@barry
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We always use the solder lug versions for our boards since they are usually several dollars in savings per switch vs. a pin version. I believe this is what you are looking for:
http://www.smallbear-electronics.mybigcommerce.com/alpha-dpdt-107-sf12020-m/
I would like to hear results of using these in tandem and switching order. Especially concerning two different versions of the circuit.
I have not used Hot Potz but I would immediately assume you are correct in that you need to reverse the one and three wiring. I even did this once albeit a long time ago and that was the reason that I had not read the datasheet correctly. I have built quite a few again a good while back and stuffed them in repainted old shells with great success.
If after trying to sort this out and you still need help a picture may help us see what might be going on.
Glad to see this all worked out.
I think pedal placement will also yield differences in how prominent the effect is including the mod. I prefer the phaser before distortion always but that is only my subjective preference. The Phase 45 is a much more subtle phase which is great for clean parts like Pink Floyd and the Phase 90 is more upfront like a Van Halen. To me both effects are more subtle pre-distortion and more up front post so the switch may come in handy depending on where you like it in the chain. The delay should always be last IMHO save Reverb being my only exception.
Most importantly enjoy!
I prefer Mouser, Digikey, Allied, Bitches Love Switches and Small Bear for genuine parts and quality.
Mouser ships very quickly and affordably.
With some there is a wee learning curve using their site filters but is worth the time to figure it out.
I avoid other usual suspects as I have been burnt too many times with junk.
To help I am copy and pasting Tonmann’s original article from the old site here. Unfortunately the excellent Images he had provided from his Scope are no longer available which really helped understand his points. Keep that in mind when reading.
Courtesy of Tonmann:
The gain for op amp and transistor circuits have nothing to do with the power supply, both are set by circuit components.
Distortion is where the output signal is not a faithful reproduction (but usually just a larger amplitude) of the input signal; while clipping can be considered as distortion, distortion is not necessarily clipping:
This is distortion in a transistor circuit which was done by reducing the base voltage. The input signal (green) is perfectly symmetrical above and below the 0V line, the output signal is not symmetrical – the positive going part of the signal is flattened and has a lower amplitude than the negative going part of the signal.
This is clipping in a transistor circuit which was done by increasing the gain of the transistor stage (bypass capacitor across the emitter resistor).
Notice that the signal peaks do not reach the power supply voltages (9V and 0V), this is due to the internal workings of the transistor.
I’ve put in the above information so you can see what I mean when I say that op amps don’t distort,at least not in the sense of the first diagram, but they do clip as in the second diagram. Of course you can make an op amp distort by adding extra components such as diodes to the circuit.
The level at which op amps clip is dependent on the power supply, consider the following diagram where the power supply is 9V with the output biased to 4.5V and a “standard” op amp is used:
Again notice that due to the internal workings of the op amp the signal never reaches the power supply rails (9V and 0V) but fall about 1.5V short.
Doing the simple math it should be plain to see that the maximum signal level before clipping occurs is about 3V.
If you increase the power supply the maximum signal level before clipping occurs also increases e.g. for a 12V supply you would get roughly a 4.5V signal.
Main Point:
A 3V signal is much too hot for guitar amplifiers or other effects pedals – why would any one want to increase the power supply to get a higher clip free signal when it would have to be attenuated by a larger amount to feed an amplifier?
I would ask what transistor you are using in the Q1 stage And if it is a BC550?
If it is a BC550 then I have nothing else to add.
The good news is you have “one of the best distortion sounds you heard” so I would mark that and keep it right there.
As for tonal differences between amps and pickups there are always going to be huge differences so the only way to test that out is to try another guitar and amp. You may also want to change pedal order etc.
If you are concerned there is a build issue you could recheck all caps and resistors by color band especially around that stage of the circuit (nobody is immune to a mistake) then re-flow the project and verify with an Audio Probe. I can’t make any guesses beyond that. This was not my experience with a Les Paul w/ PAF pickups into a Marshall.
It begs repeating if you are getting a great distortion with the settings available it doesn’t matter where they are on the dial since they are there to accommodate different rigs and ears.
That not only is a killer combo but is a huge step up from the “Tone Of Kings” since they do not offer order switching or as many clipping options as yours does. I would love to be able to demo that.
@matt – I won’t have versions of any other type for a while, especially till I see how these do.
In the meantime you got a hand matched (by me) Quad Set for your Phaser so despite the TO-92 package it is matched for perfection and more importantly available.
@everyone. Thanks for the support.
I am extremely pleased to see people start to comment on the honest value of this product idea and how I am choosing to make it available. If people start buying these up (so far so good) I will have the confidence to continue the line to include others that will fit on the same board including MPF102 and 2N5457. Additionally you will note upon receiving them they have an opposite pin out on the back side so I could even include a 2N5952 for phasers etc…
The best part is this is SMT technology leading to our SMD boards and the biggest advantage is an amazing tolerance featuring super tight specifications across all transistors unlike the old school TO-92. So break out all of those old J201 boards and get soldering with confidence.
That sure is sweet and I always appreciate the extra photos and story!
I am also loving the glowing eyes!
Thank you for sharing.
Excellent job! I think he is really going to like it.
Additionally love seeing the Easy Order switching! More folks should be aware of the potential of our Easy Order switching boards as it takes two simpler circuits and turns them into a painters pallet of tone when using in tandem aka; stacking.
Excellent job on everything. Thanks for sharing the whole story with us. I am glad that the pedal served you well on the job.
We suggest keeping a Battery strap with a 2.1mm end on it as a testing device for such occasions. Whenever you have a noisy pedal then you can break that out first and test your pedal with a battery since they never produce noise. I actually forgot to mention that and it is a very helpful tool. Thanks for reporting back and enjoy!
For isolated pedal power I use a Voodoo.
As for a power strip I use these:
