DEMO [Vero] DEFX Hooke / Spaceman Orion (analog spring reverb)

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owlexifry

Well-known member
not sure why i hadn’t seen this circuit/build earlier. i guess not that many have built this one.
but then one day i came across a vero build i saw on kaisertronics’ ig post.
did a search and looked like a handful of folks here have built it and done so very very well.

i was super keen on building one of these, and i almost went ahead with ordering a Hooke board from DEFX.
but that bypass switch business going on there just put me off.
I couldn’t think of a reason why the chuck bones simply relay bypass i’ve used previously wouldn’t work, so i went ahead with plans to use that and do it all on vero.

there’s a couple tricky parts, particularly the TDA7052B.
gonna have to thank @iamjackslackof for the tip on sourcing a TDA7052B. it’s an NXP. i ordered one and it works 🥳
ordered the TLE2426, the accutronics tanks (medium & long), and 1590J from banzaimusic.
otherwise everything else is pretty straight forward.

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during assembly, because of space constraints, i initially thought i would have to mount the tank directly onto the lid with screws through the tank’s mounting holes, so i carefully drilled holes and tapped the screws into the lid so i wouldn’t have to use nuts (it’s possible and it works). similar approach with the jewel lens.
i also had some pink foam carefully peeled from a Tayda enclosure bag slipped under the tank for cushioning.

i tried this with the medium tank and fired it up and it sounded pretty good.

i wasn’t confident this was the best way to do it. directly mounting the tank to screws in the lid would be prone to vibration right?. it was bugging me, i was losing sleep over it, so i decided to try and have a go at using some pickup mount springs.
drilled and tapped some new holes in the lid, and this time I mounted the long tank and prayed to the gods that the tank would still fit.
it did 🤟
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did some more things with the pink tayda foam to combat contact noise and vibration, and called it a day.
slipped on some old cupcake knobs that I used to have on my SLO 40W amp. i guess they kinda fit the Fender 6G15 vibe.

this was my first go at actually using the FX loop in my SLO100 build. Seems to function pretty well.

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it’s definitely not as beautifully well engineered/constructed as some others here have done, but it sounds great, so overall i’m pretty happy.

just x1 concern / disappointment:
it does make a bit of a quiet but noticeable seedy buzz/humming noise, that isn't there in bypass.
here's the strangest part - it's noticeable on the clean (normal) channel (and the little 5W combo), but hardly noticeable at all on the overdrive channel... 👽👾

i guess that's the downfall of vero. and to be fair the components on the board are pretty close to the tank. i probably could have done a better job of positioning the board away from the tank in the large 1590J, but with a vero bypass board as well, my routing options were getting very limited. ah well. at least i didn't have to post a troubleshooting thread 😅
 
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