StewMac Ghost Drive Overdrive Pedal DIY Build Your Own Kit, With Bare Enclosure, Based on Klon Centaur (12254)

GOOD:- It sounds like a klon. I've never had the opportunity to play one in person but I have listened to recordings and heard them live. It's close enough for me.- Very good instructional documentation. I would have loved to see a breakdown of what each component does in the circuit but its OK. If you have a basic understanding of how to solder, you can do this. It took me about 3 hours of solder work and I really took my time. Just make sure to READ it and not just look at the diagrams.- Support is great. I did have a the wrong cap sent in the kit. I emailed support and had a new one at my door within 2 days. It's important to take inventory of your parts before starting to ensure you have everything you need while assembling it.Bad:- None that i can think ofNitpicks:- I would love to see the foot switch be a soft click. Most new pedals these days have them and I find myself not putting enough pressure to engage it.- LED is very directional and very bright. I wish I tested it prior to installation. I would have picked something a little more diffused.If plan on picking up a few more kits for friends.

This pedal went together fairly nicely. A couple things took some time to double check. The one picture showing the PC board almost made me think I installed it wrong because it doesn’t show the components. A couple caps were not as shown in the instructions so you have to use the process of elimination. The most confusing part was the power Jack pins. I ended up plugging in power and reading the pins to make sure the center pin was negative.It did work great the first time and sounds awesome. Just take your time putting it together and double check every component before you solder it. A board holder is definitely a help. I powder coated mine chrome before I assembled so that’s why it’s shiny. It did not come like that.

Quality build, good parts with excellent instructions. Worth the price and great sound.

So this is my second (and last) pedal bought from stewmac. When i opened the box, nearly every single resistor was bent all over the place as well as the connectors for the chips or op amps or whatnot. One lead broke as i gently tried to bend it back in shape, luckily i bought a box of components a while back as i build pedals pretty often. You will hear things from stewmac like “rare” referring to the components they put in the package. Do not let this fool you. They are the same kinds of components you will get from cheap chinese made pedals that are a lot more affordable. If stewmac knew how to package their products, this would not be the second pedal i bought with issues. Pedal works nicely and sounds fine, but do expect to have to bend leads and be very careful not to break any. I was generous with the review i gave of the first pedal, no longer happy with this company.