Episode Booster (Xotic EP Booster)

MichaelW

Well-known member
I've been sitting on a PPCB Episode Booster board for quite some time. I think it was in one my very first orders, when I was first starting the whole DIY thing I figured once I replaced all the retail pedals on my board I'd be done........(insert sardonic snickering)....... 😄

I had also bought the Clandestine and AionFX Ares Legacy boards. I wound up building the Clandestine first and it has been a staple and I didn't feel the need to also build the Episode or Ares as they all do essentially the same thing.

So fast forward to my recent intro the world of relay switching. I needed a platform to build out the relay board I got. So I decided to use the Episode.
This is where things started going south. My first mistake was assuming it would all fit into a 1590B.

I quickly found out that I needed more depth for the relay board. I so scrubbed that idea and decided to just go with a 3PDT.
Second mistake, the Episode Boost has an obnoxious number of electrolytic caps and really not a good candidate for a 1590B enclosure.

So in full disclosure, I borked my first attempt at building the Episode. Since I had already drilled the 1590B I decided to go with it, installed all the e-caps and did a LOT of bending to make it all fit. I think I overdid it. I was also having issues with my soldering iron not getting hot enough that day, (turned out to be a bad tip) but instead of stopping and investigating, I pushed forward with the build even though the solder wasn't behaving like it normally does. Suffice to say, it doesn't work, I have a pretty good idea why, but after messing with it for a couple hours I decided to toss it into my "box 'o' shame" of non-working builds to come back to later.

So what to do with the enclosure I drilled? Well, of course order another Episode board, which I did:)

This time around I decided to use Tantalums for most of the E-caps and it made life a lot easier. I only needed to deal with bending the 2 100u caps to get it all to fit.

I used a MMBF5457 pre-soldered onto an SOT adapter from AionFx. I used @Big Monk's formula for EP3 style preamp biasing of 65% of incoming voltage, which in my case wound up at 5.07v for Q1.

So comparing it side by side with my Xotic EP Booster and Clandestine Preamp. I think I like the Clandestine the best tonally, but it's somewhat limited in controls and dynamic range. The Xotic is cleaner sounding but a pain in the butt to access the dip switches so I didn't really do an Apples to Apple comparison. I can't remember how I left my Xotic configured last time I used it. The Episode is cool in that you have access to all the settings via toggles.

The "Fat" setting is definitely fatter and warmer than either the Xotic or Clandestine. But with the bright switch you can also get a nice neutral boost as well.
9v vs 18v I'm not really hearing much difference, as it's pretty high headroom already. The 3db gain toggle does just that, I'll probably run that turned off as I normally run this pedal at unity gain, which is about 8 o'clock for me on this build with Q1 biased as is. You CAN get a lot more gain with more aggressive biasing but that's not how I tend to use these types of pedals. It's more of a tone "conditioner" or "tone sweetener". (Incidentally, I also grabbed the EV Pre and Celsius Pre boards for future builds that kinda do the same thing.)

Another early morning pic, I was not originally intending to go with the Cream on Cream look but the only C10k pot I had was a split shaft knurled one. And I have a bag of these press on knobs that I bought by accident. Seems like they were made for each other:)

IMG_3289.JPG

IMG_3287.JPG
 
For the sake of humility and transparency, here's a pic of my first attempt, the non working borked board...I think I got a little carried away (even for me) with the cap bending. But I don't think that's the issue. I have a strong suspicion there's a couple cold solder joints in there. As I mentioned my soldering iron was giving me a hard time that day. I just need to take some time to go through it. But who the heck has time for troubleshooting when there's always another board to build...... :ROFLMAO:.
(I know, I'm so lazy......)

IMG_3271.JPG
 
Are any of the Nichicons making contact? With the lid on?

Maybe try sticking a thin sheet of card-stock or anti-electrostatic-bag material between the Nichis and the switches (&JFET).
 
Looks great! I have a Clandestine lined up soon because of your other build. Is there such a thing as too many boosts?

I'm in awe of your patience with 1590B, after the first three I did I politely told them to go away. Ain't nobody got time for fiddly tight box work.

That said, I have been doing a bunch of 1590A. I'm not sure I enjoy it :D
 
Are any of the Nichicons making contact? With the lid on?

Maybe try sticking a thin sheet of card-stock or anti-electrostatic-bag material between the Nichis and the switches (&JFET).
Nope nothing is touching. Didn't work when I tested it out of the box. There's something else going on. But not ready to jump into troubleshooting it quite yet.
 
I can see it now. Just like hitting the wrong cord in a performance you should never tell. Lol. Still good work even if that last one dips a bit.
That's like when I play a clam it's just "playing outside..."
 
I've been sitting on a PPCB Episode Booster board for quite some time. I think it was in one my very first orders, when I was first starting the whole DIY thing I figured once I replaced all the retail pedals on my board I'd be done........(insert sardonic snickering)....... 😄

I had also bought the Clandestine and AionFX Ares Legacy boards. I wound up building the Clandestine first and it has been a staple and I didn't feel the need to also build the Episode or Ares as they all do essentially the same thing.

