Inspired by a group of programmers that attempted to build The Worst Volume Control UI, we’ve come up with the worst volume pedal design. Does it work? Yes! Does it solve a problem anyone has? No! Rather than a volume knob we’ve gone with fifty jacks starting at 98% and dropping in 2% increments down to completely muted.

This device measures in at about 7.5″ x 4.5″ and weighs over 2 pounds due to the 52 jacks. The enclosure was an accidental order nearly 20 years ago and being an awkward size it’s been sitting and waiting for the right project. The top face happens to have the perfect amount of space for 50 jacks and the unusual height leaves plenty of clearance for the jacks to mount vertically. The completely passive design means no power supply is needed. I’m not entirely sure what will happen to this but one thing for certain is this will never be a production device from us.

Here’s another personal project used to test out some new designs and ends up going into the collection of oddball pedals. The goal was to take a Crybaby wah circuit and make the smallest PCB possible while also adding functionality. Some favorites from this fixed-way pedal:
1. Added Resonance and Midrange knobs plus a Frequency toggle switch
2. A volume boost circuit plus volume knob since filter pedals can cut the volume when activated.
3. Pads for both a Fasel inductor or the standard one found in Crybaby wahs for years.
4. Expression pedal jack so the pedal could be controlled like a more traditional wah pedal.
5. Socketed transistors to allow for experimenting.

Overall this ends up being a very versatile filter pedal in a reasonably sized Gold 125B enclosure from Small Bear.

We love the old Roland AP7 Jet Phaser and have seen a few in over the years for modifications and repairs. Warm Audio’s clone is fairly accurate to the original which means it benefits from our modifications to separate out the Phaser and Fuzz circuit into two separate foot switches that can be activated independently. We also break out the goofy 6-position Mode switch which combines the bypass switch for the fuzz, tone control for the fuzz, and depth control for the phaser.

It’s interesting to note that the pedal is being marketed as true bypass, however the two units we’ve reviewed absolutely are not true bypass and use the same FET bypass system found on the pedal this was copied from. The first one we received also had a defective power supply that sounded considerably worse than battery power. A bit concerning for quality control on an otherwise beautiful pedal.

Mods include:
1. Install additional center footswitch so Phaser and Fuzz can be activated separately.
2. Convert pedal to true bypass.
3. Install status LEDs for phaser, fuzz, and fast footswitch.
4. Install fuzz Tone knob in place of the Mode 6-position rotary switch.
5. Install phaser Depth 3-way toggle switch: Low, Medium, and High settings.
6. Install volume boost circuit to increase the output of the phase circuit. This can be adjusted internally

This pedal has a unique design with a thick, aluminum plate on top of a steel enclosure. That makes it time consuming to drill and requires special hardware with a longer shaft. For those reasons the mods on this page will not be offered in this form as an Overhaul mod. We expect to have a more practical overhaul mod available in the near future which utilizes the two existing footswitches to act as bypass for fuzz and phase circuits.

Don’t own one already? Purchase a stock Jet Phaser and have it modified.

Our Boss CE-1 power conversion bypasses the internal power transformer and allows the pedal to be powered by an 18V DC power source rather than plugging into a 120V AC power source. This can be helpful for people that live in areas with different voltage standards or just for making the pedal pedalboard-friendly as it’ll be compatible with an isolated 18V DC power supply.

We’ve found that the Dunlop ECB-004 is a great option for our mods as it’s readily available and high quality. However, any quality power supply can be used if it’s:
1. 18V DC
2. Tip Negative
3. 2.1mm Barrel Jack
4. 100mA or higher
5. Isolated (no daisy chains or Y cables)

Another consideration for this project was the value of the pedal and preventing any permanent modifications to the pedal. This mod is entirely reversible with the stock transformer remaining untouched, the power switch wiring isn’t modified, the new power circuit (small, purple rectangle seen above) is mounted using pre-existing holes in the chassis, and the DC jack fits in the stock power cable hole.

Our Boss CE-1 Modification page has pricing information. This is a modification service and not available as a kit or with DIY instructions.

This is an update to a previous post writing about a hand controller to replace the rocking “wah” style foot controller for the vintage Shin-ei Uni-Vibe pedal. Unfortunately for these pedals you can’t switch them on/off and can’t adjust the rate without a controller of some sort. This is a great option for studio use or for anyone with less space on their board and don’t need to adjust the rate on the fly. This updated version has a 5-pin DIN jack rather than an attached cord for more flexibly in cable length. Currently posted for sale on the FXdoctor store.

