{"title":"Knight School DIY Kits","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"knight-school-fuzz","title":"Knight School Fuzz (DIY Kit)","description":"\u003ch3 data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf you want to get your hands on one, we’re offering them in kit form, if you fancy building one yourself. Assembly is very straightforward and requires only a soldering iron, some solder, and proper ventilation; we’ll take care of the rest.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003eWhat began as an instructional device for a local pedal building class taught by a local amp tech became a pedal we have to share with you!\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p2\"\u003eWe were approached with a couple simple requests: First and foremost, a ripping fuzz pedal that covers all the bases from full and throaty to sputtery and gnarly. Check. Secondly, it had to be able to be placed almost anywhere in the chain, compared to say, a Fuzz Face, which is notoriously picky about where it goes. Thirdly, it had to be simple to build, easy enough for even the most novice solder jockeys.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p2\"\u003eWe believe we have succeeded with the Knight School Fuzz, which is based on one of the most underrated fuzz circuits in existence: the Jordan Boss Tone. This device originally plugged straight into your guitar during an era where pedalboards weren’t really “a thing” yet, so integrating one into a modern setup isn’t a simple procedure as most other vintage units.\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003eUnlike many circuits of the era, the Boss Tone isn’t based on anything else; most other venerable legacy fuzzes were copying each other in some form or another, but Jordan Electronics, whose engineers also built things like Geiger counters, was up for the challenge of an original circuit, and they crushed it with the Boss Tone, even though the housing wasn’t super user-friendly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p2\"\u003eDespite its integration difficulties, you can hear the Boss Tone on several classic records by ZZ Top, the Black Keys, Spirit, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and countless others. Our Knight School Fuzz riffs on this formula, with some value swaps, different transistors for a more modern sound, and a Bias control that utterly dissolves the sound into gnarled madness as you crank it.\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":50602040131716,"sku":"853710004681","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":50602040164484,"sku":"853710004680","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/products\/knight-shopify-01-01-min.png?v=1749846188"},{"product_id":"knight-school-overdrive","title":"Knight School Overdrive DIY Kit","description":"\u003ch3 data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf you want to get your hands on a Knight School Overdrive, we’re offering them in kit form if you fancy building one yourself. Assembly is very straightforward and requires only a soldering iron, some solder, and proper ventilation; we’ll take care of the rest.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAll the way back in 1975, Craig Anderton, founder of Seamoon Effects, released what came to be known as the go-to reference book for aspiring pedal builders. That book is called \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eElectronic Projects for Musicians\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and it unknowingly jumpstarted the designs of many budding companies. Several of the circuits in this book use integrated circuits, or “chips” as most people call them, that weren’t commonly found in commercial products of that time. One such timeless circuit born from this book was the Tube Sound Fuzz, a gain device centered around an exotic part called a hex inverter. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003eThe architecture of this hex inverter allows for some crisp and striking distortion using just a few parts, with some wild variation lurking within just by adjusting a few values. And companies did just that; with one of the earliest adopters of Anderton’s circuit being Electro-Harmonix. In the late ‘70s, EHX released the Hot Tubes, a modified version of this circuit, tweaked in such a way to deliver a smooth yet biting overdrive. Being a relatively unique circuit and previously unavailable commercially, the Hot Tubes had several notable users such as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kim Gordon, Jeff Buckley and the Edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003eAnother person that ran with the TSF is Jeorge Tripps of Way Huge, who tweaked the values of that circuit in a different direction and produced the brand’s flagship circuit, the Red Llama. That pedal has been in production on and off for 30 years, and found its way into the hands of several influential players, such as Tom Petty, Paul Gilbert and John Mayer. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003eOur Knight School Overdrive has the DNA of Mr. Anderton’s Tube Sound Fuzz, the Hot Tubes and the Red Llama, reworked into a dirt device that covers all the gain bases, from sparkling clean boost to heavy grit with extreme touch sensitivity. We’ve included a knob for a mids scoop, which was actually featured first in old Gibson amplifiers, but we’ve implemented the version from the Matchless Chieftain amplifier, one of our shop amps and a favorite of ours. You’ll find it adds quite a lot to the character of the unit, and is especially helpful if you play British-style amps.