MXR Phase 90 (Sheepy Love)

MichaelW

Well-known member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
Well as usual @Guardians of the analog got me re-thinking the Phase 90 and 45. (Check out his recent builds here and here.)

szukalski obliged me by putting together a Phase 90 PCB, no mods, Script mode only. I wanted a vintage no nonsense version of the Phase 90.

So as I was chatting with Dave we were thinking SMD footprints only for the JFETs since modern SMD mfgring has good tolerances and we should be able to just pull a strip of JFETS randomly and it should work.

Uhm........that wasn't the case...heh.

All I have on hand are MMBF201's and MMBF5457's and I had to go through about 50 of the 5457s to get 2 matched sets. AND they were pretty low value. All around ~.950-960v (VGS Off) using my RG Keen JFET Matcher.
And now I have a baggie of loose SMD 5457's. Looks like a bag of ants........ :rolleyes:

According to Keen, the ideal values should be 2.5-2.6v. <----Incorrect statement Keen didn't say this. My eyeballs lied to me when I read his treatise on JFET matching.

Having said that, my matched 5457's work and the Phaser sounds awesome!

I've ordered a 100 2SK208-GR's and plan to see I can get some matched sets from those that might be better. Of course, I'd have to build another pedal since I can't really swap the SMD ones soldered on.

Speaking of soldering SMD's......I got my very own easy bake hot plate for Christmas. This one was recommended to me by @Audandash. I had it in my Amazon Christmas list and my wife got it for me. https://a.co/d/6xLDIMB

I'm still learning now to get the right amount of solder paste on the pads and stuff but it's pretty cool to watch the components solder themselves into place.

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This is definitely better than soldering them by hand! (Although I got pretty good at that)

I went with a color and knob that was a nod to the original.

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As I've said many times before, it's better to be lucky than good (as applied to golf) and it's ok to be smart but it's better to have smart friends...... like @szukalski :)
Another beautiful Sheepy Love layout!

Thanks Dave!!!
 
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That looks awesome. You've totally blown up a myth though: I thought the tolerances in these tiny little buggers was supposed to be tight. So I get a bad case of the squints for nothin'?
 
That looks awesome. You've totally blown up a myth though: I thought the tolerances in these tiny little buggers was supposed to be tight. So I get a bad case of the squints for nothin'?
Not MMBF5457's at the least. Variances was pretty wide and all over the place.
 
Dammit, AND there’s no Santa Claus? This has been my worst year…
So sorry sumbuddy burst your SanderKlaws bubbblol...

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! MW, good to see your return to forum, foam, farm... you know... form — that's it!

Might see if I can pick up one of those easy-bake ovens next I'm in HK.
 
Alright I have a stupid question. I bought a hot plate forever ago and haven't used it cuz I haven't built fuckall lately. Once you put the solder paste and component(s) on and they do their thing on the hot plate, how do you take the hot PCB off? Or are you turning it off and waiting for it to cool before moving on?
 
Alright I have a stupid question. I bought a hot plate forever ago and haven't used it cuz I haven't built fuckall lately. Once you put the solder paste and component(s) on and they do their thing on the hot plate, how do you take the hot PCB off? Or are you turning it off and waiting for it to cool before moving on?
I just used some tweezers and scooted it over to the edge onto a raw enclosure which helps cool the board.
 
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