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Hello gentlemen,

I've built myself up a Current Lover with a MN3007 running at 15v with a tl1054 roadrage(pulled pin 1). I've used both a switching supply(like the godlyke powerall) and a transformer based supply.

I am getting a lot of lfo noise. I am getting modulation, so that is nice, but the noise makes it unusable. MN3007 is good, I tested it in my Collosalus. I've adjusted the trimmers multiple times, no help. Is there a quick fix like on the Collosalus where I can just swap out some diodes and be done with it? or do I need to do more hunting? I can post IC voltages if need be.

Thanks

A couple years ago, I accidentally bought 100 PN5133's on ebay for a couple bucks, I guess my brain didn't recognize the PN. From what I remember reading about them then PN is the same as 2N, but in a plastic case.

What about the jacks? I've never seen clear ones before. Not sure what i'd use them for but cool nonetheless.

I had clock noise too, tried a 12v supply and thought it worked but no.

Today I took the plunge and changed c26 to 100uf (you'll need a skinny one) and d4 & d5 to 1n5817s, as per the mods in the pdf. It was no fun getting the parts out, but with a lot of patience, flux and desoldering braid I managed it without losing any solder pads. The pads are a bit misshapen and yellow but the result?

Massive improvelence!

You might as well socket c22, it won't solve your problem but I decided on a 68pf in my build.

Yes, since posting, I have made those changes as well. I was still getting some bad clock noise. I switched my power supply out with a transformer based one instead of a Switching mode supply. Vast improvement. As far as I know and have read(I believe Scruffie pointed it out in another thread), this is due to the heterodyning of the different clock frequencies(switching supply, lt1054, and the lfo).

1) A flux pen.  I will keep repeating this one as I wouldn't want to solder SMT without it.  Not optional, IMHO.

What flux pen do you recommend? I'm seeing a couple different ones on mouser.

I was thinking about the hotcake the other day. Sometime I'd like to breadboard one with a dual opamp, with one buffering the reference voltage. Also, I'm wondering how it would sound with a discrete opamp. JFETs sound good when they clip, unlike opamps ....

I'm still learning, what would be the benefit to buffering the reference voltage?

The only thing I really know about discrete opamps is that audiophile dudes spend a fortune for people to design them discrete opamps(or at least that's what my buddy does). Are you thinking you would design your own or just follow the schematic for what is on the die of a standard opamp?

I had a similar problem. I was using a switching mode power supply(like the one-spot or powerall), and I was getting a ton of noise, even when the collosalus was the only thing using the power supply. I just used a old standard transformer style wall wart, and the noise came down by an order of magnitude. It still makes some noise, but not nearly as much. Hopefully this can help someone else who is using the search feature to find a solution to this problem.

Looks clean man, I'm digging those knobs.

I just looked back at the schems and if you double C7 to 22n and bump up the output cap to 56n it brings the pedal closer to 2003 Hotcake specs...I'll try it out but doubt it'll fix fizziness--likely just changes the bass cut on the way out.

Nice board!

If I ever open this little guy up again, I may put that change on the switch. The difference between normal and bluesberry is pretty negligible, I could do without that.

BTW, thanks for all the help. Your board was very nice to work on and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a hotcake board.

[DR 2000 Series Wireless Unit]

I posted this pic in a build report thread of mine, so I figured I would post it here as well.



I use a small, clean, tube amp with a direct out and speaker attenuation for an almost silent stage rig (playing in a church with in-ears). I let my pedals handle all of my dirty tones, and the amp does a great job of taking on the character of the various pedals.

Pedalboard is an IKEA Gorm Shelf. Signal Chain in order(not topographical order...)

DR 2000 Series Wireless Unit - I picked it up for about $30 shipped. The box was beaten to heck, but everything inside was factory fresh. New twist ties and plastic wrap. I will eventually move it to the underside of my board to leave room for some more pedals.

TC Electronic Polytune - Great tuner. Nuff Said.

Dunlop 535q Wah - Modified for actual true-bypass and I added some LEDs for funzies. It already had a red fasel inductor inside, but one day I want to buy a yellow fasel and set it up for red/yellow/series/parallel switching. More out of curiosity than anything else.

DOD FX-17 Wah/Volume - The wah on this thing is not my cup of tea, but it's the teeniest volume pedal I've ever seen. Sadly most gearheads ask about where they can get one instead of noticing my DIY pedals. I keep it by my tap switch for delay swells and such, but it's before my ODs in the chain because I like how it sounds there better.

MXR Classic Overdrive - From what I understand, this is just a Tube Screamer. I picked it up before it's actual release day from GC because it was cheap and "limited edition". I like it a lot. Inside the pedal there was a dipswitch to switch between tonestacks, so I moved the switch outside the pedal.

Hotcake/Shortstack - Built on jtn191's Shortstack board. I really really like this thing. It's a fantastic low-cutting overdrive. It stacks great for heavily (analogish) delayed sounds because it really cuts through the darker delay trails.

MB Yellow Shark(Honeybee OD) - I really like this guy too. I'm told it may get kicked off my board when I build ROG's Supreaux Deux, but we shall see. Right now I'm using it for that Supro-ish sound. It gets a lot of use from me on single note neck pickup licks on the high strings.

