Circuit 7 of 48: The Indicator

By: Dominic Sciarrino | Stompbox Electronics | Last Updated: March 22nd, 2026 Almost every guitar effects pedal ever made has one thing in common: an indicator LED that tells you whether the effect is engaged or bypassed. The indicator LED circuit is one resistor and one LED: the simplest circuit in this series. But get […]

Circuit 7 of 48: The Indicator Read More »

Behringer UV300 Rate Mod

The Behringer UV300 Rate Mod If you landed here, you’re probably looking for instructions on how to modify your Behringer UV300 with the popular Rate Mod. It’s often expressed that the minimum Rate setting is too fast for many applications. This mod reduces the range of the Rate control so you can access slower vibrato

Behringer UV300 Rate Mod Read More »

The BOSS VB-2 LFO Circuit

In this post, we dissect what makes the BOSS VB-2 LFO circuit so unique. It doesn’t “fit in” with other oscillator circuits like relaxation oscillators, phase-shift oscillators, and Wein-Bridges. Read on for an in-depth look at modeling the VB-2’s LFO circuit, examining it’s behavior, and how we can modify it to suit our needs. The

The BOSS VB-2 LFO Circuit Read More »

History of the BOSS DS-1

history of the ds1 feature image

Born in 1978, the BOSS DS-1 is by far the most well-known BOSS pedal. Used by the likes of Kurt Cobain, Steve Vai, Mike Stern, and Joe Satriani, it serves as BOSS’s longest running active stompbox. With over 40 years on the market many changes to the circuit have taken place: from slight component changes

History of the BOSS DS-1 Read More »

Circuit 5 of 48: The Switched Jack

Guitar pedal battery switching, DC power disconnect, and expression pedal wiring explained Introduction Switches: the most engaging electromechanical component! Available in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and configurations – switches give us the ability to interact with the electronic world. In this post, we’ll be covering a very particular type of switch technology that will

Circuit 5 of 48: The Switched Jack Read More »

Circuit 8 of 48: The Power Supply

By: Dominic Sciarrino | Stompbox Electronics | Last Updated: March 22nd, 2026 Every component in a guitar effects pedal depends on a clean, stable DC voltage to function correctly. The power supply is where that voltage comes from, and understanding it from a design perspective is one of the most important foundations in effects pedal

Circuit 8 of 48: The Power Supply Read More »

Drilling Guitar Pedal Enclosures

When designing or modifying your own effects, you’ll need to mount parts like switches, potentiometers, LED bezels, power jacks, input jacks, and output jacks. This requires you, the builder, to properly size, fit, and mount the component into the enclosure. In the following sections I go over my personal process for drilling guitar pedal enclosures.

Drilling Guitar Pedal Enclosures Read More »