MichaelW
Well-known member
- Build Rating
Last week was a pretty busy work week for me. Not a lot of builds but I did manage to get a couple in.
Catching up on my build reports today! Happy Easter!
I've built a couple of Cleaver V1's. Gave one to my brother.
This is probably my favorite "clean boost" in the sense that it's got the least amount of coloration to the tone in the standard settings.
I tend to use it after my dirt pedals when I need some additional volume but not change the way the gain sounds.
A couple of months ago @Robert did a new layout for the Cleaver and he was kind enough to send me one of the first v2 boards. Took me while to get to it
but with my crammed schedule this past week, it was the perfect build since it's a very easy build.
Version 2 is more like the Keeley Katana Mini in that you can switch how much treble is boosted via an internal dip switch along with an external toggle which adds "grit" or gain.
In the full-size version of the Katana you can only toggle the gain which by default also boosts the treble. In V2 of the Cleaver, Robert exposed the internal dip switch of the Katana Mini as a toggle, so now you can independently toggle the treble boost (more like a presence boost) from the Gain boost.
With the 2 toggles you can now have all 4 combinations depending on the need. Very cool!!!
As with the V1 Cleaver, this thing has a ton of volume. It's great for pushing an amp.
Tonally, it sounds identical to the V1 to me but with more flexibility with the toggles for both gain/grit and presence.
I built it stock according to the values and components on silkscreened on the board. 2N5458 jfets and with the super convenient biasing points I dialed it to 1/2 of VCC (~9.6v) and haven't had the need to change it any further. It sounds GREAT!
The board is much larger than than the V1 Cleaver, which can fit into a 1590A if one is so inclined. V2 is almost twice the size, BUT, it "just" squeaked into a 1590B
I used the AES Slim Profile enclosed jacks on this. I'm going to have to stock up on these things, makes it a LOT easier to do 1590B builds with top jacks.
I did have to slightly modify the 3pdt LED board to make it fit straight. Took a little bit of the corner off.
In the demo below, I'm comparing it to the V1 Cleaver.
My amp setting is with a bit of breakup and I'm pushing it with both versions of the Cleaver.
On V2 the left toggle controls the treble and the right toggle the gain.
Catching up on my build reports today! Happy Easter!
I've built a couple of Cleaver V1's. Gave one to my brother.
This is probably my favorite "clean boost" in the sense that it's got the least amount of coloration to the tone in the standard settings.
I tend to use it after my dirt pedals when I need some additional volume but not change the way the gain sounds.
A couple of months ago @Robert did a new layout for the Cleaver and he was kind enough to send me one of the first v2 boards. Took me while to get to it
but with my crammed schedule this past week, it was the perfect build since it's a very easy build.
Version 2 is more like the Keeley Katana Mini in that you can switch how much treble is boosted via an internal dip switch along with an external toggle which adds "grit" or gain.
In the full-size version of the Katana you can only toggle the gain which by default also boosts the treble. In V2 of the Cleaver, Robert exposed the internal dip switch of the Katana Mini as a toggle, so now you can independently toggle the treble boost (more like a presence boost) from the Gain boost.
With the 2 toggles you can now have all 4 combinations depending on the need. Very cool!!!
As with the V1 Cleaver, this thing has a ton of volume. It's great for pushing an amp.
Tonally, it sounds identical to the V1 to me but with more flexibility with the toggles for both gain/grit and presence.
I built it stock according to the values and components on silkscreened on the board. 2N5458 jfets and with the super convenient biasing points I dialed it to 1/2 of VCC (~9.6v) and haven't had the need to change it any further. It sounds GREAT!
The board is much larger than than the V1 Cleaver, which can fit into a 1590A if one is so inclined. V2 is almost twice the size, BUT, it "just" squeaked into a 1590B
I used the AES Slim Profile enclosed jacks on this. I'm going to have to stock up on these things, makes it a LOT easier to do 1590B builds with top jacks.
I did have to slightly modify the 3pdt LED board to make it fit straight. Took a little bit of the corner off.
In the demo below, I'm comparing it to the V1 Cleaver.
My amp setting is with a bit of breakup and I'm pushing it with both versions of the Cleaver.
On V2 the left toggle controls the treble and the right toggle the gain.
