So who wants a BYOC Green Pony?

[duhvoodooman]

Reading about Jimi's recent disappointment with the ZenDrive he ordered got me thinking (always a dangerous thing)....

There are so many pedals out there, particularly of the "dirt" variety (overdrives, fuzzes and distortion pedals), and it's gotten pretty rare to see one under $150. Heck, most of the "big name" pedals are $200 and up, which seems ridiculous to me. So whatever happened to great sounding overdrives under $100? Does anybody make one anymore??

In a word, yeah. A couple of months ago, BYOC came out with a clone kit of the Maxon OD-820, basically Maxon's response to the popularity of the Klon Centaur. Keith calls it the Green Pony, and you can read all about it HERE (http://buildyourownclone.com/products/green-pony-kit). It's a great sounding pedal that can be used as a clean boost or an overdrive. And they made a good thing even better by adding a 3-way EQ switch for more or less bass and another 3-way switch for different signal clipping options. It's been in my pedal chain since I built it, and I'm very fussy about my dirt boxes.

The kit price, including a nice powder-coated and silk-screened enclosure, is $99. But I know not everybody is willing or able to build a DIY kit pedal. So I'll build one for you. For that same price of $99, plus shipping! Now, how are you gonna beat an offer like that?? (Don't worry--I get a price break on the kits as a BYOC forum moderator, so I'll still make a few bucks.) And you get a great sounding boost/overdrive, professionally built, with a great-looking, durable finish. You can also have your choice of knobs and LED color from what BYOC carries--there might be an upcharge of a buck or two, based upon your choice.

Now, if you'd rather get the original Maxon pedal, be my guest. But that'll run you $200 or more for a new one--HERE'S ONE (https://reverb.com/item/473939-maxon-pedal-od-820) on Reverb.com, with a video clip--and you'll end up with fewer features and less tonal flexibility.

As some of you know, I've been out of the pedal-building business for a few years now. But since this kit comes with a pre-finished enclosure and I don't have to screw around with the whole painting/decaling rigamarole, I'm willing to knock out a few. PM me if interested. PayPal payment required, and I only ship to the US and Canada.

Here's a pic of the Green Pony:

http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0568/4705/products/gppainted_large.jpg?v=1479850717

[duhvoodooman]

Here's a "gut shot" of my own Green Pony, so that you can see the quality of my workmanship. I'll match it against any commercially available pedal:

http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/FX/Green_Pony_gut.jpg

[marnold]

What would you say would be the difference tonally between this and the OD2?

[piebaldpython]

Marnold......hahahahahaha......EXACTLY the same question I had when reading DVMs initial post. I have the OD2 and yours was the Thesis 94?????

DVM.....how would the Green Pony "play" with the OD2? One off, one on? Could they be stacked?

[piebaldpython]

DVM......you said this Green Pony has been on your pedalboard since you got it. Is your Zonkin' Yellow Screamer still on the board too? If not, what replace the ZYS?

[marnold]

Marnold......hahahahahaha......EXACTLY the same question I had when reading DVMs initial post. I have the OD2 and yours was the Thesis 94?????

DVM.....how would the Green Pony "play" with the OD2? One off, one on? Could they be stacked?
Thesis 96, but yes ;)

[duhvoodooman]

I'm not going to BS you by telling you that there's a ton of difference between the Green Pony and the OD2--after all, they are both based upon the Tube Screamer core. Normally, I'd point out the fact that the Green Pony can be run as a clean boost, something that a TS doesn't offer (though the gain stage can be modified to get pretty close), but since the OD2 incorporates a separate boost stage in the same pedal enclosure, that's really not relevant in this particular comparison.

Still, there are significant differences:

* The silicon diode clipping setup in the GP is asymmetric, so it sounds a bit warmer & smoother than the OD2. The overall gain of the overdrive stage is the same as a Tube Screamer or the OD2.
* The GP has more overall output volume. It uses charge pump technology to double the internal voltage to 18V, giving much more headroom to the clean boost and a ton more push to your amp.
* The parallel clean boost and overdrive paths are a cool feature, so as you turn up the dual gang Drive pot, it blends less and less of the clean and more and more of the OD. And as explained on the BYOC product page, it does it much more efficiently than a Klon, since signal is not being dumped to ground to achieve this.
* The biggest difference to my ear is that the GP has much less of that "mid-hump" that TS pedals are well known for, and combined with other differences in the EQ structure of the pedal and the 18V power stage, it ends up with a noticeably more open and neutral sound. It just sounds BIGGER. More so than the Klon, as well, which also has a noticeable mid-hump, though not as pronounced as a TS.

