Dunlop - Cry Baby GCB-95: how to improve it for cheap

A forum devoted to mod, tips and suggestions for upgrading and rehousing your VERY CHEAP commercial stompbox to near boutique excellence.
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CHEEZOR
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Post by CHEEZOR »

burninwordz wrote:Hi how can I cancel a pop when I turn my crybaby pedal on and off ,I modded the pedal to truebypass and now I get a pop, thanks
I believe this topic was discussed in this thread on the page 10. Check it out and post back if you have any questions. What you probably need is a "Pull Down Resistor"

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Post by rocklander »

dredge..
I was given a GCB95 a few years ago from a bloke who as tired of replacing pots.. I finally got around to getting into it and was gonna try the anderton optical mod but before I can do that I need to get it working properly.. I tried it out and it does 'wah' okay, but the 3pdt is wired all up the shite.. it's been modded to hell, has an extra [volume?] pot, and 3 toggle switches and vaious wires soldered into strange places on the PCB .. whoever did it may not have had very good soldering gear cos it's pretty rough and has even removed some pads..

so I had a nosey through this thread and find heaps of info on modding, but I really want to get the original layout (incl 3pdt switching) so I can figure out what is where on this one in relation so I can work back..

if I ignore the crosses on this picture, is it accurate?
Image

if not.. any idea where to look? I have to admit to a preference for layouts rather than schematics as I personally find them easier to follow.. tia.
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Post by matt239 »

astrobass wrote: The mid-range mod has a clearly noticeable effect on the pedal back position, the vocal range mod mostly affects the pedal forward position, but is less pronounced.
Can you describe this? How does the mid-range mod affect the heel-down position?
Thanks! :)

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Post by astrobass »

matt239 wrote:
astrobass wrote: The mid-range mod has a clearly noticeable effect on the pedal back position, the vocal range mod mostly affects the pedal forward position, but is less pronounced.
Can you describe this? How does the mid-range mod affect the heel-down position?
Thanks! :)
On the unit I tried it on it became thicker. Maybe a bit murkier sounding. This was also with a sweep cap selector, increased input/output caps, and a bass guitar. It might be less muddy of less pronounced with a guitar.

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Post by hitondrums »

Hey! where do you get the pcb layout for this exact model of the GCB95? I need to remake my board because when i was doing the mod I mess it up a little bit (the tracks.)
If you have it on any kind of file format can u PM me please, or upload it here!
Nice mod btw, the switch for the condesnsers its great idea, Greetings!

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Post by Bammbammm »

Hey all, I am in the process of rehousing my GCB-95 and wanted to see if I am missing something.
I swapped everything into a Hammond 1590 enclosure but the jacks were too far away, so I swapped them for standard Switchcraft jacks. I do have a TRS on the input, however wanted to see if I overlooked something.
Looking at the traces, I was unsure if there is another circuit that needs to be closed for this to work.
Currently (no pun intended) it either bypasses or is dead when engaged.

I only soldered in the tip and ring to one side of the boards as the traces seemed to already bridge both sides of the old jacks.
IMAGE LINK

Any help is appreciated!

(and yes, I know the B+ lead is not connected, I have a puppy and she got to it when I was away.)
:roll:
Bammbamm

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Post by matt239 »

hitondrums wrote:Hey! where do you get the pcb layout for this exact model of the GCB95? I need to remake my board because when i was doing the mod I mess it up a little bit (the tracks.)
If you have it on any kind of file format can u PM me please, or upload it here!
Nice mod btw, the switch for the condesnsers its great idea, Greetings!
Do you really have to make a whole new board? you can't bridge the traces with some resistor-lead-wire?

- If you do need a board, Tonepad has a good one, & you can get the artwork there if you prefer to etch. - I think GGG does too.

