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Don't usually spend cash on nicer parts but building a TB MKII with a fancy enclosure etc and want it to be as sturdy as can be so what's the opinion on these switches? Are they worth it over a standard cheapy blue 3PDT?

How does the action compare to the Alpha DPDTs?

I'm not sure if this has been posted before or how I exactly stumbled on to this site the other night as I was actually searching for info on BBD date codes (a few beers can have the effect of leading you where you didn't mean to go  ) but looking over it, if you're interested in how a chorus such as the CE-2 is built from blocks and some of the theory behind it which can also be extrapolated and applied to other chorus effects, its very useful!

http://www.electrosmash.com/boss-ce-2-analysis

It's been bugging me since day 1 but it's actually a 6/7 stage phaser  the output is a fixed phase stage... I tried to not say anything! 

Just wondering what members and Brian's of course thoughts on using SIP ICs would be?

On some of the more complex/IC heavy projects if they freed up enough space (they can be easier to layout for and do take up less space) at least for my preferences i'd rather a) smaller enclosure options/space for batteries, b) no 1/8w/ stand up resistors, that might just be me though, just find them a pain as the usual Tayda/Futurlec don't stock them and I don't have any in stock and i'm OCD about stand ups for reliability/looks and c) perhaps things like charge pumps built in to layouts that require them.

It does limit OpAmp choice but Tayda and Smallbear stock a small selection and a lot of the vintage projects used the standard 4558 anyway which can be bought in SIP.

Just an idea, if I want a build i'll buy a bean board regardless of if it goes against what I like 

I have the factory schematic for the old big box version of this and it could be interesting, nothing much to say about it other than it seems like a nice FET compressor and shouldn't be too much of a struggle to fit a 1590BB and not use a 40V supply for something regulated to 12V inside.

Has a lamp setting so i'm sure this http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=716 would fit the bill.

Bean's yet to have a full featured compressor so this could fit the bill.

Seems they're discontinuing production on them, wonder what this means for the Behringer lines that use them?
Not to mention the effects companies currently using them in their designs.

https://www.smallbearelec.com/Updates.htm

Hope Beiling stay in production.

As I gradually move away from the hobby and use up the last of my parts I decided to use up an old ruined over drilled case I had for some pedals i'll never actually purchase but may like to experiment with in the future.

And as I have some Vintage silicon & germaniums transistors and diodes (both leaky ones and good) I figured i'd make a vintage dirt multi effect.

So, what are all your favourite fuzzes (or boosts/overdrive if they're particularly interesting) I figured i'd probably fit 3 footswithes in a sideways 1590BB, plus probably a toggle for an input J-FET Buffer (I know a lot of them hate buffers but I might experiment, i'll add an input resistance pot after it) and an output Octaver circuit to get some octave fuzz, probably a green ringer.

I have a Tonebender MkII built and done, i'll be doing a seperate Rangemaster so they're not required.

Here's one that doesn't get much mention unless it's 'My SAD512D Broke'.

Pretty awesome little box with a nice cheap and simple design, pure 80s hair metal sound but... I wont claim that's not influencing me wanting one.

If it could fit a 1590B with space for a battery (yes, I still use them on occasion) with the usual onboard pot and no stand up or 1/8W resistors that'd be awesome... if you think your up for the challenge that is Brian 

Working it for the 3207 is pretty simple, and the build uses no special parts other than the BBD, I wouldn't even use the voltage limiting trick here as the V.Ref & Bias share the same path so it would limit headroom.

I might mod it to use a TL072 instead of a TL071 for the LFO and use the other half to buffer the V.Ref just for the sake of it to save half an Op-Amp going to waste with no extra parts needed.

[NO]

This question is gunna keep coming up and people are going to keep getting ripped off and putting cash in to buying 3005s regardless of it being a bad idea so I figured this thread was a necessity. Regardless of the fact I doubt it'll put people off.

First! For those who are interested, What is the difference between a 3005 & 3205?
(This is my opinion, if you choose to have a different opinion, have fun buying fake chips)

While i'd like to say it's just mojo here, there is something in this one, a 3005 has the benefit of being able to run at a higher voltage for a higher headroom (15V compared to a 3205s 9V), it does also have some slightly different specs to the 3205 (higher THD being one of them).

Do they sound different? Well yes there will be a slight difference in tone due to the distortion characteristics not to mention 2 of the same BBDs can sound slightly different but that higher headroom can allow for less clipping in your delays.

However... if you are going to use a 3005 or 3001/2/3/4/5/6/7/9/11 for that matter, you will only get that higher headroom advantage by running at a higher voltage, the BOSS DM-2 probably famed for its use of the 3005 actually also used the 3205 for a time but they both run on 9V and as far as i'm aware, there was no out cry when they didn't tell anyone that they'd changed to a chip that actually runs Better on 9V than the higher voltage 3005 chip (it has a lower THD so should theoretically be better at 9V).

There is nothing wrong with the 320X series of BBDs, they work great and are used in a great deal of analogue delays, choruses etc. The BOSS DC-2 being an example, hightly sought after, yet it uses 3207s not 3007s. The New EHX (Deluxe) Memory Boy, Toy all use the 3208 BBDs, the MXR Carbon Copy, M-117R infact a huge percentage of delay based effects on the market have been happily using the 320X BBDs for years.


Now On to Detect & Avoid Buying Fake 3005 BBDs.

First off... Ebay, don't do it, while recently some people did manage to get lucky with real BBDs, 99% of the time you will get complete fakes or rebranded 3008s (half the delay time of a 3005)

It is a huge risk and you will likely end up out of pocket, ebay is flooded with fake chips as is the rest of the market, companies that offer to find rare parts are not immune to fakes and often supply them (EHX ended up with many fake 3005s for the new EHX Deluxe Memory Man w/ Tap Tempo and they have massive buying power).

