sabertooth with the new fabbed board

[eniacmike]

I finished up my sabertooth build tonight. I actually had the circuit built up last week but I screwed up my decal so I had to wait till I had a chance to print it up again. this decal tore almost like 3 times. for whatever reason it was really brittle (this was the last page in my pack and it probably sat in the car for too long or something). I wasn't too happy about the decal but I went through with clearcoat and it looks like it isn't going anywhere now.

I already have a zvex mastotron which is the same circuit but smd with an impedance control (relax/push) and a subs switch that changes the input cap, but I always leave the impedance control maxed and the subs switch on 3 anyways which is pretty much the same as my build.

The pedal sounds great although I will probably either do some mods or build up another one with some mods. mainly just changing out the pots. I think the 2kb for the fuzz might sound better if I just use a 1kb like a fuzz face. All the good stuff is just bunched up at the end with a 2kb maybe even a 1kc if I can remember to order one. If you are building one and have a 1kb laying around just use that. The bite pot is also really bunched up at the bottom it goes from full on fuzz to gated really fast and it is hard to fine tune it. I would think lowering it to 250kb or even 100kb would help it feel better. there is really no point  for me in cranking it up the bite control it is just ridiculous splattyness.. especially with my p-90's they just don't put out enough.

Although I got some really funny sounds with a cranked mxr dyna comp in front of it because the attack was too quiet to overcome the gate effect and but the sustain would punch through so I almost had a fuzzy slow gear thing going on.

I skipped the onboard led switching because I have been using these true bypass boards from small bear and they have a led resistor and they keep my leds somewhat in place too in my preferred spot so it's easier to use those.

[gtr2]

Im loving that decal.  It was worth the trouble!!!

[eniacmike]

thanks! I think it kind of looks like an xray with the blue. I bought that spray paint months ago and I never used it so I just went with the color because I wanted to see what it looked like on a pedal.

[B_of_H]

I just ordered a few of these pcb's to make for 2 bass players I play with and my little brother. 

The bass player in my main gig is legally blind so i'm going to wrap the switch in LED's for him along with one LED on the edge all bi-color so they are on all the time. 

Thanks for the info on the pot values, I think i'll probably do some experimenting and I haven't made a parts order yet so this helps.

have you tried log taper for either?  why go 'c' taper?

[eniacmike]

log taper comes up slow at first and then the gain comes on bunched really fast in the last half of the pot.

A reverse log is the opposite the gain comes up really fast until the halfway point and then slowly raises up to max over the last half of the pot. I found that with reverse log c pots I have more focus over the last part of the pot to dial in the right sound. Especially on any circuit that you run with the gain/fuzz maxed out most of the time or all the good sounds are at the end it spreads them out a little bit so you get more control. I did the same thing on my faultline pedal because I really only liked the last 25% of the gain knob and it was hard to dial in perfectly, switched it to a C taper and it was alot easier to dial in.

If I used an audio taper it would be the opposite effect the gain/fuzz comes on really slow at first and once you reach the halfway point it ramps up to full gain really fast.

[eniacmike]

The bass player in my main gig is legally blind so i'm going to wrap the switch in LED's for him along with one LED on the edge all bi-color so they are on all the time. 

this is awesome! Probably the best part about making pedals by hand is making them in a way that works for the user instead of just having to work with off the shelf items.

My guitar player wants me to make him an entire pedal board and I am probably going to go crazy with the leds too. He isn't blind but he plays with his glasses off and hair in his face. I am also going to spread everything out because he wears huge electrician boots and alot of times when he is singing he hits the wrong pedals. I am looking forward to it!

[B_of_H]

log taper comes up slow at first and then the gain comes on bunched really fast in the last half of the pot.

A reverse log is the opposite the gain comes up really fast until the halfway point and then slowly raises up to max over the last half of the pot. I found that with reverse log c pots I have more focus over the last part of the pot to dial in the right sound. Especially on any circuit that you run with the gain/fuzz maxed out most of the time or all the good sounds are at the end it spreads them out a little bit so you get more control. I did the same thing on my faultline pedal because I really only liked the last 25% of the gain knob and it was hard to dial in perfectly, switched it to a C taper and it was alot easier to dial in.

If I used an audio taper it would be the opposite effect the gain/fuzz comes on really slow at first and once you reach the halfway point it ramps up to full gain really fast.

that is some great info, I haven't seen the taper laid out on a graph like that before.  I misunderstood your post before but I also didn't fully understand the difference between a,b,and c tapers.  thanks a lot!

yeah, building pedals for specific purposes is my favorite part of the whole thing.  He needs to know where the pedal is and where the switch is at all times with LED's.  He has a DD6 that he had modified for extra led's that are on when bypassed so he could see it as well but having 4 (one on each side of the switch) should really help.  Right now he has his pedalboard on top of his amp so he can bend over a little and see what he's hitting (his field of vision is a little over a foot)

[eniacmike]

http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/potsecrets/potscret.htm

this article is where I got that image from. really in depth but there is some good info.

[gtr2]

eniacmike,

a little off topic but what do you clearcoat with?

Thx

Josh

[eniacmike]

I have tried EVERY clearcoat out there and I haven't really settled but I started using minwax polycrylic spray. it dries REALLY fast. like you can handle it after an hour. it doesn't really set up for 24 hours but you can assemble your pedal an hour after the last coat. it also isn't as toxic smelling you can actually spray it inside the house, it smells like roach spray.

3 coats over about 3 hours and then wait one more hour and you can handle it. just dont leave it face down on a table over night or it will stick.

It is water based and really easy to clean up.

I tried the polyacrylic in a can and it shows brush strokes and doesn't come out as even.

The big negative with polyacrylic is humidity. If it is really humid the stuff will form flecks before it hits the pedal and you end up with a textured finish. You have to be really careful sanding it because it comes up in sheets but once it sets up for 24 hours it is really solid. surf board guys use it, bass players use it to seal up their necks too. It also can come out a little milky but it always clears up when it dries.

I have used krylon polyurethane, rustoleum polyurethante, testors high gloss, and minwax polyurthane in a can/spray in gloss and satin.

[gtr2]

just dont leave it face down on a table over night or it will stick

ok thanks