Brian Wampler has released his new take on the Bad Monkey overdrive - actually, two versions!  The Triumph Overdrive and the Phenom Distortion are 3 band EQ, toggle switch, crunch machines and apparently Josh Scott (JHS) loves them.


These pedals are listed for $99 USD.

https://www.musicradar.com/news/this-may-be-his-best-drive-bad-monkey-champion-and-jhs-founder-josh-scott-is-blown-away-by-wamplers-new-dollar99-overdrive-and-distortion-pedals

TC Electronic has released three new pedals that they say mimic three of the most sought after tube amplifiers of the 1960's.

Here is the trio:

DC30 - Modeled after the 1965 Vox AC30 Top Boost

Combo Deluxe 65' - Modeled after the 1965 Fender Blackface Reverb Deluxe

JIMS 45 - Modeled after a 1965 Marshall JTM45

The DC30 and JIMS 45 come with additional boost footswitch while the Combo Deluxe 65' comes with a switchable reverb.  All three units have in, out, and DI with cab sim.

These pedals are currently retailing for $149 USD on most online merchant sites.

https://www.gearnews.com/tc-electronic-ampworx-vintage-series-classic-60s-amp-in-a-pedal/

Quote from: Amestech on July 02, 2023, 06:15:52 PMUpdate. Ground issue solved. R150 popped. Missed that little piece of the schematic hiding in there.

Glad to hear it!

Quote from: smadin on June 27, 2023, 06:12:59 PMGreat stuff, and a very pro looking build!

Paul does really great work, I was stoked when he was interested in the Honey amp.  Also, he is one of the main reasons I got into diy guitar electronics - his Firefly amp build actually, back in 2004.

Quote from: smadin on June 27, 2023, 06:12:26 PMLate to this party, but I figured I'd chime in that I also ended up finding I had to make my own LM386 model from the data sheet. I expect Paul's is more correct than mine, so I'm excited to compare them.

Certainly let us know what you find!

Hotone, known in these parts for their nano amp series mini heads, has released the Ampero Mini.  This is a small pedal-sized modeling amplifier with a touch screen interface and two stomp switches.  Using two 24 bit DSP chips, this little guy can utilize as many as 9 effects simultaneously.  It comes with 199 effects, 52 amps and 50 cabinets available. You can also change microphone type and position simulation.  Lastly, it includes 100 drum loops to use as backing, and has a built in stereo looper effect allowing for as much as 100 seconds of mono or 50 seconds of stereo loop!

These new little modeling platforms will be coming in 6 colors and selling for around $290 USD.  If you're into modeling amps and don't have the money for some of the fancy ones - this may be your next jam!

https://www.gearnews.com/hotone-ampero-mini-smaller-cheaper-and-powerful/

Thanks Paul, this should help!  I have to say that I'm surprised there isn't a solid LM386 model out there already though - it's such an old and popular chip, used in so many DIY projects.

Quote from: bill0287 on June 21, 2023, 09:42:19 PMHas anyone built this ("The Honey AMP") in LTSpice? I put it together and I am getting some really odd looking wave forms. Wondering if anyone else has seen this.

I've been meaning to share this for months and hadn't gotten around to it.  Paul Marossy has actually done just that!  Check out the fourth video here: https://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=5258

Fellow electronics enthusiast Paul Marossy (of DIYGuitarist.net fame) has done a 3 part series on The Honey Amp...as well as a bonus fourth video.

Thanks for the honest thoughts on this Paul, great job on the videos as well!

Part 1: Scratch Building the ssguitar.com "Honey Amp"

Part 2: The ssguitar.com "Honey Amp" - Sounds

Part 3: The ssguitar.com "Honey Amp" - Waveform Study

Bonus video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_iZyBNgoIE

Quote from: DrGonz78 on June 22, 2023, 09:58:48 AMI wouldn't use arctic silver for anything other than CPU's on a computer build. It says it has trace amounts of silver in it.

I 100% agree.  I only recommend plain thermal paste, no additives.  Or you can use silicone pads.

This is quite the setup - curious what you have for speakers/cabs?  Also, do you gig or is this just for fun?

Quote from: g1 on June 18, 2023, 08:20:20 PMThe sarcasm and derision was not directed at your request at all, rather the amp marketing.
At it's price point, I can't see the schematic ever becoming available.  I would think if they are servicing under warranty at all, it would be board swap.  But most likely, during warranty the whole amps are replaced, like amps on the Fender 'do not repair' list.

For parts, their support page says: 'Replacement parts are not currently offered for our amplifiers'.

All that being said, I do see a service manual for the Acoustic Control B600 at electrotanya, so maybe schematics are available to official service centers, if there are any (service centers).

More than likely it would need to be reverse engineered.  I'm not expecting any ground breaking circuits in here though.  Quite frankly, I'm expecting a simple DSP unit doing most of the heavy lifting.  Other than that, it's probably fed by a basic preamp, and then maybe a standard tone stack (but maybe DSP changes for tone stack), and then into a chip amp.

To be clear though, I don't see a problem with this assuming it sounds good and works well.  It could be the basic amp that a lot of people are looking for.  A good solid platform with reasonable wattage and speaker/cabinet size for good tones and projection.

Mooer has released two new digital amps with two different takes on functionality.  The Mooer SD30i follows the concept driven by Spark.  Basic onboard controls, and deeper control through an app on your mobile device.  The Hornet 05i brings things to a whole other level of simplicity in the hardware, only allowing a physical volume knob (which doubles as the on/off).  All other changes to amp settings on the Hornet are made through an app only.

While I love simplicity, I personally don't care for being tied to a mobile device any time I want to make a change other than volume.  They may have taken it a bit too far in that direction.

The Mooer SD30i is a 30w amp with 2 x 4" speakers while the Hornet 05i is a 5w amp with 2" speaker.

Retail price for the SD30i is currently about $370 USD.  The Hornet 05i is substantially less expensive at about $140 USD.

https://www.gearnews.com/mooer-sd30i-modelling-amp-sparks-competition-for-positive-grid/

https://www.gearnews.com/mooer-hornet-05i-intelligent-amp-5-watts-feature-packed-amp/

Quote from: gui_tarzan on June 10, 2023, 09:36:13 AMI have a solid state guitar amp that I'd like to use different speaker cabs on to experiment with like you can do at a store with those switch racks. I did a quick search to see if there was a DIY option here but didn't see one. When I was a kid I would just put a bunch of jacks on a rotary switch (with radios) but after several decades of tube amp repair experience I know better. However, not having been immersed in the SS world I don't know the best way to handle this.

Any ideas?

Honestly, solid state amps don't care if there is a load or not, so it's plenty safe to switch using spdt switches etc as long as they are rated for the current.

You could always throw it in the Swapmeet section here.