My Interpretation of the Fulltone OCD

[Ch0jin]

So here's another one I've kept under wraps for a while now. This is a veroboard build based on the the coveted OCD pedal and using the "Torchy" layout.


Knuckleduster by Ch0jiN, on Flickr

I socketed several components so I could tweak the tone and you'll see quite a fancy mix of silver mica, polyester, mylar, tantalum and electrolytics hanging out with a TL082ACP opamp.

This was a prototype though so the guts are quite messy and I was forced to use a 16mm pot in one spot although I had planned for 3x24mm so it looks a little messed up, but in the spirit of disclosure here you go..



Sound wise it's a great design. I'm loath to use the oft quoted cliché's that proliferate the pedal world, but words like 'Transparent' and phrases including "Tube Like" are apt. Whilst the drive control does pretty much go from nothing to 'woah daddy' with naught between, this is not a high gain metal pedal by any stretch. What you get is a loud, in your face, crunchy version of what you put in. Don't expect to hide sloppy playing behind walls of noise with this, because every little nuance comes though riding a truckload of attitude. I have built and use BMP's, BSIAB's, TubeScreamers and a small pile of fuzz pedals as well as a Boss Metal Zone and Turbo OD and none of them do what this does.

This one's a keeper.

Here's a quick demo (and just for SYO I've got brand new strings on now)



Sadly my video camera has normalised and compressed the audio so when I flick the switch from "L" to "H" you hear almost no change. In the real world this produces a sizable volume boost and the tone seems to open up even further. You'll just have to take my word on that though I'm afraid.

Oh and if you watch the clip in YouTube rather than the embedded version, please give me a thumbs up if you feel I deserve it. Every time you watch a clip and dont rate it, god kills a kitten.

[Ch0jin]

H'mm. For some reason when you watch the embed version you see the black bars top and bottom that I used for text, but on YouTube it's cropped them out. I better figure out what I changed from the phaser clip to this one....

[Jimi75]

I've checked the clip.
The sound of the pedal is a tidy bit too fuzzy for my kind of taste.
I own the Fulltone OCD and it's my favourite pedal, so I had its sound in mind when listening to your creation.
Compared to your pedal the OCD is more dynamique, adds more natural overtones to the guitar's sound and breathes more. The OCD doesn't colour the sound. Hope my words don't sound too harsh - but hey, who am I, writing these words and knowing nothing about soldering or how to build a pedal *lol*!

Anyways, your pedal on the other hand is not as sterile sounding as the OCD. It delivers a tight crunch and has way cooler looks! Definitely a pedal I would put on my board for the dirty RnR sounds!

[Ch0jin]

Thanks for your comments Jimi, I've never tried a real OCD so I really value your comparison. I was careful to call it an interpretation rather than a clone because I have no accurate point of reference other than YouTube clips so there's no way I could claim it sounds the same.

It's interesting that you say the real one is more dynamic etc than mine, because I thought the exact thing about mine Vs the other dirt pedals I do have. I mean between this and a big muff or a tube screamer is like night and day. You cant hide bum notes or sloppy playing as it all comes through. I'll really have to try to find a local store that will let me try a real OCD now as clearly they are another level above what I've achieved here!

The fact that your not a pedal builder actually carries more weight with me than if you were. I've been listening to your songs, and you're a real artist in my opinion, so I definitely take your comments as constructive critique.

Hopefully DVM will pop his head in too because I know he has built something based on this layout as well and I'd be interested to hear his thoughts too.

[Jimi75]

Thanks for your comments Jimi, I've never tried a real OCD so I really value your comparison. I was careful to call it an interpretation rather than a clone because I have no accurate point of reference other than YouTube clips so there's no way I could claim it sounds the same.

It's interesting that you say the real one is more dynamic etc than mine, because I thought the exact thing about mine Vs the other dirt pedals I do have. I mean between this and a big muff or a tube screamer is like night and day. You cant hide bum notes or sloppy playing as it all comes through. I'll really have to try to find a local store that will let me try a real OCD now as clearly they are another level above what I've achieved here!

The fact that your not a pedal builder actually carries more weight with me than if you were. I've been listening to your songs, and you're a real artist in my opinion, so I definitely take your comments as constructive critique.

Hopefully DVM will pop his head in too because I know he has built something based on this layout as well and I'd be interested to hear his thoughts too.

Thanks for understanding my words the right way.

[Tig***]

H'mm. For some reason when you watch the embed version you see the black bars top and bottom that I used for text, but on YouTube it's cropped them out. I better figure out what I changed from the phaser clip to this one....

You have done nothing wrong. An embedded video frame is sized in the old aspect ratio, so the letter box (black bars) are there to maintain the whole picture and not crop off the sides.

Nice demo. Very crunchy pedal indeed! Cool paint and decals.

I also enjoyed the Taz "hard-on" poster.

[Ch0jin]

You have done nothing wrong. An embedded video frame is sized in the old aspect ratio, so the letter box (black bars) are there to maintain the whole picture and not crop off the sides.

Nice demo. Very crunchy pedal indeed! Cool paint and decals.

I also enjoyed the Taz "hard-on" poster.

Thanks Tig. The poster is actually for a Sydney band called "Hard Ons" A punk band from way back. One of my favourite bands as it happens. That particular poster was a bit of a collectable as it's from a gig in Barcelona many years ago. I took it off the wall to replace it with some of my photography and haven't got around to re hanging it.

Check my boys out with the man mountain Henry Rollins.... Some of the lowest slung SG work I've seen



And the song that got me moshing like a maniac back in the early 90's