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Messages - spud

#1
Amplifier Discussion / Re: DIY amp directions
December 06, 2014, 04:24:34 PM
Quote from: Roly on December 05, 2014, 12:52:24 PM
Quote from: spudI'll try my hand at the Ruby on the IC board - should be pretty simple.

It will be interesting to see how it compares with my "Quadrophina" layout;   8|
http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=3561.msg27150#msg27150


I don't think I'm going to do a quad config of it - although I guess a dual config wouldn't be bad.  I'll see if I can work that out.  Although I think someone may have tried it already - I'm thinking it was on ROG or DIY Stompboxes.  I'll snoop around for a schematic for a dual 386 chip build but don't hold your breath.  Oh, I'll probably cut the board down somewhat as more than one will fit on that giant sized IC PCB board.  In fact, I might redo the DD (Double Distortion) to get it smaller and allow cutting the board down.  As it is now it's kind of spread out for easier soldering - I have kind of fat fingers and working in tight spaces is a problem.  I guess that's the trade off - having components more spaced out is easier to solder/wire up but it takes up more space.  I suppose the "art" is in making it relatively easy to build but minimizing the space taken.

Jim
#2
Amplifier Discussion / Re: DIY amp directions
December 05, 2014, 02:49:17 PM
Your absolutely right, I'm a hobbiest and don't have the resources or the experience to say otherwise.  I found it excellent within it's understood limitations - speed can be addressed with better hardware - it's runs pretty well on my Intel multicore laptop or my AMD multicore desktop both with 4 gb of memory, so I've not seen the performance issues.  Bugs, well even Microsoft has bugs...

My experience is limited to his first version, which I'm still using.  I'll have to try out his new version. 

Jim
#3
Amplifier Discussion / Re: DIY amp directions
December 04, 2014, 07:28:56 PM
Found this poking around Dano/Beavis Audio's site:

http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/ruby/

Cool stuff!

Jim
#4
Amplifier Discussion / Re: DIY amp directions
December 04, 2014, 07:20:31 PM
Here's the Noisy Cricket (Mk II) on "bug board" by Beavis Audio (Dano) -

http://www.beavisaudio.com/Projects/NoisyCricket/MarkII/NoisyCricketMarkII_RadioShack_Rev2.pdf

His main site is here: 

He's another DIY Guru/Meister: 

http://www.beavisaudio.com/

Jim
#5
Amplifier Discussion / Re: DIY amp directions
December 04, 2014, 09:58:36 AM
Roly,

I'll try to put that together but Dano did the "Noisy Cricket" ages ago and that was on the "bug" type board.  (It's generic to any IC type chip up to 16 pins.) But the Noisy Cricket is essentially the same as this with a few mods - not many. 

I'll try my hand at the Ruby on the IC board - should be pretty simple.  I have to find DIY Layout as I don't think it's installed anymore on this PC, I'll dig around for it.  I still use the old version (1.0) and haven't migrated to the new one as I have a bunch of stuff like templates and what not that I don't want to have to re-create.  I'm not sure if he ever got that feature working - it's been a while since I've worked with his SW.  Btw, it's a great program and free - I think he's still building/updating it, and supports it (as freeware/opensource).  Here's a link for folks that don't know about this great tool: 

http://diy-fever.com/software/diylc/

Bancika, the guy that built it, is a fantastic DIY builder and has done all kinds of really cool projects to include pedals, amps and guitars.  I think he's a DIY genius - all of his efforts are very well thought out and well executed.  To be sure, they may not lend themselves to manufacturing or production but as one-offs they are fantastic.  His site has all his projects on it.

Jim
#6
Amplifier Discussion / Re: DIY amp directions
November 28, 2014, 02:51:07 PM
Not sure what happened to this project/thread and not to try to derail it or confuse it but I have the following observation:

I thought the orientation you chose for the project board and components rather odd.  Wouldn't it have been easier/more intuitive to orient the board turned 90 degrees so that the bus lines were going up/down and in-between the legs of the IC/chip?  I know it's only 8 pins but I find these Rat shack prototype boards more useful if they are rotated 90d like this: 

(See IC_VERT_template_2.jpg I attached. BTW, how do you embed the jpg into the post?)

