Virile Boost (Fuchs Plush Pure Gain)

[MichaelW]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

Lest anyone think that all I do is futz around building Teles, I've got a couple of belated build reports for pedals I built last week.

First up is the Virile Boost.

My Dumble style amp does not have the built in FET boost that's in many D style amps. Although I don't believe John Mayer's Dumble #102 has it (which is what the VHT is based on).

I ordered some of the new boost boards from @Robert to see if I can build one that sounds good with my amp.
This one is a FET based pure clean boost. It's supposed to be pretty transparent but I'm definitely hearing some added presence when it's on.

It sounds good, but it's also nothing that I can't get out of the Cleaver or FDIC boosts I've already built.
The BOM calls for 2SK170 JFETS. Which I didn't have, so I used a pair of J113's. One is for the boost and the other is an output buffer.

I biased it by ear. Trimming it there's definitely a point where it sounds the most clean and has the most gain.

Cool little clean boost but I'm not sure it's kicking anything out of my signal chain for now.

 

[szukalski]

Nice. So what's your boost preference? Modus still reigning king?

 

[MichaelW]

Nice. So what's your boost preference? Modus still reigning king?

Pretty much, the Modus for most boost duties. Really sounds great pushing an amp. Right now I also have the Cleaver V2 for a more transparent clean boost and I've also gone back to using the FDIC (Fulltone 2B). It's also pretty clean and transparent but I like that it's a buffered boost and the "Dynamics" control is pretty neat. I have on deck, the Dielectric Boost (Tchula), the Enchanted Boost (JHS Mr. Magic)
and the Double Jeopardy (JHS Dual Boost). I think I also want to try the Obtuse Boost (Fulltone FB2).

 

[VanWhy]

Looks great. So clean.

 

[lrgaraujo]

Nice job! Clean as always!
Have you had to twist the knobs on the transistors? I thought the pinout on the J113s was differente from the pinout on the 2sk170s, but it doesn't look like you did

 

[MichaelW]

Nice job! Clean as always!
Have you had to twist the knobs on the transistors? I thought the pinout on the J113s was differente from the pinout on the 2sk170s, but it doesn't look like you did

Yes I did, it was a pain in the rear to get them itty bitty legs twisted and not touch.

 

[lrgaraujo]

Yes I did, it was a pain in the rear to get them itty bitty legs twisted and not touch.

I've been there, I know your pain

 

[notTHEwillienelson]

Lest anyone think that all I do is futz around building Teles, I've got a couple of belated build reports for pedals I built last week.

First up is the Virile Boost.

My Dumble style amp does not have the built in FET boost that's in many D style amps. Although I don't believe John Mayer's Dumble #102 has it (which is what the VHT is based on).

I ordered some of the new boost boards from @Robert to see if I can build one that sounds good with my amp.
This one is a FET based pure clean boost. It's supposed to be pretty transparent but I'm definitely hearing some added presence when it's on.

It sounds good, but it's also nothing that I can't get out of the Cleaver or FDIC boosts I've already built.
The BOM calls for 2SK170 JFETS. Which I didn't have, so I used a pair of J113's. One is for the boost and the other is an output buffer.

I biased it by ear. Trimming it there's definitely a point where it sounds the most clean and has the most gain.

Cool little clean boost but I'm not sure it's kicking anything out of my signal chain for now.

View attachment 48615

View attachment 48616

@MichaelW I was just looking at this board, but there are no build docs on the page. Where did you find the BOM?

If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate you input since it seems you've tried a few boost circuits. I'm looking to build a pedal for a bass player who has an active bass and a passive bass and wants to be able to swap them out without needing to adjust anything at the amp. The Virile sounds like it kinda fits the bill to give the passive bass a buffer and adjustable boost to compensate for the output difference. Do you know of another option that might be better? Doesn't need any tone shaping control or dirty gain.

 

[MichaelW]

@MichaelW I was just looking at this board, but there are no build docs on the page. Where did you find the BOM?

If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate you input since it seems you've tried a few boost circuits. I'm looking to build a pedal for a bass player who has an active bass and a passive bass and wants to be able to swap them out without needing to adjust anything at the amp. The Virile sounds like it kinda fits the bill to give the passive bass a buffer and adjustable boost to compensate for the output difference. Do you know of another option that might be better? Doesn't need any tone shaping control or dirty gain.

Hey @tonekilltech , the values are printed right on the PCB and I just built it according to the silkscreened values. It's a pretty simple circuit with minimal components.

Regarding your bass player friend, yes, this and any other number of clean boosts would do the trick. If he's not looking for any tone shaping and just wants a pure clean boost when he switches to passive pickups then this would work well, it's a very transparent boost.

I could also recommend the Cleaver boost (Keeley Katana) although that one has some tone shaping toggles, but with the toggles defeated it's also a very transparent boost. Another one is the "Transcendence Boost" (Creation Audio Labs MK.4.23 Clean Boost).
Any of those would do the job.

Hope this helps!

 

[notTHEwillienelson]

Hey @tonekilltech , the values are printed right on the PCB and I just built it according to the silkscreened values. It's a pretty simple circuit with minimal components.

