Update: Animal Pedals Major Overdrive (Sheepy Love Old Fashioned)

MichaelW

MichaelW

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Another Animal Pedals build report.

Shout out to @HamishR for bringing this one into the fold. See his build report here.

Another Marc Ahlfs and Animal Pedal collab. And another tweaked familiar circuit in the same family as the Diamond Peak, Hybrid Fuzz Driver and Lunar Module.

This sounds more like an overdrive to me than the other Skreddy Pedals in this little family yet it's more than an overdrive. Very smooth sounding.
The smoothest sounding of all the Skreddy circuits I've built.

This circuit, afaik does not have any special considerations for the gains on the NPN's. I used 2N3904's. This is incorrect, I actually used BC549s. (Which are essentially the same thing with different pinouts). More on this below in the thread.

Sounds killer. Between the Lunar Module, the Diamond Peak and the Major OD there's a whole lot of Gilmour-esque tones to be had.

Thanks again to Mr. @szukalski for the layout!

I don't remember what the color of this Tayda enclosure is called but it's really cool looking. Like copper/bronze with some shifts in the hues.

Oh and CHECK OUT the finish washer on the stompswitch! Pretty snazzy huh? I stole it from an Aion Kit that was my second ever pedal build hahah.

IMG_8540.jpg

Another lovely Sheepy layout.
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Gorgeous colour!

Great choice of the twiddly-fiddly bits, they really complementy the enclosure's colour.

Really though, a white washer on the stomper would've tied the whole thing together and brought balance to the Ahlfs-Force.


So wonderful to have your prolific build reports inspiring everyone again, keep building in good health.
 
Ok, this is picking up the convo from @MattG 's build report of his Old Fashioned

I mentioned in that thread and in my original post that I used 2N3904's. When I looked at them to do my mods, I realized that they were BC549's.

So this is where things get weird. The PCB has pads for 2N5172's which are C-E-B. I don't know what I was thinking (or if I was thinking at all...heh) when I built this using BC549s. If you notice from the build pictures in the first post, I put the BC549s in backwards thinking it would match the pin outs. THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE WORKED. I'm still scratching my head over why it did. The emitter is in the wrong place for a BC549 and I SHOULD have needed to twist the legs.

But anyway, I made this statement in my OP. "This circuit, afaik does not have any special considerations for the gains on the NPN's"
Well, I was wrong. And again, if I had thought about it a bit more, it makes sense that since the circuit is so close to the Diamond Peak, the gains on the NPN SHOULD make a difference. Big shout to @MattG and his build report to knock the cobwebs loose in my head. (I'm going to blame the meds......again...... :p )

The BC549's were probably both in the 400-500 hfe range and it certainly sounded good in the circuit, but perhaps not as the pedal was intended to sound. So I removed them and put some sockets in and started rolling some different low gain NPN's.

IMG_8676.JPG

The two finalists were the 2N3903's (as Matt used in his) and some MPS3646's that I got from Electronic Goldmine.
I only bought 10 of them but all 10 had gains between 60-100 hfe. So they are pretty much perfect for these Skreddy pedals.
They're on sale right now and are a steal btw.

Between the 2N3903's and the MPS3646 it was very close and honestly I could have gone either way.
I settled on the MPS3646's and used a 79 hfe in Q2 and an 88 hfe in Q3.
The MPS3646's are E-B-C pinout so I had to do the twisty leg thing. I also tack soldered them in once I was sure.

So it's not as pretty as my original build. (As @Guardians of the analog would say "spider legs" hahah)
But it sounds awesome. It does sound a lot more like the Diamond Peak now, where before it sounded more "overdrivey".

IMG_8679.JPG
 
As long as it works! FWIW I don't care for transistor sockets because they can often become loose IME. But I wouldn't worry about the look of the transistors as long they work. For one thing once the pedal is buttoned up you don't see them, and for another the neatness of your builds makes them look like modern art in a modernist gallery. (I would recommend reading the post after having imbibed a significant amount of alcohol first - maybe I should have opened with that..)
 
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Those shiny solder joints!😳 @MichaelW Is the build different enough for the Diamond Peak to warrant having both now? I kinda liked the fact that you said it sounded “overdrivey” as my diamond peak can go from overdrive to almost fuzzy.
 
Revisiting this thread because it just popped up. I think you have inspired me to try building another Old Fashioned with a 2N3903. It will be interesting to hear the difference. Might see what else I can use.
 
I wonder what a couple of BC182Ls might sound like?

*UPDATE* Just built one with a pair of 2SC1815 transistors and a 2N3903. I used 2SC1815s because they were both around 205 hFE and the right pinout for the PCB. I can't find my original yet to compare (!) but it does sound very good. I think it might be slightly lower volume but still has enough. I'm also having to run the bass and trebles at around 9.00. There's plenty of midrange, in a Marshally kinda way. Tried it with my Les Paul and it's a cool sound - very rawk!

My recent JFET ODs just beat it for realistic amps sounds but it's a great pedal.
 
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Well now I have an excuse to buy some 2SC1815’s lol! Never heard of BC182L..I have a few BC183B’s but not sure of the pinout.
 
And I found my original Old Fashioned so I did a comparison. The stock value version is very similar in volume and gain to the latest one which surprised me a little. The difference is more in the EQ. The stock version has a brighter, slightly bolder sound. The 2SC1815 version has more of a mid focus which is kinda warmer and smoother but still in the same neighbourhood tonally. For a Marshall sound I prefer the stock transistors but both have their place.

It's not a bad thing to have some 2SC1815s on hand. They're quite common in a lot of Japanese pedals. I suspect a lot of Tubescreamer clones use other transistors for their buffers because outside Japan the 1815s aren't as common and the pinout is also less common.

And I have no idea why I have a stash of BC182Ls...
 
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