Build Your Own Clone RossComp

I built the 5 knob version- some people gripe because there's too many options... (Level, sustain, blend, attack, tone). But once you figure things out, it makes it super tweakable pedal.
The only remotely tricky thing is setting the internal trim knob before you close it up... not a big deal.

Even if you abuse the knobs, it's pretty quiet. I'm a humbucker guy- not a Tele country picker, and I love this pedal. I like beef and sustain, but I hate the squashy sound of a pumpy compressor- I don't like to 'hear' a compressor work. You can get both with this. Thanks to the 'blend' knob, which mixes dry with the wet- kind of like parallel compression- you can get a pretty transparent sound if you want. Also, they provide 2 sets of chips and transistors to experiment with. One chip is the "Ross" chip, the other has more squash and is a bit cleaner... less grit.
The attack is subtle, and is actually a release of the immediate pick transient. If you want the low down look at the website's forum.
The tone knob is a bass cut, so you can get more twangy jangle, if you want.
And it's true bypass.

So far, so good, but I built it recently.

The BYOC forum is a great place that has given me speedy replies to any questions, and the guys don't cop stupid tone nazi attitudes, either. I haven't needed to call the actual company.

I've only really used studio compressors, so I was looking for more of a tone thing for my guitar, and I love it. I use it with clean or slightly overdriven tones. Punchy beef and sustain. Worth the price for me.

This product is extremly well designed. The circuit board is amazingly well laid out and labled. This could be assembled fairly easily without any instructions. One incredible design element is how all the leads connect on one end of the circuit board.

The instructions were very clear and very well written.

The complete pedal has two knobs. It's not rocket science to get the tone you're looking for.

Amazing sound. I'm a compressor head and this is perhaps the best sounding comp I've ever used. I've never played the original Gray Ross but I have owned an original Dyna-Comp and this blows it away.

Since I built it, I'd say it will be very reliable. Considering the quality of the components and design, I think it will be very reliable. What problems will be easy to fix.

They answered my questions promptly before I order it and shipped it right away. I had no problems with the build so I didn't have experience with service.

I play a wide range of styles and this comp is great for Tele Twang, monster sustaining grind and a billion sounds in between.

Very easy. I had a friend build this pedal for me, only took a few hours to build, all parts included and labeled with diagrams. 3 knobs on mine, Sustain, Attack, and Level. Also has an LED.

Excellent! Great sounding compressor, i use it on bass primarily. Its one fat squeeze, very fat, nice and squishy, great for slap, and creates days of sustain, it can actually make notes swell in sustain. Sounds awesome, only beef is it makes a bit of noise, but this maybe be partially my Effect chains fault, my boss EQ generates alot of noise.

So so... Its acted a bit funny on a few occasions, maybe due to the construction of it. It has cut volume significantly on one ocasion, but since then it has been working fine. My LED doesnt work... but thats just a fluke bad LED that im way to lazy to fix, still works, just no LED causei havent gotten around to it.

never had to deal with it, other than ordering of pedals.

Excelllent pedal, does exactly what its supposed to do, and does it ver well. Very squishy, easy to assemble excellent. Only thing that bugs me is that the 9V jack is located under the input jack, which makes it really hard reach with a daisy chain.

This pedal was built from a kit designed by BYOC. I'll rate the building process as 9/10 for ease-of use. The instructions are excellent and the support provided by the user forum is first-rate. It's great fun to build too! Basic soldering/wiring skills are all you need along with a little patience. The painting/graphics are much more difficult to complete but here you can do as much or as little as you like.

Once built the pedal scores 8/10 for ease of use. There are just two knobs for sensitivity & level (there is a three knob version available which also gives you an 'attack' knob). No manual provided, just experiment and set it to your liking.

Excellent! This is my first compressor so I don't have much to compare it to but I know what I like! It creates a wonderful rich tone that's not too squashed but shimmers with harmonic overtones.

If you need more compression (attack) it's a simple adjustment of a single component.

