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Pedal mods by Lame Guitarist (review!)


delius

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Got forum member the Lame Guitarist to modify my Boss BD-2, and I'm really impressed with the result. The Bluesdriver's overdrive can be a bit on the harsh side, and what I was hoping for was a smoother, fuller tone. My newly modded Bluesdriver does exactly that, cleans up nicely with the volume down, and is more fluid and responsive to boot. The pedal now sounds infinitely better than a standard BD-2!

I must add that I was thoroughly impressed by Lame Guitarists professionalism - the pedal was back in my hands in a couple of days, and I was provided with a detailed log sheet which explained each modification, what was swapped in and out, and what the purpose of each mod was. I've also now got a funky little white LED which looks kind a cool, and the whole thing cost just 20.

Great job lame Guitarist - cheers!:up:

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  • 6 months later...

got brian (lame guitarist) to mod my blues driver to give it more depth and it sounds amazing now. i use it with bass and it sounds so good. i use it to just add a bit more gain to my clean sound but it also sounds good with the gain turned up. also got him to make my boss bass overdrive less fizzy and it now sounds so much better than it did before.

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Is there any modifications that can be done to a Boss Metal Zone to stop it from being absolutely dog shit and completely unusable anywhere outside of my own house (and in my house if I have company, as I don't want people to think I have tone not dissimilar to opening up a bottle of fizzy pop)

?

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Is there any modifications that can be done to a Boss Metal Zone to stop it from being absolutely dog shit and completely unusable anywhere outside of my own house (and in my house if I have company, as I don't want people to think I have tone not dissimilar to opening up a bottle of fizzy pop)

?

I've got 2 metal zones and manage to get a half decent tone out of them. What kind of guitar and amp are you using them with? What do you have the settings on the MT-2 set at?

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I don't use it with my main rig, which is a modded JCM2000 DSL50. I just use the gain channel on that.

I just use it at home through a Marshall MG 30 watt combo. It's a crappy amp, but it's just for home use. Sounds fine with a Marshall Jackhammer running into it, but the Metalzone just has piercing fizzy highs. It needs more low frequencies, and just a warmer presence to it.

No idea what settings I have it atthe moment. I've never found a setting I like, and I do like metallic distortion

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I don't use it with my main rig, which is a modded JCM2000 DSL50. I just use the gain channel on that.

I just use it at home through a Marshall MG 30 watt combo. It's a crappy amp, but it's just for home use. Sounds fine with a Marshall Jackhammer running into it, but the Metalzone just has piercing fizzy highs. It needs more low frequencies, and just a warmer presence to it.

No idea what settings I have it atthe moment. I've never found a setting I like, and I do like metallic distortion

Your problem could be the terrible Marshall amp, I have no idea why Marshall decided to remove any sort of bass from their recent models.

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by the way, if anyone wants to know what pedals can be modded its virtually the entire range of boss pedals, there are a few exceptions such as the newer version of the CH-1 which has a circuit board that consists of surface mounted components and the octave pedal, other than that they are all usually modable for a much better sound and quality.

Also crybaby wahs, can be made much more usable and have true bypass.

MXR, marshall, electroharmonix and so on and some morley pedals.

Everyone of them also has various things that can be done as well, its all down to taste but almost every boss pedal is a ford fiesta ready to be fine tuned into an austin martin

the ones i really like are the BD-2, Awesome pedal after its modded and i took keeleys idea of the Phat switch but changed it to my taste (his was too harsh and muddy)

this switch can be incorporated into most o the boss overdrives to give more gain, different types of gain or more low end or high end or whatever

the boss ds-1 and sd-1 with switchable gains, permanent additions to my pedalboard.

boss ce-2, hard to get hold off but one o the best chorus pedals and sounds great when modded and converted from having to use AC power adaptors.

boss cs-3 compressor, crap tinny shitbox until its guts are ripped out and better components are in.

boss dd delays- more analogue delay which is nicer if you like the vintage tone.

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this might be cheeky but do you have a site i could read up on the MT-2 modifications if no then what could you offer modifying it for me, its needs repaired the switch is fooked but the circuit of the actual pedals workings is fine.

what kind of modifications do you do on them and what will they do? and a price would be good also, give me a rough estimate regarding how many mods i would like once i know what you can to do them :D

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this might be cheeky but do you have a site i could read up on the MT-2 modifications if no then what could you offer modifying it for me, its needs repaired the switch is fooked but the circuit of the actual pedals workings is fine.

what kind of modifications do you do on them and what will they do? and a price would be good also, give me a rough estimate regarding how many mods i would like once i know what you can to do them :D

hi there, i dont have a site yet, planning on one some time for amps, pedals and so on but am waiting till i get more experience on designing my own pedals.

