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I was blessed by someone and was given a beautiful 1590A Phase 90 PCB.  The Q2-Q5 FETs were SMD MMBF5458.  This is my first Phase 90.

I got it all soldered up and started trying to bias by ear, and there's only about a 0.0000000001 spot where I get much of a sweep.   I DO get a sweep, but it's not very intense like I'd expect.

I was told that I don't have to match the SMD JFETs because the tolerances are much tighter.

I also have a Rigol Digital O'Scope, but I have no idea how to use it to bias.  (I would LOVE it if someone had a tutorial on how to do this.)

Am I completely missing something here?  Maybe I really DO have to match the JFETs?  Maybe I just have to find a sweeter spot that's more like 0.000000000000000000001?

(I've had too many boards not work lately.  I hate being in a rut.)

Well, it's probably about time to let the cat out of the bag.  (This is what I had hoped to enter into the contest.  Silly newborn... and Mammoth was a week late.)

I've been working with numerous folks since September to try and design a looper that could at least semi-rival some of the commercial products.  I had a few goals in mind:
* Beat the price of the BYOC Super 8
* 8 loops
* Allow for more banks (99 banks, 4 patches each. 396 presets)
* MIDI In and Out
* Reduce off board wiring
* Offer more features
* Much better display than a simple RGB LED
* Eventual open source!

Other features:
* Buffered or bypass input
* Buffered tuner out
* Hard mute, available with external footswitch
* Soft mute occurs before patch changes to reduce click/pop
* Bank up / Bank down available with external footswitch
* Tap tempo to send to MIDI devices (hopefully in a future software update)
* External Aux footswitch. Not sure of purpose yet, but probably allows immediate manual control of loops
* ENIG PCB

What you see here is a prototype.  It is awfully close to what the final will be.  I had to learn a metric schlock ton of stuff to get to this point.

I have two issues that I'm still working out.
* If anyone knows how to get rid of noise from the OLED, please oh please help.
* I get some click/pop noises from the optofet. Probably need to tweak cap values.

I will be offering this as a kit.
* Aiming for $175ish + S&H
* Includes everything but wire
* INCLUDES ENCLOSURE!!!!
* International shipping will _probably_ be cost prohibitive.

There will be a patch editor available, eventually, for use in Windows, OS X, and Linux (I hope?) to assist in managing patches and MIDI commands.

Who's in?  Here's the pre-order form: https://goo.gl/forms/mfqwBJfCbjLxwiLA2

I figured we could all celebrate a little more this year (2016 was rough)!  I know that many of you had newborns in 2016.

Welcome to the world, Levi Armyn Daley, born 12/29 at 10:07pm.  He's a chunker, he eats nonstop, and he doesn't shut up (very much like me)!


My wife also got me my deeply desired Gretsch G5420T (Fairlane Blue) for Christmas this year.  She says she'll never be able to top this gift, and she's probably right.

I'm going insane, guys. I've tried both an H11F1 and now a TLP222G to do a mute. The H11F1 didn't work at all, and the TLP222G was able to reduce the volume, but not completely mute the signal.
I moved the TLP222G to a separate, small breadboard, and now it doesn't even reduce the volume. Am I missing something glaring? I need some help. Here's my super-simple schematic:


I've tried it with and without a CLR.  When it WAS helping reduce volume, I had no CLR. If I used a 4k7 CLR, it reduced the volume less.

I'm dying over here, guys!  I'm trying to design a new pedal, and am PRETTY sure it can fit in a 1590BB.  It'll be almost all SMD, so that helps to a degree.

I was using the Keeley Tone Workstation as a basis for layout (it looks like it can fit 7 knobs on a top row!), and it has top-mounted jacks. 


I also noticed pedals like EQD's Avalanche Run (while 1590BB vertical) fits the pots and jacks awfully close to each other. 


Does anyone have any pics of the insides of something like this?  I'm trying to get an idea of PCB/internals layout and am struggling with this.  I was going to use the switched, isolated jacks like EQD so I could easily board mount them.

Thanks in advance. 

(I may resign to a 1590BB Tall, but I'd rather fight to see if this is doable first.)

I know that we can obtain sub-mini SPDT and sub-mini DPDT (they're used in at least the 1590G builds here), but is there a sub-mini 3PDT anywhere?

