mybud
Well-known member
- Build Rating
So, inspired by @MichaelW's recent enthusiastic build report and taking courage therefrom (https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/median-compressor-wampler-ego76.25322/), I decided to try this one again. I can now confirm that my initial build of last year doesn't work correctly because this one biases quite differently, with a clear cutoff point where the FETs go silent.
This was my first attempt at soldering SMD 5457s, a task I've managed to avoid successfully for the last seven years or so. Normally, I drive to my friendly local to ask for assistance but I wasn't in the mood for this and thought I'd give it a shot. Soldered the tiny little fellows into place, checked continuity on the adjacent pads, and hey presto, that worked. Built it yesterday afternoon, tested it out last night, and definitely heard the compression kick in. Hooray!
Finished housing it this morning. FWIW I used 4558s because I didn't have the heart to try extracting the 733s from the first build, which I may or may not try to salvage later. 1678s may well be the op amp of choice as per the BD, but those I certainly want to avoid (being SMD only and needing adapters, what have you). There's a 'quit while you're ahead' principle in play here.
So, <voici le mouton anglo-français>, as the Pythons might say.
The verdict: I absolutely love this compressor/limiting amplifier/1176 emulation. Considering the original UA version costs close to $300 here (on sale), I feel like the stress of the last aborted build was worth it. Many people chipped in to assist last time around; thanks to them and special thanks to @andrewsrea for all his gracious help.
The pedal lends a special sheen to the signal. As Mike puts it, sounds like mastering quality, with which I heartily agree. Currently testing with my recent L5 clean build and it definitely does something subtly groovy to the overall sound. Doesn't sound 'compressed,' which I prefer, but definitely missed if it's not there. Also nice with P-Bass BTW.
Build it, folks, definitely worth the effort. Thanks for reading and happy building.
