Resistor Question

[TreeSlayer]

quick question. is it critical if a resistor is 1, 2, or 5%?

[jeffaroo]

thats a loaded question around here !     
does it fell better if i punch you in the face or kick you in the balls?
the lower you go, the better and some people swear by it.
the kind of work we do around here you will notice very little unless its noted on the build

[Stomptown]

quick question. is it critical if a resistor is 1, 2, or 5%?

IMO not super critical. Up until recently I used 5% for most of my builds and thought everything great. I recently bought a bunch of 1% in bulk since they are cheap in bulk and more precise. Using 1% definitely will produce a more consistent result but weather you can hear the difference between them and 5% is in the ear of the beholder. Some would argue that the larger variance is what gave pedals their mojo back in the early days. I'd say go with what you got..

[TreeSlayer]

thats a loaded question around here !     
does it fell better if i punch you in the face or kick you in the balls?
the lower you go, the better and some people swear by it.
the kind of work we do around here you will notice very little unless its noted on the build

ROFLMAOOO! i can dig it! i kinda thought that the closer you get, the better off you are. being a nube though, and havin as many problems as i seem to have, it was a question that needed to be answered, even if the answer is obscure....

[TreeSlayer]

quick question. is it critical if a resistor is 1, 2, or 5%?

IMO not super critical. Up until recently I used 5% for most of my builds and thought everything great. I recently bought a bunch of 1% in bulk since they are cheap in bulk and more precise. Using 1% definitely will produce a more consistent result but weather you can hear the difference between them and 5% is in the ear of the beholder. Some would argue that the larger variance is what gave pedals their mojo back in the early days. I'd say go with what you got..

thank you! i can dig the mojo, for sure! i reckon if i was mass producing, 1% would be a requirment. actually, i really like the surprise of how one is slightly different from the other. and if the truth be known, i couldn't tell one from the other. to much sex, drugs and rock and roll...
also WAY too much SBC noise.....

[jkokura]

Commercial pedals have been using 5% and even 10% tolerance parts for ages. Go crack open your Boss or Ibanez or EHX Pedal. Even boutique stuff like Barber and Fulltone use them. Nothing wrong with them at all.

In fact, most of us don't realize that most of the other parts we use, other than resistors, have way worse tolerances. Pots are usually 20%, same with electrolytic caps. Usually the best film caps are 10%, but most are %20. Ceramic caps are anywhere from 20-30%.

The tighter the tolerance (smaller) the more expensive. There has to be a happy medium. If you used nothing but 1% parts, your klone would cost you $300 to build.

So, considering that most of the other parts you're using aren't very tight in tolerance, I wouldn't worry about it. I use 1% because I can afford the extra fraction of a penny, and I prefer reading the 5 band system, and because it's nice to be able to say, "I use 1% tolerance metal film resistors..." Cork sniffers like it, and the rest don't care - they see blue and they think "better than boss". (if they look)

Last but not least, the question is more about noise than tolerance I think. Metal Film has been proved scientifically to be marginally 'quieter' in the noise ratio category than carbon film (5% resistors). Both are proven to be quieter than Carbon Comp, which is the typical resistor used in boutique fuzzes and amps. Sometimes noise is ok, but sometimes it's not. Using Metal Film can be beneficial in those circumstances obviously.

That's enough from me I think. Don't even get me started on caps...

Jacob

[TreeSlayer]

Commercial pedals have been using 5% and even 10% tolerance parts for ages. Go crack open your Boss or Ibanez or EHX Pedal. Even boutique stuff like Barber and Fulltone use them. Nothing wrong with them at all.

In fact, most of us don't realize that most of the other parts we use, other than resistors, have way worse tolerances. Pots are usually 20%, same with electrolytic caps. Usually the best film caps are 10%, but most are %20. Ceramic caps are anywhere from 20-30%.

The tighter the tolerance (smaller) the more expensive. There has to be a happy medium. If you used nothing but 1% parts, your klone would cost you $300 to build.

So, considering that most of the other parts you're using aren't very tight in tolerance, I wouldn't worry about it. I use 1% because I can afford the extra fraction of a penny, and I prefer reading the 5 band system, and because it's nice to be able to say, "I use 1% tolerance metal film resistors..." Cork sniffers like it, and the rest don't care - they see blue and they think "better than boss". (if they look)

Last but not least, the question is more about noise than tolerance I think. Metal Film has been proved scientifically to be marginally 'quieter' in the noise ratio category than carbon film (5% resistors). Both are proven to be quieter than Carbon Comp, which is the typical resistor used in boutique fuzzes and amps. Sometimes noise is ok, but sometimes it's not. Using Metal Film can be beneficial in those circumstances obviously.

That's enough from me I think. Don't even get me started on caps...

Jacob

thanks for clearing this up for me, Jacob.
since you mention it, i had noticed that the tolerance on other parts seemed way out there, but it dose'nt seem like there are few if any other options, unlike resistors.

and i may have to get you started on caps... 

LT

[DutchMF]

The only reason I'm using close-tolerance parts is because of a severe case of OCD... Because of my work as an engineer I must have everything planned out, double-checked, triple-checked and as precise as possible. And one more reason (the same as why I place my resistors so that the colored bands line up...): just because I can!

Paul

[jkokura]

I place my resistors so that the colored bands line up

I do that too, but mostly for debugging purposes - it's way easier to read your resistors if you know that the south or east end is the tolerance band.

Jacob

[DutchMF]

Good one Jakob, I'll keep that in mind! For me it was mostly OCD till now....

Paul

[TreeSlayer]

I place my resistors so that the colored bands line up

I do that too, but mostly for debugging purposes - it's way easier to read your resistors if you know that the south or east end is the tolerance band.

Jacob

that's a way cool idea!

[sirbergersworth]

I asked the same questions week or so ago.

http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=7862

[alanp]

I was told to line up the resistors the same way because "it looks more pro" on my first amp build (long, long before any pedals! Amps have practically no resistors in them compared to pedals... unless you're building a Dumble or something.)

[jeffaroo]

when doing a baby board with 1/4w i even get anal about what way i angle the lil bastards.
gold end to the board and all the soldiers lean the same way !

[DutchMF]

when doing a baby board with 1/4w i even get anal about what way i angle the lil bastards.
gold end to the board and all the soldiers lean the same way !

Done just that on a Smoothie I'm working on! Looks like the resistors are saluting the IC!