What's in the mailbox? 📬 📦

[Fama]

New Tayda enclosures came! These ones look fine, maybe more saturated than I thought.


But I'm pretty disappointed with these two, they're way too dark and saturated.


Here's how the files looked for the first one:

All the detail in the neck area is just blown out. It probably could be related to using rasters instead of vectors, but it was all CMYK and so on as it should be, so I'm pretty disappointed. They're not ruined or anything, but it's a disappointment for sure.

 

[damianvila]

New Tayda enclosures came! These ones look fine, maybe more saturated than I thought.

View attachment 55187
But I'm pretty disappointed with these two, they're way too dark and saturated.

View attachment 55188
Here's how the files looked for the first one:
View attachment 55189
All the detail in the neck area is just blown out. It probably could be related to using rasters instead of vectors, but it was all CMYK and so on as it should be, so I'm pretty disappointed. They're not ruined or anything, but it's a disappointment for sure.

That could be because of the profiles used (or lack of use). I noticed that the colors of my enclosures were way off, and I just used 2 colors, and was all vector. I have my Mac and monitor calibrated, so either they use a very different profile from the standard Swop, or there’s something weird in their RIP. I think they use Roland’s VersaWorks RIP, so I’ll investigate a bit.

Btw: was the grayscale close to what you expected?

 

[Fama]

That could be because of the profiles used (or lack of use). I noticed that the colors of my enclosures were way off, and I just used 2 colors, and was all vector. I have my Mac and monitor calibrated, so either they use a very different profile from the standard Swop, or there’s something weird in their RIP. I think they use Roland’s VersaWorks RIP, so I’ll investigate a bit.

Btw: was the grayscale close to what you expected?

Yeah the grayscale was decent, it's... greener? I guess? Or also more saturated, but that's not an issue at all. At least it wasn't light gray as the one previous pdf looked like.

I just unwrapped the grayscale one, and there are actually three metal grains under the UV print, again not really an issue, but the quality is clearly lacking.

I don't mind the grains under the print since I don't think I can get anything near the same price in the EU, or at least haven't seen anything like that, but if someone who understands about the color profiles could maybe contact Tayda and ask what they use, that would be great. Or I guess I could also ask, I don't really understand much about them, but maybe I don't need to.

 

[finebyfine]

jumped on the hype train. thanks for the rec @KR Sound

View attachment 55171

For anyone interested in a DIY version of this:

I pulled up the SDS (safety data sheet) for 4140A and was surprised at how simple the formulation is and how plainly it's spelled out on the SDS. It's 75% IPA and 25% n-heptane by weight (specific gravities make it about 72% and 28% by volume - 9 fl oz heptane and 23 fl oz ipa for a quart)

You can buy heptane cheaply from art and photography stores under the brand name "Bestine" which is 100% heptane. You can also probably find it from philatelists who use it for removing stamps. Heptane is very expensive from chemical suppliers FWIW. I also wouldn't trust anything similar without confirming on the product SDS that it is 100% n-heptane. There's a reason MG Chemicals use it in their PCB / safe for most plastics formulation, and that's enough for me.

I paid $23 for this 1 quart bottle of 4140A (not an unreasonable price either IMHO!) and I just did the math and I can make my own quart for just shy of $10. That even that includes the price of the IPA which I always have on hand anyway. Without factoring that in it's like $6/qt.

I've used IPA/acetone mixes for removing flux before, which works much better than just IPA, but this stuff is night and day better.

 

[Bricksnbeatles]

For anyone interested in a DIY version of this:

I pulled up the SDS (safety data sheet) for 4140A and was surprised at how simple the formulation is and how plainly it's spelled out on the SDS. It's 75% IPA and 25% n-heptane by weight (specific gravities make it about 72% and 28% by volume - 9 fl oz heptane and 23 fl oz ipa for a quart)

You can buy heptane cheaply from art and photography stores under the brand name "Bestine" which is 100% heptane. You can also probably find it from philatelists who use it for removing stamps. Heptane is very expensive from chemical suppliers FWIW. I also wouldn't trust anything similar without confirming on the product SDS that it is 100% n-heptane. There's a reason MG Chemicals use it in their PCB / safe for most plastics formulation, and that's enough for me.

