Speaker Cranker — Vero

[Aleph Null]

This was my first time working with vero, so it seemed like a good idea to start simple. This is a straight up Earth Quaker Devices clone...which is their take on the venerable Electra distortion. I used a 10k pot and bridged lug 1 and 2 with a 10k resistor because I forgot to order a 5k pot.  The taper works just fine, but a linear taper would probably be ideal.



This circuit would easily fit in a 1590A enclosure, but I am incompatible with those. Also, I needed a bigger box to accommodate the giant knob!  This is the most compact jack arrangement I could think of on a 1590B and it allows for more Velcro surface area, which means greater stability once on a pedal board.



I arrived at this arrangement after much deliberation. A wide 1590B enclosure still takes up less width than two 125B enclosures side by side. I'm still reaping the space-saving benefits of top-mounted jacks, and a 1590B fits nicely on one rail of a Pedal Train board.



I generally don't like unlabeled controls; however, with just one control, it didn't really feel necessary.



I purchased this enclosure powder coated from Mammoth Electronics. I've given up on spray-paint/polyurethane  finishes, because I haven't found them to be very durable.

So far, I'm pleased with the sound of this circuit. Warm, but not dull. Just enough grit. A little boost in the lows and a modest, but noticeable boost in volume. I may try running this after delay and reverb for that wall-of-sound thing.

[bluescage]

Nice job, great chickenhead knob!

[Aleph Null]

Thanks! I found that knob at an Ace Hardware of all places.

[bluescage]

Sorry tosee that you are not doing decals anymore. This one could be very nice if you put a kind of speedometer dial under that big chickenhead 

[Aleph Null]

Sorry tosee that you are not doing decals anymore. This one could be very nice if you put a kind of speedometer dial under that big chickenhead 

Polyurethane/waterslide/powdercoat seems to hold up just fine. It's acrylic paint that I can't get to adhere well. I'm still doing decals on some upcoming builds. I just didn't have any good ideas for this one. I might revisit it in a few months when the weather here allows for faster dry times.

[Fndr8875]

First of all i built the same Speaker cranker last week, and it sounds awesome for like couple bucks of parts. Also if you google speaker cranker schematic youll find a gut shot and the silk screen show b10k, not to say that it didnt make financial sense for them to order tons of 5k pots so they are using same approach you are. You build looks really nice. I used two 1n34a and 1 914, and was running out of parts so i used a bc108b. Ill prob switch it out when i can get some 3904s.


Are the prepained hammonds powder coated? I thought powder coating was where the finish was really tough and wouldnt scratch. Chromesphere has bunch of youtube videos, he refers to it as candy coating /powdercoating...I have an inkjet decal transparent from SB but been hesitant to use it bc i didnt wanna waste it or have it scratch off. Than hammonds can scratch pretty easily, except for the black one which has  a rougher surface, but it didnt seems like te decal would work well on that enclosure since its not totally smooth...

[Aleph Null]

First of all i built the same Speaker cranker last week, and it sounds awesome for like couple bucks of parts. Also if you google speaker cranker schematic youll find a gut shot and the silk screen show b10k, not to say that it didnt make financial sense for them to order tons of 5k pots so they are using same approach you are. You build looks really nice. I used two 1n34a and 1 914, and was running out of parts so i used a bc108b. Ill prob switch it out when i can get some 3904s.


Are the prepained hammonds powder coated? I thought powder coating was where the finish was really tough and wouldnt scratch. Chromesphere has bunch of youtube videos, he refers to it as candy coating /powdercoating...I have an inkjet decal transparent from SB but been hesitant to use it bc i didnt wanna waste it or have it scratch off. Than hammonds can scratch pretty easily, except for the black one which has  a rougher surface, but it didnt seems like te decal would work well on that enclosure since its not totally smooth...

I tried the tested with just the 10k pot and then with the 10k pot and 10k resistor in parallel. Both work, I just found I wasn't using the first half of the range. Adding the resistor makes more of the range of the pot useful for me.

I have used powder coated and painted enclosures (This one is powder coated). I've found powder coating to be much more durable than acrylic paint. I've also used inkjet decals over both powder coat and paint. In both cases I have used polyurethane as a clear coat. Under the clear coat, the decal is perfectly durable. The issue is acrylic paint (in my experience) doesn't adhere well to the enclosure, so I end up with chips in the paint, particularly on the edges.

This one is powder coat - decal - polyurethane. The finish looks like it did when it was new. The pedals I made around the same time with acrylic paint all have at least one chip in the finish.



It might just be bad technique on my part. That said, spending the extra on a powder coated enclosure is worth it for me.

[Aleph Null]

I used two 1n34a and 1 914, and was running out of parts so i used a bc108b. Ill prob switch it out when i can get some 3904s.

I'll be interested to hear if the transistor swap makes a difference in the sound. I suspect the diodes are doing most of the work in this circuit.