How to read Lovetone Big Cheese clone guide

[GeorgeFormanGrill]

Hey all:

Just getting back to building after a very long break and could use some help deciphering the guide for this Big Cheese clone I've always wanted to build:

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2015/12/lovetone-big-cheese.html

1. Am I reading this right that when it says "IN" next to the board that I should wire the input to the hole directly next to it? In this case, input goes to the first hole on the seventh row?

2. When it says "Switch A" does that refer to the 3P4T bypass switch? And does "Switch 7" refer to the 3P4T rotary switch for this build?

3. Lastly, what does "Q1" refer to at the top of the board?

Many thanks for the advice,
George

[shedland]

1- Yes, the input is to connect to the row labelled IN. Remember to connect this to the 3PDT foot switch as per the standard wiring diagram found at tag board website. .


2-  Switch A,B, and C refer to the inner tags on the 3P4T rotary switch. The numbers 1 -12 refer to the outer connector tags. Search 3P4T rotary for an image on the internet and you'll see what I mean.


3- Q1 refers to the transistor directly under the label Q1, near the middle of the board, Q2 and Q3 are labelled similarly. In this instance it isn't too important which is which, as they are all either 2n3904 or bc549, as per the note at the bottom of the image.

Hope that helps.

[GeorgeFormanGrill]

That's a huge help. Thanks!

[Govmnt_Lacky]

If you want the sound to be as close as possible to an actual Big Cheese, then I suggest you use BC549C transistors (remember to use the "C" version) 

[GeorgeFormanGrill]

Right on. Thanks for the tip!

[GeorgeFormanGrill]

Does anyone have a tip for the best kind of veroboard to use for this type of build?

[m-Kresol]

afaik they are all the same in terms of quality..
make sure you get stripboard (also called veroboard) and not perfboard, which is the one with individual solder pins instead of strips.

[matmosphere]

afaik they are all the same in terms of quality..
make sure you get stripboard (also called veroboard) and not perfboard, which is the one with individual solder pins instead of strips.

I have had some that was easier to work with than others. The stuff at Tayda is okay but the stuff Mammoth used to carry was much better. The strips were very slightly thinner so they could be spaced a little further apart. Made building a breeze IMO. I am assuming stompboxparts uses the same stuff as mammoth.

I have also used some cheap stuff I got at an electronics store, the copper strip kept falling off :/

If you want the sound to be as close as possible to an actual Big Cheese, then I suggest you use BC549C transistors (remember to use the "C" version) 

Don't want to highjack here, but I am building one of these at the moment as well. I have a bunch of BC549C's that measure around 500hfe, 2n2904's generally weigh in at about half of that. Will one vs the other change the character of the pedal much, or just impact the amount of gain on tap?

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Don't want to highjack here, but I am building one of these at the moment as well. I have a bunch of BC549C's that measure around 500hfe, 2n2904's generally weigh in at about half of that. Will one vs the other change the character of the pedal much, or just impact the amount of gain on tap?

Lovetone used BC549C in all of their pedals in these positions. Staying "true to form" is why I recommended them. My guess is that you will see a difference due to the HFE.

[matmosphere]

Don't want to highjack here, but I am building one of these at the moment as well. I have a bunch of BC549C's that measure around 500hfe, 2n2904's generally weigh in at about half of that. Will one vs the other change the character of the pedal much, or just impact the amount of gain on tap?

Lovetone used BC549C in all of their pedals in these positions. Staying "true to form" is why I recommended them. My guess is that you will see a difference due to the HFE.

Thanks, I was just curious. I suspect the 2n2904 is due to availability vs bc549c. Since I'm building a Big Cheese I suppose I may as well stay true to form. Maybe I'll socket them.

[davent]

afaik they are all the same in terms of quality..
make sure you get stripboard (also called veroboard) and not perfboard, which is the one with individual solder pins instead of strips.

Vast differences in quality, you've either been very lucky or unlucky.

Look for epoxy based veroboards, head and shoulders better then the cheap phenolic which is just bad not to mention an eyesore.
dave

[GeorgeFormanGrill]

Awesome, thanks for the tip on epoxy-based board.

@Matmosphere let me know how your Big Cheese build is going or if you have any tips about transistors, et al. Are you using the Guitar FX layout to build?

[davent]

Awesome, thanks for the tip on epoxy-based board.

@Matmosphere let me know how your Big Cheese build is going or if you have any tips about transistors, et al. Are you using the Guitar FX layout to build?

There used to be veroboards.com that had the epoxy boards in a myriad of sizes but they've stopped however i was recently pointed to this company for breadboards and they  have big selection of other stuff including epoxy vero with drilled holes, haven't tried it but this would be what i'd try next if i didn't have my old stock.

http://www.busboard.com/ST1
http://www.busboard.com/ST2
http://www.busboard.com/ST3U
http://www.busboard.com/ST6U
dave

[matmosphere]

Awesome, thanks for the tip on epoxy-based board.

@Matmosphere let me know how your Big Cheese build is going or if you have any tips about transistors, et al. Are you using the Guitar FX layout to build?

I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm building it on a PCB. I really like veroboard, but I amassed a bunch of PCBs over the years so I'm trying to build through them all.

I made the brazen decision to not use sockets. I'm thinking I may give it to a friend and I only socket stuff I am not going to keep for myself. I went with the bc549c, I'll let you know how it sounds.

[GeorgeFormanGrill]

Right on. Thanks. Would love to hear how it turns out.

I have another extremely dumb question. On this PCB layout, do the links mean you're just connecting the two rows with blow dots or all rows covered the black line? For example, for the first link, I assume you're connecting rows 3 and 6, not rows 3-6. That right?