_Well, here is my advice. A 386-based amp will probably more than loud enough, as long as you use the right speaker, and they all sound great. What design you should choose is kind of hard to help you decide, as long as we don't knowwhat kind of sound you are after. I suggest you look into the ruby and little gem at www.runoffgroove.com, the Noisy Cricket at www.beavisaudio.com or the little rebel at http://rebel.massberg.org/source/

I would probably suggest the little rebel or the noisy cricket, as they have a few more controlls than the gem or ruby. Yhe Cricket is really an updated ruby, while the little rebel is a hole other design. I haven't tried it myself, but I guess it sounds really great.

When it comes to the headphone output, simply do as described in the faq at www.runoffgroove.com. If you want the amp to sound natural when running headphones too, you should add a cabinet-simulator right before the headphone output.

Hope that helped a little.

If I was doing this project, I would probably change the footswitch with a new dpdt, so you don't have to deal with aditional circuitry.

Hey! I fellow norwegian! About time.... If you find an ebayer who will ship overseas, the shipping from USA to Norway is about the same pricelevel as shipping within norway. Just be aware of the customs and VAT regulations. You could also look for used speakers over at www.musikkmagasinet.no Thats where I got mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Jensen-Mod-12-Speakers-for-Marshall-Amps-NR_W0QQitemZ110118073152QQihZ001QQcategoryZ10171QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The Jensen mod get great reviews. I use two 1x12 Diy cabbinetts built with HH premier Vintage 60 ripped from a Laney VC50. Sunds amazingly good. I think the greenbacks are overrated, and would rather buy some weber speakers if I was spending that amount of money.

Quote from: teemuk on April 24, 2007, 03:32:31 AM
I just have to comment on this because I feel the expense of building pedals is a big myth: I don't know about local prizes in certain countries etc. but last time I built a pedal with a nice Hammond aluminum case (12e ~ 16$), two potentiometers (1e ~ 1.4$), circuit board (1e) and a good quality footswitch (1e) the cost was approximately 25$. Granted that I didn't have to buy most of the tools like a total beginner has to but one would still have to spend a lot on parts before homebuilt pedals start to cost as much as gear sold in the store. (Most pedal prizes here start from 80e and 150e is more like the usual price...)

I wrote the reply 15 minutes after I woke up, so I guess my head wasn't where it was supposed to be at the moment. For me, living in Norway, building a pedal it usually cost a lot more than 50$. Parts are impossible to source localy, so I have to import stuff from places like Germany, Thailand and USA. That means a lot extra just for the shipping.
An example of a tube screamer type box (prices from musikding.com):
Hammond BB box:             6.50EUR
Footswitch:                     7.50EUR
Pots:                             3.90EUR
Jacks:                            1.50EUR
Components:                   5.00EUR
Wire:                              0.50EUR
Veroboard:                      1.70EUR
Mounting brackets:           1.40EUR
Chickenhead knobs:          3.30EUR
Battery snap:                  0.40EUR
DC-jack:                         0.70EUR
----------------------------------
Total                             32,40EUR   =    45,53$

In addition to this there is the cost of tools, shipping, labeling, solder, etc, etc, etc.... For the price of just parts, you can buy 3 of this or two of this , wich are both TS clones.

Quote from: teemuk on April 24, 2007, 03:32:31 AM
Syndromet, how come you forgot important tools like drill with various size bits (for drilling holes) and screwdrivers and spanners for tightening all those potentiometers and circuit board stands? If the circuit has trimmers you will likely also need a very small screwdriver for adjusting them. Practically, you can't have enough tools in this hobby.

Well, again, it was early when I wrote that. You should look into those vari-bits, which let you drill several holesizes without changing the bits. A small screwdriver is good for trimpots  as well as fastening knobs. One of the most important tools to have is a multimeter, preferably one that lets you meassure Hfe on transistors. If you plan on making PCB's you should have access to a laser printer. That's about it, I guess.

Pedal-building is a great hobby, but unfortunatly many people start building thinking they can build pedals for free. You can't! Like any hobby, it cost a few bucks to build a peddal, and you are lucky if you can make a pedal for less than $50. Thats twice as expensive as the new line of behringer and danelectro pedals, wich sounds exelent. A lot of people seems to belive that it's easy to make it as a butique builder too. It's not. You gotta design all your stuff from scratch, and be carefull not to stepp other people on their toes.