Regarding your bass player friend, yes, this and any other number of clean boosts would do the trick. If he's not looking for any tone shaping and just wants a pure clean boost when he switches to passive pickups then this would work well, it's a very transparent boost.

I could also recommend the Cleaver boost (Keeley Katana) although that one has some tone shaping toggles, but with the toggles defeated it's also a very transparent boost. Another one is the "Transcendence Boost" (Creation Audio Labs MK.4.23 Clean Boost).
Any of those would do the job.

Hope this helps!

Thanks, that is helpful! I've built a couple pedals with boards from pedalpcb and others, and I forgot the pedalpcb boards have the values while several others don't.

If I get the Virile built, I'll report back on how it handles the job.

Brad

 

[notTHEwillienelson]

@MichaelW do you happen to recall which transistors it called for / you used? I noticed there's another thread that mentions the original transistor is not available and there's some discussion regarding a suitable alternative but no conclusion.

 

[szukalski]

@MichaelW do you happen to recall which transistors it called for / you used? I noticed there's another thread that mentions the original transistor is not available and there's some discussion regarding a suitable alternative but no conclusion.

You mean for this build? Where he mentions in the first post "The BOM calls for 2SK170 JFETS. Which I didn't have, so I used a pair of J113's. One is for the boost and the other is an output buffer."

 

[MichaelW]

You mean for this build? Where he mentions in the first post "The BOM calls for 2SK170 JFETS. Which I didn't have, so I used a pair of J113's. One is for the boost and the other is an output buffer."

Thanks...

 

[notTHEwillienelson]

You mean for this build? Where he mentions in the first post "The BOM calls for 2SK170 JFETS. Which I didn't have, so I used a pair of J113's. One is for the boost and the other is an output buffer."

Thanks. I have the short-term memory of a hamster.

 

[notTHEwillienelson]

@MichaelW The 1uf tantalum caps in this one, would it be problematic to substitute electrolytics? Tantalums seem to be hard to get in a reasonable time frame. I ordered some from Amazon that said they'd be here in 2 days, then after I placed the order it changed to mid November. Haha! Otherwise, I'm done with the circuit. Thinking about trying the electrolytics just to see what happens.

 

[MichaelW]

@MichaelW The 1uf tantalum caps in this one, would it be problematic to substitute electrolytics? Tantalums seem to be hard to get in a reasonable time frame. I ordered some from Amazon that said they'd be here in 2 days, then after I placed the order it changed to mid November. Haha! Otherwise, I'm done with the circuit. Thinking about trying the electrolytics just to see what happens.

It shouldn't make a lot of difference tonally. Where are you located? Are you in the US? DM me your address and I can pop a couple of tantalums in the mail to you. I can't remember what these were, are these all 3 1uf?

Also, I would not recommend using tantalums from Amazon, not that the quality is poor but my experience is that they are usually way off on the values. The best place to get good ones for a reasonable price is Smallbear. But their stock seems to be wonky most of the time.

 

[Deperduci]

if in the US, Digikey has most tants and arrive within a week along with decent quality.

 

[notTHEwillienelson]

I used 1uf electrolytics for the 3 tantalums, and it sounds great with bass. Does exactly what I wanted it to do. I think I'm gonna leave it as is. Coincidentally, I just looked at the Fuchs webpage for the Plush Pure Gain, and this is what it says. Lol



Thanks for the offer to send some! I'll probably order some soon for future projects. I've only ordered from Small Bear once before. Seems like they're always out of something on my shopping list.

 

[bluedmc777]

@MichaelW Just curious if you finished building all those boosts you listed and if the Amp Mode is still on top for you. I’ve always been curious about the Fulltone FB2 because of the dynamics feature. It’s it a clean machine? I like a little push like a bad Bob but I can ever get my mini boosters to sound like one. Isn’t the Prestige based on a similar diy classic? Cant think of the name.

Have you ever tried the Durham Sex Drive or HAO Rust Driver as boosts?

 

[MichaelW]

@MichaelW Just curious if you finished building all those boosts you listed and if the Amp Mode is still on top for you. I’ve always been curious about the Fulltone FB2 because of the dynamics feature. It’s it a clean machine? I like a little push like a bad Bob but I can ever get my mini boosters to sound like one. Isn’t the Prestige based on a similar diy classic? Cant think of the name.

Have you ever tried the Durham Sex Drive or HAO Rust Driver as boosts?

I like the FB2 (Obtuse) but I like Mad Beans version a little better (I've built both). It's basically a Orman boost but @bean 's version you can push to clip a little bit. Both have plenty of clean headroom and the EQ section is dandy. Having said that, the most recent ones that I've built is the Betty Boost and the MBP Fireaxe. Both are pretty cool boosts that can add a lot of body and bottom end.

But permanently in my signal chain I have the Modus (still my #1), the Fuchs Plush (Virile) and 2x Clandestine preamps, one in front and one in the EFX loop as the last pedal in the loop. I don't use them all at the same time but I use one or the other depending on the guitar/amp combination and the Clandestine in my EFX loop is an always on at unity gain.

I have not built either the Rust driver or the Sex Drive.