MichaelW
Well-known member
3rd and final build report for the weekend.
Really speeds things up when I dedicate the time to pre-drill a couple of builds and have the pots/switches installed.
Makes it a lot easier to pop out to the workshop, solder a few components then retreat into the AC to cool off.....my garage workshop is brutal in the Florida summers...!
I decided to built this pedal to go with the Gravitation Reverb for my amp set up. On paper it sounds like it's similar to the Dark Rift in that it's a tape delay emulator with some modulation on the repeats. But they sound pretty different. Also the Dark Rift has a control for "tape age" on the repeats which the Magnetron doesn't have. The Dark Rift modulation can also get a lot whackier than the Magnetron if that's important. It's not a concern for me since I tend to use delay sparingly and the modulation even more sparingly. But if you're into the ambient stuff, the Dark Rift will give you a lot more to work with.
Still it's a great sounding pedal, getting the internal gain trimmer set correctly is key. It "can" sound a bit dirty with too much gain, and sound kinda weak with not enough gain.
I ran out of 1uf electrolytic caps so substituted with tantalums that I ordered just to have some on hand. Glad I did! I think it was a "General Questions" thread I posted a couple months ago about substitution for tantalums in the BOM where a lot of responses was opining on the efficacy of tantalums. I didn't get a real clear consensus but I figured since I didn't have any I'd better just throw some in the cart on my next order
I decided to use two colors of knobs so I could remember which knobs control the modulation. Really digging the combination of the Magnetron running into the Gravitation Reverb.
Probably the last digital delay I'll be building (for myself anyway). I have 3 DIY delays now (Dark Rift, Hydra and Magnetron). The next delay I build will be a BBD delay.
I have the MBP Tourbus (DMM) that I'm starting to collect the parts for. But it might be "delayed" for a bit (heh see what I did there?) since I spent all my pedal money on my Tele build......and....I just bought another guitar......(future NGD post)
Edit: Oops, got my pedals mixed up, it's the Hydra that has the knob for Tape Age, not the Dark Rift.
Really speeds things up when I dedicate the time to pre-drill a couple of builds and have the pots/switches installed.
Makes it a lot easier to pop out to the workshop, solder a few components then retreat into the AC to cool off.....my garage workshop is brutal in the Florida summers...!
I decided to built this pedal to go with the Gravitation Reverb for my amp set up. On paper it sounds like it's similar to the Dark Rift in that it's a tape delay emulator with some modulation on the repeats. But they sound pretty different. Also the Dark Rift has a control for "tape age" on the repeats which the Magnetron doesn't have. The Dark Rift modulation can also get a lot whackier than the Magnetron if that's important. It's not a concern for me since I tend to use delay sparingly and the modulation even more sparingly. But if you're into the ambient stuff, the Dark Rift will give you a lot more to work with.
Still it's a great sounding pedal, getting the internal gain trimmer set correctly is key. It "can" sound a bit dirty with too much gain, and sound kinda weak with not enough gain.
I ran out of 1uf electrolytic caps so substituted with tantalums that I ordered just to have some on hand. Glad I did! I think it was a "General Questions" thread I posted a couple months ago about substitution for tantalums in the BOM where a lot of responses was opining on the efficacy of tantalums. I didn't get a real clear consensus but I figured since I didn't have any I'd better just throw some in the cart on my next order
I decided to use two colors of knobs so I could remember which knobs control the modulation. Really digging the combination of the Magnetron running into the Gravitation Reverb.
Probably the last digital delay I'll be building (for myself anyway). I have 3 DIY delays now (Dark Rift, Hydra and Magnetron). The next delay I build will be a BBD delay.
I have the MBP Tourbus (DMM) that I'm starting to collect the parts for. But it might be "delayed" for a bit (heh see what I did there?) since I spent all my pedal money on my Tele build......and....I just bought another guitar......(future NGD post
)
Edit: Oops, got my pedals mixed up, it's the Hydra that has the knob for Tape Age, not the Dark Rift.
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