mojo - where do you draw the line?

[pickdropper]

I sit firmly on the fence. All of what jon says makes logical sensd to me....but then there was that rangemaster...mojo-reffic. Sounded totally different to the tayda rangemastsr.  Some may have liked the tayda rangemaster better, cleaner I guess.  I honestly thought I was going to be one of them.  But alas, it sounds a little lifeless compared to the mojo rangemaster. I cant explain it. A oscolloscope cant explain it.  I wish I had uploaded the video so I could show u all what im taLking about.

I think blanket statements like 'dont bother with x component because its a waste of time' is limiting yourself.  Diodes. Dont get me wrong. I think you can hear bugger all difference between 2 diodes with the same fv.  But if you can get say..old 1n34a FOR A REASONABLE PRICE I would perfer those instead of rolling the dice with modern ebay/tayda type that are unreliable.

Generally for me the scientist within thinks its all a load of bs....but...im still keeping my mind open to possibilities instead of shutting out information because I read something that told me I shouldnt bother.

Yeah on the fence.

It could be the that the parts have different values due to tolerance variations.  Sometimes, older "mojo" parts drift, which can account for a difference in sound.

[chromesphere]

Cant be that I tested the components and they were all bang on!

[GrindCustoms]

I do like big ass caps, carbon comps, NOS tubes... in fact everything that is old.

I pertinantly know that i won't make that much difference in the sound, there's not enough voltage and other parameters to truly get the most out of those components.

But i do like the look a LOT, I really like doing PTP pedals and other similar techniques in my builts and those components are the most easy to work with for that purpose.

With my forum friend, InsonicBloom, on my facebook page we went onto a debate with some fans telling about how much better this and that was sounding and bla bla bla bla. Paul (InsonicBloom) probably being one of the most factual guy out there. Did a battery of test with is scope and posted all the results. We spent a day and a half exchanging and testing out bunch of stuff, i even sent him stuff to test and that he shipped me back after for the sake of science.

The conclusion.

If a scope does'nt make a difference your ears won't, that is if you don't have some of those infamous golden ears.

[selfdestroyer]

I am new to this and I am learning more and more with every build. I simply love the look of older parts and I love to be able to make a pedal for someone and tell them about the cool/rare parts that are in it.. but.. I noticed HUGE differences with building Big Muffs with metal film resistors simple for the fact that its quieter as far as noise. I have been very happy with metal film & box caps but it is fun to build with older components just simply for the fact that I can. I would never sell a pedal a "better" since it uses older parts. I would sell it as it "looks" cool and you have a rare piece of electronic history. I completely agree with Jacob's post about a "feeling" as I have that one guitar that I feel like I can do anything on and it just feels right and the fact that it did not cost me thousands of dollars is even better. I have bought a few lots lately of Diodes and Transistors just to have some older parts around to play with and I ended up having a bunch of builds from having them. If I did not get the lots at a rockin price, I would still be buying equivalent replacements from Mouser but since I have them, I will use them.

I also feel like mojo can be a memory of something old. Like when I play through my RE-201 it just bring back memories of tons of albums and songs I love.

Cody

[evildead222]

Yea the look of older parts is very cool.  People always love older stuff.  Any kind of vintage item no matter what it is, is always cooler.

[croquet hoop]

Yea the look of older parts is very cool.  People always love older stuff.

Yeah, but put anything under a blob of goop and tell them "there's magic underneath" and they'll positively go crazy.

[rullywowr]

But you have to be sure it's nos black vintage epoxy. Can't go for that hardware store 5min stuff.

[slimtriggers]

"De gustibus non est disputandum"  or something like that.  I've tried different opamps in my Tube Screamer, but I can't tell any difference.  I've tried Ge clipping diodes in there too, but I'm almost ashamed to say that I prefer the sound of common 1n4148s and LEDs.  I know it's not sexy, but it makes my ears happy, and that's why I built it in the first place.   

We build for ourselves first and foremost.  That's why it's DIY.  We don't have to rely on the testimony of marketing hacks and true believers.  Build it how you like it 

[chromesphere]

Thats part of the problem and stigma against using mojo isnt it? Boutique builders selling their special version of unobtainium for lots of $$$.  And well...flat out lying about its benefit when usually its probably more of a credit to the circuit then the components used. It creates a divide amongst pedal builders.  I have a rangemaster that would disagree with my accepted conclusion on mojo...it sounds great! Prehaps its an isolated occurence, I would have to try other circuits andcertainly as alreadymentioned in this thread mojo can ruin an effect (big muff -> too much noise).

[gtr2]

 

[davent]

 Maximized Mojo Mods!

[selfdestroyer]

Maximized Mojo Mods!

Dear lord! that is just insane. I am dying on the couch watching this. Thanks for that, I needed a good laugh.

[alanp]

Tim Taylor amp

[gordo]

I think to complicate perceived differences in "toan" (thanks Bean) there is a combination placebo/belief effect happening as well.  I decommissioned an ancient old phone system for the Hancock building in Chicago a number of years back and it was an ancient rotary system that took up two floors of space.  As we took the old girl offline and brought up the new system I had one of my apprentices clip out anything that said Sprague on it.  I got a little box of black plastic caps with orange print and they were in the sweet spot for guitar and bass tone caps.  The first guitar I built from scratch at approximately the same time was my first tele and was the first guitar I ever used the tone pot on.  Using a Sprague cap the tone has a beautiful range on the full range of the pot.

Unfortunately at the same time I finally understood the relationship of both volume and tone pots on a guitar to controlling an amplifier.  I don't suspect for a minute that these caps changed my approach...I think I finally just "got" it.  Plus, playing a church gig had given me a new perspective on nuanced playing.

BUT, I also started installing the caps on friend's and select customer's gear and I'm not sure if they really sounded better, or I had a subtle influence on their ears.  I think there's a strong connection between "wanting" to hear better sounds and actually "hearing" better sounds.

In the meantime I'm almost out of the caps.  Everyone is happy, including me, and at the end of the day: there's the mojo...

[jubal81]

Just because it's a placebo, it doesn't mean it doesn't work.

"For a medication, device or procedure to be considered effective by the FDA, it has to be proven to be more effective than placebo. That can be challenging, since as many as 30 percent of people can experience improvement with placebos."