Here's another one based on the another RS product I like to call the "BUG" - this one is really small too. 

(See BUG_Template.jpg)

I'm not saying you should change it or anything at this time - it would probably be too confusing and derail things but I'm just pointing out what I'd call the "conventional" approach to using those kind of boards - at least from my perspective. 

Oh, and here are 2 projects I did using the first and another using the second type of board with a vertical orientation (see attachments).

Jim



#7
There was a web site somewhere (I'll try to find the link) where someone got a G-DEC (I think the lower end one) and found a fried diode in it, replaced it and bang it worked fine.  He found them in a dumpster at some repair place (could have been Fender, I'm not sure).  They had been "damaged" on purpose to make them of no commercial value, then they were dumped out back.  This guy found a few of them and started repairing them.  I'll try to find the link as the problem may be common to that model - it was a very tiny diode, not sure exactly where but once it was replaced it worked.  The guy repaired the other damage and presto working G-DEC.  I'll update with the link once I find it.

Found it: 

http://www.lojeck.com/brian/GdecRepair.html

And they were 2 G-DEC Jrs. 

And re-reading it, it was a pico-fuse that fried.  Also, he got them off ebay but they were damaged to "prevent" (more like discourage) someone from scavenging them and trying to repair them (which was done). 

Jim
#8
Amplifier Discussion / Re: SubWoofer2 GuitarAmp
October 25, 2012, 01:27:58 PM
Yeah, me too, but the wife....that's another matter!    :grr

Jim
#9
Preamps and Effects / Re: talkbox in stombox?
October 20, 2012, 02:51:36 PM
I didn't realize there was a "real" vs "toy" type setup - I just thought that the Heil Talk box used a compression driver with a mic inside and was run into you amp that way.  I guess it makes sense in that it has to use the PA mic as well so I wasn't thinking all the way through.  To be fair most of the plans I'd seen characterize it as "ghetto" talk-box setups - here's some youttube vids I found:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EIQxwotn3k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhO7mmz3XYo



Jim
#10
Amplifier Discussion / Re: Polytone 103 schematic
October 17, 2012, 12:03:52 PM
Just out a curiosity and my own nostalgia, I think I had a 103 in college - or was it a 102?  Is the 103 the one with one 12" and two 8"s speakers?  A combo, kind of large, did about 100-120 watts.  Is this the same one?   Mine had a distortion circuit but I didn't care for it so much and used a BOSS OD - with that I could get some serious sounds out of it.  Mine also had vibrato/tremolo like circuit.  Am I thinking of the same amp?  BTW, I'd be interested in the schematic too just for curiosity since I sold the amp back in 1983 to a buddy of mine. 

Jim
#11
Preamps and Effects / Re: talkbox in stombox?
October 01, 2012, 09:50:51 AM
I've considered doing this and found a few sources for info on it:

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=198


JD is a great guy and has great projects as well as tech info on stompbox stuff in general.  Lots of plans and ideas even if you don't buy any of his kits, but they are so reasonable, it's hard not to.  Here are some others:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-A-Talkbox/


This one talks about talk boxes in general but at the end has some cool ideas on making your own.

http://www.blamepro.com/talkbox.htm

This one is cool - it's for a synth but it's the same. 

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2008/05/22/build-a-ghetto-talk-box/

Another - similar:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Talk-box-inside-a-Toilet-Plunger/

Here's one with just text - no pics:

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Talk-Box

Jim
#12
Hey, try the Plexizer or Plexi-izer:

http://www.ssguitar.com/index.php?topic=2685.0

It's a Marshall Plexi (1959) emulator done in Jfets.  I built it on perf-board but I think someone's done a PCB template/mask for it.  Check DIYStompboxes, do a search for Plexizer and Mojotron (the user on that site that originally designed and built it). 

