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nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Today I built the AionFX Celeritas, a clone of the Greer Lightspeed. Battery-only for now so I can try it before I label and paint the enclosure. AionFX does great work. I'm floored; this has cured my aversion to soft clipping overdrives. The Lightspeed circuit has some real mojo. #guitareffects

The inside of a guitar effect pedal seen from the bottom. At the top are two black input jacks with white, black, and yellow wires connected to them. Below that is a blue circuit board with a few wires snaking around on top of it, and a smaller blue circuit board where the 3x3 terminals of the 3PDT footswitch are attached. Several white, black, red, and yellow wires are connected across the top of the smaller circuit board. At the bottom, a "copper top" battery sits inside the enclosure.

November 1, 2025 at 11:28 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Obligatory Funk 49 riff (take 1 of 1) through the board. Amp volume & tone at noon, amp very attenuated.

October 13, 2025 at 4:01 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Breadboarding the Greer Lightspeed, continuing my chase for overdrives that combine well with my home built 18 watt Marshall 1974x. I have the wrong op-amp (Greer uses a costly OPA2134 which I don't have yet) and wrong diodes. It sounds very good though, a simple asymmetric soft clipper.

A long white breadboard on a wool rug. To the left, a squarish blue Wampler BB-1 breadboard adapter is connected to one end. Power and instrument input/output cables are connected to the left side of the adapter board. The breadboard is populated with capacitors, resistors, diodes, an op-amp, and three potentiometers towards the lower right. On the upper right a short, narrow length of blue tape is placed on the breadboard. The words "diodes all 1N4148" are handwritten in black ink on the tape.

October 13, 2025 at 3:53 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

My "Tone Prince" overdrive. a modified Aion Achilles, itself a clone of the AnalogMan Prince of Tone. Mine has more bass in the LO-MID selection and a bit more compression in TURBO. Graphics feature a copyrighted symbol hence the scribble.

A sparkly purple guitar effects pedal on a wool rug. Black Volume, Drive, and Tone knobs are labeled in gold text. A switch to the left of the tone control is labeled with symbols for a diamond, an ampersand, and a dot. A section of the photo below the word "TONE" is scribbled over in magenta because it is a copyrighted symbol.

October 4, 2025 at 2:48 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Working on a mildly modded Analogman Prince of Tone circuit courtesy of the Aion FX Achilles PCB. For one, the PoT has an aggressive low end cut, and the supposed corrective effect of its "mid boost" DIP is nearly inaudible to my barbaric ears. #guitareffects

A small (about 2 inches on each side), nearly square, black printed circuit board with numerous capacitors, resistors, and other components (mostly blue or red in color) attached, suspended horizontally about 1/2 inch above a blue work surface by a wooden clothespin in the upper right corner. A black wire attached to one leg of a red capacitor winds from left to right across the frame and disappears below the board near the front center.

August 29, 2025 at 5:36 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

The AnalogMan Prince of Tone circuit. He describes the effect of the DIP switches as "subtle," I would go with "inaudible." Hoping to mod these sections to get an effect I can actually hear in my setup, which is HSS Strat to Marshall 18 Watt.

A guitar effect circuit (wires and components) assembled on a white rectangular breadboard, resting on a wood-grained desktop. Attached to the breadboard on the left is a square-shaped blue device the same width as the breadboard, with visible components. Also attached to the breadboard, on the bottom center-to-right, by yellow, blue, and green wires, are (left to right) two push-button switches, black with red buttons, and a red DPDT switch.

July 7, 2025 at 4:53 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Most of AnalogMan's Prince of Tone, via the Aion Effects "Achilles" schematic. Having the usual honeymoon where I think this is the #guitareffects I have been looking for all my life. Very excited to build this for real. Unlikely to do any mods but have not played through it LOUD yet.

A guitar effect circuit (wires and components) assembled on a white rectangular breadboard, on a wool rug on the floor. Attached to the breadboard to the left is a square-shaped blue device the same width as the breadboard, with two illuminated blue LED lights and other visible components; this is an adapter for connecting the circuit to an instrument, anmplifier, and power supply.

July 1, 2025 at 4:05 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

I am currently filling shopping carts at Mouser and Digikey for electronic components (just a casual hobbyist), and a ~20% "Estimated Tariff" is added to the price for many items. Also I recently spotted this:

A screenshot of the page at buyanalogman.com for purchasing the "Prince of Tone" guitar effect, with a price of $185 and a "Tarriffs" [sic] cost of $25 listed beneath it

June 4, 2025 at 6:50 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

With alt text...

