Still have to wire up the jacks and put the tubes in but almost ready. I kept all the graphics to a minimum as this was my first attempt with tayda UV printing and also illustrator. I intended to use skinny black knobs with it but I had rings around the pots and I messed up the Y coordinates on the treble pot and the rings are off by 1.5mm. I added instead of subtracted, lol. I also went with white since I couldn’t get the Roland white deck sorted in the iPad version which is all I have at the moment. Eventually I intend to do a black box with all red writing and red leds behind the tubes and red aluminum skinny knobs to finish the Tron master control vibe. What can I say, I am a child of the 80s.
Nobelium - tube bass preamp project
- Thread starter vigilante398
- Start date
Sorry to pester but is there an ETA on the build doc? Could do with the drill template, I'm in the UK so getting the drilled enclosure with the PCB would have made shipping extortionate.
Can figure out my own template if need be but if the build doc is in the works I can wait a few days.
Can figure out my own template if need be but if the build doc is in the works I can wait a few days.
KR Sound
Well-known member
Here’s the BOM:
Post in thread 'Nobelium - tube bass preamp project'
https://forum.pedalpcb.com/threads/nobelium-tube-bass-preamp-project.18932/post-237990
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
I wasn't planning to do a hand-drill template for this one because there is a rectangular slot on the side of the enclosure, which I imagine most people (myself included) don't have the means to do by hand. I do have a Tayda drill template that has been shared here.
Thanks, managed to miss that thread! Should be able to knock up my own. I'm far from a perfectionist, I don't mind making a bit of an ugly bodge for the switch hole on the side, and I've got a big step bit I bought to do an xlr on a previous project.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
Sounds good, yeah obviously a large circle hole or a series of smaller circle holes connected painstakingly is obviously an option for the slot, but I don't ask people to do things I wouldn't want to do. You are of course free to make your own template based on the Tayda template, with their center-referenced coordinate system it's pretty straightforward to do. Good luck!
And I hear you on the shipping cost, it didn't used to cost that much to get 15oz worth of padded envelope across the Atlantic, but here we are.
Guardians of the analog
Well-known member
What would be the point? I tried it and all the magic was lost. I ran it from the top output into the interface and xlr out, and xlr always sounded better. Cutting corners will only lead to disappointment. Having built it, I realize it's not a cheap build but with such a low parts count it means that every part has real impact on the overall tone and the transformer really part of the magic.
bhcarpenter
Well-known member
FWIW the transformer and power section are the big difference between this and the Noble. I’ve played both, and I prefer the Nobelium. I think the transformer is what I like better about it. 
bhcarpenter
Well-known member
Interesting tidbit: after chatting with @vigilante398 I’m actually running mine with V2 pulled because I’m not using the 1/4” out. The current draw is down to about 340mA that way.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
The 1/4" output will function without the transformer in place. It's not a bad sounding preamp without the D.I., but in my (incredibly biased) opinion it's not very special.
Fretless
Member
Without seeing the schematic, and given what info there is on Noble’s product page, it’s difficult to know the signal path, since I can’t read printed circuits all that well. Spending money on tubes and circuit boards, hah, so the DI part would be put aside for now if possible.
My main interest in it is that it has a high quality transformer.
My main interest in it is that it has a high quality transformer.
Fretless
Member
Thank you, Nathan! Just bought two. Cheers!
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
One of these days I'll get a more formal build doc put together with a schematic, I've been dragging my feet on build docs lately. Designing is always the most fun for me, building is honestly a little less fun, and documenting is always the absolute worst.
But here's a very rudimentary block diagram of the signal flow. You can see that the XLR output only uses the first tube, and the 1/4" output uses both tubes but would function just fine without the transformer.
Oh yeah, shipping cost being extortionate wasn't a jab at you at all, shipping costs what it costs, just wasn't economical for me, especially as I get heavily discounted raw enclosures.
Yeah I've translated a tayda drill template before, not hard at all just a bit tedious.
matmonster58
Active member
Are JJ tubes pretty consistent? I'm trying to decide if I should get a tested set from noble or save a little and pick up a set from a brick and mortar shop
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
They're pretty consistent, they're what I use for my customer builds and they've always been solid.
So I need to check one of these builds for some trouble shooting. Is there a safe way to discharge the caps on these quickly without just having to wait it out? I can’t really get to the bottom of the caps without pulling it and that defeats the purpose of safely discharging them.
vigilante398
Authorized Vendor
It only takes 10 seconds or so for them to fully drain, the SMPS is self-discharging.
With the same tube in, how much difference is there from a Sushi finally? (Soundwise)But here's a very rudimentary block diagram of the signal flow. You can see that the XLR output only uses the first tube, and the 1/4" output uses both tubes but would function just fine without the transformer.