I paid $23 for this 1 quart bottle of 4140A (not an unreasonable price either IMHO!) and I just did the math and I can make my own quart for just shy of $10. That even that includes the price of the IPA which I always have on hand anyway. Without factoring that in it's like $6/qt.

I've used IPA/acetone mixes for removing flux before, which works much better than just IPA, but this stuff is night and day better.

Great info! I'll have to see if blick has Bestine when i go there next week to buy the rest of my supplies for the semester!

 

[Synchrony Pedalworks]

I had ordered the Moonn Electronics surprise pack and Space is Fun board and it finally came! Thanks to @RetiredUnit1 and @Bricksnbeatles for the advice. The package took longer to ship. I DM’ed the owner, but never got a reply until I got PayPal to intervene. Get this- PayPal immediately refunded me the amount. The next day, I got a response to my messages saying that he had run out of several PCBs and his Instagram posts indicating some personal problems. Since he contacted me, I connected with PayPal. I wanted to make sure that Moonn Electronics was paid for sending the boards. PayPal explained that they has a policy that they refund the money to the consumer, but will pay the company if they ship the product within a certain time frame. So, it was a win! Guess I can use that refund to buy some PedaPCB boards!

 

[Laundryroom David]

Tall boys and Lumbergs for a super special project.

 

[Silver Blues]

For anyone interested in a DIY version of this:

I pulled up the SDS (safety data sheet) for 4140A and was surprised at how simple the formulation is and how plainly it's spelled out on the SDS. It's 75% IPA and 25% n-heptane by weight (specific gravities make it about 72% and 28% by volume - 9 fl oz heptane and 23 fl oz ipa for a quart)

...

I've used IPA/acetone mixes for removing flux before, which works much better than just IPA, but this stuff is night and day better.

I made some of this formulation (approximately, I did 75:25 v/v) and used it on my most recent build and yup that shit works

 

[KR Sound]

Whenever I run out of the bottle of flux remover, I’ll be sure to make my own.

Going to make some patch cables and am trying out some different kinds. Got some Canare GS4 and some BTPA to compare to Mogami. Along with some SP400/500s and SPS4/5s.

 

[jwin615]

Can't build these yet.
Caught it on sale and got it new shipped for less than used reverb prices. Tried it out on bass for about 20 and it's really nice. Tracking is a non issue but it does clip the input(I assume that's what the red light indicates) pretty easily. Need to manual dive. Then editor dive(the editor on this looks like a full on vst synth).

 

[jwin615]

Whenever I run out of the bottle of flux remover, I’ll be sure to make my own.

Going to make some patch cables and am trying out some different kinds. Got some Canare GS4 and some BTPA to compare to Mogami. Along with some SP400/500s and SPS4/5s.

View attachment 55356

The woven shield on the btpa is a bit of a pain, but it's really good cable.
I use a straight pick to unweave it.
Then, twist one full circle and trim ~1/3 of the threads off. Even then, it's tight getting it to loop into the square jacks I bought(AliExpress versions that run ~70 cents in bulk).

 

[Harry Klippton]

The woven shield on the btpa is a bit of a pain, but it's really good cable.
I use a straight pick to unweave it.
Then, twist one full circle and trim ~1/3 of the threads off. Even then, it's tight getting it to loop into the square jacks I bought(AliExpress versions that run ~70 cents in bulk).

Got a link to those?

 

[KR Sound]

Got a link to those?

Ya, if they are close to these, then that would be a huge savings.

 

[jwin615]

Ya, if they are close to these, then that would be a huge savings.

