The 8-Ball is an overdrive pedal circuit based on the Marshall® Blues Breaker™, featuring modifications for enhanced overdrive and a thicker sound. It includes options for soft and hard clipping, with a shopping list for components and a drill template for assembly. Users are allowed to utilize the circuit boards for DIY and small commercial projects, but resale of PCBs is prohibited.
The 8-Ball is an overdrive pedal circuit based on the Marshall® Blues Breaker™, featuring modifications for enhanced overdrive and a thicker sound. It includes options for soft and hard clipping, with a shopping list for components and a drill template for assembly. Users are allowed to utilize the circuit boards for DIY and small commercial projects, but resale of PCBs is prohibited.
The 8-Ball is an overdrive pedal circuit based on the Marshall® Blues Breaker™, featuring modifications for enhanced overdrive and a thicker sound. It includes options for soft and hard clipping, with a shopping list for components and a drill template for assembly. Users are allowed to utilize the circuit boards for DIY and small commercial projects, but resale of PCBs is prohibited.
The 8-Ball is an overdrive pedal circuit based on the Marshall® Blues Breaker™, featuring modifications for enhanced overdrive and a thicker sound. It includes options for soft and hard clipping, with a shopping list for components and a drill template for assembly. Users are allowed to utilize the circuit boards for DIY and small commercial projects, but resale of PCBs is prohibited.
The extra small pads are vias. You do not need to do anything with them.
Terms of Use: You are free to use purchased 8Ball circuit boards for both DIY and small commercial operations. You may not offer 8Ball PCBs for resale or as part of a “kit” in a commercial fashion. Peer to peer resale is, of course, okay.
Shopping List Value QTY Type Rating 1k 1 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 3k3 2 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 4k7 4 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 6k8 2 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 47k 2 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 270k 1 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 680k 1 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 1M 2 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 2M2 1 Metal / Carbon Film 1/4W 47pF 1 Ceramic / Mica 16v or more 10n 2 Film 16v or more 15n 1 Film 16v or more 56n 2 Film 16v or more 100n 1 Film 16v or more 220n 2 Film 16v or more 1uF 1 Film 16v or more 100uF 2 Electrolytic 16v or more 1n914 4 RED LED 3MM 2 Alt: 1N4001 1N5817 1 4558 1 Or other Dual OpAmp DPDT 1 Pin Mount critical! On/On 250kB 1 PCB Mount 16mm 25kB 1 PCB Mount 16mm 100kA 1 PCB Mount 16mm
Use this DPDT switch: http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=43
2 1590B Drill Template
4.64” W x 6.69” H
Download the Photoshop file used for this template here:
3 4 The 8Ball is based on the Marshall® Blues Breaker™ pedal. It has several modifications to increase the range of overdrive as well as address some of the inherent brightness of the stock design. This should be a very easy project for all levels of builders as well as provide a solid foundation to any pedal board.
The 8Ball includes two clipping options: the stock soft clipping and LED hard clipping. These are very different sounding. The soft clip is very smooth while the LED clipping is quite aggressive. The remaining mods are all at the component value level. The stock version has been revoiced to a thicker, meaty overdrive via some cap value tweaks. The 8Ball also has more gain on tap. Finally, the traditionally low output of the stock unit has been increased slightly. Note that the 8Ball is still on the low side of total output so you should expect unity volume at around 1 to 2 o’clock on the Volume knob.
Notes
· There are extra pads just below D1 and above D2. These pads are provided for you alternate signal diodes like the 1N4001 instead of LEDs (in order to lay the diodes flat).
· C2 has spacing for either ceramic or silver mica capacitors.
· You must use a pin mounted DPDT switch. I have based the PCB component on this switch, available at smallbear and other suppliers: http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=43 “Taiway 2MD1T1B1M2RE, size and pin format like Mountain Switch 10TC415”
· The 8Ball will run at 18v, provided you use sufficiently rated caps.
· You can increase the effect output further by going up to 300k on R8. This is as far as I could take it before making the circuit unstable.
