Beatle Juice / Pharmacist Combo

[Robert]

Hypothetically speaking, if we were to combine the Pharmacist and Beatle Juice projects into a multi-channel combo, would you prefer:

1) Drop the Boost footswitch from the Pharmacist and keep the project in a 1590BB enclosure?
2) Keep the Boost footswitch and move up to a 1590XX / 4S6500 enclosure?

 

[jwin615]

Keep it with a toggle to move it pre-post beatle juice.
Or keep it in a BB, always on/no footswitch. Keep the Internal boost level pot and external pot. Maybe on boost switch instead of footswitch? Then people can mod in a 3rd footswitch if they would like?
Really need to hear the two together to be honest. But the boost really makes the pharmacist come alive.
The option to move treble and bass to the front panel would be nice.
Maybe pot pads paralleled with trimmer pads so you can populate trimmers or have TB pots on a second row? If it moves to an XX, definitely need that option.

Something like this, allowing you to keep a single row of controls, or add boost switch, treble and bass to second row.

 

[zgrav]

maybe the boost is overkill with the combined pedals. keeping a 1590BB enclosure seems like the better trade-off.

 

[giovanni]

I haven’t built the Pharmacist yet so I don’t know how useful the boost is. Did the original amp have both boost and fuzz? And were they both foot switchable?

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Finish up the side-effect coding, and make the boost accessible by a long-hold of the pharmacist footswitch

 

[sticky1138]

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Also @Robert if you do this in a 1590XX (which I think is a better choice anyway), might you make the bass and treble controls external? Definitely would be cooler that way

As for name suggestions:
- Ultra Liverpudlian 730 (pretty self explanatory)
- Birdsong/Singing Bird (‘And Your Bird Can Sing’)
- Black Diamond Apple (in reference to the black diamond grill cloth on the ul730 as opposed to the typical brown diamond grill on most Vox stuff, also apple being the Beatles label; it’s an actual type of apple that’s pretty neat)

 

[joelorigo]

I love the idea of combining the Pharmacist and the Beatle Juice! Personally, I would prefer the dropping of the boost and keeping a 1590BB option. Then it's like the full "amp in a box."

Although, I also like the idea of the bass and treble controls external. I was thinking about doing that to the one I am ALMOST FINISHED BUILDING!!! But I decided not to in the end.

 

[joelorigo]

I haven’t built the Pharmacist yet so I don’t know how useful the boost is. Did the original amp have both boost and fuzz? And were they both foot switchable?

I am not sure but I think there was the fuzz which was called "Distortion" and no boost. Maybe??

 

[Harry Klippton]

This thread is making me regret having bought a pharmacist board that I haven't built yet

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

From L-R:

1. Vibrato Channel
   1. Two Inputs
   2. Boost switch
   3. Volume
   4. Treble
   5. Middle
   6. Bass
   7. Speed
   8. Depth m
2. Normal Channel
   1. Two Inputs
   2. Boost Switcg
   3. Volume
   4. Treble
   5. Middle
   6. Bass
   7. Reverb
      1. Length
3. Power
   1. Supply indicator
   2. Stand By indicator

The distortion (fuzz) circuit was a fixed setting and was only accessible via a footswitch, and was only operable on the vibrato (tremolo) channel. The boost on each channel was only accessible by the slide switches on the face of the unit.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

Via Voxshowroom.com (the best source for vintage Vox info imo)

Each of the dual channels in the UL 730 had volume, treble, middle, and bass controls along with a "Boost" switch. Reverb was included in the Normal channel only. The Vibrato channel included a foot switch operated "distortion" circuit and tremolo.

A three button foot switch allowed remote actuation of the reverb, tremolo and distortion features in the UL730.

 

[Robert]

Also worth noting, electrically the boost in the UL730 looks nothing like the boost circuit in the Dr Robert / Pharmacist.

Where the pedals switch between two different JFET gain circuits, the "Boost" in the original amp looks more like a switchable Bright cap.

 

[Robert]

The option to move treble and bass to the front panel would be nice.
Maybe pot pads paralleled with trimmer pads so you can populate trimmers or have TB pots on a second row? If it moves to an XX, definitely need that option.

Definitely, if we go to the 1590XX those controls are coming to the front.... no question.

 

[DailyDovetails]

I would likely build it in a box roughly 140mm x 120mm either way. Can it have separate EQs for the 2 channels? I had one of these
briefly. Aside from being bulky, mediocre sounding, and requiring its own power adapter with the 1 EQ you could pretty much never dial in the other channel.

 

[jwin615]

Completely glanced over the multichannel bit.
I assumed series BJ->boost-> Pharmacist
Hence my comment about making the boost movable pre/post beatle juice.
It seems that if a revision we're done, it would be to add functionality beyond simple switching between the fuzz circuits.
Would both circuits feed into the "amp" portion of the Pharmacist?
Or be a purely either/or.

 

[Joben Magooch]

I’ve not built it so my opinion is rather uninformed, but would it be possible to put it in 1590BB without the boost and throw in an extra jack for optional boost switch a la JHS red remote?

 

[pacealot]

I voted for 1590BB with no boost (edit: I changed my vote, because I'd really like it in a 1590XX with at least two footswitches),
but honestly my true preference would be to retain the two footswitches, but instead of the boost as Aclam configured it, switching between the clean and distorted front-ends — er, somehow. Precisely how is a whole other confusing and challenging kettle of fish altogether, which I would really have to gather my non-EE wits and equanimity to weigh in on.

 

[music6000]

Keep it with a toggle to move it pre-post beatle juice.
Or keep it in a BB, always on/no footswitch. Keep the Internal boost level pot and external pot. Maybe on boost switch instead of footswitch? Then people can mod in a 3rd footswitch if they would like?
Really need to hear the two together to be honest. But the boost really makes the pharmacist come alive.
The option to move treble and bass to the front panel would be nice.
Maybe pot pads paralleled with trimmer pads so you can populate trimmers or have TB pots on a second row? If it moves to an XX, definitely need that option.
View attachment 65393
Something like this, allowing you to keep a single row of controls, or add boost switch, treble and bass to second row.

You missed what is being asked, Adding the Fuzz circuit to it with or without the Boost?

 

[jwin615]

You missed what is being asked, Adding the Fuzz circuit to it with or without the Boost?

In get that. But is "multi-channel" a either or(switched parallel), or will the circuits be in series?
l read multichannel as either/or on a footswitch and bypass on a footswitch.
As in a multichannel preamp...