EQD Special Cranker

[almondcity]

This looks sick. It fixes everything I wanted from the one I built

Special Cranker An Overdrive You Can Trust — EarthQuaker Devices

An all-discrete analog distortion enhancement device designed to give your signal some extra grit and boost without drastically altering your tone and retaining all of the natural nuances and character of your amp.

www.earthquakerdevices.com

 

[Diynot]

Wasn’t the speaker cranker just a mildly tweaked Electra, so now they threw in a tone stack and maybe another gain stage?

 

[JamieJ]

What is an all-discrete analog distortion enhancement device?

Got to love the marketing folks.

How it gives your tone grit and boost without actually altering it.

 

[music6000]

Here's mine from way back -2015:

 

[Diynot]

If nothing else, this has spurred me into a breadboard quest to mod an Electra circuit myself. I actually did build one on a board I got from AMZ with a switch for diode/diode lift, but was meh about it. Maybe THIS time…..

 

[jesuscrisp]

Wasn’t the speaker cranker just a mildly tweaked Electra, so now they threw in a tone stack and maybe another gain stage?

No extra gain stage, just a master volume. The More control on both this and the original are gain controls. But hey, silicon clipping is also included now!

If nothing else, this has spurred me into a breadboard quest to mod an Electra circuit myself. I actually did build one on a board I got from AMZ with a switch for diode/diode lift, but was meh about it. Maybe THIS time…..

Try a couple of Lovepedal designs like the COT50. Electras can sound really good. Not as good as the prices some boutique builders ask for them, but I'm sometimes really surprised how nice of a drive sound you can get out of them considering the simplicity of the circuit

 

[music6000]

No extra gain stage, just a master volume. The More control on both this and the original are gain controls. But hey, silicon clipping is also included now!



Try a couple of Lovepedal designs like the COT50. Electras can sound really good. Not as good as the prices some boutique builders ask for them, but I'm sometimes really surprised how nice of a drive sound you can get out of them considering the simplicity of the circuit

Here's another Electra Knock Off!!!
This is what was under the Gooped circuit!.

 

[Diynot]

So maybe I’m going a little “monk” here, but I’m thinking of doing a BMP tone stack with a mids knob along with the BMP gain recovery stage after. Switch for si/lift/ge, possibly trying some IRF250 mosfets for the Si. I was even thinking of getting really crazy since I have 3pdt toggle laying around and making the tranny switchable……because why not, or maybe these are just fever dreams…..

 

[music6000]

So maybe I’m going a little “monk” here, but I’m thinking of doing a BMP tone stack with a mids knob along with the BMP gain recovery stage after. Switch for si/lift/ge, possibly trying some IRF250 mosfets for the Si. I was even thinking of getting really crazy since I have 3pdt toggle laying around and making the tranny switchable……because why not, or maybe these are just fever dreams…..

Here's another multi version!

http://pedalparts.co.uk/docs/GreenGhetto.pdf

 

[Diynot]

Here's another multi version!

http://pedalparts.co.uk/docs/GreenGhetto.pdf

The pot to dial out the clippers is def an interesting idea

 

[Diynot]

Or maybe the “nature” mod. Going to have to try both. 2 knobs vs 1…….and how much tone flexibility does a simple circuit like this need?

 

[jspake]

isn't the golden fleece an electra as well?

 

[jesuscrisp]

View attachment 25778
Or maybe the “nature” mod. Going to have to try both. 2 knobs vs 1…….and how much tone flexibility does a simple circuit like this need?

All the flexibility. Bias controls at both collector and emitter, input capacitor blend, 4 position transistor selector, 6 position clipping rotary with a switch to do soft or hard clipping and a saturation knob along with it, James Tonestack and a switchable Superfuzz midscoop filter.

 

[Diynot]

All the flexibility. Bias controls at both collector and emitter, input capacitor blend, 4 position transistor selector, 6 position clipping rotary with a switch to do soft or hard clipping and a saturation knob along with it, James Tonestack and a switchable Superfuzz midscoop filter.

Would that then become the “Electra factory”? For reals though, even with my proposed mods, that would be Vol, Gain, Tone, Mids knobs plus at least one switch for diode selection and possibly another for transistor….f*ck, just need to shut up and do it.

 

[Feral Feline]

Here's another multi version!

http://pedalparts.co.uk/docs/GreenGhetto.pdf

I want to build that with ALL pot configurations filled, just to see what happens...

 

[spi]

No extra gain stage, just a master volume. The More control on both this and the original are gain controls. But hey, silicon clipping is also included now!

You've seen the schematic?

If i were modding the original SC to have a volume and tone control, I'd definitely add a boost stage, because the original circuit is nearly unity volume.

 

[Diynot]

You've seen the schematic?

If i were modding the original SC to have a volume and tone control, I'd definitely add a boost stage, because the original circuit is nearly unity volume.

I think maybe that’s why I was pretty unimpressed, not because it didn’t sound good, just not enough volume.

 

[jeffwhitfield]

I breadboarded the standard Speaker Cranker and added knobs for tone and volume. Need to tweak the tone a bit. Plus, there needs to be an added boost near the end to crank the volume a bit. Standard Cranker circuit is unity gain so the volume knob really doesn't boost anything. I might get close to a Special Cranker but, even then, EQD has been known to tweak things when basing new stuff on old stuff.

 

[Robert]

Alright, let's do it.

 

[manfesto]

Alright, let's do it.

View attachment 25866

Ooh, looks like D9Ks leftover from all the Life Pedals