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Looking at their prices, it looks like the enclosures they sell are only a couple dollars cheaper than the Hammond enclosures on Pedal Parts Plus. Anybody have any opinion on how they compare? I'd expect them to either be closely comparable to Hammond if not better with those regular prices...is it that they are Hammond enclosures?

Mammoth sells import and Hammond enclosures. I'm not sure which are on sale. I've used the Mammoth brand enclosures before. The fit is good and the pieces feel sturdy. The powder coat has been good and wears well in my experience.

Thanks for that!
n00b question: when people talk about 'import' boxes, is the assumption here that they're Chinese, or are there other countries commonly known for manufacturing boxes? Either way, how does the quality of those 'import' boxes compare to the Hammonds?

Sorry for the questions. I'm doing all I can to keep from making the mistake of purchasing large orders of anything even closely relatable to those god-awful black boxes that a brisk wind could crush.

Looking at their prices, it looks like the enclosures they sell are only a couple dollars cheaper than the Hammond enclosures on Pedal Parts Plus. Anybody have any opinion on how they compare? I'd expect them to either be closely comparable to Hammond if not better with those regular prices...is it that they are Hammond enclosures?

How is that ripping you off? It's just a different method of switching and not unique to TCE. You are on a DIY forum....if it fails, fix it.

So it looks safe to say a few of you might not be the best at completely reading a post before responding to it. My issue has nothing to do with the switch. The pedal is bricked all together.

I was responding to impycat1's post directly before mine. For your issue, don't know what to say. It's definitely disappointing they are not willing to repair. Maybe try PM'ing TOR on TGP...he's the TC Rep that posts there all the time. Perhaps he can offer some help?

Apologies, there's a litter of replies on the switching issue. Thanks for the heads up on the TC rep. Not sure it's worth it as I have literally no reputation on the site as of yet lol.

On the switch issue, it shouldn't be a hard fix. This being a DIY community, there's plenty of people here to help with that, if you're having problems getting it back in place.
And I would t consider the spring activated switches a 'ripoff' whatsoever. I was extremely curious about how they were able to make a switching system so incredibly seamless. Was happy to have that question answered once I found a small enough star-bit to pop the hood on it. If anything, I'd consider their switching systems a selling point, if it weren't for the issues commonly found in them.

How is that ripping you off? It's just a different method of switching and not unique to TCE. You are on a DIY forum....if it fails, fix it.

So it looks safe to say a few of you might not be the best at completely reading a post before responding to it. My issue has nothing to do with the switch. The pedal is bricked all together.

Is it Harmon Music Group? I have a friend that worked for them a long time ago. When they used to get warranty calls they would pretty much laugh at the customer and hang up. They suck big time.

I don't think so, but I'm not entirely sure.
This is the link to TC Elec's parent company from TC's website: http://www.music-group.com/brands?active=Brands

I know the little 1590A sized ditto is notorious for its stomp switch shitting itself. Any chance that something similar has occurred with your unit?

http://www.coda-effects.com/2015/04/ditto-looper-repair-how-to-fix-broken.html

That wasn't the issue with mine in-particular, but in my initial "TC Ditto X4 issues" Google search, about half the complaints were towards that issue exactly and the other half being my issue. TC Elec uses momentary switches attached to a spring that hits a much smaller, internal switch beneath it (wtf). Apparently, those springs pop out of place constantly due to there being no containment structure for the springs.

My particular issue was this:
I go into the studio one day to find my Ditto X4 (which I'd previously left off, obviously) 'on' with a red LED glowing above the 'LOOP1' switch. I can't remember if the signal was being bypassed/audible or not. What I do know is that nothing on the pedal was working. I unplug it, plug it back in and all lights flash a few times and then back to the red LED and no function. Tried both the original power supply and secondary to make sure it wasn't that. It wasn't. It's literally just bricked.

Just wanted to give a heads up as to my recent experience with TC Electronics and see if anyone here has experienced similar. I'm apparently far from being the only person that's had this kind of experience with them.

Bullet point, to keep myself from getting out of hand:

-Bought a Ditto X4 in September ($250+tax)
-Never leaves the studio
-Seven months later it just stops working
-Go to TC for Warranty repair (1 year manufacturer coverage)
-Find out they're owned by a different company ('Music Group')
-Music Group doesn't give a crap
-Just keep telling me to update firmware
-....There hasn't been a firmware update for the X4, but I follow their steps anyway
-Finally get to warranty
-They tell me to ship it out to some general elec shop in Florida (I pay shipping)
-Check reviews
-2/5 stars
-Apparently tons of music companies use these places to cover their warranties
-"Took weeks and sent back still broken"
-Find out I need original receipt of sale
-Find out I have no warranty because I don't have it


$250 for one pedal from a company that calls themselves boutique and they essentially sold me a $250 paperweight. Unbelievable. Also found out that the standard warranty could be 3 years, if you register your pedal within 90 days....Something that is advertised nowhere.

All this work just to screw their customers. I'll never buy TC Electronics again. If only 24bit DIY loop pedals were a viable option.

Weird. I was just thinking about this same thing lol.

