Bassybert Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 I love a pedal build and have built a few of the Jeds Peds and FuzzDog clone type affairs in the past. One thing I've never built is a compressor, and as I'm in the market for one I was wondering if anyone has any experience of building one of the following? The Classic Old Dude compressor from Jeds which is a clone of the Warden by Earthquaker Devices - https://www.jedspeds.co.uk/product-page/classic-old-dude-compressor. This seems to have a decent feature set and is effective for bass. Was also looking at the Maskhole from the same place which is based on the Diamante, a alight variation on the Diamond Compressor - https://www.jedspeds.co.uk/product-page/maskhole-compressor The third option was FuzzDogs Engineer's Thumb which looks suitable for bass with a couple of component tweaks to retain the low end - https://shop.pedalparts.co.uk/product/engthumb Lastly, I'm putting together a stripboard version of the Flatline Compressor by John Hollis which is an optical design that's a simple circuit but is really effective for bass apparently. I'm not looking for anything miraculous feature wise, something that fattens up the tone, limits the peaks and boosts the lower volume notes and isn't too sterile sounding. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 Not one in your list, but……. https://schalltechnik04.de/en/instructions/pumpernickel This is a killer compressor. The kit is not cheap, but excellent quality. Available here: https://www.musikding.de/Pumpernickel-compressor-kit (No affiliation with seller) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassybert Posted June 1, 2023 Author Share Posted June 1, 2023 Oooh thanks for the heads up @BlueMoon I did see this one a while back but forgot about it as it was out of stock IIRC Might have to take the plunge as it looks awesome, a fairly complex build but nothing outrageous. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 What a timely thread - I've built an Emma Transmorgrifier on strip board and am really enjoying that for squashing my slap sections, but I'm planning to build a DOD 280 just to see if I prefer an optical compressor, as I've recently switched over from an OTA envelope filter (Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk) to an optical one (Meatball), so I wonder if the difference is as noticeable in compression circuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 I built a clone of the ThorpyFX Fat General (PedalPCB General Tso). It's the best compressor I've ever used. Replaced the Cali76 Compact Bass on my board. Worth a look. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassybert Posted June 1, 2023 Author Share Posted June 1, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, paul_5 said: What a timely thread - I've built an Emma Transmorgrifier on strip board and am really enjoying that for squashing my slap sections, but I'm planning to build a DOD 280 just to see if I prefer an optical compressor, as I've recently switched over from an OTA envelope filter (Chunk Systems Agent 00Funk) to an optical one (Meatball), so I wonder if the difference is as noticeable in compression circuits. I was looking at some DOD stuff on the OVNI labs compressor reviews site and they all seem to be Ross clones and seem to lose a lot of low end/more guitar focused - might be spot on if you're after a brighter pick style tone? http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/dod280.shtml Edited June 1, 2023 by Bassybert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted June 1, 2023 Share Posted June 1, 2023 I was planning to either increase the value of the input cap to reduce bass loss, or squeeze a looper circuit in there for parallel compression fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted June 2, 2023 Share Posted June 2, 2023 FYI: Here’s a link to the pumpernikel on the OVNI labs site: http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/pumper.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 PedalPCB have a boneyard edition of the warden which one of the experts modded the circuit to make it work better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 On 01/06/2023 at 20:32, Bassybert said: Oooh thanks for the heads up @BlueMoon I did see this one a while back but forgot about it as it was out of stock IIRC Might have to take the plunge as it looks awesome, a fairly complex build but nothing outrageous. I built a Pumpernickel and although I'll admit I'm not a compressor afficiando it really is a fantastic pedal. The Shalltechnik kits are superb quality - I've built quite a few. If you fancy building one then I'd get in sharpish - very sadly Shalltechnik have shut up shop, so the kits in places like Musikding may very well be the last. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 The pumpernickel is a really good pedal, but a pretty fiddly build. Definitely not for beginners! Especially if you can't get a pre-drilled enclosure... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 49 minutes ago, Bigwan said: The pumpernickel is a really good pedal, but a pretty fiddly build. Definitely not for beginners! Especially if you can't get a pre-drilled enclosure... Good point about the enclosure - well worth mentioning, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick Posted July 13, 2023 Share Posted July 13, 2023 Over the years, I've done a couple.... John Hollis 'Flatline' on veroboard. Which was an easy build, and a nice sounding optical compressor on bass. Similarly, also built something based on the Demeter Compulator. Which has been on my board for years as a staple, as it's pretty transparent & easy to dial up something sounding natural. Next build will be a 'Pumpernickle'. Bought the kit ages ago, but have only just found the time to start on it. Looking forward to finally finishing it. 4 hours ago, Bigwan said: The pumpernickel is a really good pedal, but a pretty fiddly build. Definitely not for beginners! Especially if you can't get a pre-drilled enclosure... Totally agree with you Bigwan on the enclosure. Also, I think the designer stopped selling the pre-drilled enclosures a while ago.... I've got a drill press, and I'm not bad at drilling enclosures, but took the the easy option on this & got Tayda to do the 125B for me. Price was not bad (IMO) at $4.50 drilling service + $6 for the powder coated enclosure. Delivery time was pretty good, within two weeks. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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