This pedal update has an interesting twist – the site Runoff Groove has taken several classic tube circuits and adapted them as pedals using MOSFETs. MOSFETs actually behave in a very triode-like manner.
They’ve taken the Matchless DC/30 design and adapted it as the Matchbox, the Dumble Overdrive circuit as the Umble, and the Boogie Mark I as the Uno. In fact, there are even more – check out their articles page.
These look pretty interesting, and I’ll probably build one, or even all three, of them at some point.
Ted Woods also tipped me off to another tube pedal, the Stephenson Amps Stage Hog, which uses a 12AX7 and a 12AU7 and can be operated as a tube distortion pedal or a practice amp.
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Sorry for the couple of days that navigation was broken. An automated cleanup process deleted the .htaccess files, so all the redirects weren’t functioning for a bit. It’s been fixed.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled soldering.
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DennisF built a HotBox-inspired pedal, which includes a schematic and a clean layout diagram. Looks cool!
I just found this thread at seymourduncan.com, which indicates that Seymour Duncan is releasing a dual-channel distortion pedal made utilizing 6021W tubes called the SFX-03 Twin Tube Classic.
The Twin Tube Classic is designed for years of solid performance. One of the secrets is the duo of type 6021 tubes. These sub-miniature triodes represent the pinnacle of tube technology advancement. The 6021s were designed and manufactured to meet the MIL-E-1 spec for reliability under conditions of severe shock, vibration and temperature. They provide extremely long service life with virtually no tendency towards microphonics (see USA Department of Defense Standards, Test Methods for Electron Tubes). Also, unlike some “tube†stomp boxes that only use the tubes as a clipping diode, the Twin Tube Classic employs a 100% vacuum tube signal path with a high voltage power supply. This allows the tubes to operate to their fullest potential and provides the most gain and the smoothest tone. The result is the classic tube sound, smooth distortion, and low order harmonics you expect from a great tube preamp.
Can’t wait to see and hear it! This gets me itching to finally build one myself out of my stash of 6021Ws.
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Since I was last involved in building my own amps a couple of years ago, things have gotten even easier for the hobbiest. Now there are options available for getting a beautifully done, professional looking turret board and faceplate
One of these sites is Amplates.com, where you can get a custom-designed laser-engraved faceplate for your amplifier made in a variety of materials. You could, of course, do it all yourself in something like Corel Draw and send your design to BNP Lasers or find a local engraver. But if you’re not inclined to do all that yourself, including the possible trial & error, amplates.com looks like a great way to get a professional looking faceplate with a minimum of headache.
The other site is Turretboards.com, supplier of circuit boards and other parts. There are a variety of standard layouts for standard circuits (Fender, Marshall, etc…) as well as “universal” boards and odds & ends. Personally, I love building with turrets. Getting them looking this good, however, really requires you have a table saw and drill press to get everything lined up just right (not that that stops me, the guts of my LunchBox are some of the messiest ever).
It looks like it’s a great time to be building amps!
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I just found another LunchBox amp, from a place with a great name – ApocalypseCow! They have what looks like a small, solid state amp built into an actual lunchbox, with a 4” speaker. There’s no way it’s tube, though, since it only costs $40.