BBD dilemma

[the3secondrule]

I have scored a very nice vintage Ibanez delay - one of these:



It contains an MN3005, and delays verrry nicely. trouble is the clean signal through is SUPER dark and muddy.
I haven't been able to google-fu a schematic, and i'm not about to just start poking around in there blindly.

I don't really want to rob a rare BBD from a working delay to build another delay, but its not really usable as it is.

I guess I have a look for another MN3005 based delay that isn't working?

Thoughts, suggestions?

[derevaun]

Maybe you can flip it for the cost of a vetted, worry-free MN3005? It looks like the sort of thing that collectors collect. Like Neil Young's rooms full of tweed champs.

[Scruffie]

Good on you for not destroying it 

Yes you could use the MN3005 in another delay that isn't working but that looks like quite a nice rack unit...

At that age, an electro recap might help and tracing the signal wouldn't be impossible without a schematic to find out where it gets dark, although you could perhaps e-mail maxon/ibanez to see if they have a copy still.

[the3secondrule]

I was hoping you'd weigh in Scruffie, as the voice of reason. I did consider that a re-cap would be sensible.... but good point about hitting up maxon/ibanez (and it's definitely a maxon board).

Funnily enough the flanger side is perfectly clear. if only I liked flangers

Good on you for not destroying it 

Yes you could use the MN3005 in another delay that isn't working but that looks like quite a nice rack unit...

At that age, an electro recap might help and tracing the signal wouldn't be impossible without a schematic to find out where it gets dark, although you could perhaps e-mail maxon/ibanez to see if they have a copy still.

[the3secondrule]

the only maxon site i can find is through godlyke who "do not distribute schematics for maxon products...."

the Ibanez website seems to be down.. looks like its a re-cap....

not sure i'm up to tracing THIS:

[Scruffie]

I was hoping you'd weigh in Scruffie, as the voice of reason. I did consider that a re-cap would be sensible.... but good point about hitting up maxon/ibanez (and it's definitely a maxon board).

Funnily enough the flanger side is perfectly clear. if only I liked flangers

Good on you for not destroying it 

Yes you could use the MN3005 in another delay that isn't working but that looks like quite a nice rack unit...

At that age, an electro recap might help and tracing the signal wouldn't be impossible without a schematic to find out where it gets dark, although you could perhaps e-mail maxon/ibanez to see if they have a copy still.

What chip does the flanger side use? An MN3004?

The flanger side is clear so we can take it that this wasn't meant to be super dark, does every control work as it should in both modes?

If it gets to 20+ years unless it's a real specialty piece you don't want to tamper with and nothing is wrong an electro recap is always worth it, if only to potentially cut some noise and save you doing it down the line or the next person you sell it to binning it as broken when one goes.

[the3secondrule]

pretty sure the flanger side is an MN3007.

some of the pots are pretty scratchy / have dead spots, so a total overhaul is probably in order.

it's in pretty shabby condition, so i'm not worried about resale value - it was gifted to me anyway, a friends father passed away a few years back, and this is one of the treats (+ roland BeeBaa, and roland AP2 phaser - all in "sort-of" working condition) cleared out of his studio - so i'm not planning to sell it

[Scruffie]

the only maxon site i can find is through godlyke who "do not distribute schematics for maxon products...."

the Ibanez website seems to be down.. looks like its a re-cap....

not sure i'm up to tracing THIS: [img]

Looks bigger on the inside!

Ahh a MN3007 for the flanger, shame.

Thing is you might not have to trace a lot of it, a lot of that is going to be for the switching etc. but you know that a dual opamp (or singles, whatever it's using) has output at pins 1 & 7, so... you go through each ones and note where the signal goes from bright to dull, then trace between those and hopefully find the culprit that way.

I wonder if the pots have issues then if the tone control and any of its associated parts which it shouldn't be too hard to trace back from (i'm guessing it's probably active) is our culprit then.

[the3secondrule]

thats true - it does all seem to be hard switching, not electronic though.

And the tone control seems to work only on the echo. good point on just following the OA's.
I did have a look for the signs of leaky / bulging electro's... but if it hasn't been used in an age, and they've simply dried up that wouldn't be so obvious, eh?


It does make me regret selling the boss DM100, and Ibanez AD100 that I owned at one stage....

[alanp]

MusicWorks are the NZ agent for Ibanez, if you asked, then perhaps they could kick it up the foodchain for you.

[the3secondrule]

By George, i think I've got it.

I, very unscientifically, just replaced every electro that looked like it might be in the signal path.

Found a couple that had definitely leaked. My kid is asleep in the nect room, so I cant test at volume, but it is definitely sounding brighter!

[Scruffie]

  bit of contact cleaner on the pots and hopefully she's good to go!

[jimijam]

i would swap every cap n the signal path not just the electros.

[lars]

Definitely clean the contacts on all the input output jacks as well. I had an amp that seemed like it was dead, turned out to just be a cheap headphone jack that was shorting out.