I have all the stuff that i do on paper and with schematics and so on. i researched what other pedal modders did on a website called diystompboxes and tried and changed a lot of it and also came up with my own, its all trial and error and i have knackered a couple of pedals when i first started learning about this but once you know what works and what doesnt its easy and plan ahead with a schematic. its also good to study any pedal cos as i said most pedals out there can be a blank canvas.

the MT-2 is one of the pedals that you can do anything to and completely overhaul it. you can install gain switches to switch between diodes and leds for clipping stages and so on, also the components can be all upgraded which takes the harshness and fizzyness out.

i do all my mods for 20 but if it needs a switch or 2 then i charge an extra tenner as takes a bit more time and isnt reversible and the company i used to get cheap small suitable switches doesnt stock them anymore!!

am not doing these expensive as its not a business to me and as long as the cash covers the parts then its fine as i just like doing it and hearing the results on peoples pedals. like the guy graham i just modded his blues driver and thought it was immense sounding so i am doing one for myself the same!! :D

as i say i cant really tell you what i do to pedals like the MT-2 as i do what you want to it!!

its just a case of tell me what sound you want and i will see what i can do.

just like grahams blues driver.

what part of your MT-2 switch is broken?? if its the plastic part on the inside i know boss can supply them as they stock replacement parts.

i have a modded ds-1 that is a serious gain beast i did a while back and would give the MT-2 a fair run for its money

folk are actually welcome to come up and try out the pedals i have modded if they fancy some mods done but wanna hear them first

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forgot to say

i use the best quality parts i can get like tantalum and panasonic metal film caps from digikey which i think are best for these compared to ceramic and also i use silver mica in some mods which are pretty expensive (1 - 2 quid a cap) depending on the value but really nice in some mods.

also metal film resistors as i think carbon is bland in most situations for modding and cant understand why some places still use them also metal film gives you a better tolerance.

also germanium transistors and brown burr opamps in some pedals. or i can do the texas chip that a lot of people like in their sd-1's and tubescreamers (i prefer the brown burr)

i can do a socket in the pedals that people can swap around the chips for taste.

i spent a shitload on parts when i first started this, not with the intention of doing it for anyone else but to buy loads o pedals and experiment and then start building my own projects.

Sorry if am rabbiting on but i get carried away with this stuff :D and eastenders is finished!! haha

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yeah its the plastic switch under the flap in the battery container,

so if i sling you my pedal and 20 notes...

can you get rid of the fizzyness

make it more of nice heavy overdrive from a valve amp ideal for heavy metal

maybe a blue LED

and replace the switch

if you can do all this for 20 i would be pleased!

if you'd rather recommend me certain mods that would work better for my needs i would easily go with your advice

cheers

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What sort of stuff could you do to a dd-3 and a marshall jackhammer?

well the dd-3 can have a switch put in that gives you the normal delay and 2 other types of analogue delay. its a standard mod that a lot of people do and it cuts the high end and smoothes it out a bit giving a more analogue feel to the repeats. the jackhammer can be modded to be smooth and not so harsh and noisy

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yeah its the plastic switch under the flap in the battery container,

so if i sling you my pedal and 20 notes...

can you get rid of the fizzyness

make it more of nice heavy overdrive from a valve amp ideal for heavy metal

maybe a blue LED

and replace the switch

if you can do all this for 20 i would be pleased!

if you'd rather recommend me certain mods that would work better for my needs i would easily go with your advice

cheers

yeh shouldnt be a prob, i will get back to you on the switch tho as i have to see how long it will take to get one!!

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yeah its the plastic switch under the flap in the battery container,

so if i sling you my pedal and 20 notes...

can you get rid of the fizzyness

make it more of nice heavy overdrive from a valve amp ideal for heavy metal

maybe a blue LED

and replace the switch

if you can do all this for 20 i would be pleased!

if you'd rather recommend me certain mods that would work better for my needs i would easily go with your advice

cheers

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yeah its the plastic switch under the flap in the battery container,

so if i sling you my pedal and 20 notes...

can you get rid of the fizzyness

make it more of nice heavy overdrive from a valve amp ideal for heavy metal

maybe a blue LED

and replace the switch

if you can do all this for 20 i would be pleased!

if you'd rather recommend me certain mods that would work better for my needs i would easily go with your advice

cheers

the man from del monte he say yeah, should be no probs, only thing though is i would have to charge 25 for everything as i would need to have the replacement plastic footswitch shipped from germany. only distributer that does them as far as i can see.

i wouldnt advise going for optional gain and overdrive switches if thats the kind of sound you want. best just a no holds barred heavy sustain pedal. blue LED will be no probs as well. i can do any colour and have been doing green lately for folk!!

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soundo min, how will i go about getting it to you, I'm gonna be in the city center Wednesday lunchtime if that helps i can bring cash and the pedal and meet you somewhere... if no then arrange something

also what can you do for original cry babys, my one i find lacks character and the wah comes in quite late in the sweep and is short relative to the movement of the pedal, could you mod it to have a wider range?

also dunno if this is possible or worth it, but the white bass cry baby has a switch less circuit and spring loaded treadle, is it possible to mod the original cry baby to work the same as the the bass version, i don't like having to rock the pedal all the way forward to clunk it on then to bring it back towards me to start the wah, interferes with my playing i find

cheers :D

have been doing green lately for folk!!

***modified pedal or half score of green? ehhh decisions!!!!! DECIDED PEDAL!!***

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