Recent content by Alan W

This is a favorite pedal of mine, especially at 18 volts. (The sag doesn’t work as effectively at this higher voltage though.)

Most of the soldering I’ve done has been for stereo equipment I was building or modifying. Low noise was always a major priority. Along with minimizing phase issues. Layout and shielding are top priorities. I’d say that having multi layer boards with ground planes, and using surface mount...

Your comment about line of sight is right on the money, at least for me, and I hadn’t thought of that regarding that Accugroove cabinet. I’m really used to having my amps on the ground, about 6 feet away, facing right at my face. So I’m getting the beaming from my combos. That cab I’ve never...

It’s complicated! A bunch of years ago I built a small battery powered 1/2 watt amp, and used a 6 inch MOD speaker in it as a compromise in size. I always felt guitar sounded a bit emasculated through it, but discovered that my 5 string fretless bass sounds great (albeit at fairly low volumes…)...

You’d want to use a printer than can work with higher heat filaments—even with great soldering technique, I’d imagine that PLA wouldn’t do well.

I’ve always “rolled” short pieces of wire between two flat boards to get them straight. Something like MDF scraps is perfect for this. Very neat work!

At this point (and for the first time in my life!) I have 3 amps, but for pedals I first go with the most "neutral" (in this case meaning "blackface", even though I get that there's a mid scoop there)—which is the Allen Encore that I built from a kit about 5 or 6 years ago. (More our less a...

At least for me, I have greater expectations with more expensive items—pretty much with anything. And no matter where it falls on the “expensive” scale—one persons bargain is another’s stretch, to an extent. That said, I think that we’re closer to having some sort of parity (between true...

If you’ve got them around, I’d try a 12AT7 or 5751 first, and see how that feels/ sounds. The 12AY7 will have about half that amoun5 of gain, and then there’s the 12AU7 that’s only got half of what the AT has—so plenty of room to experiment. And yeah, it’s a bit like algebra…. Sorry. ;~)

That’s absolutely worth a try, it should give you a longer sweep in the lower gain range. I’ve done that with a number of amps over the years. A 5751 is just a hair lower gain than that, and my also have some noise benefits. Oh, wait! Is your V1 normally a 12AT7, or AX7? I was thinking AT7 when...

You’ve come to the right place! Don’t be shy about posting problem builds. Take a clean close up of both sides, with any description of what’s happening (or not happening) and our team of sharp eyed investigators will toss out observations. We’ve all been there, and I for one, still visit...

I typically do a light tinning of the transistor leads, makes them a more snug fit into the sockets. And yeah, if I need to cross leads, I’ll use stripped insulation.

I test specific LEDs to find the brightness I like and note it on the baggie. I’m usually in the 6.8k to 10k range.

I'm just seeing the timeline on this. When you say the effect is too subtle, do you mean that you don't get much gain out of it? If that's the case, then you should re-visit it; I think is has about as much gain available as the other "cleaner boosts"—it's main feature to me is that it really...

Take it out of the case again and post close up photos of both sides of the board. Sharp eyed people amaze me with their ability find the cold solder joints… Yes, as you surmise, this is a rite of passage. I wonder if that cable you showed the closeup of is a reverse cable. I’m used to those...