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":50602040262788,"sku":"853710005205","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":50602040295556,"sku":"853710005212","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/KS-od-shopify-01.png?v=1713499432"},{"product_id":"knight-school-synth","title":"Knight School Synth DIY Kit","description":"\u003ch3 data-mce-fragment=\"1\" class=\"p1\"\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf you want to get your hands on a Knight School Synth, we’re offering them fully in kit form if you fancy building one yourself. Assembly is very straightforward and requires only a soldering iron, some solder, and proper ventilation; we’ll take care of the rest.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eHere’s a tale from the annals of my personal DIY history: I learned how to breadboard and read schematics right before college, and I breadboarded many designs posted on ampage.org. Shortly after that, I found a new DIY website. This one was called Beavis Audio. If you’re familiar with this, it’s for a good reason; BA was one of the premier DIY sites out there, and it refreshingly wrote everything in plain English. One of the projects there was called the “Heterodyne Peyote Space Explorer”. This introduced me to the CD40106 chip and I played around with that device for what seemed like double-digit hours when I was taking EE classes.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOne thing I stumbled across was when I combined a boost circuit I was working on with the 40106. It made an oddball noise, but one I thought could be cool with some refinement. It took a lot of tinkering, but it worked much better when I put a second boost circuit in front of it. I couldn’t really explain why, but it sounded cool, and I built a couple for my friends. Some time later, I stumbled across a webpage authored by one Tim Escobedo. There’s a ton of good info on his “Circuit Snippets” page, and it still exists today. As it turns out, Mr. Escobedo discovered a form of this circuit back in 2002, and comparing his circuit analysis with mine and the Space Explorer was a real “Eureka” moment for me.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOur Knight School Synth is our most ambitious project to date. I’ve since leaned into Mr. Escobedo’s method for producing the pre-gain, as it’s simpler and uses far fewer parts than my original. Essentially, it turns your guitar signal into a square wave, and then uses the CD40106 to vary the pulse width of that square wave. There’s also a switchable LFO, which automatically varies the pulse width for you, along with a Depth control to change the intensity of the shaping. It’s a truly cool effect that emulates the monophonic synthesizers of yesteryear. Dare I say there’s not a lot on the market these days that sounds like this!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":50602040426628,"sku":"853710005250","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":50602040459396,"sku":"853710005267","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/Synth-Shopify-01-min.png?v=1707554169"},{"product_id":"knight-school-trem","title":"Knight School Trem DIY Kit","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEver wanted to build your own fully-analog multi-wave tremolo? We got you! Our Knight School Trem kit gives you what you need to build a fully-customizable tremolo pedal that goes far beyond the norm. Featuring two different modes and a waveform Warp knob, you can dial in anything from two types of sawtooth waves and a triangle wave to an adjustable pulse-width square wave with the flick of a switch and the twist of a knob. Tired of trem pedals that are either too fast or too slow? The Knight School Trem gives you the best of both worlds with a super-wide range modulator that won’t leave you wanting more. Add in an adjustable depth control and you’ve got a super full-featured trem that does exactly what you want, and built with your own hands!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eWhile most guitarists recognize the word “transistor” as the fundamental effects pedal amplification parts, they have several other functions depending on how they’re wired. One such function is that of a switch. When voltage is applied to the base pin of a transistor, it “opens” the switch, i.e. connects the other two pins together.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThis is how Boss and Ibanez’s bypass switching works, in a nutshell. But what if a pedal’s input signal was connected to a transistor’s collector, and the transistor emitter was connected to ground? When voltage is applied to the transistor base, the signal gets dumped to ground. When the voltage is cut, the signal passes through. Now, what if you could find a way to send a rhythmic positive voltage to that transistor base? It would rhythmically modulate the signal. Uh-oh, this sounds like tremolo!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOf course, there are many ways to achieve this effect, but this is one best suited to DIY. The crudest form of this effect was first developed by Jordan Electronics with their Vico Vibe plug-in unit that definitely does the thing I just described but the LFO’s speed range isn’t so hot and only does one waveform. \u003ci data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eBO-RING!