- Build Rating
Here's my Tube Bender Deluxe. This circuit draws inspiration from the Dinosaural Tube Bender (offered by PedalPCB as the Pipe Stretcher), but has been given the hot-rodded treatment by our resident circuit expert, @Chuck D. Bones. (I haven't built or played the Pipe Stretcher or Tube Bender, so can't make any comparisons.)
Forum resident @szukalski was nice enough to send me the Gerber files he made for the Tube Bender Deluxe, the Sheepylove Wooden Ewe. His board has a great layout, and went together just like one of @Robert's boards.
I got interested in this circuit after reading about the Dinosaural Cogmeister. That's a three-stage drive pedal, effectively a Tube Bender with pre- and post-boosts on either side. You can read about my interest in the Cogmeister in my Dragons Breath Boost build report.
Chuck's design calls for MPSA13 Darlington transistors. Those appear to be out-of-production. But a little research suggested that KSP13 is the same thing, and a readily-available current-production part.
The lower PCB is my buffered electrical bypass module.
Everything worked on first power-on. I really like how this sounds in non-turbo mode. Turbo mode ups the gain (and volume), but is a bit harsh to my ears (at least into a clean amp). I could definitely make use of this as a standalone drive, and I suspect something like a compressor or an amp on the edge or already breaking up would likely smooth out the turbo mode. My interest was actually using as a standalone edge-of-breakup and/or boost for my modified Animals Diamond Peak drive. I built this at the same time as my Dragons Breath Boost, so was comparing the two circuits in this role. I might give the nod to this Tube Bender Deluxe for that role, but more play time is needed.
Either way, definitely worth the build time. And at least for me, it's a novel circuit, given that it uses the pair of Darlington transistors.
I'm a little less happy with the cosmetics. The enclosure is a matte army green from Tayda. I love this color. The graphics are a Sunnyscopa inkjet waterslide decal, and I don't think black on this dark green really works. In the right light it looks pretty good. But at least half the time, the light is not right, and you can't even see the graphics. Once again, I need to step up and get on the UV printing train, as I think white or yellow on this dark green would be killer.
And of course, using Bender from Futurama was basically legal obligation for this build.
NOTE: I ordered the PCB from JLCPCB, who has a minimum order quantity of five. That means I have four spare boards, and I'm happy to give them away. Just shoot me a PM if you want one.
Forum resident @szukalski was nice enough to send me the Gerber files he made for the Tube Bender Deluxe, the Sheepylove Wooden Ewe. His board has a great layout, and went together just like one of @Robert's boards.
I got interested in this circuit after reading about the Dinosaural Cogmeister. That's a three-stage drive pedal, effectively a Tube Bender with pre- and post-boosts on either side. You can read about my interest in the Cogmeister in my Dragons Breath Boost build report.
Chuck's design calls for MPSA13 Darlington transistors. Those appear to be out-of-production. But a little research suggested that KSP13 is the same thing, and a readily-available current-production part.
The lower PCB is my buffered electrical bypass module.
Everything worked on first power-on. I really like how this sounds in non-turbo mode. Turbo mode ups the gain (and volume), but is a bit harsh to my ears (at least into a clean amp). I could definitely make use of this as a standalone drive, and I suspect something like a compressor or an amp on the edge or already breaking up would likely smooth out the turbo mode. My interest was actually using as a standalone edge-of-breakup and/or boost for my modified Animals Diamond Peak drive. I built this at the same time as my Dragons Breath Boost, so was comparing the two circuits in this role. I might give the nod to this Tube Bender Deluxe for that role, but more play time is needed.
Either way, definitely worth the build time. And at least for me, it's a novel circuit, given that it uses the pair of Darlington transistors.
I'm a little less happy with the cosmetics. The enclosure is a matte army green from Tayda. I love this color. The graphics are a Sunnyscopa inkjet waterslide decal, and I don't think black on this dark green really works. In the right light it looks pretty good. But at least half the time, the light is not right, and you can't even see the graphics. Once again, I need to step up and get on the UV printing train, as I think white or yellow on this dark green would be killer.
And of course, using Bender from Futurama was basically legal obligation for this build.
NOTE: I ordered the PCB from JLCPCB, who has a minimum order quantity of five. That means I have four spare boards, and I'm happy to give them away. Just shoot me a PM if you want one.
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