Get by with a little DIY…..

How many times have you had a pedal that sounded good but you thought, “it could use a little more bass” or “a little more mids would be nice”. Maybe you think, “I don’t know if I want a fuzz pedal enough to spend the dough”. Maybe you’re just naturally curious and like to tinker. If so, the I’m here to help you get bit by the DIY bug.


I got into DIY pedals about 10 years ago simply because I wanted an octave pedal but didn’t have the cash to buy one. I had a new baby and I couldn’t justify spending the dough on a pedal I didn’t really need. So I thought, “I can build one”. Sure why not. I quickly found out that DIY does not equal cheaper, but it sure is fun.


I surfed the net and found lots of great information and some not so great information. Here are some of my favorite sites to get you immersed in the world of DIY pedals.

Kit Sites

• General Guitar Gadgets
• Build your own clone
• Officially Licensed Circuits

General DIY info

• DIY stompboxes
• R.G. Keen’s site
• AMZ

Required reading

• DIY wiki
• Geofex how to’s
• Geofex debuggin page

Basic Electronics references

• Basic info on Capacitors,resistors, etc..
• Ohms law calculator
• Ohms law chart

Parts

• Small bear electronics
• DIY stompboxes store
• Jameco electronics
• Pedal Parts Plus

These are just a few of the many sites out their devoted to DIY stomp boxes. Look around and you’ll find a whole world of information to get you on the road to building your own pedals.

Scott

T.C. Electronics Flashback Delay

Delay is one of those effects that seems to have two camps. One camp believes delay is a crutch to cover up poor playing and the other camp views delay as a vital tool utilizing multiple delay units for different purposes.

For the former camp, read no further, for the latter camp, the T.C. Electronics Flashback is definitely something you should have in your toolbox.

A wide range of delay sounds as well as the tone print technology allow you to dial in the perfect delay for your needs.

Check out this demo of the Flashback complete with a simple little trick to let you use the Flashback as a chorus pedal.

Mentryville,Historic Oil Town

The Santa Clarita Valley was practically built on Oil.  The rich deposits from Placerita, to Pico,to Elsmere Canyons had oil wells dotting the landscape for years. 

Mentryvville is a famous oil town in the West Santa Clarita Valley which has been preserved over the years. While there are no longer any residents of this town the remnants of this historic oil town are still around and available for the public to see.

The Schoolhouse

When you gotta go, you gotta go….

The foundation of an old building,

Oil drilling equipment.

A marker for Pico #4 the first commercially successful oil well in the western united states


























Up the hill to Odeen #1. 





The marker for Odeen #1.  A less than successful well but a spectacular view.