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOur Knight School Trem gives you SIX distinct waveforms, a huge speed range control, a depth control and an LED rate indicator that mimics the selected waveform, all in an easy-to-build fully-analog package. Let’s go!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":50602040524932,"sku":"853710005373","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":50602040557700,"sku":"853710005380","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/ks-trem-shop.png?v=1751927874"},{"product_id":"knight-school-bit-crush-diy-kit","title":"Knight School Bit Crush DIY Kit","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLong a studio trick of the trade, sample rate reduction (commonly called “bitcrushing” though the two are different) is a relatively new effect that takes snapshots of your input signal and “approximates” them with less and less accuracy as the effect intensifies. While virtually unknown to most just a decade ago, many modern synthesizers and outboard processing devices now come equipped with this effect. In a nutshell, it makes your guitar or other instrument sound like old-school video games. We’ve leveled up this effect by offering one simple addition: the humble Mix control. With this, you can use our Bitcrusher kit to destroy your signal as much or as little as you want with a simple twist. You can use the Bitcrusher as a processor for your other effects, blending in just a little for some amazing unique textures, or a ton for complete annihilation.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIn the epoch of guitar effects, “bitcrushing” and “sample rate reduction” are among the newest. Despite its funky and rare usage, even ring modulators were available in the ‘60s. However, bitcrushing and sample rate reduction are distinct byproducts of digital technology, more specifically they pertain to quantization errors with respect to different axes.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eBe that as it may, the two terms have been conflated for years, but neither of these names appeared organically in the first iterations of these effects. The DigiTech Space Station called their sample rate reduction program “Pixelator”. Another early example—the Alesis Bitrman—calls theirs “Decimator”.\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eEven though bitcrushing involves lowering the bit depth of the signal, it is the sample rate reducer that evokes the sounds most associated with ‘80s video games, and so that term became entangled with the concept of bitcrushing, such that many gearheads use the terms interchangeably and call it a day. It’s like in Texas, “Coke” at a restaurant can mean any type of soda. I disagree with both of these but the public has won out.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSo, what does all this actually sound like? Well, sample rate reduction takes “snapshots” of the input signal at some high rate, and then drops the frequency at which these snapshots are taken into the audible range such that we can hear them. Each of these snapshots (Riemann sums for you math folks) becomes wider as sample rate is reduced, forming a “stepped approximation” of the input signal. The lower the sample frequency, the more “pixelated” with waveform looks, which is likely why DigiTech chose the program name in the Space Station. Either way, it reminds me of Atari games.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOur Bitcrusher kit is taken from the engine of one of our old-school pedals, the Heliotrope, which was itself an adaptation of an old DIY project, called (fittingly) “analog bit crusher.” If any effect begs for a mix control, it’s this. And surprisingly, many pedals that do this do not offer one. We do, and it makes for an absolutely killer effect. Run other pedals into it for some otherworldly flavor you just can’t find anywhere else.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":50602039083140,"sku":"853710005441","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":50602039115908,"sku":"853710005458","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/KS_bc-shopify-01-min.png?v=1716330088"},{"product_id":"knight-school-filter-diy-kit","title":"Knight School Filter DIY Kit","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThis is a DIY Kit! Assembly is very straightforward and requires only a soldering iron, some solder, and proper ventilation; we’ll take care of the rest.\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eIf you’ve ever heard a synthesizer in action, chances are you’ve heard of a low-pass filter, a powerful tone-sculpting tool whose nuts and bolts increase exponentially as utility increases linearly. Found on even the earliest examples of analog synthesis, the low-pass filter establishes a cutoff frequency, and then rejects all frequencies above it at an intensity determined by the filter’s construction. We’ve taken that guesswork out of the picture, letting you define your own cutoff frequency with an aggressive filter design. A resonance control lets you dial in the amount of “synthiness” by feeding the output signal back into the front end. A gain control dials in some grit on the front end to drive the filter harder. This filter design absolutely excels when stacked behind your favorite dirt or mod pedal; a hotter signal gets completely swallowed by the filter for even more synth-like textures. Try a fuzz in front for some serious Zappa tones!