MichaelW
Well-known member
- Build Rating
Here we go again, another phase shifter!
I mentioned in my last Phase 90 build report that I had a Phase 45 project incoming that @szukalski laid out for me.
It only made sense since we started down this path.
As you may recall, the premise of these phasers was testing/confirming that SMD JFETS had tight enough tolerances that one could just cut a strip of 4 (or 2) JFETS and they would work without going through the whole process of matching them.
So this was only partly true from my experience. It seems that MMBF5457's are kind of all over the map when it comes to VGS off values.
Yet 2SK208-GR's have been super tight.
I don't know what we can learn from this outside of those two JFET models.
For this build I just went back to the strip of 10 2SK208's I had already opened for the Phase 90. Out of the 6 left they all matched, but I selected two that matched exactly. They had the exact same Vgs@10k values using my modified RG Keen JFET matcher.
As usual Dave's layout totally rocks. Both the Phase 90 and 45 are super quiet and sound great. The Phase 45 doesn't have the differences between Script and Block modes as the circuit was identical when MXR went from the script to block logos. Since it's a 2 stage phaser it's a bit more laid back and subtle compared to the Phase 90. I absolutely love it! I didn't think I would like it better than the Phase 90 but I really love how it sounds. Especially with gain, it doesn't get "in the way" of the tone the way a more resonant phaser does.
I wound up "un-building" my first attempt at the Phase 90 I built using MMBF5457's and re-using the enclosure and stomp switch, jack's etc for the Phase 45.
I'm not totally sold on the Boss style knob. I think I'm going to put the same MXR style knob on it that I put on the Phase 90. I was originally thinking that I should use different knobs so I could tell at a glance which pedal was which, since they are otherwise identical from the outside. But so far it's a non-issue. I just have them sitting next to each other in my signal chain before my dirt pedals. (Running them together in series is also a really cool sound!)
I had one "oops" with a film cap that I didn't notice until I was uploading the pics. I decided not to replace it. So just goes to show that my OCD is improving.......must be the meds.....or maybe the shock therapy........
I'm getting better with using the easy bake to cook on the JFETS. But the solder paste is still a pain in the arse to deal with. It seems to stick to everything except the pads.....
I'm not sure if anyone is interested in these boards as they're not as flexible when it comes to JFETs since it has to be SMD but I do have extras of both the 45 and 90 if anyone wants one. Just DM me. I can also send some matched JFETS for them as well.
Many thanks to @szukalski for a couple of great projects!!
I mentioned in my last Phase 90 build report that I had a Phase 45 project incoming that @szukalski laid out for me.
It only made sense since we started down this path.
As you may recall, the premise of these phasers was testing/confirming that SMD JFETS had tight enough tolerances that one could just cut a strip of 4 (or 2) JFETS and they would work without going through the whole process of matching them.
So this was only partly true from my experience. It seems that MMBF5457's are kind of all over the map when it comes to VGS off values.
Yet 2SK208-GR's have been super tight.
I don't know what we can learn from this outside of those two JFET models.
For this build I just went back to the strip of 10 2SK208's I had already opened for the Phase 90. Out of the 6 left they all matched, but I selected two that matched exactly. They had the exact same Vgs@10k values using my modified RG Keen JFET matcher.
As usual Dave's layout totally rocks. Both the Phase 90 and 45 are super quiet and sound great. The Phase 45 doesn't have the differences between Script and Block modes as the circuit was identical when MXR went from the script to block logos. Since it's a 2 stage phaser it's a bit more laid back and subtle compared to the Phase 90. I absolutely love it! I didn't think I would like it better than the Phase 90 but I really love how it sounds. Especially with gain, it doesn't get "in the way" of the tone the way a more resonant phaser does.
I wound up "un-building" my first attempt at the Phase 90 I built using MMBF5457's and re-using the enclosure and stomp switch, jack's etc for the Phase 45.
I'm not totally sold on the Boss style knob. I think I'm going to put the same MXR style knob on it that I put on the Phase 90. I was originally thinking that I should use different knobs so I could tell at a glance which pedal was which, since they are otherwise identical from the outside. But so far it's a non-issue. I just have them sitting next to each other in my signal chain before my dirt pedals. (Running them together in series is also a really cool sound!)
I had one "oops" with a film cap that I didn't notice until I was uploading the pics. I decided not to replace it. So just goes to show that my OCD is improving.......must be the meds.....or maybe the shock therapy........
I'm getting better with using the easy bake to cook on the JFETS. But the solder paste is still a pain in the arse to deal with. It seems to stick to everything except the pads.....
I'm not sure if anyone is interested in these boards as they're not as flexible when it comes to JFETs since it has to be SMD but I do have extras of both the 45 and 90 if anyone wants one. Just DM me. I can also send some matched JFETS for them as well.
Many thanks to @szukalski for a couple of great projects!!