done a pcb with board mounted pots before, so I'll definitely be taking my time with that one. Interested to hear what you think of the Pumpernickel - I think it's excellent sounding.

B3K kit available here (called Guma Drive) - [url="http://schalltechnik04.de/en/kits"]http://schalltechnik04.de/en/kits[/url] - I've built one of his Pumpernickel Compressor kits and was very impressed (made its way into a multi-effect on my pedalboard)

There's plenty out there. I've just finished building on a Swollen Pickle pcb from [url="http://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/"]Fuzzdog's Pedal Parts [/url] - (lots of pcbs and kits available if you wanna make life a bit easier for yourself). There's a dedicated section for bass-friendly effects, which is a good place to start. There are blend kits available, too, which opens up the option of using more guitar-orientated effects. One of my favourite resources is [url="http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/"]Tagboard Effects[/url] - it's a library of thousands of effects, a mix of classics, boutique and original designs that can be built totally from scratch on stripboard. I've found loads on here to build. It's all categorised, so you can jump in and see what Fuzz circuits are available, for example... How confident are you with electronics/pedal building?

The easiest way is to stuff two circuits in one box with separate footswitches. It's certainly not a silly idea, but multis always require a bit more forward thinking than single builds... Are you looking at building from scratch or just rehousing existing effects..? Clones of the B3K are available, but not sure about Duality Fuzz...

[url="http://dsmcz.com/prestashop/"]DSMCZ[/url] is worth a look too - the guy who runs the shop is a regular on the DIY Stompboxes facebook group which is how I found out about them. Done several large orders with them and no issues at all. Barring the week it takes the package to arrive from the Czech Republic they get a big thumbs up from me...

[quote name='mSz' timestamp='1490649097' post='3266813'] Hi guys, I want to build a simple bypass looper. Can anyone could advise on the best online store, where I could buy all the necessary bits? Cheers [/quote] Give [url="http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/"]Bitsbox[/url] a go - quite a small range compared to the likes of Rapid and Farnell, but you'll find what you're looking for easier... Are you working from a particular design?

Bought Mark's Barefaced Retro Two10 off him yesterday - simple transaction and even drove to me to deliver in person! A true gentleman. Nice meeting you sir, albeit briefly... James

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1476872253' post='3157905'] Have you seen Albert Kreuzer's design for an onboard preamp? It's a nicely thought out FET preamp with a single knob tone control. It's a shame there doesn't seem to be be any commercial preamps with this topology, as it would also suit the OP's requirements nicely. www.albertkreuzer.com/preamp_onboard.htm [/quote] It's the circuit that eventually became the Electronix Submarine preamp. Are they still manufactured?

Markbass Micromark 801 is well worth a look... tiny and light, but can go quite low and punchy if you need it to, even at low volume... I love mine - even manage to gig with it minus PA support!