current DIY projects you are working on .. or planning on.

[benadrian]

Surface Mount makes me very unhappy. I just don't have tools that are fine enough. Good luck.

Looks like you got some decent results already.

Cheers!

[ldopa_chicago]

Surface Mount makes me very unhappy. I just don't have tools that are fine enough. Good luck.

Looks like you got some decent results already.

Cheers!

Thanks!
Surface mount isn't that bad, it just takes patience and practice. Working for a year and a half in the Shure service department did wonders for my SMT skillz. At this point, I can hand solder 0402 resistors almost as easily as through hole ones. I don't even use a fine iron- I still use a 1/8" chisel tip (gasp! blasphemy!). For removal I often use hot air and fine tweezers are a must, but beyond that it's all fine motor skills. Oh, and fine gauge solder or a solder past syringe. It's very nice to have a microscope, but not necessary.

I just ordered some TI OPA1604s this morning. They're pretty kick ass. I'm curious to see how quiet I can get this thing. I also plan to play around with caps in the signal path too.

[kxbx]

Surface Mount makes me very unhappy. I just don't have tools that are fine enough. Good luck.

Looks like you got some decent results already.

Cheers!

Thanks!
Surface mount isn't that bad, it just takes patience and practice. Working for a year and a half in the Shure service department did wonders for my SMT skillz. At this point, I can hand solder 0402 resistors almost as easily as through hole ones. I don't even use a fine iron- I still use a 1/8" chisel tip (gasp! blasphemy!). For removal I often use hot air and fine tweezers are a must, but beyond that it's all fine motor skills. Oh, and fine gauge solder or a solder past syringe. It's very nice to have a microscope, but not necessary.

I just ordered some TI OPA1604s this morning. They're pretty kick ass. I'm curious to see how quiet I can get this thing. I also plan to play around with caps in the signal path too.

Wide chisel tips are actually pretty common for this kind of thing. It seems like after a certain amount of time everyone ditches conical tips for chisels.

[japmn]

I ordered all new transistors for the old Peavey head. Got all of them for under $30 on Ebay. I'm just going to replace everything until it works again.

Bryan, that EQ is going to be nice and I like the bandpass thing you got going on your blog too. We need to hang out sometime.

[benadrian]

Be careful. A lot of times another component will burn out, like a cap or a resistor, and that will cause a transistor to cook. If that is the case, and you don't fix the other broken part, it will just cook any new transistors you put in.

[japmn]

Be careful. A lot of times another component will burn out, like a cap or a resistor, and that will cause a transistor to cook. If that is the case, and you don't fix the other broken part, it will just cook any new transistors you put in.

I'm replacing all the elyctrolytics and am testing all the resistors, How, exactly, do you test non polar caps, just check for conductivity through the component? I've never had a nonpolarized cap go bad in anything.

The way it died went like this:

It would work fine for a while and then start getting din and crackly. I would fix it the way you fix a Peavey bass head (smack it on top with a fist) and it would work for a while longer.

Then one day while it was being weird, I noticed that if I lightly tapped the covers of the transistors in the power section, it would sometimes fix it. Then I tapped one a little too hard, and with a tiny flash and pop, the sound stopped completely. It was the day the music died.

It is a Bass 400



It's not the best bass amp, but I have always liked it ok. I got it for $60, it's pretty loud for what I do, and I figured it would cost more for a tech to look it over than what they go for on Ebay, so I'm just hacking at it. I've never worked on a solid state amp before. I have almost everything else but the transistors so I bought replacements for the poweramp section and the power section. I still have less than $100 in it. If it never works again, I'll either gut it for other parts or try to box up the preamp section for kicks.

My SG actually sounds great through my Tonebender clone, this amp, and a single 15"

[ldopa_chicago]

Bryan, that EQ is going to be nice and I like the bandpass thing you got going on your blog too. We need to hang out sometime.

Thanks! Damn straight we do.

The bandpass thing is actually getting a total redesign as we speak. There will still be two buffered loops, but the crossover frequency will be adjustable from 100Hz to 1kHz and there will be "high" level and "low" level controls, that's it. That and I can do it nicely with two quad op amps. More on that later.

[japmn]

Bryan, that EQ is going to be nice and I like the bandpass thing you got going on your blog too. We need to hang out sometime.

Thanks! Damn straight we do.

The bandpass thing is actually getting a total redesign as we speak. There will still be two buffered loops, but the crossover frequency will be adjustable from 100Hz to 1kHz and there will be "high" level and "low" level controls, that's it. That and I can do it nicely with two quad op amps. More on that later.

That is an extremely huge and useful range for a bandpass guitar effect. I want it. Good job.

[VaticanShotglass]

So I'm contemplating a cheap bastard strat build with parts I have. The dig is that the neck and body combo doesn't quite fit. I need to widen the neck pocket by as little as 2 and as much as 4 mm. I currently have minimal tools, but I know folks that will let me use theirs for some beer. I can do plenty if I wait to visit family.

