For those that have built the Informant

[cdwillis]

Has everyone used a logarithmic 100k pot for the Cut/Tone pot or has anyone used a linear pot? I've had a Rat with a logarithmic tone pot and the sweep was almost totally useless. I'm thinking about using a linear pot on my build even though the build docs call for a logarithmic because most of the demos I've watched for the 1981 DRV were almost painfully bright which lines up with how the Rat with the log cut pot acted for me. Swapping out caps or resistors after a build is a pain, but not that big of a deal. Pots on the other hand are a nightmare to pull out and swap for me.

 

[Feral Feline]

You could always audition a pot by tacking it in via wires — pre-boxing. Once you've determined the preferred pot remove the wires, some solder suction or braid to clean up the pads on the PCB and then permanently mount the winning pot.

 

[jesuscrisp]

I have to disagree, a linear pot is useless for that kind of rat filter, as it cuts too much high end too early on. You could always just increase that filter cap to 4n7 or larger.

I personally find the DRV bright in the high mids, not the treble. All excess fizz from the rat is smoothened out very much by the DRV.

 

[cdwillis]

The Rat low pass filter goes from 32khz to 475hz. With a linear pot set at noon the LPF sits at about 937hz. I've built a couple Rats like that and the sweep seems pretty useable. I built one for a friend with a silicon/LED clipping switch and he said that he loved that he could set everything at noon and it just sounded great already.

I have a 100k logarithmic pot sitting here that measures about 95k. With the knob at noon I'm getting 13.7k between lugs 1 and 2. The LPF would be about 3.2khz with the tone pot set at noon. So at noon it's going to be a little brighter, I'm just not sure about the overall sweep.

The clone I had (Black Mass 1312) with a log pot had all the useable sweep was bunched in the space from about 3 o'clock to 5 o'clock on the pot. I don't think it was wired reversed from the typical reverse (lol) rat style tone sweep. I actually screwed up the pads trying to swap the pot out and the pedal is sitting in a ziploc bag in the pedal graveyard still.

 

[jesuscrisp]

Whatever floats your boat I guess? Personally I prefer smoother pot tapers over large dead areas for the sake of caveman guitar players not having to turn knobs.

But why ask if you're already convinced about your way anyway?

 

[szukalski]

One person's usable sweep is another person's dead area..

 

[jesuscrisp]

One person's usable sweep is another person's dead area..

Now we're getting deeply philosophical

 

[cdwillis]

I think you're taking me all wrong here, jesuscrisp. I asked for people's experience and shared the reasoning behind what I've used before. I'm not deadset on either way, but I was curious because of the way the DRV handles it's gain vs the Rat. The hesitation was from watching a few demos of the production pedal and thinking it sounded harsh. Some of it may have been people using it into a clean amp, using single coils, or something else that brought out some harsh tones. I almost always use humbuckers so it's hard to compare. Some of these people are playing midwest emo or church rock and that's totally out of my wheelhouse. I like the original Rat a lot and wanted to try someone's idea of a modern version.