What’s on *YOUR* workbench?

lowpitch said:
A continuation of my post in the mailbox thread. Ordered a bunch of transistors to audition in a treble booster circuit. One of them was this KTD718 which turned out to be a little bigger than expected :D The thing is, it actually sounds pretty damn nice.

Here's a clip of the below circuit into a Marshall DSL100H:
View attachment 95313

For comparison, same circuit, same everything, but with a 2N5550 transistor:
View attachment 95314

Wouldn't have expected there to be that much high-end roll-off with the KTD718. Makes it sound much sweeter. hFE is 87 for the D718 and 135 for the 2N5550. I originally tweaked the circuit around the 2N5550 but it sounds so much harsher in comparison now.

View attachment 95311

And some more transistors to audition:

View attachment 95316

As you can see, I like to give myself option anxiety o_O
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Hmm, I'm wondering if there really is less high end on one, or if it's an illusion caused by the hiss? The hiss is obviously adding some high end content to it. But I guess even if it is the hiss, the end result is the same, plus obviously the hiss is very annoying (to me at least).
 
Fama said:
Hmm, I'm wondering if there really is less high end on one, or if it's an illusion caused by the hiss? The hiss is obviously adding some high end content to it. But I guess even if it is the hiss, the end result is the same, plus obviously the hiss is very annoying (to me at least).
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I think it's mostly the high-end response making it easier to hear all the noise. You can hear the same type of noise on the darker clip too, but it's much attenuated. It's not really hiss to me either, sounds more like EMI from my computer, tube amp and whatever is flying through the air, all being picked up directly by the world's worst breadboard, as there's zero shielding. Should be much better in a properly shielded enclosure - or so I hope :D

Edit: Just had a look at the D718 datasheet. It has a whopping 170 pF collector output capacitance. That's certainly going to cut some highs. Values from 3 to 6 pF are what I'm usually seeing here when Cob is specified in other BJTs' datasheets. I should be able to get a similar tone with the 2N5550 by simply adding an additional small capacitor from collector to base.
 
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It's time to rewire my old Japanese wonder.
Look at this crap!

tempImageQN7c0Y.jpg

tempImageL3EEXT.jpg

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It's 2 ancient on-off switches, VVT like a Jazz bass. B500k for volume and I guess A500k for tone, 100nF cap. For some reason the "luthier" who worked on it used a stereo jack so there are ground wires galore.
Look at that violet wire, who uses that crummy color?!
I can't see any ground wire for the shielding either.

This is the level with local techs. You can see why I had to take matters into my own hands.
 
https://soundcloud.com/user-913671490%2Fstoner-bee-demo%2Fs-hdaY7ZXxxmE

I did a super quick and dirty (well, uninspired might fit better - although it sure is dirty) demo for the Fuzzhead FX Stoner Bee. It was a bit much on the bass so I used an Acapulco Gold from PCBGuitarMania (hey, it was cheap as hell) instead, with clean blend and baxandall EQ.

FWIW I noticed that the domestic guitar parts site Uraltone started selling PedalPCB PCB's. But it looks like they're just flat out more expensive than ordering the PCB's myself? Right now a Low Tide PCB (by itself) would cost me $43 with shipping, 25% taxes on top and that's ~$54. The same PCB at Uraltone is 57,50€ plus shipping. I just don't see much point in the prices unless you're willing to pay extra to get it fast I guess? I know Robert doesn't set the prices, I'm not complaining, I'm just confused. Maybe they still sell at those prices?

There's a saying in Finland along the lines of "he is not dumb who asks, but the one who pays" which can refer to high prices too. Maybe someone will gladly pay that for just a single PCB for a pedal 🤷‍♂️

(for reference the Musikding Kit for Low Tide is 71€ which I think is a fair price for it, but that's a kit)

Edit: I didn't realize C2C is what I still think of as "Sushi Box", I might pick one of those up - $21 on his site, 20€ on Uraltone. Why is PPCB so much more expensive!?
 
Now that I’m done with college (other than attending the final crit for the class I TA, and going to graduation) I should have some time to take inventory of all of my stuff and see if I have all the parts needed to build any of the pedals I already have enclosures on hand for. I also have some builds that were all ready to go other than the off board wiring that I need to pick back up.
 
