What's on the workbench?

[Robert]

A standard 1/4” unbalanced output would be nice to have in addition to the balanced XLR out.

Although I suppose there might be a situation where you want both, the Loop Send is an unbalanced output.

The Loop Receive jack is basically just the input to the passive DI, there's no other reason to feed the loop back into the pedal if you aren't using the XLR out.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Although I suppose there might be a situation where you want both, the Loop Send is an unbalanced output.

The Loop Receive jack is basically just the input to the passive DI, there's no other reason to feed the loop back into the pedal if you aren't using the XLR out.

Yeah, I guess on second thought it is probably a specialized enough use case where it would be easy enough to just put a buffered split off the loop receive to add a 1/4” out in parallel with the DI out.

I see an effects bypass being useful for people who are running a combination of pedals for one instrument, like an EQ and comp for mandolin, that would otherwise be bypassed simultaneously their main acoustic. Of course, might be better off not trying to make a Swiss-army box with potential features that probably will go unneeded by most folks.

Even personally, I’d probably build one version that’s pretty much just stock as a grab-and-go preamp/DI, and then for what I’d actually put on my acoustic board, a stripped back version where I’d omit the DI and loop features entirely and have it as just a piezo preamp and boost.

 

[Robert]

This one isn't a belt clip, I think that's the K&K isn't it?

The signal path itself is really simple, just a single opamp gain stage. I actually like what it does to my clean electric tone, I haven't tried an acoustic yet.

I don't quite understand all of the "impedance matching input" marketing, it's literally a simple single opamp gain stage... There are six MOSFETs in there but not a single one of them in the tone path. (Okay, technically two are in the signal path since they switch the Boost pot, but they do not contribute to the tone of the circuit)

I don't have the pedal in front of me but I want to say the opamp is a TLC2262, so I believe that has MOSFET input stages, does that count?

Or maybe that's the new version? ... Hmmmmmm.


Just a straight 1/4" in / out version would be dead simple, but I'm guessing a lot of the desire for this comes from the balanced / isolated output.
It's just a matter of getting all the hardware to fit in a "presentable" way really... More than half of the components could be eliminated by using a 3PDT footswitch.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

This one isn't a belt clip, I think that's the K&K isn't it?

K&K is I think inherently a belt clip design, but if you look around on the acoustic guitar forums, a decent number of guys use the Red Eye wire tied to their guitar strap or with a belt clip screwed against the lid to make it a belt-mounted pack.

 

[Robert]

@Flying

 

[Robert]

 

[Robert]

 

[jwin615]

Was the upper board just a "lid"?

 

[Robert]

Was the upper board just a "lid"?

Basically, yes. I haven't checked for any traces yet, but my guess is that it might have a solid ground pour to act like a shield.

No components though.

 

[jwin615]

Seems a few(several) transistors short. Ah f*ck, it's a 741 isn't it?

 

[Robert]

I was under the impression that it was just their interpretation of the 308, not an actual discrete part-for-part implementation.

So yeah, it could be a 741.

 

[Feral Feline]

View attachment 87436



You're really trying to stir shit up today, aren't ya? If he shows up it's on you.

Legend has it that if you say "buffer" three times in a dark room the current slayer will appear.

Euna that's never gonna happen.

 

[Flying]

I was under the impression that it was just their interpretation of the 308, not an actual discrete part-for-part implementation.

So yeah, it could be a 741.

You mean it might be one of these?

https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/762# It's like being in the land of the giants

 

[Ginsly]

Ween- Ocean Man

Funny you mention this - I backed up Dean Ween during their 2012-2015 hiatus, and switched to mandolin when we would play Ocean Man! I used a Para Acoustic DI but it's not quite the best match for my mandolin pickup.

How important is battery operation?

Would there be any point in an FX Loop bypass footswitch?

I'm VERY interested in a battery option for the Red-Eye, as I'd use this as a standalone preamp as well as a preamp/DI. Most would just use phantom power via XLR, but I really, really like the option. If it's not integrated in the PPCB I'd probably find a way to cram one in, even if it means a larger enclosure.

Just a straight 1/4" in / out version would be dead simple, but I'm guessing a lot of the desire for this comes from the balanced / isolated output.

