bobbass4k

9 hours ago, Sibob said:

Incredible, I’m very grateful, thanks. 
I don’t suppose, when you’ve got another 5mins, whether you might be able to adapt it with the NPN + Inverter layout? That tag board is on the same page as you no doubt found ver. 1.

 

So many big thanks!

Si 🫡

Nothing different really just adding the inverter in. You could use a LT1054/1044 instead of the the 7660s, just don't connect pins 1 and 8.

Slightly odd design

1 hour ago, Sibob said:

Might anyone happen to have a schematic for the Tonefactor Cream Pie Deluxe? Can’t find anything online other than a vero layout, but I don’t have the know how to create a schem from such a layout.

 

Anyone stashing one? Lol

 

Si

I should be asleep but the layout was so simple it took 5 minutes. The downside is having to read my writing - This is for thr NPN version based on the tag board layout. 

Bought this on a whim a while back and haven't used it for a long time. Fantastic condition with box/etc. Priced to go at £140 Posted

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

It’s the transformer that pushes the price up isn’t it?

Transformer + valves. I got the lightning bit direct so US shipping too. I did run it without the transformer for a while but I was curious.

13 minutes ago, Owen said:

Uh oh.

True to form it's the most of expensive DIY clone I've ever built, by a fairly long way.

14 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

Is that their Neptunium or Nobellium? That would be interesting to try, thanks. 

The Nobellium - don't know how true it is to the original but sounds pretty good to my ears. Not used it in a while so let me fire it up tonight and give it a check.

I have a sushi box DIY clone of the noble if that's of any interest?

Does anyone have a reliable source for PNP germanium transistors? Got a couple of cheap job lots off ebay (40pcs)  and they're all sub 40 hfe garbage. In the past I've gone for low gain silicon ones but they seem to be running out too. Got a TAFM clone to build but need a couple of 60-100 hfe PNPs. Been a long time since i've had to look but the usual sources seem to have dried up.

6 hours ago, karter2000 said:

 

Hi there, do you have these?  I love the pedal and would like to make one!  Would you also have design files/gerbers/etc? 

My work has Altium and they don't care if we use it for our own stuff. 

 

The first a Barbershop variation from member pf FSB, the relay was my layout using the VFE FET bypass and PIC controller.

 

I got the new boards and the test build worked but it had a nasty hum. I was trouble shooting it but other things got in the way and I never finished. Something to look at over Xmas, I'll PM you the schematic/Gerbers though. I'm very bad at PCB design so there may well be a schoolboy error.

2 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

sooo good! I must admit I did scan through to see if you had the one I'm thinking of making next 

 

sushi box top left? 

Yup, the conspiracy to commit electronics boards - there's the Noble clone, the bassman and the soldano GTO (high gain) - all excellent and easy builds (HV safety aside). I'm actually enjoying the noble a lot, it's a nice always on pre-recording interface and it takes pedals well.

Moving the "office" around so moving and cataloguing all my pedals - I actually thought I had more than this -

13 hours ago, Bassybert said:

Being a fan of Bob Weston's grinding/snarling bass tone in Shellac, I've just ordered a TS-50B kit from Musikding - https://www.musikding.de/TS-50-Bass-Preamp-kit

 

I believe it's pretty identical to the Tronographic Rusty Box bit with a toggle switch instead of a foot switch for the boost function.

 

It's the first time I've ordered anything from them - Has anyone had any experience with Aion/Musikding?

 

Cheers

Aion are great - boards are good and documentation is always very good. Good to order from directly as well - they're US based but shipping isn't too bad and Musikding don't sell their bare PCBs anymore. 

Musikding also great - quick despatch and I've never had any customs/import issues post-brexit. Never had a kit from though TBF, I usually buy bare PCBs.

There's a couple of PCBs I want from deadendfx - anybody interested in splitting shipping? I think they've had issues in the past shipping to the UK so they'll only ship super fancy fast tracked and it's $48...I'll just pay it if need be cos one of them is a pretty years clone and I need that in my life, but if anyone wants anything, good chance to save on shipping...

https://www.deadendfx.com/

17 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Were you using KiCad? 
I loved how simple it was to learn to use but the symbol/footprint libraries seemed crazily complex to manage and find a set of things that would do what I wanted - for instance I couldn’t find a footprint for jfets that would let me do through hole or smd like you have

Yeah footprints are a bit of a pain in Kicad - I tried creating one for TH/SMT together but I got impatient and eventually just bodged it, I just added an extra J201 symbol to the schematic in parallel and set that to an SMD footprint...