So fast forward to my recent intro the world of relay switching. I needed a platform to build out the relay board I got. So I decided to use the Episode.
This is where things started going south. My first mistake was assuming it would all fit into a 1590B.

I quickly found out that I needed more depth for the relay board. I so scrubbed that idea and decided to just go with a 3PDT.
Second mistake, the Episode Boost has an obnoxious number of electrolytic caps and really not a good candidate for a 1590B enclosure.

So in full disclosure, I borked my first attempt at building the Episode. Since I had already drilled the 1590B I decided to go with it, installed all the e-caps and did a LOT of bending to make it all fit. I think I overdid it. I was also having issues with my soldering iron not getting hot enough that day, (turned out to be a bad tip) but instead of stopping and investigating, I pushed forward with the build even though the solder wasn't behaving like it normally does. Suffice to say, it doesn't work, I have a pretty good idea why, but after messing with it for a couple hours I decided to toss it into my "box 'o' shame" of non-working builds to come back to later.

So what to do with the enclosure I drilled? Well, of course order another Episode board, which I did:)

This time around I decided to use Tantalums for most of the E-caps and it made life a lot easier. I only needed to deal with bending the 2 100u caps to get it all to fit.

I used a MMBF5457 pre-soldered onto an SOT adapter from AionFx. I used @Big Monk's formula for EP3 style preamp biasing of 65% of incoming voltage, which in my case wound up at 5.07v for Q1.

So comparing it side by side with my Xotic EP Booster and Clandestine Preamp. I think I like the Clandestine the best tonally, but it's somewhat limited in controls and dynamic range. The Xotic is cleaner sounding but a pain in the butt to access the dip switches so I didn't really do an Apples to Apple comparison. I can't remember how I left my Xotic configured last time I used it. The Episode is cool in that you have access to all the settings via toggles.

The "Fat" setting is definitely fatter and warmer than either the Xotic or Clandestine. But with the bright switch you can also get a nice neutral boost as well.
9v vs 18v I'm not really hearing much difference, as it's pretty high headroom already. The 3db gain toggle does just that, I'll probably run that turned off as I normally run this pedal at unity gain, which is about 8 o'clock for me on this build with Q1 biased as is. You CAN get a lot more gain with more aggressive biasing but that's not how I tend to use these types of pedals. It's more of a tone "conditioner" or "tone sweetener". (Incidentally, I also grabbed the EV Pre and Celsius Pre boards for future builds that kinda do the same thing.)

Another early morning pic, I was not originally intending to go with the Cream on Cream look but the only C10k pot I had was a split shaft knurled one. And I have a bag of these press on knobs that I bought by accident. Seems like they were made for each other:)

View attachment 30167

View attachment 30168
Nice work! I just completed one, and it sounds pretty much like my Xotic EP, but I'm not getting any tone change with the Fat switch and very little, if any, with the bright switch. Just wondering if you experienced anything similar before I tear it apart and start checking/replacing caps. By the way, I omitted the charge pump circuitry, since I have 9 & 18 volt sources on my VooDoo Lab PS. That shouldn't have anything to do with the above issues.
 
Nice work! I just completed one, and it sounds pretty much like my Xotic EP, but I'm not getting any tone change with the Fat switch and very little, if any, with the bright switch. Just wondering if you experienced anything similar before I tear it apart and start checking/replacing caps. By the way, I omitted the charge pump circuitry, since I have 9 & 18 volt sources on my VooDoo Lab PS. That shouldn't have anything to do with the above issues.
I just checked it, the FAT is pretty subtle, and as I recall it's pretty subtle on my retail version as well. The Clandestine Preamp (Chase Tone Secret Preamp) seems to have a more pronounced "fat" effect.

Also on the Episode, if you're running at 18v the FAT is even more subtle than running it at 9v. Same if you have the 3db boost gain boost on.

In terms of actual BOOSTING, the Episode has more gain. In terms of "tone sculpting" the Clandestine sounds a bit better to me. Hope this helps.
 
I didn't realize that electrolytic caps won't clear the lid of the 1590B. I have a couple of pedals that I was planning to try using 1590Bs, so I'm wondering if I need more careful planning for component selection than usual.
 
I just checked it, the FAT is pretty subtle, and as I recall it's pretty subtle on my retail version as well. The Clandestine Preamp (Chase Tone Secret Preamp) seems to have a more pronounced "fat" effect.

Also on the Episode, if you're running at 18v the FAT is even more subtle than running it at 9v. Same if you have the 3db boost gain boost on.

In terms of actual BOOSTING, the Episode has more gain. In terms of "tone sculpting" the Clandestine sounds a bit better to me. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the quick reply. It's doing what I need it to do. Good feedback on the Clandestine. I'll try that next!
 
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