Titan II (Space Cadet)

[Chuck D. Bones]

It finally happened. I found a pedal I couldn't improve upon. As advertised, it's a simple circuit with a rich tonal palette. This pedal has four knobs: the three on the front of the pedal and the guitar's volume knob. With the guitar volume cranked, it's dense and bassy. Roll the guitar's volume back a bit and it opens right up. For that reason, this pedal needs to be first in the chain. I initially breadboarded it. Tried changing some component values but nothing I did made it sound better. The guys at Spaceman really nailed this one. Transistor rolling is always fair game in my book and I don't really consider that a mod. I ended up with Germanium for Q3. Someone here on the forums gave me those two Martian-looking transistors I used for Q1 & Q2; they are medium-gain Silicon NPN. I have a 33nF cap temp installed for C7 until I get some 27nF caps with my next Tayda order.

If you do put this pedal after another pedal, that pedal needs to have an output impedance of at least 10K.

Here it is before painting. I'm undecided whether to go with translucent blue, chrome, or an acrylic pour.

 

[cooder]

Noice!

 

[dawson]

Marvelous Martian mojo!

 

[SYLV9ST9R]

Very nice, calls for translucent blue IMO.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Finally got the paint on, labels and better knobs.

 

[jubal81]

Paint looks fantastic. At first glance, I thought it was anodized.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Thanks! I roughed it up with 60 grit sandpaper, then applied several coats of Krylon translucent stained glass paint.

 

[SYLV9ST9R]

Looks awesome, it was indeed the right colour choice

 

[jjjimi84]

Thanks! I roughed it up with 60 grit sandpaper, then applied several coats of Krylon translucent stained glass paint.
View attachment 10108

I was just at Ace looking at this stuff, how is it to work with?

 

[peccary]

Great work as always, Chuck! And I agree with jubal - I thought it was anodized at first as well.

I'm thinking of stealing your P Touch idea as well since I just can't seem to commit to more involved methods of labeling.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

I got the P-Touch idea from Jovi Bon Kenobi. Beside labeling pedals, I went crazy and started labeling everything in the house.

I'm about to graduate to film-less decals.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

I was just at Ace looking at this stuff, how is it to work with?

Takes a lotta thin coats. You can apply the coats a few minutes apart, so it doesn't take long.

 

[peccary]

I got the P-Touch idea from Jovi Bon Kenobi. Beside labeling pedals, I went crazy and started labeling everything in the house.

I'm about to graduate to film-less decals.

If I get one I'm probably going to take some time to re-label my component storage - it'll be the end of the "masking tape and Sharpie" era. WHo knows all the other things I could label!

 

[HamishR]

I got the P-Touch idea from Jovi Bon Kenobi. Beside labeling pedals, I went crazy and started labeling everything in the house.

I'm about to graduate to film-less decals.

So you live in the Bat cave now?? (Where did I put my Bat-soldering iron? If only I'd labelled it!!)

 

[HamishR]

I'm really interested in your write up, Chuck, because i have wondered about this one for ages. Thanks for the insight. I think I have to build one now.

 

[Kroars]

This circuit in particular has proven to be quite an enigma to me, despite the simple layout. I’ve built a few of them and only twice have I gotten the circuit to perform as it should. I’ve got two on my shelf right now that no matter which 2n2222’s (I’ve read the original uses 2n2222 between 160-190hfe) I use whether high, med or low gain it just sounds farty. Perhaps I should try different transistors altogether.

Just ordered some 2n3903’s and MPSA06’s, we’ll see how those fair.

Love the way this sounds on the demos I’ve listened.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

You need low hFE transistors for the biasing to come out right. The ones I used were around 60-ish. Part number does not matter, hFE matters.

 

[Betty Wont]

Transistor 2N2369

New England's source for guitar pedals, pedal parts and electronics.

smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com

I've found these to be the most consistent in this circuit. And as mentioned above, ~60hfe.

 

[Chuck D. Bones]

Only caveat when using 2N2369 is don't run 'em above 9V because they're rated for 15V max.