15 hours ago, Sibob said:

To be fair, I’m in no rush….unlikely to build it any time soon. So if you’re going to redesign, I’ll wait for one of those…if that suits you of course?!

 

Cheers ☺️

Si

That's fair, I'm annoyed cos I was going to triple check the schematic after I'd laid the board out but I thought it would be fine... Gonna try and add SMT pads for the 5089s as well as to-92 versions are harder to get hold of now apparently...

19 hours ago, Sibob said:

Ooo, how long will it take you to verify/build one?

 

Si

Works apart from 2 additional stupid mistakes, I forgot a cap on one of the gain stages (cut a trace and add a cap across 2 pads) and the pins on the j201 symbol are apparently wrong, so the through hole and SMT pads are wrong. I had some through hole j113s that I twisted the legs on and seen to work just fine. I was in a rush to get them made and skipped some more thorough double checking...

I'm gonna redesign the board but you're welcome to one of these, they're simple hacks (I'll cut the trace so you know it's the right one)

These arrived far, far too quickly for £3.29. gonna put one together tonight. 

16 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

Put the pots on upside down?

I'll have to test it out when I get the boards, I suspect it may bring the knobs too low and interfere with footswitch, it's an 80mm X 60mm PCB for a 1590BB, but yeah definitely an option. 

1 hour ago, Sibob said:

Will wiring the pots in reverse work to correct it? 
As you say, no biggie really.

 

Si

Yeah just got 1 and 3 reversed on the sustain pot then c+p'd it for the other gain pots. Annoying but no way am I re-laying out the board... Yeah if you wanted to swap pins 1+3 that'd work, I've designed for the alpha right angle pots though so you'd have to snip and run wires. PCBs are ordered - got 10 for $3.20 on slow delivery with a first time order voucher - I do not understand how that's economically viable but I ain't complaining.

Edit - I was going to post the heliotropic schematic but I didn't realise fuzzrocious were still making them. Fuzzrocious are good eggs so I don't want to publicily post an in production pedal, anyone wants the schematic drop me a PM.

16 hours ago, Sibob said:

Yup, will have a Heliotropic PCB off you 🙂

 

Cheers

Si

Cool, just realised i put the gain pots in the schematic backwards so they'll all work in the reverse... Oh well, this is my first PCB in about 5 years....

3 hours ago, bremen said:

Jlcpcb is so cheap, fast and such good quality that I suspect they're a loss leader for some sinister purpose.

 

So user-friendly too, upload the gerbils (I'll let that one in 😄) and you get a preview so you know you've not forgotten a layer.

Okay yeah £2.68 for 5 PCBs delivered feels like it shouldn't be profitable. I used to be a buyer for a contract manufacturer and that's not far off the wholesale/volume prices we used to pay with negotiated discounts... 

Anybody fancy a heliotropic PCB when they arrive? I can post the schematic when I'm home, but it's basically a modified Muff (no clipping on the 2nd gain stage) that goes straight into a preamp/boost with a Muff tonestack.

Edit - apologies, £3.60 for Lead Free HASL. Still cheaper than some coffee's i've bought recently...

What PCB prototyping services have people used recently? I traced the fuzzrocious heliotropic years ago and i couldn't remember how it sounded so I breadboarded it this weekend and it's great. Bit unwieldy for stripboard but I've knocked a PCB together in kiCad. $37 for 3 from oshpark. Will I get cheaper than that? I know years ago oshpark was pretty much the only game in town but I know a few other prototyping services have popped up.

I know Digikey do it but as an employee of Farnell I can't give money to the enemy...

23 hours ago, bremen said:

I had the altium schematic and board on screen. I can make assembly drawing pdfs if you want to have a go.

 

 

I wouldn't want to put you out, the schematic and PCB layout should be enough, don't have altium but should be able to get them into KiCad - if you don't mind sending me the files I'll happily take a PCB, been a while since I've done a fully SMT board, should be an interesting challenge.

On 22/08/2024 at 20:33, bremen said:

Mostly 0805 yes. Some of the caps are 0603 - I looked for what was cheapest available C0G from Mouser.

That's fine, should still be doable by hand - I'm very tempted to give one a try, how did you assemble it without a silkscreen, have you got a BOM with a key to the footprints?

17 hours ago, bremen said:

Just found this thread.

 

I posted elsewhere that I've cloned the sansamp bass driver and have a couple of spare boards, anyone want one? £0

It's hard to tell scale, are the smd resistors/caps mostly 0805?