Starting to hack the Boss DS-1

The Boss DS-1 was my first distortion pedal. It can usually be had for about 30 bucks, and sounds remarkably acceptable (but not much more). Naturally - it's found a big market for modders.

Googling "Boss DS-1 mod" returns a dump truck worth of info - here's a couple I've been looking at:
http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2008/Feb/Boss_DS_1_Mods.aspx?Page=2
http://www.instructables.com/id/Modify-Your-Boss-DS-1/

So far, though, all I've done is a basic diode mod - Replaced D4 with two diodes to achieve asymmetrical clipping - for a more "tube-like" tone. So far so good, though it's surprisingly annoying to get the pedal apart and back together.

Anyway, more mods to follow in the future - I swear I'll actually make some legit resistor/capacitor mods soon.

Raspberry Muff'n - custom Big Muff fuzz pedal clone

Here's on of my favorite new projects, a custom clone of the venerable Big Muff fuzz effect pedal by Electro Harmonix. This pedal sounds good on guitar, but phenomenal on bass. Here's a video demo:

I made a couple changes to resistors to change the gain response and final output - I basically spent an evening on my couch with the breadboarded prototype of this pedal, switching resistors and seeing how I liked it.

There are lots of sites out there with the original Big Muff schematic, but I worked off the resources at www.generalguitargadgets.com. GGG is an incredible site - they have tons of info and also sell ready-to-solder effect kits and tons of parts. I opted to go with a fully DIY stompbox with an old school Radio Shack circuit board: shown below after the jump (with schematic info):

First post! - how to wrap cables

This blog is called: Constantly Surrounded by Wires. In work and in play I'm always dealing with wires, cables, cords, etc. It's like I'm a caretaker of electrons.

Anyway, there's a way to take care of all these cables so that they stay organized and don't get all wonky. It's a skill I use... wait for it... constantly. And probably worth a share in my kickoff post. It's called "over-under" cable wrapping (wikipedia), and here's a video showing how to do it, with some sexy fretless bass background music:

Someday, I want to grow up to be as cool as that guy. Anyway, over-under does a few things:

1. Makes your cables unwrap easily without tangles
2. Keeps the individual wires inside the cable from getting all twisty (the technical term is "fuckedup")
3. Helps you protend you're a professional "engineer"
4. Gets you truckloads of hot chicks and/or hot guys (take your pick).
• (just like an electric skateboard)
• (results not guaranteed)

Side note: I never see people do this with computer cables, even IT professionals, which is a damn shame, because it's just as helpful for computer gear, and most of those cables are way overpriced anyway.

It takes some practice, but once it becomes natural for you, all of your cables will suddenly become way less of a pain in the ass. And that's how I can be constantly surrounded by wires and not want to constantly tear my hair out.