So, any tips and experiences are super welcome. Ser Chris Jury of Axes, I'm looking your way.

[deadfate]

Restoring a NAD 3120. Totally fucked up as i wrote in 'what is on your way' thread. Aesthetically: the frontal panel is jagged, the chassis is bended. Working conditions: when turned on the amp give out a loud noise, just like a clipping, that increase with the volume; after one minute of work he start to smell of burning. Today me and my father

[deadfate]

Restoring a NAD 3120. Totally fucked up as i wrote in 'what is on your way' thread. Aesthetically: the frontal panel is jagged, the chassis is bended. Working conditions: when turned on the amp give out a loud noise, just like a clipping, that increase with the volume; after one minute of work he start to smell of burning. Today me and my father have worked on the chassis. Tomorrow we will check the amp. If you have any ideas or suggestions you are wellcome'

[japmn]

It is a Bass 400

Tested all the resistors and diodes in the Power Amp section. The resistors seem fine. I found a Diode that wasn't Diode-ing, so I replaced all of the diodes. I had a bunch lying around and I was in there so what the hell. When those 2N3774's (one of which isn't conducting) get here from China, I'll plug 'em in and see if it fires up, or just catches on fire. I also have the Tip30c and Tip31c's for the power amp. I might do those tonight. One of the Ceramic caps is a little crumbly looking and I might replace all of those. Also all of the big ceramic resistors are reading strange. The .33 are all reading .5 and the 1.0 are all reading 1.5. Hmmm. They were the only thing I tested while still in the circuit, so maybe that's why. I don't have any of those lying around so I'm taking my chances.

If I get this thing running, I'll be out about $10 in parts after shipping. I'll probably add a poweramp input while I'm in there as well and use it with the Rusty Box.

Almost done.

[japmn]

Fuck this thing! I turned it on... no sound. I tested around and noticed that the Preamp section wasn't getting any power at all. Just as I went to turn it off POOOF! A resistor caught on fire. A resistor that tested perfectly out of the circuit. It destroyed a lot of the traces near it and I'm tired of wasting time on it. I gutted it for knobs, jacks, and a few other things. I'm keeping the head case in case someone wants to head mount something. I left the preamp section intact. I might make a 24VDC powersupply and see if I can get it to work in a Rusty Box way and if it sounds OK might rack it up or something.

I'd buy another one if I can find one for under $100. I got my $60 out this one.

[galanter]

This is my new digital synthesizer hardware. It costs $149.



This is the software for my new digital synthesizer. It's free.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperCollider

Analog Shmanalog...it sounds great as the audio part of a light sculpture. I'm making several, and I'll have more on this in a few weeks I hope.

[deadfate]

I'm building a TL606, plant with conversion inch to centimeters is almost ready, i've done it with autocad. In few days I buy woods and start to assemble the inside part. It's a pretty simple project and not expensive at all. I've only one doubt, what kind of speaker is better to put on in? I can't find the original EVM15L, there's around some clone or equivalent?

[japmn]

This is my new digital synthesizer hardware. It costs $149.



This is the software for my new digital synthesizer. It's free.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperCollider

Analog Shmanalog...it sounds great as the audio part of a light sculpture. I'm making several, and I'll have more on this in a few weeks I hope.

A+++

What is the housing. Is it a kit? Info? Looks Great!

[tallchris]

I can't find the original EVM15L, there's around some clone or equivalent?

I replaced the EVMs in my cabs (when they were starting to crap out, need to get them reconed!) with Eminence Delta Pro 15a speakers. They're a little darker than the EVs, but they handle low end better, and if I turn the treble up a little more there isn't really much of a difference.

[Tommy]

I can't find the original EVM15L, there's around some clone or equivalent?

I replaced the EVMs in my cabs (when they were starting to crap out, need to get them reconed!) with Eminence Delta Pro 15a speakers. They're a little darker than the EVs, but they handle low end better, and if I turn the treble up a little more there isn't really much of a difference.

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Delta_Pro_15A.pdf

Warehouse guitar speakers also makes a clone using the exact same size voice coil recone kit. I know this because I just had one reconed.

http://wgs4.com/content/15-BG

[japmn]

I was thinking of working on the Transistorized Bassman Fuzz/Preamp Circuit again and was wondering what would happen if I replaced the J201 stages with Darlington or Sziklai pairs of Tip30/31c's since I have a bunch lying around. Maybe tonight when I get home I'll check it out.

[Colonel Panic]

When building a pedal board, isn't it important to make sure the output voltage of the power supply is matched to the voltage of all the pedals, and the output amperage of the power supply meets or exceeds the collective draw of all the pedals?

What kinds of disasters can result from neglecting to ensure proper current/voltage matches for a number of op amp/transistor-based distortion pedals chained together with some digital time delay effects? Will you get a lot of noise? Can it damage the circuitry in the pedals?