BSIAB 2 - My second build (started ~2008, finished ~2010). I don't remember who's board I built this one on, probably gaussmarkov's because I was reading through his website around the time I built this. I added a "second channel" switch. Basically I can switch between two sets of Vol and Gain knobs. The tone and mid knobs are universal to the two "channels," however. I'm considering attempting a 1590a build because I don't use both channels very often, and I need the space.

Madbean Collosalus - I've always been a huge MXR Flanger fan. When I was 17 I tried to build the project from Shredaholics. I was never able to find a SAD1024 and eventually gave up. So for me, the Collosalus was a longtime victory waiting to happen. I'm currently building a MB Current Lover that will occupy the gap on my pedalboard between the Collosalus and the DL4.

Line 6 DL4 - I picked this one up off the internet, broken, for basically the cost of shipping. I fixed her up good as new. Well, except for the fact that I stripped all the paint off...You can get more for them on ebay this way. I'm going to do the usual mods and ditch it on ebay for much more than I paid for it, and then start heading towards a TC Flashback x4 with the money.

Line 6 Verbzilla - or the pedal that made me money when I bought it. I love this thing for textures and swells. I would never leave a reverb pedal on all the time, it's just not my thing.

Marshall Echohead - When I first started looking into delay pedals I came across this one on craigslist for $20. I literally left $20 under this dudes welcome mat and took the pedal off his porch. Best craigslist transaction ever. The tap tempo pedal is connected to the Echohead. It doesn't do tap divisions, but tapping .8ths is pretty simple. It has a fantastic sounding Analog delay mode, and reverse delay for more textural sounds.

LPB-1 - This was my first build. I built it when I was 16(I'm 22 now). I bought the parts from Fry's Electronics and built it from a schematic on perfboard. I opened it recently and cleaned the wiring up some. My wiring is not very clean now, but it was apparently much worse. It's at the end of my chain so I can use it as a pure volume boost(set for about 5-8db) for lead breaks(church sound guys are usually deaf and cannot hear when lead breaks start). In front of my OD's I was getting different levels of boost when used in conjunction with each OD, but at the end, I get a pretty uniform boost level no matter what I am running before it.

The 1590a at the end of my chain. - Is literally an input jack wired to an output jack. The position of the LPB-1 doesn't work very well for plugging a straight guitar lead into it, so I made a little output box. Eventually I will put it underneath my board with a closed circuit input insert, so that in the event my wireless goes down, I can just plug a cable in and continue rockin'.

I have a couple other pedals that don't get used on this board:

EHX Freeze - I just got this, not a fan. If I don't find a way to use this soon, it will set a personal record for the shortest time between purchase and reselling of a pedal.

Violet Rams head muff clone - Too crazy for church(with the exception of the occasional lead tone). I have it boxed in a BB, so I'm building a 1590a version so that I can include it on my board and not worry about size.

Way Huge Red Llama clone - Not enough applications for church music and I'm not a huge fan of it, so I'll probably give it to a buddy or ditch it on ebay.

Eric Johnson FF clone in a 1590a - It doesn't play well with my wireless. Any recommendations on how to fix that?

Modded Boss DS-1 - I can sell it on ebay, but the going rate for even keeley modded DS-1s is about what I paid for mine. I'd rather just keep it or give it to a young talented guitarist when I see one(which is what I usually do with extra pedals.)

I also have countless PCB's that I am building, slowly but surely. I think I am addicted to buying PCB's. I feel like I never have time to build, but I always have time to buy PCBs.

nice build! I'll look into how to smooth the decay...I'm building one into a 1590a soon. Gave my other one to a friend

I'm not super worried about it, this is by far my favorite low-cutting pedal, fizz or no fizz.

That is a tight squeeze,and why I don't like 1590a's takes a lt of patience.

Indeed, 1590a's are a pain, but for whatever reason, if it fits in a 1590a I refuse to put it in a bigger box. My pedalboard is pretty crowded, so it is worth it to me.

Here's a pic of my (newly rearranged) pedalboard. You can see how 1590a's will be my savior. I'm considering doing a 1590a TS, Honeybee, BSIAB2 and LPB1 to cut down on space.

I love that paint job.

Thank you, I'll be sure to pass that along to my girlfriend. I want her to paint more pedals for me, but I had a hard time with clearcoating. I'm always afraid that I'll mess up all of her hard work.

I wouldn't have even tried to jam a battery in there, I tip my hat to you. Very nice!

I finally sat down and got this little guy boxed up. I like it a lot, although there is a bit of fizzyness on the note decay(in normal and bluesberry mode with every opamp I've tried).

Shoving everything in there. I had to grind the edge of the lid because I mounted my power jack to close...


It's a tight fit with that switch in there...


My girlfriend painted this one for me. My idea was just for her to paint a stack of pancakes, but her (literal) hotcake was a much better idea. Here it is getting a test drive next to my honeybee clone...

All the machine does is add sticky glue to the back of whatever you run through it.

Useful for scrapbooking, but in my limited brain power I can't think of how it would be different that printing to sticker paper.

How does that box still look so empty??

Fantastic work. This one has been very near the top of my list for a long time. Put me down as interested in a board.