Aqua Boy with v3205 's

[gtr2]

Any chance of a small sound sample of your current findings? I'd really like to hear exactly what your repeats are sounding like to gauge it against my own.

I'll see if I can get something up after work today.

Update:  I've really been struggling with this build.  I spent about two hours debugging again yesterday, found out one of the pins to the DD board no longer was making proper conduct to the socket.  This is the fourth or fifth time I've had to debug during this process.  This is mainly from the sockets being "broke in" and not always making good a good connection also stranded wire weakening from the board due to a lot of handling.  It's been pretty frustrating.

I bread boarded up a EH LB-1 to boost the delay signal after the v3205's but it added some noise and altered the delay signal in a way I didn't like, it really made it gritty.  I also rigged a couple 1/4" jacks to take the delay line through a fatpants, but I couldn't get the signal to pass a signal through the pedal.  It would go through on bypass, but not when engaged.  (it was powered on  )

Any ideas on a simple clean boost I can add in that has no tone effects.  (I feel like I'm on the gear page with that request...)

I'm also thinking I might just call it a day and leave the delay alone...  It's fine for most of what I play at this point, it just would have been nice to have the delay a little more pronounced when needed.

I'll do my best to get a sample of where I'm at..

Josh

[jiffy]

I've recorded what mine sounds like. I only had my phone so it's a really crap recording. You can only really notice the distortion when I play those chords hard, it's not too bad. I kinda like it like that now and might just leave it as is. But compared to my mn3005 build it's not so clean.
http://snd.sc/ejQXkW

[gtr2]

I've recorded what mine sounds like. I only had my phone so it's a really crap recording. You can only really notice the distortion when I play those chords hard, it's not too bad. I kinda like it like that now and might just leave it as is. But compared to my mn3005 build it's not so clean.
http://snd.sc/ejQXkW

I honestly had a hard time hearing the distortion in your clips because I think some of it was lost in your recording method.  I could hear a little but it was difficult.

[gtr2]

Here's my sound clip.  Gear chain is guitar w/humbuckers-> aquaboy w/DD board ->tech 21 blonde (set clean) -> protools w/mbox

The first 1:15 min is my modified version, after 1:15 is the stock values.  I tried to match the delay levels for a close comparison.  The mods do drop the delay level and the modified version is maxed on the mix setting.  The stock version is about 1/3 of the way up.  Sorry there's a little clipping, it was a real quick sample..

http://soundcloud.com/1776-effects/delay-clip

josh-

[jiffy]

Definitely an improvement in the first half compared to the second part there. It sounded pretty clean in that first min.

I'm using a mustang with single coils, so probably why I almost get away with it. I'll mess around with it over the next few days. One thing I noticed when I was using an audio probe was that one BBD was clean the other not (no matter where I move the trims.)

[hoyager]

Good stuff man, that is quite an improvement

[madbean]

Very big difference. Interestingly, I thinking your modded version sounds pretty close to the "stock" results I've gotten. This is a mystery!

Could you summarize once more the changes you've made to achieve your mod? Maybe I can offer a solution to get your delay level bumped up.

[madbean]

Jiffy's sample is pretty close to what I would expect from an average build, FYI.

[gtr2]

I can get mine to sound close to jiffy's if I lower the signal coming from my guitar.  I don't have any single coil guitars right now.  The bridge pickup I recorded with is a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB with none of the treble rolled off.

Mods are as follows..I've been full circle on this one but here's where I'm at now.

Everything is running at 18v except the clock and bbd's which are at 8.8v from a regulator in r19

I've got a 39k resistor tied right after c15 forming a voltage divider with r15 which is at 19k.

Everything else is stock.  I can't say I notice much difference between running at 18v or 9v...

I've got a few of the v3205's and none of them sound better than one another.

josh

[gitaar0]

Hi gtr2,

Glad your AB is now working ok.
Listening to your recordings I also have to say that mine sounds like your final modded version, but then stock with the only change of r15 as discussed and suggested in the mod section.

I keep thinking that something else was different/wrong in your case.

Marc

[gtr2]

Marc,

What guitar(s) are you running through your aquaboy?

Josh

[gitaar0]

Yes, good question ;-)

Prs archtop with humbuckers, es 335 also with humbuckers and sometimes my active system for acoustic guitar wich is on line level.......

All pretty hot signals......There is even an ep pre and ep booster in front in the chain....

Marc

[jiffy]

Hey gtr2 when you posted your demo did you have depth at the max? Just wondering because in my demo the first repeat is actually slightly louder than unity gain(when depth=maxed), but in your demo it's not, so is that because of the mod or just because you didn't have the depth maxed?

Edit: okay just re-read your post now... ahh. So the only way to fix this would be to attenuate the input to the BBD then amplify the wet signal back to just above unity gain.. hmm I think i'll just leave mine as is. Although the distortion is a little worse than my recording really shows, I think it's livable with, I really like the extra time

[gtr2]

I rechecked all the components which was time consuming and difficult based on the orientation of the resistors.  Wasn't to bad because now I have the 10k color code memorized.

I did some playing with the pedal last night in my normal "rig".  Used the same guitar as I have been, Schecter C-1 with a seymour duncan JB SH-4 bridge pickup.   Described as this on the website "Provides slammin' output while retaining singing highs"  Same issues with the unmodded version in my rig.  No surprise there...  It's actually not the distortion that bothers me its some of the fizzyness that hangs around the notes.  That was a bad description...

So I switched guitars to a 08 Les Paul Standard w/Burstbucker pro's, my normal playing out guitar.  (It normally stays in the case at home to protect it from crayons and stray projectiles)

Since I have a 100k pot in for r15 I found I could adjust the pot to 100k with my normal 39k resistor after c15 and get a much louder acceptable delay.  If I removed the 39k resistor it still left to much signal in to the bbd.

My old danelectro U2 with lipstick pickups I can run the aquaboy at stock.

This delay is very dependent on the guitar more specifically the pickup output.

I'm happy enough with my findings and this is what I'm going to end up with.

A 39k resistor right after c15 and a 100k trim pot in for r15.  I'll adjust the 100k trim so sounds good with my les paul which will give a first delay around unity gain.  I don't ussually play with a delay that is stronger than my original signal anyways. 

So if you want to mod yours just pull c15 and put in a 39k down the neg lead of a new 10uF cap back in the board.  Then put a 100k trim in for r15.  I've got to source one that fits...

I'm done tinkering with this, well besides the mod board. 

josh

[gtr2]

Resoldered all the components and mods to the pcb today and I breadboarded the LFO circuit.   Sounds really lush or it can get pretty wild too!  Next update will be the completed build.  Probably in a couple weeks due to some other priorities and a few more small mods.  Instead of putting a trim pot at r15 like I was going to I stuck a 51k resistor there.  This is in addition to the 39k installed in series right after c15.  This was a good compromise and sounds great without to much delay volume lost.  I found that a voltage divider was a much better way to cut the signal than just sending more signal to ground with a lower resistance at r15.  I'm also running at only 9v now.  I'll make a detailed post about what I did, sound sample or video, and what my LFO mods were after the completed build.  With what I know now, I wouldn't hesitate to build another one of these.  It sounds really nice and I'm kind of a delay snob...

Here's the modulation circuit up and running...  I've modded it a little since this pic for an led indicator and some more usable range.

Josh