Mod Kits DIY

How the kits work

Mod Kits DIY builds are point-to-point: instead of a printed circuit board, you wire components directly to one another following the supplied instructions. The Tea Philter fixed wah, for instance, uses "point-to-point wiring and easy-to-follow instructions" so a working pedal can be finished "in a matter of hours"⁷. The company also points out a practical benefit for tinkerers: on the Wahtz Wah, "point to point construction allows advanced kit builders to easily experiment with modifications to further tailor the tone to more individual tastes"⁹.

Each product page carries a build difficulty number, which is the quickest way to compare kits across the range³⁷¹⁰:

Overdrive and distortion kits

The Thunderdrive Deluxe (kit K-955) is the line's overdrive / distortion pedal kit¹². The Persuader Deluxe is the tube option: Mod Electronics describes it as a tube overdrive pedal that "utilizes a Darlington preamp to push cascaded triode vacuum tubes into distortion"³. It is rated build difficulty 4, and its instructions are downloadable as a PDF from the product page³.

Fuzz kits, including the Rock Bottom for bass

The Rock Bottom is the bass player's fuzz kit, listed as a bass fuzz / boost pedal with a blend control: "use the blend pot to set your fuzz levels," so you can keep low end in the mix while adding fuzz on top¹¹. It sits at build difficulty 3¹¹.

At the experimental end, the Erratic Clutch Deluxe is a square-wave fuzz plus a monophonic sub-octave generator, built with only four transistors⁸. The two signals can be used individually or mixed together for what the maker calls "a raw and sonically-rich synthy output"⁸. Its controls and sample settings:

• Clean Note: sample setting for comparison⁸
• Pure Fuzz: sample setting from the manual⁸
• Sub Bass: sample setting from the manual⁸
• Synth Drive: sample setting from the manual⁸

Wah and filter kits

The Wahtz Wah is a full wah pedal kit that "produces the classic Wah tone you've come to expect with a hint of extra bite and growl"⁹. The Tea Philter takes the opposite approach: a fixed wah, meaning a filter you set once rather than rock with your foot. The maker describes it as producing "a fixed wah tone allowing you to lock it in without rocking the pedal back and forth," with a range from "your favorite vocal mid-range tone to thick lows"⁷. The Tea Philter page credits Orin Portnoy of CE Distribution and carries the line "BEST NEW Floor Effect of 2012!"⁷.

Reverb kits: The Verb and The Wave

Reverb comes in two kit flavors from the maker. The Verb is a reverb pedal kit based on the Belton Digi-Log module¹³, which lets it avoid the painful aspects of constructing a digital reverb circuit; other than that module, its circuit is point-to-point, with a single potentiometer controlling the amount of the effect. It runs on a 9V battery, though the maker recommends a 9V adaptor, and it carries a street price of $74.95¹⁴.

The Wave takes the opposite approach: a stand-alone, tube-driven analog spring reverb unit kit built for both guitar and studio use¹⁵. Its key features:

• All-tube design: four dual triode vacuum tubes, three 12AX7s and one 12AT7¹⁵
• Dwell control: adjusts the input signal level driving the tank¹⁵
• Pop-free switching: reverb switched in and out from a front panel toggle, or an optional footswitch purchased separately¹⁵
• Connections: 1/4 inch guitar jacks on the front, RCA in-and-out jacks on the back¹⁵
• Mounting: rack mountable in just under 3U of space, chassis approximately 11 inches deep front to back¹⁵
• Chassis: pre-punched, powder coated steel¹⁵

For countries with 240VAC mains, the Hammond 290WEX transformer can be substituted for the included power transformer¹⁵.

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