So, bottom line, if you have one of my OD2's, I wouldn't say that you NEED a Green Pony. But that's not to say that you might not really enjoy one, 'cuz it's a great sounding boost & overdrive, and stacks well with the OD2. I'd put it behind the OD2, to get the full benefit of its 18V capability.

[duhvoodooman]

Here's a good demo video of the Maxon OD-820 upon which the Green Pony is based (Strat type guitar):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFLegYc63gk

Another good demo, this one with both a Tele and a Strat:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdhGv34PP-c

Lastly, a short video going for a Robben Ford/Dumble kind of tone...and nailing it, IMO:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WFu6voVmCE

There are TONS more OD-820 videos on YouTube, if you need to hear more....

Again, keep in mind that the Green Pony does all of this, but with the added features of 3 switchable bass EQ settings, 3 switchable clipping settings, and does it all in a standard 125B enclosure size that won't eat up a ton of pedal board space.

[piebaldpython]

Thanks for all the info. You still using your ZYS with the Green Pony behind it? How do you like how it stacks?

[kidsmoke]

thinking of this as an alternate to my Klone due primarily to the clean boost function. Particularly in the Champlifier. The Klone already has a Bass/Normal toggle.

[duhvoodooman]

You still using your ZYS with the Green Pony behind it? How do you like how it stacks?
I have a section of my pedal chain, usually 3 or 4 slots, dedicated to boosts and overdrives. Stuff moves in and out of that section constantly. At the moment it's a BYOC Mimosa compressor (http://buildyourownclone.com/collections/compression/products/mimosa), a BYOC FET Pre-amp (http://buildyourownclone.com/collections/boosts-preamps/products/fetpreamp) (my favorite clean boost of all time, esp. with single coils), the OD2 and the Green Pony, in that order. But it rarely stays the same for more than a few days, 'cuz of the insane number of pedals I own. But to answer your question....yes, the OD2 stacks well with the Green Pony, either with the boost or overdrive side. However, I don't stack overdrive pedals all that often, preferring to boost the signal into an overdrive using that FET Pre-amp.

[duhvoodooman]

Hey, I should mention that I'd be more than willing to build and sell ANY of the BYOC pre-painted pedals for the listed cost of the kit plus shipping. It's the painting & decaling that I can't offer anymore. Not only is that HUGELY time consuming, but before I retired, I had access to a commercial paint booth where I worked. Not going to get back into that mess now at home, thank you! Heck, I'll build the unpainted kits for the same price deal, as long as you'd take one that way. Now, this assumes a "now and again" pedal order rate--not looking to sell a ton of them, like I did back a few years ago. So I'd reserve the right to refuse any order any time, if it starts to get too hectic. Or maybe just start a waiting list....

You can check out all of the BYOC pedal kit offerings HERE (http://buildyourownclone.com/collections/fx-kits?page=1). They currently offer over 70 different kits, about 30 of which are available with pre-finished enclosures (powder-coat paint, EXTREMELY durable). About 20 of these are the line of "micro pedals" (http://buildyourownclone.com/collections/micro-pedals) that BYOC introduced last year--those of you with limited pedal board space may find these little guys very attractive! The enclosure dimensions are just 3 5/8" long x 1 1/2" wide x 1 1/4" tall, and they all run between $66 and $72 including the pre-finished enclosure.

Again, it's PayPal payment required, shipping to US and Canada only. PM me for a quote on any BYOC kit that interests you.

[piebaldpython]

Thanks for the info DVM but I think the Green Pony will probably cover territory that my Rocket Blue Note Overdrive reigns over as a little-to-no mid-hump OD.

To any Fretters, you might want to take advantage of DVMs offer to build you a BYOC pedal. Expert workmanship, guaranteed work and if you have a question (haha) he has the knowledge of the pedal to advise you properly. I have his DIRT special.....3 pedals to cover most anything of a boost/OD/medium distortion....the Tri-Boost, OD2 and the Rabid Rodent (a ProCo Rat type pedal). Also, have the British Blues OD and a Rams Head Era Big Muff Pi.

[duhvoodooman]

Hey, here's a nice quality demo of the Green Pony by noted YouTube gear demo guru Gearmanndude:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqmQAx09v2c