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u2-1980

Building a Boss FA-1 Clone - Need Input on the Final Design

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Hey guys, I've built this Boss FA-1 FET clone and it's time to put the finishing touches on it but as U2 fans, I'd like your input on the final design. This was originally going to be a faithful recreation of the original (bright green, slide switch, large flat knobs etc.) but I couldn't find anything close to the original FA-1 knobs so I decided to make it a 'tribute' to the Z2 pedal design, which kind of gave me the idea to use the Boy cover. I'm pretty close to the final design but I'm stuck on the LED. The original didn't have one, nor did it have a bypass switch, but for me it's a necessity with this pedal to know if it's on or off.

Since the Boy album cover was all white with black images and lettering, I kind of thought of keeping the pedal the same scheme and using a white LED. If that's too plain, maybe I should highlight it with a red light and give it a little of that War album cover feel. Then there's the option of 3mm or 5mm light, depending on how subtle I want to make it. The pedal is built and sounds awesome, but I have yet to paint/decal the case and drill for the LED.

Please let me know what you guys think looks best. Once I drill that 5mm hole, there's no going back to a 3mm. :-) Red or White light? 3mm or 5mm? Other suggestions while I'm at it? I could always paint it FA-1 green but where's the fun in that? LOL

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Comments

  1. Pupack's Avatar
    nice work wish i can make it too..but im not a soldering guy - personally i would choose blue light, but between red/white i prefer white 3mm
  2. u2-1980's Avatar
    Thanks man! Yes, I thought about blue too. I put one in my tube screamer and it does look cool. Blue looks great with the white too. Thanks for the feedback. Apparently, at the time of this response, 34 others chose not to leave any. I really appreciate that you took the time.
  3. Pupack's Avatar
    maybe you could do whole U2 writing from mini blue lights
  4. Tim's Avatar
    Ah just found this... missed the original blog for some reason. Some cool designs there! I like the red for some reason, possibly because it would be easy to see on stage, where bigger and brighter LED's are needed through smoke etc. I had a weird idea to put the LED in the boys eye but that would make him look a bit evil

    I think I prefer the red 5mm from a usability point of view, but the white 3mm from a purely aesthetic point of view. Good luck and let us know what option you go for!
  5. u2-1980's Avatar
    Pupack - "maybe you could do whole U2 writing from mini blue lights" - maybe not this time around but you just gave me an awesome idea for my next U2 related pedal. I could mimic Edge's #7 shirt and outline it with 3mm whites.

    Tim - You are in good company with the "red eye" idea. A couple guys over on the pedal builder's forum suggested the same thing, then came to the same conclusion about how evil that would look. Now maybe if I was using the War album boy, where he has a much more pissed off look on his face... lol. It's definitely a dilemma. I agree with you on the 3mm if I go with white since it's clean and minimalistic, just like the cover.

    Thanks guys! I'll let you know how it goes. The good thing is that I can always change it if I don't like it.