mikek
Full Member
Posts: 144
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Post by mikek on Mar 27, 2007 7:18:01 GMT -7
Okay, so I realize 99%, heck...maybe even 100% of you won't be interested in this but I just had to post it. There probably aren't many fans of extreme metal on this forum, nor are there guys that like certain high-gain tones. Tone that gets description from some people like "buzzsaw", "bumblebee", etc. But, you may enjoy this if nothing else for a laugh . For the last 6 months or so, I've been building all of my own pedals and I've learned a great deal in the process. What's been especially shocking is what some of my favorite pedals have running under the hood. However, all of these builds were existing designs or modifications thereof. Recently, I decided to design my first pedal from scratch. I set out to make a good high-gain pedal, suitable for more extreme metal. Believe it or not, most pedals really suck in this area. They're harsh, have no definition, lack tone-shaping, etc. I've been working on it for a while, and finally finished it. I decided to name it die Ziege; German for "the goat". It has its lineage in the Engl Fireball. Here are some pictures. i94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/mikeklein311/mwk%20pedals/IMG_1528.jpgi94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/mikeklein311/mwk%20pedals/IMG_1529.jpgi94.photobucket.com/albums/l84/mikeklein311/mwk%20pedals/IMG_1530.jpgMy forgiving wife helped me make a clip of die Ziege. She provided the camera work and I did the riffing. Its really lo-fi (built-in digital camera mic) and the playing is terrible (improv odd-time signature death metal riffery complete with clams), but that's not the point. I think it does an okay job of capturing the sound, although it certainly sounds better in the room. I used my Gibson Flying V w/ EMG 81 > die Ziege > Dr. Z Prescription ES > VHT D412. video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3525261022628635061Sorry for the randomness, but thought I'd share it. Enjoy it, flame it, do as you please.
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maction
Full Member
SRZ for me
Posts: 227
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Post by maction on Mar 27, 2007 9:37:21 GMT -7
sweet! or should I say brutal?
the clip sounded great. I can't wait to hear it through some nice headphones. I think I'm losing a lot of bottom end through this stock PC sound card.
guess I'm in the 1% of this board that would get excited about stuff like this. I grew up playing punk, death and thrash metal. I was just messing around with some Boss pedals at GC the other day, and was thinking how they just didn't cut it. The Metal Zone just sounded tinny and scooped no matter how I set it, and the while the Mega Distortion was warmer, it just didn't grind the way I wanted it to. If you're considering selling these, I think there's a definite place in the market for a metal distortion with "boutique" features.
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Post by Hohn on Mar 27, 2007 15:31:51 GMT -7
I'm not a metal guy, but that's a killer metal tone. Smokes anything Boss makes.
Yes, I own a Recto preamp, and I still claim not to be a metal guy:)
The Recto is pretty good at the metal thing with the right guitar-- not so much my Tele or Strat:)
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mikek
Full Member
Posts: 144
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Post by mikek on Mar 27, 2007 16:23:42 GMT -7
Heh, thanks guys. I really appreciate the kind words. It was a fun pedal to design and work out the kinks. I'm pretty happy how it turned out. I really just made this for myself. Strangely enough, I've had a handful of people want to buy one. That wasn't my intention at all...but I figured if guys are interested in it I'd build one for them at a reasonable price. Thanks again guys.
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Post by prettynoiselab on Mar 27, 2007 16:45:02 GMT -7
Mike, I dig all different kinds of tone and this really rocks in the metal department. This would be great in a studio for recording. InstaDeath In a Box. When the money starts flowing I might want one myself. How does it sound at lower gain settings. If you could do a couple of different settings it would be great to hear.
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Post by Joey Beverages on Mar 27, 2007 17:22:52 GMT -7
Dude, that was so freakin' cool! I can only imagine how much fun that was and what it would be like to experience the full effect. cheers Joel
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Mar 27, 2007 17:41:09 GMT -7
It sounds like you were able to achieve your objective with that pedal. Nice going! I'm not a metal fan, but that was pretty frigging FAT!
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Post by telejas on Mar 27, 2007 18:37:38 GMT -7
I think it's pretty cool!! I come from a Dual Recto background, heck I sold my Mesa Boogie Roadster just to get a Z, so I like that type of stuff (but my heart is in country music). I've been looking for a pedal to get me there. The closest I've found is a Jekyl & Hyde pedal. I have a clip of it at www.guitartest.moonfruit.com on the Dr. Z page at the bottom right of the page. I'd be interested in hearing some leads with that pedal and I'd also be interested in wanting to know how much you'd make me one for?
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mikek
Full Member
Posts: 144
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Post by mikek on Mar 27, 2007 19:31:22 GMT -7
My goodness...although it might not seem like much to you guys...the kind words are greatly appreciated. If nothing else, it just shows how genuine and open this forum is. Thank you so much. I didn't expect this in the least....
As far as how the pedal behaves, its pretty cool in all honesty. At that gain setting, I can roll back the guitar volume and get a clean sound. No joke. You can't do that with a MT-2 ;D.
It does single note leads really well, and can do pretty varied gain levels. I've mentioned it on here before, but there's a way to simulate the sound of a triode with JFETs. Its not exactly like a Mullard ECC83, but it sure sounds more natural than your plain vanilla clipping diodes IMO. You don't see it in pedals much because they have to be individually tested and biased, which all but negates large production. There is one company that I know of that uses this approach - Menatone. And you can see by his prices that its not an easy or quick way to build a pedal. There are probably more that use this design approach, but I don't know of them. The O.G.'s really are runoffgroove, Doug Hammond, Jack Orman, etc.
Anyway, I personally like die Ziege best at high-gain. I've built other pedals that I like more for say jazz-blues or classic rock.
I'll try to make some more dirty, lo-fi clips of the goat. This time, I'll try to do a little more various tones as mentioned.
To those that expressed interest in buying one.... First, I'm flattered. This wasn't my initial intent, but I'd be honored to build one for you. I'm not in this to make money, and I will sell this at a reasonable price. I don't want to spam this forum, so feel free to PM me if you are intersted.
Again, thanks to all for the great comments.
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Post by mward on Mar 28, 2007 3:56:32 GMT -7
I thought it sounded great. I heard megadeth with more crunch, if possible, when you were playing. At least, that's what it sounded like to me. I haven't listened to that genre in a long time. Nice work, man.
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Post by (8^D) on Mar 28, 2007 20:45:26 GMT -7
That was kicka**! ;D
Nicely done. I haven't found any pedals that work with my 7-string for that low-gear grind.
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Post by drew on Mar 29, 2007 8:35:50 GMT -7
D A M N - My vote goes squarely in the 'enjoyed it' camp. It sounded like the room was thumping w/low end. All of the Z's I've owned have great low end responses and your pedal takes it to the extreme. Nice job on the pedal. That's coming from a non-metal player.
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Post by skydog958 on Mar 31, 2007 21:37:56 GMT -7
It was certainly fun to listen too! Thankfully now all the gain I need is coming from my SRZ. Need to sell the Crunch Box now...
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