I began to design pedals in my late years of secondary school, and have remained dedicated ever since. Pedals provide me with a perfect balance of mental stimulation mixed with hand craft. It is my belief that life can be understood as an expression of rhythm and pattern. Building pleasant sounding effect circuits is my way of playing back with the universe. My design style might be thought of as a hybrid combination of vintage and modern technologies. I build each pedal myself, by hand, as I would for myself or a close friend.
Electric guitar can often sound offensive to my ear, and I would like to make analog electronic devices which best minimise that. All of the circuits are carefully hand soldered in my home to have a long lifespan, and be practical to service. The enclosures are drilled and powder coated in my garage. My name is Darron Thornbury, and I live in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.
All pedals have a 10 year warranty.
Here are some of the common high quality parts which I use in most of my pedal designs:
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| OPTICAL TREMOLO |
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| RAD DISTORTION |
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| TSUCHI FUZZ V2 |
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| PROFESSIONAL DRIVE |
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| CAGA V2 |
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| BIG FUZZ |
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| BSIAB2 |
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| STEREO PANNING OPTICAL TREMOLO |
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TWEEDSVILLE |
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| MINTDROP |
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OPTICAL TREMOLO Tremolos interest me, as a good design has its own pulse, which can sound lively like the instrument itself. This was my first effect design which I started in high school. It started from scratch, to be completely unique and not sound like any other existing effect. By shining a fading light against a photo-sensitive device, this tremolo uses all analog photo-coupling to restrict and fluctuate the output volume. There is automatic perceived volume compensation for the full sweep of the controls. Always use a high quality regulated and isolated power supply for best operation. Daisy chain power cables may induce clock noise. A line level headroom optimised version can be made on request.
Temporarily sold out |
| Mike Hermans | |
| James Ryan | |
| brett kingman | |
| InTheBlues |
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RAD DISTORTION This is the classic ratty sounding distortion from the '80 and '90s, with some Dazatronyx tweaks. A distortion unit with two voicing modes. 'SI' silicon mode is the classic sound. This is achieved by a two-stage distortion of first overdriving the operational amplifier chip into a metallic fuzz, and then compressing the signal using hard-clipping silicon diodes. In the 'GE' germanium mode, the op amp fuzz has been removed. Germanium transistors and four germanium diodes are used to achieve a more rounded and organic overdrive-distortion. This works well with humbuckers where the gain is driven a little more. There is an internal trimpot to dial the mid/high saturation to suit your pickup and style - only if you feel the need to fiddle. Turning this completely right achieves the 'stock' metallic ratty distortion. Turning this left achieves a more flattened and bassier response, which can be well suited for the germanium mode.
All of the active signal processing is handled by parts wrapped in either metal or glass - all mojo. These components are in limited availability, and likely will be subject to change in the future as this project continues. Special components:
AUD$235. See returns policy.
Please note: While delivery times are improving after the COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware that post deliveries are still experiencing delays. |
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| Rhys Warden | ||
| Brett kingman (teaser) | ||
| Abel Franco | ||
| The SuperFunAwesomeHappyTime Pedal Show! |
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TSUCHI FUZZ v2 The Tsuchi Fuzz V2 takes a new look at the classic two-transistor fuzz circuit. The circuit’s tone has been carefully evaluated at every shaping point, to produce either classic or modern fuzz tones. Components used may vary slightly over time to those shown in the photo, due to stock availability - particularly transistors. Photos are shown only as a general illustration of construction and components quality. N.B. for purity of design, this pedal uses a positively grounded case. As such, it needs to be run from an isolated power supply, or battery. Batteries are not preferred. IE this pedal may not be suitable for a daisy-chain power supply.
AUD$299. Free post worldwide. See returns policy. Most international orders are currently being sent by Express EMS to help minimize covid-19 delivery delays. This has been available for most countries, but not all.
Please note: While delivery times are improving after the COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware that post deliveries are still experiencing delays. |
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PROFESSIONAL DRIVE Here's how I like to build the classic TS overdrive. I've added a three-way switch which toggles between three modes, which helps suit a broader range of pickups and play styles.
The gain knob has twice the gain range than you would expect from a classic TS. This circuit was made using the following special components:
AUD$220. Free post worldwide. See returns policy. All international orders are currently being sent by Express EMS to help minimize covid-19 delivery delays.