Sustain is also noticably improved. Clean tones sound just like heaven! Yeah, I like this pedal!

The pedal is very quiet in operation and has true bypass so your tone is unnaffected when it is not in use.

Absolutely reliable. I took my time when building the pedal and each and every solder joint is strong and reliable. The great thing is that if something does go wrong I can fix it myself.

The components supplied are top quality so I'd have no problem using it at a gig without a backup.

Great, great service from Keith. I had a couple of components missing from my kit and Kieth sent them over to me in the UK (from the US) in double-quick time.

The website (www.buildyourownclone.com) has a user forum where questions and problems are addressed. I asked a few questions and they were always answered in a few hours by either Keith or other friendly members of the BYOC community.

Overall 10/10. I couldn't be happier with the project or the great tone of this pedal. It's a great feeling to know that part of my rig was built by me!!

The resulting pedals really are top notch, boutique quality at half the price.

Right, onto building that Phaser....!

Building this project is easy. There are step by step instructions on the site and the circuit board is labeled.

As it comes it is really good. For my own neurosis I am upgrading to polyester capacitors and metal film resistors bought from mouser. Well see how that changes the sound. As it comes its pretty quiet and very squishy.

10 I made it!

Keith is a very quick at answering e-mail - he's very patient - even amswers my silly questions. Checkout his site its very cool: http://www.buildyourownclone.com/trem.html

I play a '76 telecaster into a bassman clone I built. This pedal can work to get you real flat attack for pedal steel stuff or in front of a distortion pedal for heavy metal type leads.

Built from a kit and, with a couple of included mods, you can chose to build either a Ross or MXR Dyna Comp clone.

Two knobs (Sustain and Level), one footswitch and an LED so v simple to use. Also includes 9v DC power input jack for those that like to power their pedals direct from the wall.

Only built it yesterday morning but since then have used it with a Peavey Classic 20 valve amp and an old Marshall 12 mini stack.
Works better with my Strat and Tele (ie single coil pickup equipped guitars) than anything with humbuckers.

Only other compressor I have to compare with is the one on board my old Ibanez UE400 which is very subtle.. well this Ross clone isn't ! Big squashy compressed tones are easily available with the sustain between 12 and 2 o'clock and the level way 'round at about 5 o'clock.
Adds an 'edginess' to your tone and also flattens out the volume difference between single notes and chords (unlike the Ibanez).

Little bit noisy (ie you can hear it's on) but nothing excessive and this might be more to do with my assembly skills.

As this is a kit I guess this is down to how well you build it !
Not that complicated to assemble and anybody with basic soldering skills should manage OK.
Quality components included in the kit including Neutrik input jack and high quality PCB with 'easy solder' connections.
Also clearly marked for easy board population.
Assembly can be tricky as the jacks, LED and pots are not PCB mounted (but that's why we all love those old style pedals) and the case is the old MXR 'bud' style and there's lots of wires to cram in there (no worse than the originals though). Worked first time when I crammed the back cover on and I'm no electrical engineer !

Excellent.... Keith is very friendly & responsive to emails and the BYOC website includes discussion/support forums.

Build instructions for each pedal clone, with clear pictures, are available on the site so if you wonder whether you're 'up to the task', you can check here before you order... although I really don't think the build will be beyond anybody between the ages of 13-70 who has a soldering iron, steady hand and decent eyesight !

Great fun to build and quality results (if you're careful)....

I've built up quite a large collection with some tasty 'collectors' pieces and boutique pedals however you really do get a great feeling of satisfaction when you power one of these up for the first time and see that LED glow and then hear the results of your labour (unless all you hear is feedback or silence I guess !).

Obviously style/graphics etc. on these kits is down to individual taste (or lack of maybe) but I can recommend a few coats of silver/grey hammerite and substituting the supplied 5mm red LED with a 50,000mcd blue LED (available v cheaply from Ebay vendors) for that cool 'boutique' look !!