What's on the workbench?

[LukeFRC]

I watched a Franlab video where she talked construction methods, and If I remember right was making an argument that offboard wiring all controls and connections has some potential advantages in lower mechanical stress on the pcb/ longevity.

I certainly don't want to build anything with offboard wired pots, but I respect it when I see a commercial operation doing it, since I assume they must be doing it with quality in mind? It must cost more to do it that way right? It seems like builders who have optimized for labor cost are board mounting everything.

I laid out my own board for a SS/BS mini, and as expected had a load of PCB from china made....

Having made up a couple of them to sell cheap for mates... I'm not sure I'ld ever do that again! Getting half the PCB populated in china with SMD seems to be a better way!

 

[owlexifry]

Standing resistors?
Glue?
Double sided tape?
Offboard wired pots?
Fake dry out?

 

[Mentaltossflycoon]

If they're charging top dollar, Lollar should have some self respect and put some cat hair on that double sided tape.

 

[owlexifry]

I watched a Franlab video where she talked construction methods, and If I remember right was making an argument that offboard wiring all controls and connections has some potential advantages in lower mechanical stress on the pcb/ longevity.

honestly, i agree.
there's nothing wrong with offboard anything if it's routed and wired with care and thought.
like how is it any different to offboard I/O jacks?

it's kinda funny, cos it's the opposite with tube amp snobs - people will shit themselves in anger when they see board-mounted pots, jacks, tube sockets etc.

 

[Robert]

there's nothing wrong with offboard anything if it's routed and wired with care and thought.

It's not the offboard wiring that bothers me... it's the PCB dangling from those wires held in place with nothing more than a little wad of chewing gum.

If you're going to offboard wire everything you really should use some sort of mounting hardware.... screws, standoffs, something other than tape.

Especially when the pedal weighs five frickin pounds and is made from melted down cannonballs.

 

[Robert]

Now, with all of that said... It's an "upside-down" negative ground PNP 'Muff, I don't recall seeing too many of those so that's interesting.

 

[Feral Feline]

If they're charging top dollar, Lollar should have some self respect and put some cat hair on that double sided tape.

Lollar does.
Lollar buys it off of @DGWVI, that's how he funds his pedal builds.
Poor l'il exploited Chonk and Nala both had beautiful coats of hair, long ago...

Alas, Gandalf, too (not pictured).

 

[drgonzo1969]

Start slinging mojo cat hair on reverb now. $5 a strand. $50 for a fur ball.

 

[Feral Feline]

Dr Gonz, What's the price difference for short-hair to long-hair?

Also, is dog-hair infurrior to cat hair?

 

[lowpitch]

It very well could be. I don't love it.

No offense to mooon, it wasn't designed with my tracing pleasure in mind and is a nice tight layout... but standing resistors? I'd rather you just goop it.

I'm not particularly blown away by the construction, which is ironic considering it is literally made out of cast iron. There is hot glue, double sided tape, and offboard wired pots. Lots of flux, which doesn't bother me, but would bother some.

View attachment 86925


One thing I was interested in seeing is how the "dry out" was implemented...

Are we tapping off of the preamp stage? Is it a completely separate circuit?

Turns out it was much simpler.

View attachment 86928

Now I get that tortured look from the dude in the demo video.

 

[LukeFRC]

I'm not particularly blown away by the construction, which is ironic considering it is literally made out of cast iron. There is hot glue, double sided tape, and offboard wired pots. Lots of flux, which doesn't bother me, but would bother some.

So I was on the free the tone (the Japanese company) website and noticed in the selling points of one of their pedals :

• Casing Design*: All of the parameters of a case -dimensions and plate thickness of the case – affect overdrive sound. We employed the best size case for our Integrated Series to provide the ideal sound. Its weight has also been optimized to deliver the best sound.

Which they then explain

＊Because a pedal’s case provides a signal ground (0 V) and shielding, changing the material, size and thickness of the case can change the sound of the pedal.
The capacitance between the case and any signal lines inside the case can also affect sound quality.

Just think how wrong we’ve been getting it with these aluminium boxes and how much tone upgrade we could all have?!

 

[drgonzo1969]

So I was on the free the tone (the Japanese company) website and noticed in the selling points of one of their pedals :



Which they then explain



Just think how wrong we’ve been getting it with these aluminium boxes and how much tone upgrade we could all have?!

 

[giovanni]

So I was on the free the tone (the Japanese company) website and noticed in the selling points of one of their pedals :



Which they then explain



Just think how wrong we’ve been getting it with these aluminium boxes and how much tone upgrade we could all have?!

We made fun of those sections a lot a few years ago

 

[LukeFRC]

We made fun of those sections a lot a few years ago

I have no idea what I would have had to search for to come across that!!

 

[Robert]

So I was on the free the tone (the Japanese company) website and noticed in the selling points of one of their pedals :

I take it you missed the bit about the knobs?

• FREE THE TONE Custom Knobs: We developed a custom turned brass knob to reduce vibrations in the shaft and wiper of the semi-fixed resistor used for each control and suppress harmonic components that might adversely affect sound.

If this were true, wouldn't no knob at all be a better solution?

 

[jwin615]

If this were true, wouldn't no knob at all be a better solution?

In theory, no knob would resonate at a higher frequency, having less mass...

This pedal sounds like hot piss from all the pot hiss.

I guess I get it. Everything resonates at some frequency. At least on paper. But I can't imagine a few pots would be close to a single carbon comp or the general resistor noise. Definitely seems like an engineer finding a solution for a problem no one has(and then demanding their hard work be acknowledged in the ad copy).

 

[darwin999]

LOL!
No doubt they polish those knobs, too, so they generate more harmonics when they go into overdrive...

 

[LukeFRC]

I take it you missed the bit about the knobs?



If this were true, wouldn't no knob at all be a better solution?

Ever traced any of their stuff? it's either massively over engineered verblem parts, or its the same alpha pots and parts as everyone else!

 

[Fama]

I guess I get it. Everything resonates at some frequency. At least on paper. But I can't imagine a few pots would be close to a single carbon comp or the general resistor noise. Definitely seems like an engineer finding a solution for a problem no one has(and then demanding their hard work be acknowledged in the ad copy).

What are the chances that they actually did consider what kind of brass knobs would in theory be minimally better, or alternatively did they just make some shit up to sell pedals?

 

[pbrommer]

So I was on the free the tone (the Japanese company) website and noticed in the selling points of one of their pedals :



Which they then explain



Just think how wrong we’ve been getting it with these aluminium boxes and how much tone upgrade we could all have?!

Guess it’s time to burn all of my Lovetone project boxes. I was going to put them in nice wood enclosures with stained maple tops, but now I know my quest is foolish.