Red Llama Clone

[duhvoodooman]

After seeing many positive comments about this overdrive/fuzz pedal from Way Huge (the original version of the brand, not the current one), I finally decided to buy the WHRL clone kit from GGG. For $45 plus $6 shipping, how could I go wrong?

Anyway, I got it a few days ago and threw it together quickly last night. I've been working on a bunch of ZYS orders (definitely NOT quick builds!), and needed a change of pace. The WHRL is a ridiculously fast build--tiny PCB, a handful of components, and only two control pots (gain & volume) to wire in. I knocked it off in a little over an hour. I'll post a "gut shot" when I have a chance. It's mostly air in there....

Anyway, it's got a very interesting tone--I don't have anything else like it. You could describe it either as a rather fuzzy sounding overdrive or a rather low gain, smooth sounding fuzz pedal. Pretty cool combination, really. It also seems to stay pretty focused down in the low end--doesn't muddy up very much, like so many dirt boxes are prone to do. I've only spent maybe 5 minutes playing through it so far, but was quite impressed--especially considering the low investment in time and $$. Here's a YouTube video of the WHRL that will give you a fairly good idea of how it sounds, at least with a Strat:

 

[sumitomo]

Cool pedal Vood the way I likes 'em simple and sweet,I think I'll try one.Sumi

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I think that sounds pretty cool! A nice warm, bluesy sound with a bit of fuzz on it!

 

[duhvoodooman]

Here's the gut shot. Like I said, very simple--mostly air in there:

 

[duhvoodooman]

Here's what I have in mind for the enclosure finishing:

 

[duhvoodooman]

Finished pedal:

The camera flash makes the paint color look a lot lighter and more orange than it really is. The mockup in the preceding post is very close to the actual color, a deep red.

 

[Monkus]

looks sweet DVM ! :applause

 

[duhvoodooman]

looks sweet DVM ! :applause

Sounds sweet, too. This little box has a very seductive tone, particularly with single-coil guitars.

 

[Tig]

Simple and sweet. :agree

The GGG kits look like great bargains. I wonder how good their designs and components are? What's your take as far as the WHRL kit goes?

 

[duhvoodooman]

Though not up to the level of the BYOC kits, the GGG stuff is still very good, and extremely well priced. The directions are not as comprehensive and well illustrated, so they'd be a little more difficult for a novice builder, I think. Component quality seems comparable, but I don't find the PCB and overall kit layouts to be as well thought out. There always seems to be a lot of longer wire runs and the finished "guts" tend to look a bit haphazard, not nearly as tidy as a BYOC pedal. But the two complete GGG kits I've built work well and sound good.

 

[Tone2TheBone]

LOL I hadn't seen this build. I love the name you gave it. hahahaha

 

[Ro3b]

Well, I just finished my own GGG Red Llama kit. It's my first build ever. As Duhvoodoman said, it goes together very easily (what took him an hour took me about three), but the instructions don't coddle you. If I hadn't spent some time browsing through the materials on the BYOC website, I'd have gotten into trouble. As it was, I only made one major goof (wiring the input jack backwards); the big gobbet of solder I dropped on one of the resistors didn't seem to hurt anything. I'll still decline showing you gutshot, though. Vood, when I look at how neat and clean your work is, I have to laugh.

I did have a couple of issues with my particular kit: the hole in my enclosure for the indicator LED was a little too small and had to be enlarged slightly to accommodate the collar, and my DC jack didn't come with a nut, so it's held in place right now with a couple of pieces of electrical tape. Minor stuff. The box sounds great, and I'd willingly build more of GGG's stuff.

 

[duhvoodooman]

Cool! Congrats, Ro3b! Gotta get a few more Fretters doing this DIY pedal stuff.

BTW, are you sure that there's no nut on the AC adapter jack? A lot of first-time builders get faked out by the fact that the standard version of that jack has a black plastic hex nut that initially looks like it's just part of the jack body. But put a wrench on it and turn CCW, and off it comes....

 

[Ro3b]

Yep, I even opened up a couple of pedals that have the same kind of jack to make sure of what I was seeing. The nut definitely wasn't in my kit. But as I say, no big deal, it's my first build, and I'm actually getting to like the electrical tape. It makes a nice difference in my tone. (Kidding.)

The more I play this thing, the more I like it. It's got a nice range of fuzz that doesn't obliterate the details of my playing, and it's about as touch-sensitive as my OCD. I can't imagine why Way Huge isn't making these things anymore.

 

[Bloozcat]

You've really got that professional looking graphics thing down there, DVM. Looks as good as anything out there...and even better than most. I'm sure better quality control as well.

You've found your niche, for sure! :AOK

 

[Unknown Fan]

Very nice sir...

I like the graphics as well.