Please note: While delivery times are improving after the COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware that post deliveries are still experiencing delays. |
| InTheBlues | ||
| Captain Cherry's Guitar Lounge |
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CLASS A Germanium amplifier v2 Components used may vary slightly over time to those shown in the photo, due to stock availability - particularly transistors. Photos should be used only as a general guide for construction and components quality. N.B. for purity of design, this pedal uses a positively grounded case. As such, it needs to be run from an isolated power supply, or battery. Batteries are not preferred. IE this pedal may not be suitable for a daisy-chain power supply.
Please contact me for availability on this pedal. |
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BIG FUZZ Here's my take on a muff based fuzz-distortion. This has some unique mods which dramatically improve the tone and playability of the pedal.
AUD$220. See returns policy.
Please note: While delivery times are improving after the COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware that post deliveries are still experiencing delays. |
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| brett kingman | ||
| Rhys Warden | ||
| brett kingman | ||
| InTheBlues | ||
| KFIRO | ||
| KFIRO | ||
| Captain Cherry's Guitar Lounge | ||
| SHAUN KLINGER (iphone) |
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BSIAB2 This circuit (Brown Sound in a Box 2) was by far my favourite distortion back in high school. The cool thing was, if you wanted one, you just have to build one or know somebody who could. The circuit was designed by Ed Guidry, similar to works by Jack Oran and Aron Nelson. Back in the day, it was one of the highest recommended builds on the forums. Many would suggest that this design was the original precursor to many of the "high gain amp" pedals that came out in the 2000's. It's basically a Marshall stack tone faker. It has a tonne of gain, and a huge bottom end to fake a big amp when the drive knob is turned up. Lowering the drive thins this out if you want to push your preamp with the pedal. My build also has improved noise spec. This circuit also responds excellently to rolling back the instrument volume knob. Distortion is achieved by overdriving Fairchild field effect transistors (FETs), being the closest solid-state relative to vacuum tubes. No diodes are involved for clipping. There are three stacked gain stages. The first two are μAmp stages, which is a classic valve topology developed to achieve high gain performance from tubes. The final is a class a stage.
Return expected January 2020 - ASAP, pretty much. AUD$199. See returns policy.
Please note: While delivery times are improving after the COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware that post deliveries are still experiencing delays. |
| BRETT KINGMAN | ||
| The SuperFunAwesomeHappyTime Pedal Show! | ||
| Captain Cherry's Guitar Lounge | ||
| FIRST DEMO |
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STEREO PANNING OPTICAL TREMOLO This is my attempt to make a perfect tremolo sound. After a decade of development, I've created this completely unique circuit as my ideal tremolo. By shining a fading light against a photo-sensitive device, this tremolo uses all analog photo-coupling to restrict and fluctuate the output volume. There is automatic perceived volume compensation for the full sweep of the controls. This is a stereo variation of my smaller Optical Tremolo. It can take a stereo input, or split a mono guitar input between two amplifiers. The PAN switch changes the oscillator of each channel to be out of sync - so one comes up in volume while the other drops. This creates a strange swirling effect. All original analog circuitry and true bypass mechanical switching. Always use a high quality regulated and isolated power supply for best operation. Please note that the GND lift switch is no longer used, which was previously seen on old demo videos.
AUD$289. Free post worldwide. See returns policy. Most international orders are currently being sent by Express EMS to help minimize covid-19 delivery delays. This has been available for most countries, but not all.
Please note: While delivery times are improving after the COVID-19 pandemic, please be aware that post deliveries are still experiencing delays. |
| Mike Hermans | ||
| Brett Kingman | ||
| James Ryan | ||
| Shaun Klinger |
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Tweedsville The origins of this circuit date back to the '70s. This effect became the basis of many boutique distortions during the boom of DIY pedals - probably due to its simple design and rich effect. The three-position switch toggles between "models" of different bottom-end saturation and overall gain. For demos on how this pedal sounds, check out the Lovepedal Les Lius as it will sound like that circuit when the gain boost switch is engaged.
AUD$185. See returns policy.
Please note: there are still flight delays for international deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These delays might add a couple of weeks before parcels leave Australia. |
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Mintdrop This is a '60s germanium Fuzz Face. Made using old recipe AC128 transistors, in Dazatronyx style. This pedal artwork was designed with a friend and it had been on the to-do pile for a LONG time. I prepared twenty of these special enclosures as a limited run project. N.B. for purity of design, this pedal uses a positively grounded case. As such, it needs to be run from an isolated power supply, or battery. Batteries are not preferred. IE this pedal may not be suitable for a daisy-chain power supply.
All sold |
Email me at thornbury@gmail.com. I might be a little slow to respond sometimes, but am happy to help out wherever I can.
Please note that I am not taking any orders for custom builds. I am also not interested in modifying pedals of other builders and brands, as I'd rather spend time working on my own effects.