50 pieces for $30+11
Note, these aren't the same as branded square plugs sold elsewhere, instead a cheaper version, from what I can tell. See that there's no teeth to bite/relieve the cable.
Had pretty good luck with them thus far but have to be careful with the screws. I feel like they could strip if not careful, but haven't done so yet. I used loktite on mine after "dry fitting" for a clearance check.
The cable clearance is a bit odd, so check it vs the cable you are using.
The btpa cable I bought(one of their patch cable varieties) was almost to large of an OD.
I've used lava cable solid core via on sale at small bear for most of the ones I've built so far. I did build a.few.with the btpa cable, but worried about the screws (without evidence) and stopped using it with these. The solid core threads the tab well and is just a bit to small OD which leaves room for a layer (actually 2)of heat shrink for strain relief.
I run one piece heat shrink internal only(solder joint to near end of casing), and a second that overlaps and goes about an inch external.
I really like the solid core, from a building perspective. No stays to worry about and no tinning needed. But you have to remember that it's solid core and not abuse it on the board.
I lip the conductor up toward the internal insulator and add a dap of liquid tape to the back(opposite conductor) side of the insulator to ensure it doesn't eventually eat through it. It shouldn't because it should never move, but it makes me feel better.
Also, I found it helpful to use a pick and offset the shield lug 15-20° via brute force.
It's press fitted so moves with a moderate amount of force.
I've made ~20 patch cables thus far with them. 1 failed after assembly which was likely on me. No others thus far.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mrJUgHY

 

[carlinb17]

Oh boy!

 

[MichaelW]

Heck of a mail day yesterday for guitar and pedal related stuff!

Sometimes, everything shows up on the same day!

This is going to be a long post for this thread......

First up, the ever efficient @Robert got my order from latest coupon code sale:
A couple of notables, you have all heard me prattle on and on about how much I love my General Tso compressor.
I've built a bunch of other compressors since that just haven't come close to knocking it off as my always on pedal.
So I decided to build a second one, for a couple reasons, 1) to try it with VTL54C's as per @manfesto and 2) to experiment with dual compressors using two Tso's. The rest of the boards are more of my "bread and butter" overdrive builds to keep me busy...



Next, I received the Sunday Handwound Jazzmaster pickups that were mentioned in @jjjimi84 Jazzmastery Rebuild thread. Thanks guys, just what I needed, another pickup winder to fall in love with........

They look cool, looking forward to installing them but my JM needs a bit of fretwork as well to chase down some buzzes. I haven't really touched it since I built it.




Then all the way from the Chibson Factory in Shenghzhou, China............a genuine Chibson truss rod cover for my genuine Chibson, so that my "Deluxe-ifying" of my Chibson Goldtop can be complete hahaha. (I actually I have no idea where it came from but I got it on AliExpress.



Then some strings from Strings and Beyond with yet another coupon code. I like these almost as much as my go to Ernie Ball Rock and Roll Slinky's for my 25.5" scale guitars and they're almost always a couple bucks less per set than the EB's.


Then from Smallbear, some Sprague PIO Tone caps. I've been experimenting a bit more with using .033uf tone caps for bridge pickups on short scale guitars. But there's been a shortage of my favorite Russian KY02 caps in .033. So these are .039, I thought I'd give them a try.

Never seen this type of PIO's before. Will be interesting to see how they sound.






Continued in next post....

 

[MichaelW]

Then finally, these showed up.....



Yes they are empty..... . I decided to get some hardshell cases for my Tokai's, since they will all be keepers.
My buddy that bought the two Tokai Les Pauls recently also got these "Crossrock" cases and recommended them.
They weren't "inexpensive" but they also weren't super pricey branded cases either.

Still, they LOOK better than they really are. They're a bit lightweight even though they claim to be 7 ply wood cases.
The fit isn't great and there's some slop if you shake the case with the guitar in it, even with the extra plush pads they supply.
If I had to gig these, I would have returned them. But as it is, these are just to protect my guitars as they go in and out of rotation of the "guitar closet".

The SG case was the best fit. But it needed the extra pads at the bottom.


The Les Paul cases were less of a good fit, even with the pads.


This is a faux tweed vinyl covering.






