Nobelium - tube bass preamp project

Italic-bold emph mine!...

:oops:
J'ai écrit: "Je ne c'est quoi."
Fixed my post. Quelle embarrassant! 😸
No worries, je n'ai pas remarqué ;) (I used to speak French, then I learned a new language and forgot all the French :rolleyes: )

But yeah I typically see it last in chain when people use other pedals with it. You treat it like your amp, everything else goes first.
 
One thing I gotta ask...how is it with other pedals? I haven't really seen how others are using it in a board setup in any video. The sludgehammer (sansamp BDDI) is such a huge part of my sound. My worry is that if I built this then I would be underwhelmed because it's so subtle. Would it be a good substitute for the sansamp? Would I use it in tandem? Before or after it? I guess if it doesn't do it for me I could sell it and make some money on it. It's just not a cheap project to be on the fence about. It's not like it's a delay or flanger 😂
I intend to put it last but I've never had my hands on a genuine unit so I can't say too much. The sludgehammer is a lil too crusty for me to be my main sound so I've definitely been looking for something else like the nobelium. I'm hoping it's my jam, cause yeah... lots of 'spensive bits. I'm also hoping it will replace my freq interchange.
 
One thing I gotta ask...how is it with other pedals? I haven't really seen how others are using it in a board setup in any video. The sludgehammer (sansamp BDDI) is such a huge part of my sound. My worry is that if I built this then I would be underwhelmed because it's so subtle. Would it be a good substitute for the sansamp? Would I use it in tandem? Before or after it? I guess if it doesn't do it for me I could sell it and make some money on it. It's just not a cheap project to be on the fence about. It's not like it's a delay or flanger 😂
Most of the bass players that I know use it with a board tend to either use it as a clean split at the beginning of the chain or in place of the BDDI at the end.
 
Are any of yall planning to use high end components?
I don't really know what the next step in quality is pass metal film resistors, wima film caps, and Panasonic electrolytics.

I don't really belive high end parts make much of a difference, but since I'll probably be using the nobilium a lot, I might as well put great components in it. The placebo effect is powerful and I'm willing to pay a little more for a novel looking gutshot
 
Are any of yall planning to use high end components?
I don't really know what the next step in quality is pass metal film resistors, wima film caps, and Panasonic electrolytics.

I don't really belive high end parts make much of a difference, but since I'll probably be using the nobilium a lot, I might as well put great components in it. The placebo effect is powerful and I'm willing to pay a little more for a novel looking gutshot
I always support people using fancy things, I'm all for it. Let's see the gutshots!
 
I have all my parts except the tubes (on the way) and I was doing some tinkering with the boards to see how the xlr/transformer board was going to mount and realized the xlr jack didn't come with any screws. I ordered the part from mouser off the BOM. What did you end up using? I assume some sort of self tapping sheet metal screw but just thought i would ask.
 
the only thing holding me off from ordering one of these is the pending re-release of the supersonic (holding my breath here).

going through the BOM raises just x1 query:
is mouser really the only place to source the appropriate XLR jack?
 
I have all my parts except the tubes (on the way) and I was doing some tinkering with the boards to see how the xlr/transformer board was going to mount and realized the xlr jack didn't come with any screws. I ordered the part from mouser off the BOM. What did you end up using? I assume some sort of self tapping sheet metal screw but just thought i would ask.
Solid question. Since the jacks are plastic (aside from a small ground pin in the hole) it's pretty easy to "tap" them with an M3 screw so that's what I have on my build, but if you can find something approximately M3 diameter with coarser threads you may have an easier time getting it in there.
the only thing holding me off from ordering one of these is the pending re-release of the supersonic (holding my breath here).

going through the BOM raises just x1 query:
is mouser really the only place to source the appropriate XLR jack?
All the parts I need to build up the revised Supersonic boards should be here tomorrow (should have been yesterday, but customs decided to hold onto the package), and I will also have parts to do a more formal Nobelium build doc.

Mouser shouldn't be the only place to source the jack, that was just the first place I found. Amplifiedparts used to carry them, but they showed up in clearance a couple months ago and disappeared shortly after. The part number I list on the BOM is the Amphenol part number, there's a comparable Neutrik part that's the exact same dimensions and is a drop-in replacement, I just need to track down the part number. I've used Amphenol XLR jacks exclusively for a while so I don't know much about the Neutrik.
 
Tayda has panel-mount XLR jacks and M3 nuts+bolts. That's what I used when I needed one
That could certainly be made to work. In this case you would still have to PCB mount the jack as the ground lift switch and transformer are hanging off it, and the spacing and size of the mounting holes would have to be adjusted as they're different than the PCB mount variety mounting pattern.
 
Solid question. Since the jacks are plastic (aside from a small ground pin in the hole) it's pretty easy to "tap" them with an M3 screw so that's what I have on my build, but if you can find something approximately M3 diameter with coarser threads you may have an easier time getting it in there.

All the parts I need to build up the revised Supersonic boards should be here tomorrow (should have been yesterday, but customs decided to hold onto the package), and I will also have parts to do a more formal Nobelium build doc.

Mouser shouldn't be the only place to source the jack, that was just the first place I found. Amplifiedparts used to carry them, but they showed up in clearance a couple months ago and disappeared shortly after. The part number I list on the BOM is the Amphenol part number, there's a comparable Neutrik part that's the exact same dimensions and is a drop-in replacement, I just need to track down the part number. I've used Amphenol XLR jacks exclusively for a while so I don't know much about the Neutrik.
very exciting news!

good to know there's a neutrik alternative...

Tayda has panel-mount XLR jacks and M3 nuts+bolts. That's what I used when I needed one
looks like these x2 are the only ones that aren't right-angle mounted.


then there's the dimensions etc......
 
Are any of yall planning to use high end components?
I don't really know what the next step in quality is pass metal film resistors, wima film caps, and Panasonic electrolytics.
I was sort of trying to go this route - I'll be using the 0.1% Philips/Vishay MPR24 metal film resistors I used in my Clandestine build, Wima box caps, all Nichicon electrolytics, Lightning Boy transformer, and a pair of NOS RCA 6189s. I could have gone even more mojo with the fancy PIO caps and whatever but I don't like trying to shoehorn in parts that are much bigger than the PCB footprint.
I don't really belive high end parts make much of a difference, but since I'll probably be using the nobilium a lot, I might as well put great components in it. The placebo effect is powerful and I'm willing to pay a little more for a novel looking gutshot
Same!! :ROFLMAO:
 
Oh, has anyone purchased their Lightning Boy transformer yet? I forgot to give him a heads up that a handful of people may be buying them that probably haven't before, hoping he wasn't caught by surprise and he can still ship everything out pretty quick.
 
I purchased a handful of the xlr jacks so i have a few i can mess up, lol. I will get that sorted before i solder the transformer. Since i dont usually use those jacks i purchased more as a just in case. Plus i figured like most projects i do i would end up building more than one. One normal and one for mods etc. So it wont go to waste. I do wonder about that board getting held to the side of the enclosure with just two screws. It seems like they are supporting the jack, transformer and switch. And since the switch is board mounted it doesnt really offer support. Does this put a lot of stress on the plastic housing and screws? It seems if you flip the ground switch it will push in a little inadvertently and put stress on the same two screws as well. Have you though about some sort of standoff to give the switch side of the board a little more strength? I apologize if i am rambling. I already took my ambien and i am getting tired fast.
 
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