Opamps

[JakeFuzz]

So I just put fresh strings on my strat this morning and found a package from Tayda of 12 different dual opamps. I figured the Timmy was so simple and inherently transparent that it would be a perfect platform for testing all of these opamps. The sound I was looking for was no fizziness, tight breakup and very clear note definition. The current opamp I found a little mushy and the breakup was almost fuzzlike in character.

NOTE: This is just what I heard and I am sure this list would change if I was testing them in a different circuit.

Gain: 12-3 oclock
Bass : 7-9 oclock
Treble: 9-1 oclock
Middle diode clipping position
Area '61 bridge/ Area '67 Neck

1. NE5532P: this is my favorite one and the one that is staying in. Best note clarity, still maintains that loose Timmy breakup very slightly but it is very noticeably more "high fi" then everything else.

2. TLC272CP: this has the tightest breakup. If I wanted tubescreamer like breakup this is the one. Sounds very much like the two 4558D's but more transparent.

3. TL072: Very similar sounding to the NE5532P, a little more fizzy and less clear/bright but still (surprisingly) one of the best

4. MC1458L and LM1458N: both nice and clear sounding, the lm1458 isn't as loud and needs to be driven harder to achieve the same level of overdrive but really tames down that Timmy looseness.

5. JRC4558D and CHM4558: nice creamy/tight breakup, very tubescreamer like the chm is the fizzier sounding of the two and slightly brighter as well. These and the TLC272cp are the most "different" sounding of the bunch.

6. JRC2904D, LM358N: both more clear and tighter than the standard 4559 but still maintains the same character

7. JRC4559: Fuzzy a higher gain but great frequency response

8. Tl062: Sounds very similar to the 4559 but fizzy and quite, nothing really memorable

9. LF353P: Flat frequency response, sounded dull and no where near as high fidelity as the others

10. TL082: my least favorite, flat and dull and has a strange buzziness to it that just didn't mesh well

[jkokura]

Cool post! Thanks for sharing.

Jacob

[Jimihendrix1987]

Cool post! Thanks for sharing.

Jacob

+1 

[JeffdaMaori]

Great job, very interesting post and mission you undertook there!
It takes a lot of concentration / time / patience to try through all those op amps without loosing the plot.
Cheers!

[junkemail86]

The NE5532 does seem to get a lot of love, gotta check one out.  Nice work!

[petesz]

If you get a chance, try the BB OPA2134, i found it was similar tonally to the NE5532 BUT a step better in terms of clarity! Again very high-fi sounding, i put one in my Aristocrat build. Although for the price difference, the 5532 is a good op(tion/amp)

[JakeFuzz]

Thanks everyone. All of those opamps only cost like $7, I figured it was worth a shot.

If you get a chance, try the BB OPA2134, i found it was similar tonally to the NE5532 BUT a step better in terms of clarity! Again very high-fi sounding, i put one in my Aristocrat build. Although for the price difference, the 5532 is a good op(tion/amp)

Yes! I really want to get a few Burr Brown chips but they're so expensive! and now I have to get one, maybe ill pick one up on my next SB order.

[jimmybjj]

Cool post! Thanks for sharing.

Jacob

+1 

+1

[night-B]

3,5$ for a burr brown, hope it's a very good chip! I think I'll try it 

[gtr2]

Hmm...makes me want to open up my Tim pedal.  I'm guessing Paul socketed the IC.  It's one of his early builds with the old breadboard but I never looked to close.  I haven't used it for a while for the very reason that unless I'm running at slight breakup it does tend to get a little fizzy at higher gain.

Thanks for opening up a can of worms 

Josh

[slimtriggers]

You guys ever see this?

[junkemail86]

You guys ever see this?

Haha that's awesome.  I think there can be slight differences between component quality, but probably nothing that would be obvious in the setting of a live show or fully mixed recording.  From personal experience, I've found that a great circuit will sound amazing even with low quality parts.  Whether or not it would sound slightly better with mojo parts is the remaining argument.

[aziltz]

i think you mean TLC2272CP.  There's also the TCL2262 which is also very similar.  They are rail-to-rail opamps based on Mosfet/CMOS technology and they clip quite nicely on their own.

[JakeFuzz]

i think you mean TLC2272CP.  There's also the TCL2262 which is also very similar.  They are rail-to-rail opamps based on Mosfet/CMOS technology and they clip quite nicely on their own.

http://www.taydaelectronics.com/servlet/the-1228/Amplifier--dsh--Instrumentation%2C-Op-dsh-Amp/Detail

This is the one I picked up. I wanted to get a TLC2272 but they were out of stock. I think one other person on the web said this one was muffled and bad sounding, I thought it was nice and was about to put it in my Fulldrive until I found there was no socket and I am lazy.


That visual sound guy is right. The opamp doesn't really effect the tone of the pedal but only slightly. It more so changes the texture and attack of things IMO. And in the bunch I tried many of them were indiscernible from one another, but there were a few that were instantly recognizable from the group. 

[bigmufffuzzwizz]

That is a lot of paying very close detail. I must say you have quite a sharp ear! Do you think these results would vary if tried with another circuit?