Hot Cake (Fritter) just the syrup I needed

[dawson]

Greetings, fellow drive enthusiasts/tone conquistadores,

I'd like to share my build of the Mad Bean Fritter, a clone of the Crowther Hot Cake:


I was impressed by any demo videos of the original circuit I'd seen, so I've built this one stock and it sounds great with my AC-15 set-up as a mid-range drive to fill in the gain gap between my Centaur clone and my Big Cheese clone.  I've been looking for something like this for a long time, and in my search I've used a Rat, an Angry Charlie clone, a Red Llama clone, and an OCD clone, among different multi-Tube Screamer configurations, and the Hot Cake has de-throned ALL of them, I really don't think I could be happier with this sound, BUT I'm certain that I'll put together a board with the Mad Bean mods at some point.

Big thanks to MBP for putting out all of these great-sounding projects with such helpful documentation and low (sometimes FREE) prices,
& thank you for looking!

[jimilee]

That looks fantastic. That's some mad wiring you got going on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dawson]

That looks fantastic. That's some mad wiring you got going on.

Thanks, Jimilee, I'm really happy with how this one looks.  I over-etched it just a bit, but the imperfections that arose worked out in my favor.

As for the wiring..when Mammoth Electronics was becoming extinct, they were clearing out their stock of 16mm POTs for $.25 or $.50 each, so I bought enough lugged POTs to save myself a few hundred dollars over the next couple years, anyhow I liked doing my own enclosure layouts of clones to begin with, but now I've got even more reason to wire things off-board so I'm getting a lot of practice!

[jimilee]

That looks fantastic. That's some mad wiring you got going on.

Thanks, Jimilee, I'm really happy with how this one looks.  I over-etched it just a bit, but the imperfections that arose worked out in my favor.

As for the wiring..when Mammoth Electronics was becoming extinct, they were clearing out their stock of 16mm POTs for $.25 or $.50 each, so I bought enough lugged POTs to save myself a few hundred dollars over the next couple years, anyhow I liked doing my own enclosure layouts of clones to begin with, but now I've got even more reason to wire things off-board so I'm getting a lot of practice!

I'm kicking myself for missing that sale.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Timko]

That's a fun etch on the artwork.  Nice job.

[MTK]

That looks great! I like it.

What size enclosure is that?

[dawson]

I'm kicking myself for missing that sale.

Ah bummer- this one was actually built on a PCB that I purchased later on for $5, and they're still for sale, I think I'll be grabbing a couple more as insurance for my sound and to build for friends, the free boards were yellow instead of red- I'll probably be building the Mad Bean modified circuit onto that one when I run out of other things to build.  Anyhow, there are still Fritters to be had thankfully- I honestly think that this effect sounds good enough to be a permanent project, but who knows how they're selling, they're a bit more obscure of a name than "Tube Screamer" or "Big Muff."

That's a fun etch on the artwork.  Nice job.

Thank you, good sir!

That looks great! I like it.

What size enclosure is that?

Thanks!  That enclosure is a 1590B from the great and mysterious land of China:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N6CHKCZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
These particular ones purchased around mid-2018 have got MUCH more rounded corners than others that I'd gotten from Mammoth (RIP), which look really cool for certain layouts.

Also, the LED I used is 8mm diameter, so if you're used to looking at 5mm or 3mm LEDs, my recent/future builds may look a bit odd.

[MTK]

Ohh, ok. I guess the extra round corners and ... I dunno something made it look somewhere between a 1590A and 1590B. lol Maybe I'm just tired.

Anyway, I dig it. Good stuff.

[gordo]

You're killin it lately.  Nice etch.  I really need to get into the game with the etch stuff, I really like the way it looks. 

[Bio77]

That looks killer.  The etch adds to the retro vibe.

[dawson]

You're killin it lately.  Nice etch.  I really need to get into the game with the etch stuff, I really like the way it looks. 

Thanks gordo, I've been having a lot of fun building and etching lately.  Personally I've decided that etching is the only way to go, just because I really like the subdued, understated look of the aluminum, they can get scratched and stepped on a bit without looking abused, I like them all to look congruent when they're together, but mainly I really, really don't like waiting for primer and paint and clear-coat to dry..

That looks killer.  The etch adds to the retro vibe.

Thank you, Bio77!

[gordo]

I do too.  I really like the just-slightly-off-kilter-cool-pro look too.

[gordo]

Plus isn't it cool when you stumble on something you weren't looking for in the first place?  It's one of the things I really like (hate) about this place.

[Leevibe]

I really love the artwork and etch on this! So sweet with the stomp placement.

[Ben N]

Hotcake into an AC -- that's the Neil Finn lead recipe (along with a gold top Les Paul with mini-humbuckers or a Gretsch Firebird Jet and a Tweed Deluxe).