Gnomeratron Version History

You may have seen the Gnomeratron before, but they've changed a whole lot over the years. Here's a little rundown of how they changed over time in case you have one or have used one and wonder how it compares to the current model. 

Gnomeratron V1

 

The first Gnomeratron was an attempt to use a stripped-down muff style circuit to create something like a raunchier, weirder Brassmaster. I got started pedal building by modding other builder's pedals, usually adding switches and knobs, so it was natural that my pedal would come pre-modded. 

The result was a somewhat noisy, raunchy fuzz that could be tamed down if you wanted. It got a reputation for being noisy and difficult to tame, but, honestly, maybe don't crank every knob in the weird 10-knob pedal and you'll have a better time. ... sorry, that wasn't directed at you. Or maybe it was. In any case, the circuit was admittedly a bit unrefined. The clean blend and fuzz would interact a fair bit and it could oscillate despite not really having any intentional feedback loops. It was also completely built on perfboard, and nearly impossible to repair. But gosh it was cool at the time. 


I used epoxy resin to protect the graphics, and belt sanded the sides for a brushed look. It was a nightmare. 

 

Gnomeratron V2

Gnomeratron V2s are all over the place. It's hard to actually call them one single thing. Switches were added. Components were swapped. At some point they moved from perfboard to circuit boards. The fuzz and clean blend were better separated. They also switched from epoxy coated graphics to a thin, impact modified plexiglass. They were pretty wild on the inside: 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED... once I figure out where all my V3 pictures are stored. The newest ones I'm calling V3.2 just to separate them from earlier V3s that were a bit different.