My Take on the MBP Phase 90 (nomnom)

genXslacker

genXslacker

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Build Rating
4.00 star(s)
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Aesthetically, it's hard to beat a 1590B. This one is a Love My Switches CNC Pro. I'm not CNC-equipped, but I dig the rounded edges on their box. It's my current favorite enclosure, and I look for boards that fit.

Apologies to Fairfield Circuitry for jocking their style. It's quick to mimic, and I like the look.

The 2N5952's are a tight match, and it phases deep, yo. Glad I read Keen's matching article.

If I was more of a phaser guy, I would have busted out the WIMAs, but I did test every part for tolerance. (Chorus is my true modulation love, with flange a distant second.)

My manageable (but real) OCD makes me hyper-aware of every cap with off-center leads, but, as usual, I sacrificed looks for tolerance.

That said, tear me up. I consider myself a decent paint-by-numbers builder (no deep EE understanding), but I'm ready to hear how to make better builds.
 
Looks great, clean build, love the graphics esp "phase 73", nothing wrong here. Have you ever looked inside an 80's boss pedal? *Cringe*

My GF has OCD. She says my builds look like a box of candies. She looked at the gut pic and said that is a very pretty box of candy.
 
dcfvgb said:
Looks great, clean build, love the graphics esp "phase 73", nothing wrong here. Have you ever looked inside an 80's boss pedal? *Cringe*

My GF has OCD. She says my builds look like a box of candies. She looked at the gut pic and said that is a very pretty box of candy.
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Thanks to you both for the kind words. I've had an '80s DM-2 since the early '90s. I'm going to have to open it now and take a look... or maybe I shouldn't.

Hopefully your girlfriend's OCD is as manageable as mine. Mine leans heavily toward the O side, meaning that it's not obvious to those around me that I have it till I mention it. A low-dose head-med script and reminding myself that I'm obsessing over something with no real-world consequences when I catch myself in a perseveration loop keeps me on an even keel.

I can laugh at myself when I have thoughts like, "Well, this whole build is scrap," if I solder a resistor in with the tolerance band the "wrong" way around. But it's a safe bet I'm going to spend whatever time it takes to desolder it neatly and put a new one in the "right" way. God help us all if I melt the corner of a box cap.
 
Nice build! I just finished one of these as well but mine is much less neat. I used a set of matched 2SK208’s from Aion, pre-soldered to daughter boards and could not figure out how to get them to fit neatly given the height constraints of a 1590B and the close placement on the board, so they’re just kind of piled in there. Your build confirms TO-92s fit much better, heh.

Curious what you do to fill the stamped letters and finish the enclosure. Looks like some kind of chemical wash but it could be the lighting.
 
Band of Dans said:
Curious what you do to fill the stamped letters and finish the enclosure
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It's black paint from a paint maker. One of these: https://a.co/d/05F5IxH1.

I was shopping for black just yesterday and only saw the whole set on Amazon. I nabbed the one I've been using from my wife. I like it because it's glossier than Sharpie's black paint marker. I don't think I'll splash out nearly $30 on a variety pack when all I need is black.

Thanks for the kind words
 
It rocks that they’re marketing markers specifically for painting faces on rocks! 🤘;)

I’ve had good luck with the DecoColor brand of paint markers. Paint holds up well on metal, and the marker tips don’t dry up after a few weeks/months like others I’ve tried.
 
pricklyrobot said:
It rocks that they’re marketing markers specifically for painting faces on rocks! 🤘;)

I’ve had good luck with the DecoColor brand of paint markers. Paint holds up well on metal, and the marker tips don’t dry up after a few weeks/months like others I’ve tried.
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That's good to know. Sharpie paint markers are bad, in my experience, about drying up.
 
Band of Dans said:
Nice build! I just finished one of these as well but mine is much less neat. I used a set of matched 2SK208’s from Aion, pre-soldered to daughter boards and could not figure out how to get them to fit neatly given the height constraints of a 1590B and the close placement on the board, so they’re just kind of piled in there. Your build confirms TO-92s fit much better, heh.

Curious what you do to fill the stamped letters and finish the enclosure. Looks like some kind of chemical wash but it could be the lighting.
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You might already know this, but a lot of people "ink" their wrenches and sockets with nail polish. I've tried this, too, but I find it to be way more difficult to scrub it off the flat non-recessed areas than paint markers.

Some tabletop game players ink their dice with crayon. It's more difficult to get it in all of the recesses, because it sticks to itself and removes pieces of what was already there, but it can be done with patience. The good thing about it is you don't have to wait for it to dry. Durability is likely worse, but one could touch it up quickly when some flaked out.

Your thought about a chemical wash has me thinking about trying some Aluminum Black and seeing what that would do. I have one of those pens in my stash somewhere.
 
genXslacker said:
You might already know this, but a lot of people "ink" their wrenches and sockets with nail polish. I've tried this, too, but I find it to be way more difficult to scrub it off the flat non-recessed areas than paint markers.

Some tabletop game players ink their dice with crayon. It's more difficult to get it in all of the recesses, because it sticks to itself and removes pieces of what was already there, but it can be done with patience. The good thing about it is you don't have to wait for it to dry. Durability is likely worse, but one could touch it up quickly when some flaked out.

Your thought about a chemical wash has me thinking about trying some Aluminum Black and seeing what that would do. I have one of those pens in my stash somewhere.
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I’ve been doing something similar to the “ink” process but sometimes the pigment seems to lightly stain the raw aluminum, even after wiping down with IPA. Lately ive taken to sanding after stamping and inking, but I prefer the look of the raw grain on your enclosure. Maybe I’ll try intentionally staining the whole thing to make it even.
 
Band of Dans said:
I’ve been doing something similar to the “ink” process but sometimes the pigment seems to lightly stain the raw aluminum, even after wiping down with IPA. Lately ive taken to sanding after stamping and inking, but I prefer the look of the raw grain on your enclosure. Maybe I’ll try intentionally staining the whole thing to make it even.
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I thought I had something like that going on at first, but I think what is happening is that the aluminum gets slightly recessed around the stamped areas. Carryover from the stamp tips, I think, and a trace amount of paint stays behind. It really did look slightly stained or something.

What got rid of it for me was sanding with a flexible sanding block. I've been using these, but I have no doubt others would work too. They just need to be flexible enough to deform into the depressions.
 
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