Power dissipated in a resistor is P = V^2/R.  So R = V^2/P.  For a pedal with a 9V power supply (and no charge pump/voltage doubler), the max voltage a resistor would ever see is 9V.  To dissipate 1/8 W, you would have a resistance of R = (9^2) / (1/8) = 648 ohms. Any higher resistance will dissipate less power.

To leave a small safety factor, any resistor over 1K in a 9V pedal will always be dissipating under 1/8 W.  In the Moodring, the only small resistor is a 470 ohm that is from opamp output to coupling cap (so it won't see a lot of voltage), and most of the circuit runs off 5V from a regulator anyway. I would not see a problem using 1/8 W resistors; you could use a 1/4 W for the 470R if you wanted to be extra cautious.

I would just go ahead and use the capacitors regardless of knowing what kind of ceramic cap they were. No reason to waste them.

Thank you so much! But will the additional 'work' on the 1/8w cause any problems with noise?

Regards,
Tyler

I recently made a trip to an absolutely awesome place in Atlanta called ACK Radio Supply. It's run by a couple of gentlemen and lady, all of which SERIOUSLY know their stuff. They also happen to carry just about every electric component under the sun, including different brands. I Definitely suggest it if you happen to be in the area, even if just for the relief that such a place still exists. They all hangout by the parts cabinets in the back while you callout your parts list to them. You call it out and go down the list (literally did this with the Moodring shopping list up on my phone) and they fill little baggies with what you're calling for and label it.

The downside of this is that you don't get to checkout the components yourself, aside from the cool stuff they have hanging up in their storefront, which is rather small. After I was done with the parts, I checked out and went on my merry way. After I'd left, I remember thinking that $30 was a helluva lot for a handful of resistors and a few caps, so I take a look and notice that almost all the resistors are metal film Vishay-Dale RN55D (BADASS!), a few of them Xicon, and the caps are ceramic dipped or multi-layered..which I probably won't use, seeing as that I can't be certain of the material.

ANYWAYS..tl;dr - It looks like all the resistors I got were 1/8 watt instead of 1/4 watt, and I'm unsure of whether or not they can still be used with the Moodring board.

Would there be any discernible/noticeable differences if I use these resistors, if I can even use them at all? I've recently read that the power rating of a resistor is directly related to it's potential contact noise.

Thanks in advance! 

-Tyler

The caps may be ok.  Once you populate the board see if it fits between the surrounding components and if it does it will be ok.

Next, If you have a lot of projects you might want to order parts in bulk from Mouser, Aliied, Arrow, etc.... electronics distributors.  Caps, resistors, IC's should be much cheaper from them. Arrow is offering free shipping the rest of this month but their site is a real bitch to navigate around but if you have the patience you can find really good prices.  Nothing against Mammoth (I made a small order last week) but you can get a much better deal from the places mentioned above. Good luck with your builds.

The only thing that shews me away from Mouser is the fact that they, for whatever reason, seem to have 4 different types of every single product I'm looking for all the way down to the model. Much like my current cap situation, it freaks me out to think I could order something from Mouser titled and described exactly like something I'd buy from Mammoth or Small Bear, only to receive something with different dimensions (which I've found to be the typical reason for the multitude of different models on Mouser).

What you will get from an audio grade electro is a more beautiful gutshot and that internal voice that says "this box has magic inside." I love the look of some of those fancy caps. I wish F&T made submini radial caps.

Welcome, by the way! It will be fun to see your builds.

Thank you! Can't wait to start shelling them out.

Bummer

I've already made one of my orders with Mammoth, which included a handful of caps. From memory, they only had 100v currently available, so I'll probably be watching those collect dust for the foreseeable future. All's not lost, however, I only ordered a few different values for the very purpose of safeguarding myself from.....myself, given the likelihood of screwing it up. NAILED IT.

That said, doesn't anyone have any experience in-particular with these caps and how they fair comparatively to, say, the "generic" elecrolytics offered by Small Bear and the like? What is it about them that have people so certain that they're worth buying for audio circuitry over others? What would make the difference in tone and why?

Regards,
Tyler

In the specific case of electrolytic vs film caps, it's physical size. Simple as that. 1uF and upwards box caps get pretty big, compared to the other components.

Thanks for that. Speaking of size - In ordering these Nichicon Muse caps, should there be a noticeable or dooming difference in size between the 35v and the 100v?

Regards,
Tyler

Hey Everybody!

Am still in the midst of ordering everything I need for all the boards I ordered in large, bulk orders. It's a scary thing for sure.
My first question is: What differences can be found in the properties of electrolytic caps? I'm wanting to order everything from Mammoth as they offer the Nichicon 'audiograde' electrolytic caps, but was unsure of the difference. The only things that have convinced me these caps are better are a few different threads on different forums (diyaudio, diystompboxes) that speak of these caps as if they're obviously the better option. The other thing that's convinced me is that I've busted open all my pedals since starting this venture and they all seem to have a few of these same electrolytics in there..Fulltone, MXR, EHX, etc..

My second question is: Being that poly caps have been proven better for audio circuits, why wouldn't they be used in all areas where caps are needed as opposed to the variation found in these and other builds? Piezoelectric effects of ceramics being the particular curiosity here. What's the deal with how each type, make, and model effect tone?

Thanks in advance everybody. You guys are amazing. 

Regards,
Tyler