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Messages - Bluestrat

#61
Build Reports / Re: Grapevine Build - 50's time machine!
December 16, 2011, 02:00:32 AM
Quote from: slimtriggers on December 16, 2011, 01:41:31 AM
Love the Steampunk look!  And the socketed off board wiring is a brilliant idea 8)  Did you have to attach anything to the ends of the wires to fit the sockets?

Thanks! I was using some less than stellar 24awg stranded and had to attach leftover wire from resistors. This works great but is a little time consuming. I've had really good pre-tinned wire that works well without the addition of the solid wire with the sockets. After my first build where I must have taken it apart a dozen times to trouble shoot I decide to just socket till I build a test rig. I'm going to try solid and see how that works next.
#62
Build Reports / Re: Grapevine Build - 50's time machine!
December 16, 2011, 01:17:22 AM
Quote from: pryde on December 16, 2011, 12:48:19 AM
Wow. very cool build. Is the large knob for volume or gain?

Thanks for the good words. Big knob is gain, small left is volume and small right is tone.
#63
Build Reports / Grapevine Build - 50's time machine!
December 16, 2011, 12:32:23 AM
Finished this about 2 weeks ago. Love the sound of this. Didn't know how much I like that Marshall grind :o I really like all of the od's I've built but this may be my favorite so far. Stacks really well with all my pedals. Both gain modes are musical and play well with my strats. Great sound! This is in a 1590B with a silver hammered finish from a spray can. The large knob is a 50's or 60's vintage piece. Thanks to Haberdasher for the excellent board and thanks to all the posters here. I'm learning lots of good things here!  ;D

#64
Build Reports / Re: Neutrino & Glitteratti
November 01, 2011, 11:30:32 PM
Quote from: mjcyates on November 01, 2011, 10:40:48 PM
Well I was very impressed and inspired by Bluestrat's Fat Pants build so I had to build a couple of pedals. Sorry Bluestrat for blatantly using your idea but I loved it.

Hey, I'm flattered.  ;D Glad to inspire. I think you tool it to the next level. We are all building on someone's shoulders. I think that's what this forum is all about. They look great! They have kind of a retro Sci-Fi look. Great knobs too! Congrats.
#65
Build Reports / Re: Mo Muff And a bit of Peach Fuzz
October 19, 2011, 10:52:10 PM
Quote from: bigmufffuzzwizz on October 19, 2011, 09:47:21 PM
Second is an awesome muff/fuzz variant. Arcylic paint by my lovely girlfriend, I think she did such an awesome job.

Great enclosure!! Think your girlfriend has a new career :D
#66
Quote from: eldanko on October 17, 2011, 04:19:38 PM
Never thought about shielding the transistor leads.  Anyone else do this?  Big difference?  My fuzz does have a tendency to pick up radio stations sometimes...  :D

Quote from: stecykmi on October 17, 2011, 04:36:04 PM
they're more insulated than they are shielded. i think people do this just so they don't have to cut the leads so much. in case they want to rip them out they've still got a lot of usable lead left.

Yes, i did that to insulate the lead (cause I'm obsessive ;D) and for the way it looks. I just like it. I also had radio pickup with this pedal. Several forum members suggested I put a small cap on the input and it works great. You can see that on the input jack in the photo. I used a 100pF Ceramic Disk cap from the tip to ground on the input jack.
#67
Quote from: stecykmi on October 17, 2011, 12:01:31 AM
Beautiful build, but C3 is the cap you'll want to switch if you want to change the output. C4 is just power supply filtering and has no effect on the frequency characteristics.

Oops :( Looking at the schematic you are right. Somewhere I had read here that I should change C4 but I can't find it and even so it must not be right. Thanks! Easy enough to swap the switch. I do get a slight change in the mids with the C4 but not as much as I had expected.

Any suggestions on what caps to use in C3 to lower the bass output?
#68
Build Reports / Mangler with Mods - 2nd Madbean build
October 16, 2011, 10:17:41 PM
Mangler with 25k Bias knob, switchable output caps. trans copper enclosure from Pedal Parts, matched NOS American Germanium trans from Small Bear, NOS Rogan knobs and Fender amber amp jewel. Small cap on the input is to filter out RF noise.

