Topics

http://sos-oh.blogspot.com/2012/02/sub-commander-guitar-synthesizer-part-1.html
uh, anyone speak Japanese? -preview

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/09/18821405-going-beyond-om-yoga-masters-nurture-holocaust-survivors-with-food?lite

made me smile and almost cry.  good people are in every nation, culture, city town, and farm and village.
ok i cried a little.

(this is ditto'd with byoc or vice versa, or something)
Found out today I have cancer again.  (testicular first time)
melanoma this time.  on my hip beneath the waist line.  I would have to line up a mirror to get sunlight there.
They think it might be in my kidney area too.  50-50, more or less.    (that one is abnormal not malignant so here's hoping)
sucks.

I go on Monday to get carved up.  My wife said if it was bad I would wake up surrounded by high class hookers.  I told her I already spend too much time with her girlfriends and they're middle class at best.  She gets my jokes.

No big bills yet or other crap.  I will ditto this at BYOC too.  FSB would just tell me the tumor's blood flow is wired like an amatuer bootweaker.    

Keep my wife and son in your thoughts and prayers.
He just wants me to be well enough TO FIGHT!

I hope to use my down time to use Eagle much better.  and end world hunger.  nah, eagle.
cheers
charles

A colleague has heard my pedals and has approached me about building him a champ 5f1 amp over the summer.  He will supply the parts.
I am not an amp builder.  Ruby doesn't quite count.
Is it going to be smarter to buy a kit or use the BOM and source the parts myself?
I do not need a chassis or cabinet.  I can build the can and my dad is a retired pipefitter and will weld me a  great chassis.

This would be a nice kit for those of us ready to dive into smd building.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/0805-smd-resistor-63value-3025pcs-capacitor-17value-700pcs-kit-smt-box-/170794613167?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c426f9af
I am not going smd yet, but this would be a nice gateway purchase.

It is pissing me off at byoc.

Does anyone have a single sided etch image?
I cannot find one.

Does anyone know of cheap maybe chinese clones of guitar speakers that are affordable?  10 or 12 inches hopefully.

I am giving guitar lessons to needy kids at my school as part of a rehab program for abused children.  None of them have amps.  I raised money for squier guitars from area businesses, but I will have to pay for amps from my own pocket.  I was thinking I would build each of them Rubies, but the kicker is the speaker.  I want them to have something worth keeping so  I want to avoid 3 inch speakers or some bargain bin stuff.  I want reasonably useful 12 in speakers in case I have a student or two with some talent.  I don't want a student to be frustrated with the amp and get turned off.  Most of these children have anger issues and do some slightly irrational things when the going gets tough (due to bad past events).

So let me know if you know of a source or product you think fits this description.  This is probably good info for all of us DIY types anyway.  Merry Xmas again to all.  I hope it is a happy day.  and every other day also.

I had an innovative moment today.  write that down.

My 3 yr old was going to the mall to see Santa today.   HE STILL BELIEVES!

I had the idea to send my wife to a dept store with my son, and I went to Toys R US, bought two boxes of dinosaurs, and went to stand in  line for santa myself.  I reached Santa and gave him the boxes of dinosaurs and asked him and his photographer to give them to the little boy coming in a few minutes with me and gave them his name and told them he asked for teenage mutant ninja turtles and is being whiny.  I also bought a nice package of photos of course.
And I bring the boy to Santa, the Jolly old Elf says "hello Hayden.  You know you have to stop whining to stay on the good list.  The elves are wrapping some TMNTs for you and I have something special for you."  Out comes the dinosaurs.  My son is mesmerized, awed and ecstatic.  and now he will believe in Santa for a couple more years.  He believes in the magic of Santa.  And so do I again.

Thank you Santa.
love, charles (and Hayden)

Thanks to everyone who bought some items to help fund Xmas during my money crunch this month.  We are surviving and the worst is over.  And those are some freakin sweet dinosaurs.  +1 byoc, madbean and dyi community.  good jerb, my friends.  I owe you.

The experts like skreddy say the 1kc pot for fuzz is a key to getting the increase in gain throughout the pot's rotation. 
I have 5kc pots.  How will these affect the pedal?  I know putting a resistor across the legs to get 1k resistance will change the taper and might make it more linear than antilog.  SO how will a 5k change the fuzz?
increase, decrease or what?

I tried 1kB on a lunar modeule type fuzz AND the fuzz is all in the last 10% of the rotation.  Not that great.  All or nothing is poor form for a pedal that should be very versatile.

I have a couple of question about this one.
Has anyone used this pedal with  compressor?  Do you use it before or after in the chain?
I was thinking it would go before the compressor, but was wondering if anyone had experience.
Thanks for reading...

ALber pedals
http://www.ebay.com/sch/Guitar-/3858/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=alber
Has anyone had a chance to listen to one of these pedals?  Experience tells me they are all clones of well-known pedals.  I just wonder if they are good enough to recommend.  I have lots of teenage students asking for cheap pedal recommendations and am always on the lookout for good cheap products for them.  $30 buck is good for kids.

Does anyone have the pdf madbean made for paulC's fat bastard?
I had one, but that was a hard drive ago.

I just found this on Jack Orman's blog.
It is a link to a graduate level analog electronics textbook that looks very useful to people like us

link to Orman's blog:
http://www.muzique.com/news/
Sept. 18 is the one.

here is what it says for the lazy:
"ANALOG SEEKrets (DC to daylight) is a text book for senior under-graduate electronics designers and final-year physics students taking an electronics option. It will also be useful to recent graduates who seek increased skill in the field of electronics design. Even seasoned "digital engineers" will benefit from the analog insights presented in this book.

Free download: http://www.logbook.freeserve.co.uk/seekrets/

A big thanks to Leslie Green for making his book available!"

there is also a rapidshare link for it.

Has anyone had any experience with retrovalves distributed by Jet City amps.

Saw them in a review here
http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?t=245224
tracked them to the original website
http://retrovalves.com/About.aspx
including listed patents involved.

Here is the jet city order page:
http://www.jetcityamplification.com/retrovalves/

Has anyone had any experience or heard them?  how do they sound?
Any idea what is inside?
Just curious about an intresting item.

I want to hear everyone's opinion on pedalboard buffers and why they think they are great.

Which one floats your boat, gentlemen and ladies (perhaps)?

I have several buffer circuits on the harddrive and little idea how most of them sound or affect tone and so on...

I am finally building my grapevine I purchased 18 mos ago.

I want to wire the rock/rawk switch 3pdt switch and I am not skilled enough to lay it out.
I have read posts from other members about this, but I have searched and cannot find a wiring diagram for the footswitch.
Can anyone please show me how to wire the switch?
thanks.  I hate to ask for stuff, but I am trying to do this the correct way.