I recapped an old Peavey Classic 30 yesterday. Customer complaining of hum and all the tubes checked out so replaced all the big caps (they were horribly out of spec) and the 3ohm cement resistors. He'd already replaced the speaker with a WGS so it opened up the amp a bunch but damn I forgot how good a quad of EL84s could sound. The clean channel is stellar. Cleaned all the pots while I had the boards out.
 
Gordo said:
I recapped an old Peavey Classic 30 yesterday. Customer complaining of hum and all the tubes checked out so replaced all the big caps (they were horribly out of spec) and the 3ohm cement resistors. He'd already replaced the speaker with a WGS so it opened up the amp a bunch but damn I forgot how good a quad of EL84s could sound. The clean channel is stellar. Cleaned all the pots while I had the boards out.
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That was my first tube amp, with the 15”. I loved that thing!
 
Fama said:
Edit: I didn't realize C2C is what I still think of as "Sushi Box", I might pick one of those up - $21 on his site, 20€ on Uraltone. Why is PPCB so much more expensive!?
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Def the prices on PPCB products are out of control. But C2C really got my attention as I have a burnt Peavey amp looking to house some new organs. Or should I just go turret/p2p route? Dunno. Haven’t even decided circuit nor given time for testing power TX’s condition. Super Lead/Bass, CP103 or something else? Maybe starting a thread about it would be wise.
 
Bricksnbeatles said:
Now that I’m done with college (other than attending the final crit for the class I TA, and going to graduation) I should have some time to take inventory of all of my stuff and see if I have all the parts needed to build any of the pedals I already have enclosures on hand for. I also have some builds that were all ready to go other than the off board wiring that I need to pick back up.
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Congratulations on being done with college!
 
JohnnyCreepy said:
Def the prices on PPCB products are out of control. But C2C really got my attention as I have a burnt Peavey amp looking to house some new organs. Or should I just go turret/p2p route? Dunno. Haven’t even decided circuit nor given time for testing power TX’s condition. Super Lead/Bass, CP103 or something else? Maybe starting a thread about it would be wise.
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FWIW I think the C2C stuff is all pedals or preamps, so if you want an actual amp you would still need a power amp section. I think one cheap (and easy-ish?) solution would be to do a tube preamp and a solid state poweramp, maybe even some pre-made chip I've seen some people use?

A cooler (but much more expensive) option would be an amp kit, or if you're up to building an amp from scratch, of course. I think the transformers are a big part of the expenses, so if the power TX is fine that might make it much cheaper?

Edit: Oh and I also realized GuitarPCB is also very expensive, so it's not just PPCB, on Uraltone's site. Not sure why.
 
Fama said:
FWIW I think the C2C stuff is all pedals or preamps, so if you want an actual amp you would still need a power amp section. I think one cheap (and easy-ish?) solution would be to do a tube preamp and a solid state poweramp, maybe even some pre-made chip I've seen some people use?

A cooler (but much more expensive) option would be an amp kit, or if you're up to building an amp from scratch, of course. I think the transformers are a big part of the expenses, so if the power TX is fine that might make it much cheaper?

Edit: Oh and I also realized GuitarPCB is also very expensive, so it's not just PPCB, on Uraltone's site. Not sure why.
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Yeah, theres few options to look with planning. Have to say my component stash doesn’t really narrow the options available as I have salvaged f.ex. power transistors from old amps and have parts for a tube build.

Oh and I disassembled some old stage lighting which had some weighty iron on ’em and now have different sized big and small transformers. Saddly couldn’t find any info about ’em from the web and even though they seem proper, they’re most probably not suitable for tube projects. Knowing VA rating would be gold. Secodaries mention atleast 12V & 24V as they’re originally meant for solid state circuits. Have to push super low voltage AC through ’em and measure what secondaries show IF Peavey PT is truly gone.

Ultimately gonna keep the build simple as possible with guitar and bass inputs, 3x12ax7 & 2-4x6l6gc. I have Hammond OT with option for an UL connections. :)
 
Bricksnbeatles said:
Now that I’m done with college (other than attending the final crit for the class I TA, and going to graduation) I should have some time to take inventory of all of my stuff and see if I have all the parts needed to build any of the pedals I already have enclosures on hand for. I also have some builds that were all ready to go other than the off board wiring that I need to pick back up.
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Congratulations! What's next for you, become the new Josh Scott?
 
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