There is NO safe way of buying a 3005, if you must have a higher voltage chip, I suggest you buy the fakes (3008s rebranded as 3005s) from Smallbearelec and using 2 to approximate a 3005, you'll get all the benefits of a 3005 such as higher headroom and whatever sound you beleive it has plus you're buying from a reputible source and saving a lot of money in the process!

If you insist on trying ebay, to try and detect a fake there's a few steps you can take
1) Ask for a picture with your username next to it of the exact chips you'll get.
2) Study them for a few things
- Are the Date Codes the Same on all the chips? (that's the 3 digit number) be very wary if they are.
- Does it look new? The chips have been out of production some time and a chip off ebay will most certainly be a karaoke machine pull, it shouldn't look brand new.
- Do they mention any sort of 'refurbing' of the chips, the suppliers don't care about a chips looks, this is most likely to trick you in to accepting why it looks wrong.
- Is there any obvious stamp smudges or sanding marks on the chip? A shallow indent on the top could indicate this too, it could indicate a chip that has been remarked as 3005 but is in fact, not.
- Is the seller offering large quantaties of the chip over a single or several listings? It's highly unlikely he found a very large batch and has several hundred chips at his disposal.

As a side note, make sure you have a method of testing the chips you get within whatever return/ ebay refund time period. Hopefully if these suppliers have to keep paying out they'll stop supplying the market with fakes and also this will mean you can get your money back. Make sure to use proper static protection when handling the chips to be sure you haven't damaged them and that what you are using to test them in is known to work, especially if you buy in larger quantities.

The Chips Appearance

Here is a great page showing the difference between fake and real 3005s

http://freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8116&p=90518&hilit=mn3005

As can be seen here, there are TWO types of legitimate 3005, there are also TWO different branding stamps (the M & Tri Logo).

Look at the chips and notice

- Leg length, Shineyness and shaping
- How 'Square' and clean the chip looks and the overall shape
- Does it have a good border on the top of the chip? Some chips don't but it's something to look out for
- The Date Code, is it the same on all your chips?
- Does it have a good top indentation?
- Is there a good, deep front indentation, even if it doesn't have the full cut indent it should be deepish.
- Bottom Logo Indentation size

One final thing to check, once you have your chip, make sure it has the full delay time, you should be able to pull out around 300mS of Delay from a 3005 where a rebranded 3008 which will work in your 3005 delay, will only give you half the delay.

So there you have it! It is not easy to get a 3005 at all and I seriously suggest either accepting half the delay time with 3008s if you MUST have higher headroom or using a 3205 chip which are still happily in production and used by many happy customers.

Pretty well loved project, while the boards circulating already are cool... they are insanely large.

It'd be cool to have one in a giggable sized enclosure as it is an extremley versatile tool and having it with board mounted pots and odd/even switch would be a huge benefit to the old project (I realise the new boards were fitted for board mounted pots but the spacing was for an obscure pot type rather than the usual 16mm).

I'd love to have it be a through zero flanger as i've been dying for one but I realise that might be asking a bit much (asking for this project in the first place is a bit much!).

And it'd be nice to have the 3007/3207 jumper option on the board which the current boards do/did not offer.

A few minor changes i'd make as well, change the board pin out for the 2N3819 FET, this makes the Threshold control pretty useable as opposed to the J201 which didn't. I'd probably drop the expression control as well but that's probably just me.

First build in a while but i'm pretty pleased with how it came out (despite not having tools or means for graphics at present).

An Acoustic Simulator in a 1590B With Battery, probably the tightest build i've done but I managed to get it all in snuggly, the wiring is actually a bit neater than the picture shows too (there's method in it... the picture just makes it look like a nest) oh and the LED resistor is just like that 'till I find some heat shrink.

The effect its self is great, if you're looking for an acoustic simulator, or just something to add a bit of flavour to your tone, I can't reccomend it enough (I beleive it turned out that the Biyang pedal company pinched this design as well so it was clearly good enough for a pedal company).

Well... we've got the EHX Flanger & Delay, why not go for the whole collection!

I hear the new production polyphases just don't cut it compared to originals, there are some hard to find parts in the original but they can be replaced.

The Xicon 334-NTC104 (On Mouser) Should make a suitable Thermistor replacement (although it can be left out entirely)

And the VTL5C/3 should substitute the CLM8200 Vactrol quite happily.

Add an onboard LT1054 charge pump and cram it in a 1590BB (with on board pots of course) could be a nice project? I'm not even a big phase guy and the demos of this do sound great.

As an additional... i've always been interested by the original 70s EHX Zipper (FET not Tube Based) I hear very good things.

It's not an exciting effect, but I wonder how some boards like these might go down?

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=82446.msg689956#msg689956

Save a lot of time building those 1590B effects and it'd give a nice professional look to go with the fabbed PCBs.

So polarity protection, power filtering, DC Jack, Battery Pads, In & Out Jacks, Input ground Footswitch, LED & its resistor.

The parts are fairly standardized I think...

Might be on my own with this one though.

I've noticed a lack of Chorus projects using the 3007 that take advantage of its higher voltage rating which it would appear is where the 'magic' of the 300X series comes from so how about a project for a 18V chorus with an LT1054 charge pump on board, regulated down to the 3007s 15V limit?

Of course as I always request on other forums Bean, the board would have onboard pots and no stand up resistors 

The only chorus that comes to mind designed for 15V is the EHX Clone Theory, but perhaps an expansion on any existing chorus could be good, perhaps updated with buffers and plenty of mods to make a sort of rack in a box type chorus... maybe even dare I say, companding?