DEMO Amentum Boost (More fun with buffers Part III)

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MichaelW

MichaelW

Well-known member
Another "not very exciting" build.

I bought this board a while ago and it's just been sitting in my pile. I originally intended to built into a dual build but just haven't really found the right project for it.
I've had an "ho hum, it's just another boost" attitude towards it.
Finally decided to build it out and decided to also add the Simple JFet Buffer on the output side.

Wow, it's a really nice simple boost pedal! Does what the ad copy says it does, adds some sparkle and a little "sumpin sumpin" to the tone even at unity gain.
I can definitely see this as an "always on" type of pedal. Does a really nice job pushing another overdrive or the front of my amp without much color.

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I did a bit of analysis of this circuit and ran it through a spice simulator. It has a high pass filter with cutoff around 170Hz, so it cuts down a bit of the low end (like a TS would) which leaves the sizzle.
 
giovanni said:
I did a bit of analysis of this circuit and ran it through a spice simulator. It has a high pass filter with cutoff around 170Hz, so it cuts down a bit of the low end (like a TS would) which leaves the sizzle.
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Explains why it sounds good stacked with a darker overdrive.
 
Very different. I have the Secret PreAmp built and the board for the Episode (plus the actual Xotic EP). Those all add a bit more color than the Arrows.
 
giovanni said:
I’m not surprised. When I looked at the frequency response I was like there’s no way the EP sounds like that! 🤣
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They both have their places. I really love my Clandestine Preamp. But it's a subtle effect, it can really help bring out the best in certain drives. I think of it more as a "tone conditioner".

The Amemtum does the same but in a different way, is even more subtle. Adds a bit of sparkle.

The Katana (Cleaver) boost I built is probably the cleanest straight up volume booster (in regular mode).

Then there's the FDIC Boost, which is it's own animal. Hard to describe what the "Dynamics" knobs does. Adds a wee bit of compression maybe?

I actually have the AFT Preamp on my bench right now, will probably button it up later today. Not quite sure what to expect yet:)
 
swelchy said:
I PUT THE AMENTUM IN FRONT OF THE KLICHE INSIDE SAM ENCLOSURE.. THEY WORK REALLY WELL TOGETHER
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I'm actually concocting a multi-pedal build with the Amentum as a boost stage. More to come when all the boards arrive.......and if it works.....(if you don't see a build report of it that means I failed miserably...hahaha:)
 
MichaelW said:
They both have their places. I really love my Clandestine Preamp. But it's a subtle effect, it can really help bring out the best in certain drives. I think of it more as a "tone conditioner".

The Amemtum does the same but in a different way, is even more subtle. Adds a bit of sparkle.

The Katana (Cleaver) boost I built is probably the cleanest straight up volume booster (in regular mode).

Then there's the FDIC Boost, which is it's own animal. Hard to describe what the "Dynamics" knobs does. Adds a wee bit of compression maybe?

I actually have the AFT Preamp on my bench right now, will probably button it up later today. Not quite sure what to expect yet:)
Click to expand...
I built the Transcendence Boost for a buddy and wow it’s ultra clean and mega loud.
 
giovanni said:
I wonder how actually close to the Echoplex preamp it is.
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The Amentum looks like an electra distortion circuit without the clipping diodes. Or as they describe it at effectslayouts.com, "it’s almost like an Electra and a Rangemaster had a baby."
 
Hmmm interesting, do you have a recommendation for a mod to make it a flatter, more neutral, response? I can see that "sizzle" not working for some setups.
 
If you look at the bandwidth section, my conclusion was that the corner frequency was mostly determined by C3 and R4. You can try doubling C3 to get a corner frequency of 80Hz (low E on guitar IIRC), etc.
Edit: it is possible that you need to also increase C2 to get a lower corner frequency: if you increase C3, it may come to a point where the dominant pole is determined by C2. The best route is to run a simulation.
 
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