Some of you have already seen this in the FB group.  But for those who haven't, I'm kind of proud of this one.

"Major praise to Branislav for this Pangea Vibe PCB. I have always tried to do PCBs smaller; this time, I used one bigger than any other I've ever done. It made me feel like I was cheating when getting it in the box!

This etch was my most ambitious to date. I realize it's nothing fancy, but it's considerably larger than any previous, and I tried some portions of reverse etch. My next goal is to do some form of paint fade."

Just finished boxing up my WIGL today.  Alone, it sounds perfect.  However, I tried a few different effects in front of it, and as soon as I turn on the WIGL, it squeals something awful and kills my ears.

Any ideas what may cause this?  Where do I even being to troubleshoot?

Thanks,
Kyle

The wife and kid are headed out of town for about a week.  I have a million things I want to do, which makes me feel overwhelmed, which makes me shut down.

* I want to finish my nano+ pedal board, but that means I have to make a Deep Blue Delay in a 1590A, a Zendrive and/or TS808 in a 1590LB, and some for of distortion.
* I want to finish all of the 1590G builds (8 of them), which is just too much design, sanding, etching, sanding, painting, sanding, soldering.  This is probably my lowest priority.
* I want to box up a "hundred" boards that are sitting in a box in a working state.
* I want to play Overwatch non-stop.
* I want to watch The Last Ship, Season 2 (I can do this while soldering).
* I want to figure out why my CE-2 clone's wet bass mod isn't working right.
* I want to find the right diode combination on my King of Tone clone (and then box it up, which requires me to be a drill ninja).
* I want to figure out why my Suhr Riot clone doesn't sound different (enough?) with the different clipping diodes.

The last three are like a rash that irritates you and just won't go away.

I wish I could just outsource my enclosure work.   I also wish I had a local friend that did this (and could share the joy) with me.  Then we could work together.

What would you guys do if your family was away for a week?

Kyle

Anyone else built the Glam and noticed a decent volume loss when engaged?  I get beautiful chorus, but the volume is too low.

EDIT: My TP is 6.9DCV, and I can't get it any lower with the trimmer.

Thanks,
Kyle

You guys have no idea how excited I am for this NGD.  13 years ago, my "baby" Epi Les Paul (translucent blue) was stolen by my ex band mates.  Since then, I have dreamed of replacing her.

Yesterday, I (sadly) traded my Marshall JCM2000 DSL100 head for this beauty.  Even trade, no cash needed!  Can't wait to start tapping those Gibby coils!

I'm in the process of finishing up my CL2015, and it sounds pretty stinkin' good (at least in the biasing part).  However, I can't get rid of the distortion (sounds more like overdrive).

I'm using 9V and a MN3007.  The flange turns on at the last... 1/8th? of the BIAS trimpot.  It sounds best when BIAS is fully clockwise.  However, that's still not enough to get rid of the distortion.  CLOCK doesn't seem to affect it.

I've tried both my Tele and my Schecter C1 (with passive 'buckers).  It's better on the Tele, but still not perfect.

I read to try 15V, so I'll put that on my list.  I also think I saw something about a 22pF cap?

Any tips for me to get this distortion gone so it can be a usable effect?

TIA,
Kyle

I bought an NSL-32 from smallbear, and something doesn't quite FEEL right.

1. The short leads are the LED, right?
2. The dot indicates the cathode (-)?
3. What resistance should I get when it's on?  Off?

Have you guys seen this: http://www.xvive.net/products.asp?sid=189?

Any ideas on how we can obtain the 4/2?

Hey all.  A while ago, I bought a Blues Jr.  It's my first small tube amp (I have a Marshall JCM2000 DSL100), and like most DIYers, I want to mod it.

I ordered the basic kit from Bill M back at Thanksgiving, and have heard NOTHING.  I've sent numerous emails, and keep an eye on his website.  The problem is, the basic mod doesn't appear to be documented.

Even if the bass and mids are set to 0, and treble turned up, it's still waaaaay too bassy/muddy to me.  Everyone talks about too much 'sparkle,' and I feel as though I get ZERO.

Anyone have any recommendations aside from "burn it, sell it, or whatever."  I want to make this small amp great, just like the ones I've heard at my friends' houses.

TIA,
Kyle