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Florian:
First time post. I’d like to say thanks for this amazing project. It was really fun to build and it sounds better than a lot of pedals I build in the past with realistic saturation.
Here’s my righteous-sized Sunn-T build.
That looks awesome! LOVE the look! Gut shots?
Hi, what a coincidence. I just finished a one-time small series of these build for friends. Apparently I was so vocal about how nice this circuit is, that they wanted to get one made, too. This is what they got.
@Pat – the big white is my personal unit, and I didn’t care about pretty wiring at all. Move along sir, nothing there to be seen 😉
- Damn! All of those look super dope!
Florian – some really nice builds there. Including the first one Barry showcased on your behalf. I appreciate your bit about dropping the values of R1, R2, R4 & R8. As I’ve not yet completed my own Sunn-T pedal, (although the PCB is populated, I’ve yet to design the enclosure), I plan to try your mod out by tacking a 300K Ω resistor to R1 & R2 in parallel to drop those to the 56K Ω value and a 33K Ω across R4 & R8 to bring them to 560 Ω. I’ll let my ears decide if they stay. 😉
Hi Cybercow and Billy. Thank you very much for your thoughtful replies. Seeing that a discussion can be “wordy” and still fully on topic is a rare find and speaks for the great community you have here.
Florian – I finished the circuit portion of the Sunn-T build and tested it with all the stock components. It sounds great!
Then I went back in and tacked a 300K Ω resistor to R1 & R2 in parallel to drop those to the 56K Ω value and tacked a 33K Ω across R4 & R8 to bring them to 560 Ω. After firing it up and giving a careful listen, I was pleased at slight, yet noticeable change. This mod seems to allow the settings to get into the “break-up” zone at somewhat lower settings. I don’t have a scope and could not measure headroom, but I’ve decided I will keep the mod as I like getting into the distortion zone earlier in the Normal & Brite Gain settings.
And, I have no recollection from where I found the suggestion for this, but I’m going to drop a simple buffer between pin #2 of the treble control and pin #3 of the Master volume control. I’m thinking the 100nF cap is not needed, but I’m going to start there anyway. (The buffer circuit is shown in the attached photo.)
If anyone knows from where this mod came,please speak up and let me (us) know. I’ll report back after I test this addition.
I tried doing that simple buffer circuit, (as mentioned in the previous response), and it certainly made the pedal louder. I’m not sure by how many db, but audibly louder with no additional distortion, it seems to be a nice clean boost. Not sure the mod is needed or if I’ll keep it in my final build, but it is certainly noteworthy. Any and all comments welcome.
If you want an even cleaner boost you could try an MPF102 or J113 that I sell as a replacement. (I think I sent you some) as it will yield less distortion at maximum bias than a 2N5457 only if that is a thing you are wanting to try of course. It will require an approximate 2k4 resistor to Drain modification. This would then be a more accurate version of a Stage 3 Boost that I came up with about 10 years ago. That circuit was based on a Fetzer Valve a few years prior to me releasing the Stage 3 but at that time they were only showing the use of a J201 or 2N5457 which both yield a good but more colorful boost. I also noticed not long after the Stage 3 had become popular they added an MPF102 version with its different Bias value to their page which is fair. While I would say neither idea is completely original in the grand scheme all three versions offer a noticeable difference in distortion and tone.
I personally prefer less distortion as I do a lot of stacking as you may have guessed (as well as play fairly loud) so for me at least it would be a thing to try. Thus the Stage 3 (when using the J113) with its characteristic clean boost especially in the Bass and Top End became my perfect add-on gain stage or buffer.
You could also test this idea by simply placing a Stage 3 Boost (separate pedal) in series after a Sunn-T by turning it off and on to see what you think. I stack a Stage 3 with many of my circuits with excellent results.
Here is a good episode of That Pedal Show where they talk about stacking and do some great comparisons.
As they like to point out there are no real right or wrongs, just preferences.
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