If you think building sounds like a lot of fun, and you are eager to learn about electronics and electric sound, you are in for a ride! Pedal-building is a very rewarding hobby, and nothing feels as good as plugging in your diy effect for the first time. After a few project you probbably begin to understand the basics of the circuits, and you can maybe design your own. I love the feeling of playing something I've designed all the way through, and I know others do to. (Right Joecool85? I tried your 5th gear the other day. Sounds great! :tu:)

If you want to build something MI sounding, I suggest you start with exactly that.
Here you'll find the schematic for the MI Crunch, including the layout for both PCB and veroboard. I suggest you start with vero, as Pcb-making is an entire procces by itself. The Crunch is basicly a modded dist+, and a fairly simple place to start.

For ofboard wiring, I suggest you check the "offboard wiring" PDF over at www.tonepad.com. While you're at it, you should visit www.geofex.com and www.diystompboxes.com as well.

When it comes to tools all you really need is a set of good pliers and a soldering iron. Then you need components, veroboard, switches and jacks. check the store at diystompboxes for that.

Good luck with whatever project you decide to build, and let us know if you need some help.

In order to have true stereo, you need two sepparate tonestacks and amps. If you just want to blend both signals before it hits the preamp, you need a buffer for the signals before you blend it. Sorry for the short answer, but I have don't have a lot of time right now. Let me know if you nedd a "fuller" answer.

Looks fantastic! Well done!
Haven't had the chance to listen to the soundclip yet... What kind of distortions did you add?

If you play places that have PA installed, a Sansamp GT2 is really all you need. Plug that into the mixer and dial in the sound you're after. If you are going to drag around a cabbinett anyway, I suggest you get a decent 1x12 combo, as they are easier to drag around than a cabinett and a head.

As for small amps, I'we never seen the little ones you linked to. Looks like cool projects, but I don't think I would gig them. I guess they are fairly packed inside, since SS amps need big power supplys. There is no way they have jammed a big enough transformer in there. You would also have problems fitting a good cooling system in that small enclosures. I'm sure they are great for homepractice, but under stage-lightning, I wouldent trust them. Guess thats just me though....

Man, that is beautifull!
Welcome to the forum! It's good to have people able to build that nice stuff with us here. :tu:

Well, the inside isn't ready yet. I blew a cap, and I'm waiting for the replacement.
This is as far as I'wecome.

Pictures of my stereo LM1875. It's starting to come along now.

You're right, the ruby uses only one chip. You should look at the little gem mk2, wich is a 386 based design with two chips. If the little gem won't power the driver, you could, as mentioned before,use the tda2003 an supply it with a 12v wall wart that you use only for this effect. Most amplifier chips use a lot more power than your regular stompbox, so even if you find a design that could run off 9v I would suggest you use a wall wart for the talkbox alone. this, ofcource, depends on the power consumption of the amp, the mA rating on the wall wart you use in your daisy chain and how many and what kind of effects you have hooked up to it.

Quote from: joecool85 on March 17, 2007, 01:11:27 PM
One LM1875 would be all you would need, I recommended it because depending on what he can find for a horn driver, he won't get enough volume out of the LM386 setup.  HOWEVER, I would definetly recommend trying the Ruby first.  Just find a good driver.  Also, for stompbox use a Ruby is better because as syndromet said, you can run it on 9v, no bipolar PSU to deal with and whatnot.

That is why I suggested the TDA2003, as it's a very small circuit, can run of a 12v wall wart and don't need bipolar PSU. It doesn't sound as good and get as loud as a LM1875, but for a talk box it should be more than enough. The Lm1875 is a far better chip, but I thinkfor this purpose it overqualifies, and make the box harder to build than necessary.

Welcome to the forum!
I would disagree with Joe here. First of all, I think the Ruby or little gem should be powerfull enough to drive a horn driver. A talkbox doesn't need a lot of volume, so I belive a lm386 based design should do it. I you have the driver and tube allready, I suggest you build the ruby and try it. If it doesn't work you can box up the ruby, and have a lm386 based desgn should do it. I you have the driver and tube allready, I suggest you build the ruby and try it. If it doesn't work you can box up the ruby, and have a very good pratice amp.

If the lm386 amp won't cut it, I think you should look for other designs than the lm1875 chip. This chip require a bipolar PS, wich means you can't run it off a regular wall wart or a battery. You would need an internal transformer too, and this would make the talkbox fairly big. I would suggest you look into someting like the tda2003, wich works fine on 12v DC. www.generalguitargadgets.com have a layout for a tda2003 amp, and I belive you'll find one in the schematic section of this site too.

I'we been planing to try somehing like this myself, but haven't find a usefull midrange driver yet. I have even bought the tube. :tu: Let us know how things turn out.