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eOur Filter kit puts this synth-like control right at your feet, giving you a Resonance control (also known as “feedback”) for a more intense filtering experience, as well as an onboard Gain control to add some grit to the signal. This kit sounds absolutely dynamite when stacked with your favorite dirt box. You’re going to love this one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":41893254398084,"sku":"853710005502","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":41893254430852,"sku":"853710005533","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/ks-filter-shopify-01-min.png?v=1723885983"},{"product_id":"knight-school-delay","title":"Knight School Delay DIY Kit","description":"\u003ch3\u003eWe are offering these in DIY Kit form or fully assembled for you! Assembly is very straightforward and requires only a soldering iron, some solder, and proper ventilation; we’ll take care of the rest.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eNot many more circuits have launched interest in guitar more than the humble delay, as one of the most easily identifiable sounds in effect history, even to non-musicians. However, that ubiquity demands a high price, and so delay effects are by far the most complicated out there. Fortunately, a Taiwanese chip manufacturer opened the DIY floodgates with a product called the PT2399, engineered for karaoke machines but used in countless low-part-count delay designs. We humbly offer our Knight School Delay, a simple delay effect that features the highest sound-to-parts-count ratio that we can muster. Featuring between 30 and 400 milliseconds of delay (and up to one second of lo-fi delay with a mod), you can dial in a simple yet powerful echo effect that you can proudly say you built yourself!\u003cspan class=\"Apple-converted-space\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":41924566843524,"sku":"853710005618","price":99.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":41924566876292,"sku":"853710005625","price":149.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/KS_DELAY_SHOPIFY-01.png?v=1731036992"},{"product_id":"knight-school-eq","title":"Knight School EQ DIY Kit","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSHIPS WITHIN 5-7 BUSINESS DAYS\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWe are offering these in DIY Kit form or fully assembled for you! Assembly is very straightforward and requires only a soldering iron, some solder, and proper ventilation; we’ll take care of the rest.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe unsung hero of the guitar pedal world, the humble EQ is a powerful and indispensable part of any player's setup from the bedroom to the arena. Ours is a simple and easily customizable active three-band tone stack coupled with a whistle-clean hefty boost that can push any amp---even your ultralinear Twin---into gooey breakup. Use it as a standalone device to color your clean tone and push your amp, or stack it behind a dirt box that lacks a sufficient EQ section and watch it roar to life. This device can run at 18 volts, so try powering it that way and sticking it in your amp's FX loop to get some extra toneshaping results. \u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":50497198030980,"sku":"853710005823","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false},{"title":"We Build It For You (+$50)","offer_id":50497198063748,"sku":"853710005830","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/KS_EQ_SHOP-01_2bef3c24-ef3a-492a-8c20-28c1a752a621.png?v=1746266147"},{"product_id":"knight-school-distortion-diy-kit-early-bird-link","title":"Knight School Distortion DIY Kit","description":"\u003ch3\u003eWe are offering these in DIY Kit form or fully assembled for you! Assembly is very straightforward and requires only a soldering iron, some solder, and proper ventilation; we’ll take care of the rest.\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere is perhaps nothing more emblematic of modern guitar rock than the humble op-amp distortion. This effect took its greatest hold in the late ‘70s when Boss released the OD-1, but the concept of intentional hard-clipping distortion really took hold across three platforms that all released relatively close together: the ProCo RAT, the Boss DS-1 and the MXR Distortion +. The MXR unit is the simplest of the bunch, but unfortunately, we’ve found it a bit lacking. We’ve updated it to add an extra gain stage; the original utilized a single op-amp, but we felt that they left a little meat on the bone. We replaced it with a dual op-amp to goose the distortion and provide much more gain on tap than the average IC-based gain, giving tons of extra saturation with minimal-gain sparkle and clarity. An updated clipping diode arrangement provides maximum clipping without sounding harsh. Perhaps best of all, it takes other pedals extremely well without any offputting artifacts. You’re going to love this one.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Catalinbread Effects","offers":[{"title":"DIY Kit","offer_id":51272363540612,"sku":"853710006677","price":84.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"We Build it For You (+$50)","offer_id":51272363573380,"sku":"853710006660","price":134.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0370\/1873\/0628\/files\/Ks-Distortion_shop.png?v=1762834018"}],"url":"https:\/\/catalinbread.pro\/collections\/knight-school-diy-kits.oembed","provider":"Catalinbread Effects","version":"1.0","type":"link"}