Jim
#13
Preamps and Effects / Plexizer or is it Plexi-izer
August 13, 2012, 12:08:39 PM
I built this about a year ago and true to form, I stuck it in a box when it didn't work.  I say true to form because if something doesn't work and it's not obvious to me, I shelve it and come back later.   My thinking is that I'm too close to it to see the problem.  Like I said, this one has been on the shelf for about a year...  ::)     Anyway, I was cleaning up and found it so I figured I'd give it another go.  Long story short: after fixing a few boneheaded issues, it seems to be working but is a little noisy so that needs to be addressed - should put in an enclosure and use shielded wire.  I got the plan (schematic really) from DIYSTOMPBOXES from a poster there named Mojotron.  Here's the link to that thread where the original schematic is available.  If you can't get to it there, I can post it or I can email it to you.  Here's the link to the schematic (in the thread at DIYSTOMPBOXES):

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=50207.0

Anyway, here's the layout as I built it and a really poor pic (sorry it was done with my phone).  I'll post a better one shortly (have to borrow my daughters new Cannon which just takes some awesome hi-res pics, btw). 

http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh7/spudjds/Public/Builds/PEDALS/Plexi-izer/?action=view&current=Plexi-izer_15hx24w_D_08-07-12.jpg

http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh7/spudjds/Public/Builds/PEDALS/Plexi-izer/?action=view&current=0805022022a.jpg

I think the sound is a pretty good Marshall emulation.  A cool thing about it is when you turn down the gain close to min and get the tone-stack adjusted right, you can get a pretty close approximation of the AC/DC grind - you know, that not so high gain but very mid rangy, punchy, break-up tone.  Anyway, I think it should make a great pedal or amp pre-amp - which I was intending it for anyway, attach chip amp, away you go.  Right now I'm testing it into a set of old powered computer speakers, so it's sort of not ideal.  I need to try it into a SS guitar amp and a tube one to see how it behaves in those situations as I know that using the computer speakers is pretty artificial as far as eq goes. 

It is kind of large as I did it in perf and it could probably be shrunk if you did it as a PCB but I'm an etching virgin. :-[  One of these days I'll start etching too.   

I'm thinking of ditching the presence but it's a trimpot not a reg pot so it's not that big.  From my testing it doesn't seem to have that big of an effect and the DIYSB thread confirms that, with the values I used.  I might try the others they recommended but I'm not convinced it's of any use at all - seems about the same wherever I set it.

I'll put together a clip of it to give you an idea of how it sounds.  Aside from my playing ability not approaching Mojotron's, his clips (later in the thread above) do represent the distortion character I'm hearing from the pedal.  I guess with this and the Dr Boogie, you could cover the whole gamut.  I have yet to build the Dr Boogie but will have to now to see what's up with that.   Seems like a variation of this sort of thing (JFET tube emulation), anyway. 

Jim
#14
I watched a bunch but not all.  That one interviewer irritated the $h!# out of me and I had to bail - the real trendy looking bonehead that was full of himself.  Albeit, the other one was also a pain but less so. 

Overall, I think they are doing what they can considering that they source what is possible (and actually better) in the US.  I'm not any kind of ultra-patriotic type and my view is that if you can get it here and it's better or the same as made overseas, do it and he seems to take that attitude.  Obviously, why build something inferior wherever you source it.  Just doesn't make sense.  One this that hard to believe is how much he charged for his first units - of course they were all "hand made" (by him) but $300.00 in that day was pretty high and would be at least equivalent to $600.- or more today.  That is insane but that's I guess it really did something unique.  The classic still goes for $289.- on their site but think about it considering the power of volume production and sales and the rationalization of the manufacturing process.

I've been considering building the TondPad version of the GT2:

Project page:

http://tonepad.com/project.asp?id=22

and the project PDF:

http://tonepad.com/getFile.asp?id=112

Jim

#15
Thanks a lot!  That's just great!  I was worried I'd never see it again! 

Again, many thanks!    :dbtu:

Jim