Build Your Own Clone Message Board

(just realized i should have posted in opamp forum, but don't know how to move this thread!)

Just built the yellow overdrive (boss od-1) and FET PreAmp (Boss FA-1) and I love them!

I searched the forums and couldn't find an answer to this question. The old Boss pedals (including OD-1) were designed around the ACA 12vDC power supply. They included circuitry to drop the voltage from 12v to 9v if using a power supply (but bypassed if using a battery). So if you use a 9v/200ma power supply with an original OD-1, the pedal is only getting about 6v of power--no bueno.

The Yellow Overdrive is supposed to be an exact replica of the OD-1. So does it employ the same circuitry to drop voltage when using a power supply? If so, are you getting the most out of the pedal if you use a 9v 200ma power supply?

Also, does anyone here think that the Yellow Overdrive sounds better with a battery in any event (ala Eric Johnson TS lore)?

And what about the FET PreAmp? I don't think you could use a power supply with the original FA-1. What is the proper power supply to use with the BYOC FET PreAmp, or am I better off using a battery anyway?

Here are a couple links discussing this:
https://www.mojostompboxes.com/blog/whi ... pedal-need https://www.mojostompboxes.com/blog/cor ... simplified

Thanks for any info on this!

The BYOC Yellow OD does not step down the voltage of an unregulated power supply like the original OD-1

I prefer using a battery to power my pedals. The main reason being that unlike power supplies batteries do not hum. I’ve found that Germanium pedals tend to have a lower noise floor on battery power too. I use an 18Ah rechargeable 12V lead acid battery to power my pedals and it works great. Back in the late 70’s my buddy Gary used to power his pedal board with a 12V motor cycle battery and some power resistors to form a voltage divider to bring the voltage down to 9V. Op-amps and other active devices can easily handle the extra 3V so I don’t bother with stepping the voltage down.

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"It’s your soldering."