jeremyh1n1
New member
Does the tearjerker work with bass or should some values be changed to make it for bass?
tearjerker on bass
- Thread starter jeremyh1n1
- Start date
Feral Feline
Well-known member
I haven't built it yet so don't know, but the input cap is 10n, output is 220n.
You could socket C2 and C14 and experiment. Start with simply doubling the caps nearest values.
INPUT:
22n
27n
33n
39n
47n
etc... try right up to 220n
OUTPUT:
330n (not doubling, but worth a shot)
470n
680n
820n
1µ
2µ2
If you hit on the ideal combination that boosts bass without devolving to mud, please let me know.
Then there's bumping the range of C5-C13...
Hopefully someone experienced weighs in on this.
You could socket C2 and C14 and experiment. Start with simply doubling the caps nearest values.
INPUT:
22n
27n
33n
39n
47n
etc... try right up to 220n
OUTPUT:
330n (not doubling, but worth a shot)
470n
680n
820n
1µ
2µ2
If you hit on the ideal combination that boosts bass without devolving to mud, please let me know.
Then there's bumping the range of C5-C13...
Hopefully someone experienced weighs in on this.
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
Referring to the Tear Jerker schematic...
C2 limits the bass coming in. Increase to 100nF to fatten up the bottom end.
C6-C13 set the sweep range. Double them all for bass guitar.
C3 is often overlooked. It limits how low the sweep can go. Increase it to 47uF
That's it. No need to bother with C4 or C14, they're plenty large.
Those changes will get you some subterranean wah sounds.
Recommended initial trimmer settings:
MID full CCW.
VOL full CCW.
LOW at noon.
Q at noon. Q affects the high end of the sweep more than the low end.
I recommend making Q an external pot.
Don't waste your money on an expensive inductor. The one SBP sells for $5 is plenty good.
The DIP switch could be replaced with an 8-position rotary switch.
If you do that, change the range caps to:
C5 = 4.7nF
C6 = empty
C7 = 4.7nF
C8 = 15nF
C9 = 33nF
C10 = 47nF
C11 = 68nF
C12 = 100nF
C13 = 150nF
Wire the common pin of the rotary sw to DIP sw pin 16.
Wire pins 2-8 to DIP sw pins 2-8.
Leave pin 1 not connected.
If you want more headroom, power the pedal with 18V and change R6 to 39K. Note: change R6 only if you will ALWAYS run it at 18V.
One other item of note:
Like the original CryBaby, this pedal DOES NOT have a buffered input or output. For better or worse, it will interact with what comes before it and what comes after it. For example, if you drive a FuzzFace with this pedal, strange things can happen.
You can try making the Gilmour Echoes squeal with your bass by hooking this pedal up backwards (Bass guitar to the output, amp to the input). Be warned: it will get LOUD! You'll want to put a compressor or volume pedal between this and the amp to avoid blowing speakers, breaking windows, setting off car alarms, etc.
C2 limits the bass coming in. Increase to 100nF to fatten up the bottom end.
C6-C13 set the sweep range. Double them all for bass guitar.
C3 is often overlooked. It limits how low the sweep can go. Increase it to 47uF
That's it. No need to bother with C4 or C14, they're plenty large.
Those changes will get you some subterranean wah sounds.
Recommended initial trimmer settings:
MID full CCW.
VOL full CCW.
LOW at noon.
Q at noon. Q affects the high end of the sweep more than the low end.
I recommend making Q an external pot.
Don't waste your money on an expensive inductor. The one SBP sells for $5 is plenty good.
The DIP switch could be replaced with an 8-position rotary switch.
If you do that, change the range caps to:
C5 = 4.7nF
C6 = empty
C7 = 4.7nF
C8 = 15nF
C9 = 33nF
C10 = 47nF
C11 = 68nF
C12 = 100nF
C13 = 150nF
Wire the common pin of the rotary sw to DIP sw pin 16.
Wire pins 2-8 to DIP sw pins 2-8.
Leave pin 1 not connected.
If you want more headroom, power the pedal with 18V and change R6 to 39K. Note: change R6 only if you will ALWAYS run it at 18V.
One other item of note:
Like the original CryBaby, this pedal DOES NOT have a buffered input or output. For better or worse, it will interact with what comes before it and what comes after it. For example, if you drive a FuzzFace with this pedal, strange things can happen.
You can try making the Gilmour Echoes squeal with your bass by hooking this pedal up backwards (Bass guitar to the output, amp to the input). Be warned: it will get LOUD! You'll want to put a compressor or volume pedal between this and the amp to avoid blowing speakers, breaking windows, setting off car alarms, etc.
Feral Feline
Well-known member
Mega-Thanks for that @Chuck D. Bones.
jeremyh1n1
New member
Thanks for all that info. you mentioned SPB...I am not familiar with which store that is
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
jeremyh1n1
New member
ahh...thank you
Feral Feline
Well-known member
And here I was thinking SBP was Small Bear Pedals, but it's Small Bear Electronics...
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
Use good film caps, metal film resistors and high-gain low-noise transistors such as MPSA18, BC109C, BC549C, 2N5088, 2N5089, etc. Mind the pinout!