May 14, 2025 at 1:30 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

For my main setup ("Lone Star" Strat bridge humbucker into an 18W Marshall breaking up some) the JHS NOTADÜMBLË really REALLY works. NOTAJOKE. #guitareffects

May 14, 2025 at 1:22 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

So lucky, I got a "relic'd" version of the JHS NOTADÜMBLË. Just a few minutes w/it tonight. The 18 Watt seems to like it.

May 13, 2025 at 2:49 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Spring has come to Mpls. and the bellflower is back to thwart me. 🌱 #opengardening

The edge of a concrete block foundation with a bit of leaf litter , moss, and a black hose, and several creeping bellflower plants emerging from the soil

April 17, 2025 at 1:26 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

This early 80s DOD250 won't really be a 250 anymore after I swap the Si clippers for Ge. Anyway, not quite ready to quit and close it up. #guitareffects

An upside down DOD 250 overdrive pedal on a wool rug, its bottom removed, exposing the electronics inside. Muliticolored wires run from the pedal's circuit board to a white breadboard below. Some of the wires are labeled using blue masking tape. Several components, mostly copper-colored capacitors, are inserted in the breadboard near the wires. A green LED glows on the right side of the breadboard.

March 6, 2025 at 6:01 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

We're in serious trouble and I want everyone who passes my house to know it.

An inverted American flag seen from the inside of a window, with a wind chime visible in the foreground. In the background, tree branches, a red car on the street, and a house across the street indicate that this is a residential neighborhood.

March 2, 2025 at 10:25 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

As I continue working on guitar effects instead of letting real life drive me mad, I'm sorting out this ancient fuzz with no markings to identify it. The schematic matches a late 60s Maestro Fuzz-Tone FZ1-A, but it's probably a "Sekova". Don't know how it came into my possession. Not working yet.

A view of the interior of a very old fuzz pedal (guitar effect), a wedge-shaped dull gray metal box with patches of rust and very old components, probably from the 1960s.

January 27, 2025 at 5:19 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Having trouble finding a sound I like in this thing, but dammit I'm gonna turn this DOD 250 into something useful. Also pictured: Boss DS-1 with just-completed Wampler "JCM" mod, which massively improves that pedal.

An overturned DOD 250 overdrive pedal on a rug, with wires connecting it to a breadboard with various electronic components stuck into it. On the left is a Boss DS-1 pedal on its side, and on the right is a Boss TU-2 tuner.

January 25, 2025 at 12:23 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Just got the Weber Mass 100 attenuator. Can now play my amps fully cranked when my family is around. It really works! Of all those pedals the Barber Direct Drive is still my favorite after many years. #guitareffects

Two guitar combo amplifiers, a red Marshall clone on the left, a Dr. Z Maz 38 on the right, on a linoleum floor, with numerous guitar effects pedals on the floor in front of them and a Weber Mass attenuator (in a black metal case) resting on top of the red amp. Most of the effects are well known overdrives and distortions.

January 6, 2025 at 4:33 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Mission accomplished! The 250 is a hard clipping overdrive and sounds best to me going into a cranked tube amp, in this case my homemade Marshall 1974x (18 watts).

Yellow early 1980s vintage DOD 250 overdrive guitar effects pedal with a green LED indicator lit, on a wool rug with instrument cables connected.

December 15, 2024 at 8:29 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Blueberry has unseated pumpkin at this gathering. Did not see this coming. 🍽️

Half-eaten slice of blueberry pie with whipped cream and a glass of whiskey in the background.

November 29, 2024 at 12:17 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Should I have crimped the edges? I usually do (just w/a fork)but decided to let it go naked today. 🍽️

Uncooked blueberry pie with a lattice top, shiny with egg wash, with butter cubes in the lattice spaces and no crimping on the outer edges.

November 27, 2024 at 6:30 PM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Blueberry pie in the oven. I did not crimp the edges. This may have been an error but hopefully not because it looks *perfect*.

Blueberry pie baking in the oven, partly done, with a pie shield covering the outer crust

November 27, 2024 at 1:59 AM

nostick

@spottornado.bsky.social

Posting about guitar effects instead of events. Plan to add true bypass + an LED indicator to this '80-83 era DOD Overdrive Preamp/250 (bit of lore: on these old ones "250" is printed with an O instead of a zero). I built an amp when covid started and I'm fleeing to the workbench again.