Cathode_Follower

Sorry for digging up an old thread, but I just finished repairing one of these for a friend. I suspect part of the depreciation issue is the build quality. Not sure how they put together the cabinets (possibly welded although there is no sign of any bead) but the one I was looking at had basically split apart.

Even after bolting everything back together with internal L-section along all the edges and a thorough epoxying there were still buzzes coming from other areas of the amp which were previously inaudible due to the primary issue.

Generally unimpressed with the build quality, noticing several threaded screws (speaker, one of the feet, several around the amp area) and many countersinks not adequately depthed which to me just screams cheap and lazy.

Granted the friend was using it on a regular basis as a jobbing musician in NYC but this was marketed to pros, so you'd think it would be robust enough..

Continuing on the topic of SMT, Big Clive has been doing a few videos on reflow recently that some in this thread may find interesting.

Not a pedal as such, but just finished this 8x9v transformer-isolated psu, fitted in a re-purposed lighting-controller housing.

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Not a pedal but how about this?

That's one steady hand you have there sir!

Completed Bug Crusher. Using mostly scavenged parts I managed to build the whole thing for about £10. In my excitement to finish it I completely forgot to paint any control labelling and also neglected to leave space for a battery inside but hey ho. Sounds fantastic anyway!

Discovered in the course of researching the pedal that it was actually designed in my home town of Bristol 😍

Bug Crusher board complete. Very pleased with the layout of this. Now to drill the enclosure!

16 minutes ago, stewblack said:

They are isolated. I watched a guy take one apart and run a meter over it

Fair enough! I had assumed that if there was a total combined current rating for the outputs then they couldn't all be running from dedicated switching supplies. Shows how much I know about such things!

I'll pass! Thanks for the info

1 minute ago, Noisyjon said:

Beware - I have that PSU and the 6x non-switchable 9V outlets are 300mA combined, not per outlet.

I found out the hard way!

Interesting, they do *claim* that they are individually isolated?

You've piqued my interest. I'd be very interested to see the specs if you have a link?

Both!

Also I like the security of being able to over-engineer the bejeezus out of something and know that it's never going to die on you at an inconvenient moment. If it does die it's also far easier to repair if you made it yourself.

The stated maximum current draw of 375mA seems conservative for 7 pedals, you may risk overloading the supply.

You may want to check the specs of all your pedals so make sure you wont exceed this. http://stinkfoot.se/power-list is a good resource if you cant find info on the pedal itself of from the manufacturer.

However it is also worth mentioning that if you're going to be bi-amping you will very likely run into some ground loop issues if running everything off the same supply.

I've been wanting to build a high quality power brick for a while, and seem to have a lot of time on my hands at present so decided to pull the trigger.

Spec would be 8 x fully isolated and regulated 9v outputs each capable of supplying at least 200mA. Back-of-envelope calculation puts the total project cost at somewhere around £70, roughly half of what you'd pay for a retail unit with similar features

To achieve this I would like to order a WPDLXFMR-2 from Weber in the US (https://www.tedweber.com/wpdlxfmr-2) very reasonably priced at $25. However, delivery to the UK for a single transformer comes out at $80..!

Are there any DIY-ers who'd also be interested in embarking on one of these power supplies? If so we can bulk-order a bunch of these Webers and bring the unit price down to something reasonable.

I think we would need at least 5 of us to get the project cost down to the £70 stated above, but the more the merrier of course.

You could daisy-chain the DC10 as the 7 x 9v outputs are not isolated from one another, however best practice would still be to use separate cables.

@bloke_zero Bought mine from pedalsandparts.com based in the Netherlands. Postage was very reasonable and arrived in about 4 days. Kit price not the cheapest (from my limited kit experience) but still the cheapest (if not the only) option I could find for this type of compressor, kit or built. Instructions were easy to follow although there were a couple of things that might have caught out a novice (I'm new to pedal kits but have done enough assembly and tinkering in my time)

The biggest downside was that the components all came in one bag.. Sorting out the (tiny!) 40+ resistors took bloody ages!!

All in all very happy with the results though. Great kit but perhaps not suitable for beginners

(edit) - Link to the instruction PDF if anyone interested http://www.byocelectronics.com/pmbcinstructions.pdf

Just finished my first kit build! Build You Own Clone dual-band compressor. Highly recommend it, really quiet operation and so many applications with the sweep function!

Starting work in the next few days on a Bug Crusher veroboard build. Trying to do the whole thing on as much of a budget as possible for fun. Have had to order a few NP electrolytics and an enclosure but managed to source all other bits from random dead kit and my collections of old parts.

Looks like at least a few thousand in repairs to me. Unless you can establish the provenance of the instrument (looks like an English shape to me. Anyone..?) I wouldn't risk more than a few hundred buying it.

Surprised no one has mentioned a mirror. Find a nice big full-length one and set yourself up so that your body and head face the mirror. Use the mirror to observe your left hand rather than turning your head, and to observe any tendency to twist or angle your head when you're not thinking about it.

You could also try doing a simple chromatic exercise, say 1 - 2 - 4 - 2 - 1 (assuming you're using Simandl) in half position on the G, on repeat, and try to focus as much of your attention as possible on your neck and head position. Try to let the exercise 'play itself' and don't worry about tone or intonation. The object is to feel comfortable and relaxed, the exercise itself is only there as a means to an end. Notice any tendency to tense up if your attention wanders back to your hands or what you're hearing. You could try this with your eyes closed to avoid any temptation to start observing your hands.

If you notice your mind wandering or part of you tensing up, stop, relax and begin again. Try to avoid becoming frustrated when this keeps happening, as it will. Congratulate yourself for having noticed!

22 hours ago, Jezyorkshire said:

4/4 Spiro Mitts big improvement on the e string but too much tension, took em off again after a day, solos back on! Might try the Weichs later.

Nothing wrong with mixing strings if your E is lacking! Try G - A solos and E spiro?

There's something very odd-looking about that fingerboard radius!

3 hours ago, Al Krow said:

"Rockstar decides not to look like an accountant"

Not sure that's gonna be headline news? 

Hah, touché sir

I remember catching the last 10 minutes of Kamasi at Glastonbury this summer, arriving at the stage to some of the the most insane far-out sounds I've ever heard. I was a long way back and it was difficult to see where these sounds were emanating from, even with the bigscreens.

It was only later the same day when someone asked me whether I'd caught the bass solo that I realised what I'd witnessed earlier! From recollection he must have been rocking at least the wah, octave-up pitch shift, some sort of flanger, and was playing arco (bow). Otherworldly!

Monster player but does anyone else find his whole 'thing' a bit cringey? You know, the chalkboard bass, the beret, the shoulder pad.. Feel like he's trying a bit too hard to be different

@Hanry Best of luck with the preamp! The best projects are always the longest in the making! Hit me up if you felt like putting together a pair of those mk1 walter preamps as a stopgap, I have multiples of all components knocking around from my build that I could mail your way and it's only half a day mucking around with a bit of stripboard

Hopeless with favourites, but here are three that I highly recommend. The first I only just discovered and is super obscure, I don't know if it's available anywhere except youtube but needs a shout as its rare gold  -

From - Power On! (German psych-era Miles meets Neu meets Mahavishnu)

Kompost 3 - Epigenesis (Incredible Austrian hip new-wave jazz)

Kamchatka - Volume II (Swedish power trio , a perfect album)

I've been using this to buffer my piezo without issue. If you're handy with a soldering iron you can build your own, or you can go to the originator's site http://cafewalter.com (currently temporarily down) where there are more updated versions and I think he sells the PCB's and possibly fully-populated boards.

http://scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html