MXR RR104 Limited Editon Rhoads Distortion+ Pedal

[equinox]

This thing has finally been released this week!
Small shops had them in-stock, but big places like Sweetwater or Guitar Center are still waiting.
Looking forward to check it out and reverse-engineering once received!
Was it stock or not?? Stay tuned and find out....

 

[tegendemuur]

Such a strange practice, to give conventional gear a signature label without putting any extra effort into it. It's like these manufacturers stopped caring about us feeling they're running a scam; they're open about it! EHX did the same with the skinjob that is the J Mascis' Signature Edition a Big Muff Pi they that they shamelessly sold alongside the original. At least with YOBs Mike Scheidt signature pedal, Toneworks Quantum Magic, they at least went out of the way to add an EQ to the D+ circuit...

 

[equinox]

Still waiting!!!
Ugh, so pissed. I actually was able to place an order early on Monday morning instead of Tuesday and on the first 1/3 on the list! However, I know people that placed orders from the same place on Tuesday and already received them on Thursday or Friday and I have to wait until Tuesday!! WTF??
Oh well, one way or another, one of my two will be completely taken apart and depopulated, PCB and BOM made and readings taken and will know 100%!
Stay tuned!

 

[Guardians of the analog]

Not to kink shame and yuck anyone's yum yum, and not to take anything away from his playing...but Randy ,like Dimebag, both had tone with the sex appeal of the cancer ward at a pediatric hospital.

 

[equinox]

Not to kink shame and yuck anyone's yum yum, and not to take anything away from his playing...but Randy ,like Dimebag, both had tone with the sex appeal of the cancer ward at a pediatric hospital.

So says you. Randy's mixes and the poop sound is the cause of the PA guys and audio engineering in mixdowns.

Anyone that actually heard him....LIVE...and I can surmise that was not you, communicated his tone was huge and not thin...unlike small amount of clips available.

A TON of people back in the day used D+'s also and MXR/Dunlop has changed the formula over time....carbon comp v. metal film resistors, changes in ICs, component type such as tantalum to electrolytic or ceramic to polyester, which all effect overall tone. Let's not forget the 50nF cap, which if you plug into a calculator will sound tonally different than a 47n, so as usual, it's sum of the wholes and still...was the pedal modded or not?? This limited run is to capture his tone and 1-for-1 exact clone of the pedal in his pedalboard.

Stay tuned...Same Bat Time...Same Bat Station.....

...I could be wrong but I'm betting it is stock and only thing they needed to do besides ensuring resistor values with tight tolerance components was to enure IC was right (which we all know all 4558's are not the same and a tone of others can be put in their place effecting overall tone and noise), and component type....tantalums and ceramics....not electrolytics and polyester, which I can tell you polyester and ceramics have different tonal sounds!!

 

[equinox]

Ok guys, the pedals came in and I'm balls deep in it.
There is nothing spectacular about the other side and it is in fact, a stock pedal of the time with tight tolerance resistors and the ceramic and tantulum caps, pots are C470K and A47K.

However, there are TWO things I note.....1. the IC had two sharpie dots on it, meaning looks to have been hand-picked and 2. the diodes are green band, not black band and the solder joints for them are shiny, not dull like all of the rest of the components, meaning these were hand-soldered in!!

My question is...what would one look for in selecting these components and how to measure them?? I have Atlas meters and already read the diode and their Forward-Voltage! Anything else to check for?? How about the ICs??

Let me know and I'll make it so. Thanks in advance.

 

[chris.knudson]

At least one of those sets of pads is for the battery snap.

One (if not both) of the axial components at the bottom is going to be a polarity protection diode. The trace connecting it directly to the dual pads in red suggests that is probably the battery snap.


It's a stock Dist+. Yes, we need to see the cap values and pot tapers to be 100% sure, but I do not believe you're going to find anything hidden on the other side.

Why in the world would the Randy Rhoads edition be a stock Dist+? .... well, because that's probably what he used.

It's certainly not the first time MXR/Dunlop has slapped a fresh coat of paint on a pedal and called it an artist model.

It really doesn't matter how closely you approximate the circuit. Unless you've been practicing Randy Rhodes licks for at least 10 years, you aren't going to make your guitar sound like Randy's.

 

[jimilee]

It really doesn't matter how closely you approximate the circuit. Unless you've been practicing Randy Rhodes licks for at least 10 years, you aren't going to make your guitar sound like Randy's.

 

[chris.knudson]

Not to kink shame and yuck anyone's yum yum, and not to take anything away from his playing...but Randy ,like Dimebag, both had tone with the sex appeal of the cancer ward at a pediatric hospital.

Randy wasn't about tone -- he was about chops. All you need is a good guitar and amp and some stelar fingers to nail Randy's playing style. A pedal isn't going to get you there.