Oh and Bonnie the Wonder Dog was very excited about the cases when I was fitting the guitars. And at one point I guess she couldn't control herself and took a nibble......another reason I couldn't return them.......heh....little stinker......




They're certainly not G&G cases, but they'll do the job intended.


Next thing I'm looking for is some cases for my growing collection of "M-Line Guitars" so I can rotate my Strats and Tele's in and out of rotation.

What a day!!

 

[Harry Klippton]

Heck of a mail day yesterday for guitar and pedal related stuff!

Sometimes, everything shows up on the same day!

This is going to be a long post for this thread......

First up, the ever efficient @Robert got my order from latest coupon code sale:
A couple of notables, you have all heard me prattle on and on about how much I love my General Tso compressor.
I've built a bunch of other compressors since that just haven't come close to knocking it off as my always on pedal.
So I decided to build a second one, for a couple reasons, 1) to try it with VTL54C's as per @manfesto and 2) to experiment with dual compressors using two Tso's. The rest of the boards are more of my "bread and butter" overdrive builds to keep me busy...

View attachment 55486

Next, I received the Sunday Handwound Jazzmaster pickups that were mentioned in @jjjimi84 Jazzmastery Rebuild thread. Thanks guys, just what I needed, another pickup winder to fall in love with........

They look cool, looking forward to installing them but my JM needs a bit of fretwork as well to chase down some buzzes. I haven't really touched it since I built it.
View attachment 55488

View attachment 55489

Then all the way from the Chibson Factory in Shenghzhou, China............a genuine Chibson truss rod cover for my genuine Chibson, so that my "Deluxe-ifying" of my Chibson Goldtop can be complete hahaha. (I actually I have no idea where it came from but I got it on AliExpress.
View attachment 55490
View attachment 55491

Then some strings from Strings and Beyond with yet another coupon code. I like these almost as much as my go to Ernie Ball Rock and Roll Slinky's for my 25.5" scale guitars and they're almost always a couple bucks less per set than the EB's.
View attachment 55492

Then from Smallbear, some Sprague PIO Tone caps. I've been experimenting a bit more with using .033uf tone caps for bridge pickups on short scale guitars. But there's been a shortage of my favorite Russian KY02 caps in .033. So these are .039, I thought I'd give them a try.

Never seen this type of PIO's before. Will be interesting to see how they sound.
View attachment 55493

View attachment 55494

View attachment 55495

Continued in next post....

I'll need a full report on those caps on my desk by days end

 

[KR Sound]

Then finally, these showed up.....

View attachment 55496

Yes they are empty..... . I decided to get some hardshell cases for my Tokai's, since they will all be keepers.
My buddy that bought the two Tokai Les Pauls recently also got these "Crossrock" cases and recommended them.
They weren't "inexpensive" but they also weren't super pricey branded cases either.

Still, they LOOK better than they really are. They're a bit lightweight even though they claim to be 7 ply wood cases.
The fit isn't great and there's some slop if you shake the case with the guitar in it, even with the extra plush pads they supply.
If I had to gig these, I would have returned them. But as it is, these are just to protect my guitars as they go in and out of rotation of the "guitar closet".

The SG case was the best fit. But it needed the extra pads at the bottom.
View attachment 55497

The Les Paul cases were less of a good fit, even with the pads.
View attachment 55498

This is a faux tweed vinyl covering.
View attachment 55499

View attachment 55500

View attachment 55501

Oh and Bonnie the Wonder Dog was very excited about the cases when I was fitting the guitars. And at one point I guess she couldn't control herself and took a nibble......another reason I couldn't return them.......heh....little stinker......
View attachment 55502

View attachment 55503

They're certainly not G&G cases, but they'll do the job intended.
View attachment 55505

Next thing I'm looking for is some cases for my growing collection of "M-Line Guitars" so I can rotate my Strats and Tele's in and out of rotation.

What a day!!

That SG rules.

I went with the clear solder mask from OshPark and regret not being more creative with the copper. I’ll definitely have to keep it in mind next time. This is the Red Ranger from runoffgroove.

 

[damianvila]

More colors!