Yes! I was under the impression that the 1/4" Out was less of a "dry thru to amp" and more of a processed signal like the XLR would output. Might be wrong about that..? This would be great when using the Red-Eye as a preamp first in a normal, non-DI signal chain.

Never considered any sort of on/off for the FX loop... hmm

This one isn't a belt clip, I think that's the K&K isn't it?

K&K is I think inherently a belt clip design, but if you look around on the acoustic guitar forums, a decent number of guys use the Red Eye wire tied to their guitar strap or with a belt clip screwed against the lid to make it a belt-mounted pack.

The Red-Eye is largely used on the floor, and the K&K is a clip in order to keep the distance from the instrument's pickup to the preamp as short as possible. I suppose some may rig a way to suspend a Red-Eye, but I can't say I've ever seen that. It'd be too cumbersome.

Ideally it'd be incredible if the PPCB version of the K&K was still a clip, but that would need a battery, of course. Plus, I have no idea what anyone would do about the enclosure! It would be incredibly useful as a normal 125B pedal too, of course. Lots of people use K&K style pickups, and like I mentioned above, the LR Baggs and some others just don't seem to gel with them (even though the Baggs has a whopping 10M input impedance, I believe).

 

[Robert]

You mean it might be one of these?

Nah, the 741 has too many transistors.

This is similar in topology to the Orange discrete opamp.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Funny you mention this - I backed up Dean Ween during their 2012-2015 hiatus, and switched to mandolin when we would play Ocean Man! I used a Para Acoustic DI but it's not quite the best match for my mandolin pickup.

Ah cool! Was that Dean Ween & Friends, or the Brownouts, or like the John & Peter’s invitational or something like that? Any clips of that at all— didn’t know Dean ever played ocean man during the hiatus, but setlist.fm is wildly incomplete as far as that period goes.

Sounds like you have a lot of experience with a few of these acoustic preamp systems. Definitely interested in hearing more about the setup you were using for mandolin— was it just for mandolin, or were you using it for both mandolin and acoustic guitar? What pickup system did you have in the mando?

 

[Ginsly]

Ah cool! Was that Dean Ween & Friends, or the Brownouts, or like the John & Peter’s invitational or something like that? Any clips of that at all— didn’t know Dean ever played ocean man during the hiatus, but setlist.fm is wildly incomplete as far as that period goes.

Sounds like you have a lot of experience with a few of these acoustic preamp systems. Definitely interested in hearing more about the setup you were using for mandolin— was it just for mandolin, or were you using it for both mandolin and acoustic guitar? What pickup system did you have in the mando?

Man, you know your Ween! Dean Ween & The Brown Outs. We backed him up for a dozen or so shows in the midwest. Setlist.com is missing most of it, but we played lots of oddball selections including stuff Ween never played live. Up until he came to Chicago in 2013 to join us, he hadn't really been playing much and certainly not Ween songs. It kinda reinvigorated him and he continued to play with us as well as forming the Dean Ween Group. Gene Ween also came through the Tonic Room before the hiatus. Incredibly nice guy, I think it was one of his first-ever solo shows iirc..?

Below is someone's photo of the "Pod-Style" LP poster I screen printed for our 2nd/3rd shows with the setlists Mickey wrote for us. It was his idea to sign ALL of the posters I made, which was very cool of him. You can see Ocean Man in the second list. We opened with "Strap On That Jammy Pac"...? Well, ok.

I don't have video of Ocean Man, but here's us doing Help Me Scrape The Mucus Off My Brain:

My mandolin is a Tacoma M1E with a passive Baldock pickup. It supposedly has higher output than a normal piezo/transducer, but still needs a lotta help on stage. I would sometimes use a Baggs PADI, which worked well enough I suppose. Great tool, but certain piezos don't necessarily get along with it very well.

 

[jwin615]

Seems the forum now needs a bike thread and a Ween thread

 

[finebyfine]

This is similar in topology to the Orange discrete opamp.

Is the schematic for that floating around somewhere, whether traced by you or someone else?

 

[Ginsly]

Robert's Anti-Mandolin Consortium has not only resulted in MORE mandolin talk, but now WEEN has entered the chat. This is what happens, Larry.