Great sound! Warm, very volume sensitive. Having the bias knob up top lets me get a variety of tones. I wanted a little cut in the bass so I added a 22uF cap on the switch with the stock 47uF. Not a huge difference but a little brighter mids and a touch less bass. I've only owned one other Fuzz Face, a mid 90's Dunlop that I couldn't use. This is a completely different animal. Didn't know what I was missin'  ;D

#69
Build Reports / Re: 1st Madbean Build - "Fatpants"
October 16, 2011, 12:22:18 PM
Quote from: madbean on October 16, 2011, 04:11:14 AM
These are brilliant. I love the worn, used look.
Thanks Brian, really glad you like them.
Quote from: nzCdog on October 16, 2011, 04:13:50 AM
Very nice builds!  I gotta try the Fatpants sometime myself!
Thanks! Great pedal... Build it :)
Quote from: jubal81 on October 16, 2011, 07:19:32 AM
Very unique and classy. You have a great eye.
Many thanks!
Quote from: petesz on October 16, 2011, 08:53:04 AM
these are so great! awesome technique. where are you getting the metal sprocket things from? i also love the fact you painted the indicators on the knobs of the second one yellow to match  8)
Thanks! The "metal sprocket" elements I had or made. The LED element on the Fatpants is a plain washer and a lock washer I aged and glued together. The large element on the other pedal is an antique clock gear.
#70
Build Reports / Re: 1st Madbean Build - "Fatpants"
October 16, 2011, 02:28:10 AM
Quote from: jimmybjj on October 16, 2011, 01:35:12 AM
wow that looks really cool, great job. can you share some details on your finish?
Quote from: mjcyates on October 16, 2011, 01:38:08 AM
Love it! One of my favorite pedals I have seen here.
Quote from: jimmybjj on October 16, 2011, 01:35:12 AM
wow that looks really cool, great job. can you share some details on your finish?

Hey, thanks everyone. I created the finish by submerging the raw box into enchant solution and washing it off then rubbing with steel wool. I did this a number of times then sanded the edges back to raw metal. I also sprayed clear nitro on it and rubbed a few aging tones and silver on and then off the pedal to add additional colors. Here's another pedal I did this way. This one is more distressed.
#71
Build Reports / 1st Madbean Build - "Fatpants"
October 16, 2011, 01:23:50 AM
This is my first Madbean build. Love this pedal. ;D Fantastic with a strat! 1st 1044 chip whined when the Fat was maxed. I ordered a replacement and it works perfect. Adds a nice shimmer on top and the Fat really adds body to the overall sound. Really impressed with the quality of the pcb and the build docs. 
#72
Build Reports / Re: Mangler build with pregain
October 12, 2011, 02:46:45 AM
 
Quote from: k.rock! on October 11, 2011, 03:11:14 PM
You need an RC filter (Resistor/Cap) in order to filter out those unwanted frequencies. Most pedals already have a resistor in series with the input, if not, add a small resistor like Paul suggested (100Ohms) and then by just adding a 100pF cap from input to ground, it should help you out. Tie one leg from tip and the other to sleeve (If I'm wrong, someone please correct me :) I'm merely going with my instincts here haha)
-Kaleb

Whoo Hoo ;D I added the 100pF to the input jack as you suggested Kaleb and it works perfect! No more interference even with the gain cranked all the way and it doesn't matter what the guitar volume is. It also cleaned up the RF noise I was getting further down the chain of effects as well. No change in the sound, just no more funky radio! I didn't need to add the resistor.  Thanks again for the suggestion.
#73
Build Reports / Re: Mangler build with pregain
October 11, 2011, 05:35:19 PM
Hey, all great suggestions for taming the RF. Turns out the station I'm picking up is Georgia Tech and I'm only about a half mile from them and it's a strong signal. I'm going to give the small cap a shot. Analog Man made the same suggestion.

I'm running a "FatPants" first in my chain and when I have that on I don't have any noise with the FF. My guess is it's filtering out the RF interference. I'd like to use the FF without the FP so it's cap time ;D

BTW, it was your demo of the Mangler JakeFuzz that made me want to build it. Thanks! I Love the pedal.
#74
Build Reports / Re: Mangler build with pregain
October 10, 2011, 05:06:55 PM


Is it RF interference or self oscillation (like a high pitch whine?). Self oscillation is common and you can do a few things to stop it. Try a small (100 ohm) resistor on the emitter of Q1 or a small capacitor (50-100pf) on Q2 from the collector to the base. 
[/quote]

Hi, Jakefuzz. Definitely RF, a really weird old music radio station, happens with a few of my other pedals as well.
Seems to vary depending on which of my strats I use. I have one with really low output Lollars and that gets the best reception :o Both guitars are well shielded. I have read that using a small cap on the input might help. I'm using an AB switch at the front of my effects and that seems like a good place to experiment. Any other suggestions?

The Mangler sounds great BTW. Really happy with it.
#75
Build Reports / Re: Mangler build with pregain
October 10, 2011, 01:22:01 PM
Quote from: sgmezei on October 10, 2011, 04:56:51 AM
Bluestrat

I got the idea from Aestoval on the thread here:

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=2782.0
Hey, thanks for the response. I might give this a shot. Did you use the small resistor and cap before the pot as indicated on the Zygote pdf? I wonder if that would spread out the sweep of the pot. I'm also getting some RF interference when I turn down the guitar volume knob and I wonder if those two items would help with that as well.