paulcalypse
Active member
- Build Rating
The Build
Wanting to get back to building after a couple-year break, I texted a friend and asked if he wanted a Low Tide Mini (LTM).
So I build two.
This is not a beginner-friendly build. Building two at once helped me a lot, forcing me to double-check (literally) every part of the build. Even between the time I boxed the first and then the second LTM, I felt I improved as a builder. Shout out to all the great posts on this forum that helped me along the way. I tried to link all my sources because I am a HS English teacher
A few things to look out for:
~Max component height of 7mm. The shorter, the better. My only "tall" components were the 1n caps.
~Get the right headers. The Tayda ones will make everything fit snuggly but will not leave much room for adjustment. Snug might be better so the boards stay married. On my first of the two builds, I used headers found on Mouser (links: 3 position, 4 position, pins). Pricy. These provided more room for adjustment, but with the 7mm cap height, it didn't really make a difference.
~Get extra 100uF caps because the BOM is slightly different than the full-sized Low Tide. Low Tide Mini docs still not available as of this post.
Biasing / Trim Pots
I have seen a few posts around referencing the MBP Pork Barrel document. Here's a helpful post with biasing instructions.
Apparently the original circuit chips are biased to 1.15v (GATE/LM258P?) and 2.3v (BBD/V3207D).
Measuring Pin 3 on the V3207D is nigh impossible when the board is assembled, but I traced the PCB to this third pin. Measure 2.3v there, and you are good for the BBD trimpot. I did it by ear first, and the values matched.
For the GATE trimmer, MIX full wet, GATE minimum, DEPTH minimum. I inputted a -10dBV signal from my cable tester and trimmed until quiet as possible. This will set the gate to be the most restrictive. I want to be able to fully filter loud signals. With this setting, at full GATE some highs are filtered out. I might readjust later.
Pictures
Problems and Pitfalls
DC jacks suck. I must have replaced three generic Lumberg-style DC jacks due to stripping, dropping signal. I ordered real ones from SBP, and it worked like a charm. I also had to build an audio probe to troubleshoot my second build. I traced it to a failed 2SK208-Y SMD. Replaced with a through-hole J201, now working fine.
Sounds
I actually prefer the sound of the Low Tide with no boost on. There's quite a lot of gain on tap with the VOL knob around noon for unity gain. On mine at least, the breakup/dirt is not pleasant. Maybe it's the J201s in my builds?
I would describe the effect as subtle most of the time, but you can get some really wild sounds out of this thing. I imagine a double-tracked guitar, one clean, one with the warble of LTM, could make a really cool pairing.
Of course, building two of these, I had to try it in stereo. I wasn't blown away, honestly. The soundstage felt very nervous and nauseated. It just sort of jumps around from left to right. For stereo, I felt they sounded best as a stereo chorus (sound example below).
My FAVORITE way to play with Low Tide is to put it last in the chain and feed into it something with trails, whether delay, reverb. The gate will just chew up your trails and reveal them as you play notes. Chase Bliss MOOD is great before this as Low Tide will tame the clock noise, which then allows the artifacts from MOOD to be a character of your guitar notes, not a distracting haze overwhelming your signal. Really fun application.
Sound samples below. I'm not the best player, but here ya go:
Thanks for reading my long post. Happy soldering
Wanting to get back to building after a couple-year break, I texted a friend and asked if he wanted a Low Tide Mini (LTM).
So I build two.This is not a beginner-friendly build. Building two at once helped me a lot, forcing me to double-check (literally) every part of the build. Even between the time I boxed the first and then the second LTM, I felt I improved as a builder. Shout out to all the great posts on this forum that helped me along the way. I tried to link all my sources because I am a HS English teacher
A few things to look out for:
~Max component height of 7mm. The shorter, the better. My only "tall" components were the 1n caps.
~Get the right headers. The Tayda ones will make everything fit snuggly but will not leave much room for adjustment. Snug might be better so the boards stay married. On my first of the two builds, I used headers found on Mouser (links: 3 position, 4 position, pins). Pricy. These provided more room for adjustment, but with the 7mm cap height, it didn't really make a difference.
~Get extra 100uF caps because the BOM is slightly different than the full-sized Low Tide. Low Tide Mini docs still not available as of this post.
Biasing / Trim Pots
I have seen a few posts around referencing the MBP Pork Barrel document. Here's a helpful post with biasing instructions.
Apparently the original circuit chips are biased to 1.15v (GATE/LM258P?) and 2.3v (BBD/V3207D).
Measuring Pin 3 on the V3207D is nigh impossible when the board is assembled, but I traced the PCB to this third pin. Measure 2.3v there, and you are good for the BBD trimpot. I did it by ear first, and the values matched.
For the GATE trimmer, MIX full wet, GATE minimum, DEPTH minimum. I inputted a -10dBV signal from my cable tester and trimmed until quiet as possible. This will set the gate to be the most restrictive. I want to be able to fully filter loud signals. With this setting, at full GATE some highs are filtered out. I might readjust later.
Pictures
Problems and Pitfalls
DC jacks suck. I must have replaced three generic Lumberg-style DC jacks due to stripping, dropping signal. I ordered real ones from SBP, and it worked like a charm. I also had to build an audio probe to troubleshoot my second build. I traced it to a failed 2SK208-Y SMD. Replaced with a through-hole J201, now working fine.
Sounds
I actually prefer the sound of the Low Tide with no boost on. There's quite a lot of gain on tap with the VOL knob around noon for unity gain. On mine at least, the breakup/dirt is not pleasant. Maybe it's the J201s in my builds?
I would describe the effect as subtle most of the time, but you can get some really wild sounds out of this thing. I imagine a double-tracked guitar, one clean, one with the warble of LTM, could make a really cool pairing.
Of course, building two of these, I had to try it in stereo. I wasn't blown away, honestly. The soundstage felt very nervous and nauseated. It just sort of jumps around from left to right. For stereo, I felt they sounded best as a stereo chorus (sound example below).
My FAVORITE way to play with Low Tide is to put it last in the chain and feed into it something with trails, whether delay, reverb. The gate will just chew up your trails and reveal them as you play notes. Chase Bliss MOOD is great before this as Low Tide will tame the clock noise, which then allows the artifacts from MOOD to be a character of your guitar notes, not a distracting haze overwhelming your signal. Really fun application.
Sound samples below. I'm not the best player, but here ya go:
Thanks for reading my long post. Happy soldering
