Stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

on the octave fuzz r6 and c4 form a RC Filter ... so you can use a different cap if you compensate with a different resistor too otherwise you are going to be playing with the tonality of the pedal for good or bad

on the electrovibe, keep in mind that the values there provide filtering for the 18 and 15v supplies ... you don't want to go lower (noise potential) and I don't have a good handle on what the upper limit should be on going larger at 2AM on a Monday morning. you could probably get away with 220uf but I wouldn't be surprised that there be monsters I didn't consider
re: octave fuzz and 2AM ... my answer was so incorrect. anyways the series resistance with the cap keeps the gain down and the response linear. this is the helios console preamp part of the octavia circuit. if you want to be a super genius like roger mayer you can change R5 to 100K and R7 to 220R and claim you've optimized the circuit to run on 9v instead of the 24V the console preamp ran at.
 
You know how something like a phase 90 or the BOSS PH3 requires a matched set of 4 JFETs for the phasing? How are these companies going about matching all these JFETs for their thousands and thousands and thousands of phase pedals made and sold? Even in the early days when they weren't as massive as they are now. Do they just have a dedicated person matching JFETs all day every day? Am I missing something?
Boss PH-3 is digital so that luckily saves Boss/Roland a ton of time on matching 😂
 
What's up with the number 47?

I get that you'd use multiples of 10 in component values for ease of math, but why is everything 47, 470, 470k etc?
 
Prefered numbers E series and logarithms.

Thanks!

Excerpted from the AI search results:
  • Preferred numbers are based on a logarithmic series, meaning the ratios between successive values are constant.
  • The number after "E" indicates the number of steps (or values) in the series per decade (a tenfold increase in value).

  • For example, the E12 series has 12 values per decade, while the E24 series has 24 values per decade.
  • The goal is to have a limited number of readily available values that can approximate a wide range of desired values, simplifying inventory and manufacturing.
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Very cool. I feel like I should have learned that long time ago!

I met my future wife in math class the third time I failed Geometry, so my experience with Logarithms before I got into pedals was limited, but now I know at least two things they're good for!

I'm gonna guess that 47 in particular comes up extra because it's the E12 approximation of 50 which would make sense to me as a useful common value.
 
Help! I'm plugging into The Metal Zone
Sound is metal-house, feel I need 'n' '80s Small Clone
My Whammy's been maxed until body met the bar
What can I play now mired in this genre's grimoire?

Help! I'm plugging into The Metal Zone
Sound is metal-house, feel I need 'n' '80s Small Clone
My Whammy's been maxed until body met the bar
What can I play now mired in this genre's grimoire?

Soon, eardrums will blow, when the Boss pedal hits the cone.
Soon, eardrums will blow, when the Boss pedal hits the cone.

When the Boss pedal hits the cone.
When the Boss pedal hits the cone.
 
metal zone's are actually rad if you understand them, I'll die on that hill :ROFLMAO:
I've had one other pedal with that complicated of an eq and my knuckle dragging ass watched the youtubes explaining it at least a half dozen times but would always just settle for the one setting I liked the most.
 
I've had one other pedal with that complicated of an eq and my knuckle dragging ass watched the youtubes explaining it at least a half dozen times but would always just settle for the one setting I liked the most.

oh yeah I don't use the damn thing but it's more than a can of bees lol. Confirmed knuckle dragger here, most of my layouts I do on my own are just to simplify everything into one knob designs :ROFLMAO:
 
There's a video where Ola Englund used one in his effects loop and compared it to putting it on front of the amp. It sounds much better in the effects loop.


I think I've also heard of people plugging into the Metal Zone and plugging it straight to the return of the effects loop, bypassing the front end of the amp altogether with good results.
 
And lots of ideas on the Internet on how to mod the MT-2 to an overdrive or even just an EQ pedal.

Would love to show up to a snobby jazz gig with an MT-2 on my bass-pedalboard... If only I knew how to play jazz, I'd DO IT!
 
And lots of ideas on the Internet on how to mod the MT-2 to an overdrive or even just an EQ pedal.

Would love to show up to a snobby jazz gig with an MT-2 on my bass-pedalboard... If only I knew how to play jazz, I'd DO IT!
or you could rehouse/disguise a few select builds inside gutted MT-2 enclosures and have the same effect 😸
 
FWIW the pre-dist voicing on the MT-2 is almost identical to the Ampeg VH140 (albeit using different circuits - gyrator vs. feedback loop hacks). Where the difference becomes noticeable is in the post-dist controls and voicing (big presence and resonance bumps + different tonestack). OK, clipping levels and methods are different, but at brute gain it is not that big of a deal. I think one can get good results in tinkering with the last stages, especially lowering the hi treble bump.
 
FWIW the pre-dist voicing on the MT-2 is almost identical to the Ampeg VH140 (albeit using different circuits - gyrator vs. feedback loop hacks). Where the difference becomes noticeable is in the post-dist controls and voicing (big presence and resonance bumps + different tonestack). OK, clipping levels and methods are different, but at brute gain it is not that big of a deal. I think one can get good results in tinkering with the last stages, especially lowering the hi treble bump.
that's probably why it rules, VH1404Lyfe
 
Given: Many pedals with a 9v battery installed will slowly drain if left with the input jack plugged in.

Question: If there is a 9V source also plugged into a switched jack but not applying power, will the battery still drain? i.e. Does plugging into the jack short the battery (+)? TIA
 
Given: Many pedals with a 9v battery installed will slowly drain if left with the input jack plugged in.

Question: If there is a 9V source also plugged into a switched jack but not applying power, will the battery still drain? i.e. Does plugging into the jack short the battery (+)? TIA
No. If wired correctly the swit8ches DC jack should open the battery feed
 
No. If wired correctly the swit8ches DC jack should open the battery feed
Thats because typically the input jack is shorting the "ground" (typically, but not always negative). That one's like a normally open set of contacts: inserting a mono plug into a stereo jack that has the load (circuit) tied to the ring and the "ground" tied to the barrel shorts the ring and barrel together. Boom. You've got continuity and a complete circuit.

The way this is achieved with a DC jack, typically, is through a normally closed switch on the barrel plug and whatever the circuit is using for "hot" (typically, but not always positive).

The circuit exists on the common side of the switch, the 9v battery exists on the normally closed side of the switch. Insert a barrel plug and the normally closed contact opens: the barrel jack physically pries two pieces of metal apart, so the battery is disconnected.
 
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