August 2025: Editing to add the link to our Part 4 of these controllers.

A few years back we created a Shin-ei Uni-Vibe Expression Pedal as a replacement for the original controller which can be hard to find. The Uni-Vibe requires a controller to adjust the rate and for bypass so if the controller goes missing or is damaged then the Uni-Vibe is useless. The one picture above offers the same functionality but in a smaller 2.5″ x 4.5″ package that’s designed to be activated by hand rather than with your foot.

Edited to add: check out Part 3 for another variation on this device.

This tap tempo footswitch controller was designed to display the tempo that was most recently tapped. This project was a fun experiment into the Adafruit Trinket world but will not become a product that we sell. All credit for the code goes to Phillip Burgess and his project page can be found here if you’d like to build your own or get more information on how the circuit works.

Some interesting parts of this project include how to interface a tap tempo footswitch with another delay pedal. The problem being that some delay pedals will average together your inputs and other pedals will simply take the time between the last two inputs. The tempo displayed will be 100% correct to what was entered but your pedal may actually be at a different rate depending on how it interprets your inputs. Other considerations include how practical is this? At the end of the day it’s a fun toy, but I’m not sure if knowing the tempo is going to matter for most applications.

And some general tech specs: 125B enclosure, soft touch foot switch, 9V DC input at around 20-50mA of power usage, two ¼” jacks to control two delay pedals and the option to add as many outputs as needed. For any DIYers I strongly recommend going slow and hand filing the cutout for the screen as it was by far the most time consuming part of the project.

One of the great things about the large EHX casings is that there is plenty of room to add knobs on the pedal. This pedal was one of our own to experiment on. Our mix knob has been popular on flanger and phaser pedals so we decided to add it to this chorus pedal. Chorus is simply a dry signal mixed with a pitch shifted (vibrato) signal so this mix control allows you to make the chorus effect a bit more subtle by mixing in some clean guitar or more intense by mixing in more of the vibrato sound. Turning the knob entirely clockwise will give a full vibrato effect.

We added a Depth Knob which affects how wide the LFO sweeps.Since adding a Depth knob makes the Depth switch redundant, we decided to rewire it as an Intensity Switch. When pushed up the pedal is at it’s stock tone, when slid down it is a more subtle shimmer effect.

Other mods include a Volume knob to help the pedal boost the signal an appropriate amount and a Boss style barrel jack to replace the stock ⅛” phone jack. Overall a very versatile pedal with an entirely analog circuit path which should cover a wide variety of tones.

We always like to see vintage pedals in here and this is definitely one of the holy grails. The Shin-ei Uni-Vibe is the original uni-vibe pedal which has inspired clones for decades since its inception as a portable device to emulate a Leslie spinning speaker.

This pedal was in for basic servicing but the important goal was to build a replacement expression pedal since the main unit does not have a Speed knob or a bypass switch rendering the main unit useless. Our replacement expression pedal unit uses a custom 5-pin DIN cable to connect to the main unit so the rate can be adjusted while playing.

The interesting part of this project was that in order to copy the original expression pedal we needed to install a bypass switch in the heel. Most people are familiar with a wah pedal which is activated by pressing down firmly with your toes. While this works great for a wah pedal it can sound bizarre on a univibe as you would need to turn the rate to full speed (toe down) in the process of hitting the switch. By placing the bypass switch in the heel (rocked back) position it allows for a seamless transition from the slowest setting to the bypassed tone with almost no effort.

This project was a custom build but we are always able to recreate similar expression pedals as a direct replacement for the original Uni-Vibe expression pedal.

The Digitech Whammy has been around forever and the latest revision– while very nice– still doesn’t address the issue of not being able to change presets without leaning over and turning the knob. While some guitarists choose to use a MIDI box to make changes our solution has always been to install a second footswitch so you can cycle through the presets. This was a great hands-free solution but may be tedious for quick changes in the middle of a song.

The box above allows you to remotely control the Whammy and uses the same rotary control as the stock pedal. This box can be mounted on a mic stand or left on a table for easy access. We also offer LED color swaps so you can quickly identify your favorite settings from a distance.