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Post by FloPoeKo »

Question on the inductor:
I have an Eleca Cup Core and I wanted to lower the inductance. Can this be done by sanding away material from the outside of the cup (the top preferably after removing the retainer clip)? It measures 620mH and I should get it as low as 550mH.
Sanding away from the center leg to increase the air gap doesn´t look like an option since simply because the core is glued very heavily.
Any thoughts or comments are certainly appreciated...

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Post by rafamoraes82 »

I think I need some thoughts... Recently I´ve been trying some mods on my GCB95.

I tried to change the 0.01uF cap to 0.022uF (it got too bassy), and mechanicaly changed the range of the wah pot like... 1 or 2 notches, but eventually I reverted those changes to stock specs afterwards.

By now the changes running are:

1- 33k resistor (in parallel with the inductor) changed to 47k;
2- MPSA18 Transistors changed to BC109B (according to Fuzz Central website - http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/axiswah.php - this mod is meant to give the pedal a more mellow wah response, along with more bass).

Problem is, although theese two mods gave me the tone I wanted when playing clean (a more "woh" effect rather than "weh", and less ear pearcing highs), when I´m using distortion along with the wah there is a drastic change when I rock the pedal from the up position to the down position. It seems that when the sweeping reaches a certain high frequency (near the foot down position), the wah effect suddenly makes a huge "roar" from then on.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear, and for my poor english...

So, what can I do to make the transition from bass to highs smoother? I just want to get rid of that subtle "roar" I´m getting when using wah+distortion...

I´m wondering if changing the midrange resistor (1.5k) could help to smooth out the sweeping? Or is it a drawnback of using the less gainny BC109s?

Thanks in advance

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Post by Bside2234 »

rafamoraes82 wrote:I think I need some thoughts... Recently I´ve been trying some mods on my GCB95.

I tried to change the 0.01uF cap to 0.022uF (it got too bassy), and mechanicaly changed the range of the wah pot like... 1 or 2 notches, but eventually I reverted those changes to stock specs afterwards.

By now the changes running are:

1- 33k resistor (in parallel with the inductor) changed to 47k;
2- MPSA18 Transistors changed to BC109B (according to Fuzz Central website - http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/axiswah.php - this mod is meant to give the pedal a more mellow wah response, along with more bass).

Problem is, although theese two mods gave me the tone I wanted when playing clean (a more "woh" effect rather than "weh", and less ear pearcing highs), when I´m using distortion along with the wah there is a drastic change when I rock the pedal from the up position to the down position. It seems that when the sweeping reaches a certain high frequency (near the foot down position), the wah effect suddenly makes a huge "roar" from then on.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear, and for my poor english...

So, what can I do to make the transition from bass to highs smoother? I just want to get rid of that subtle "roar" I´m getting when using wah+distortion...

I´m wondering if changing the midrange resistor (1.5k) could help to smooth out the sweeping? Or is it a drawnback of using the less gainny BC109s?

Thanks in advance
A quick thing to try is to move the distortion before the wah if it's after it or after the wah if it's before it. Sometimes this changes how the wah behaves.

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Post by rafamoraes82 »

Bside2234 wrote:
rafamoraes82 wrote:I think I need some thoughts... Recently I´ve been trying some mods on my GCB95.

I tried to change the 0.01uF cap to 0.022uF (it got too bassy), and mechanicaly changed the range of the wah pot like... 1 or 2 notches, but eventually I reverted those changes to stock specs afterwards.

By now the changes running are:

1- 33k resistor (in parallel with the inductor) changed to 47k;
2- MPSA18 Transistors changed to BC109B (according to Fuzz Central website - http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/axiswah.php - this mod is meant to give the pedal a more mellow wah response, along with more bass).

Problem is, although theese two mods gave me the tone I wanted when playing clean (a more "woh" effect rather than "weh", and less ear pearcing highs), when I´m using distortion along with the wah there is a drastic change when I rock the pedal from the up position to the down position. It seems that when the sweeping reaches a certain high frequency (near the foot down position), the wah effect suddenly makes a huge "roar" from then on.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear, and for my poor english...

So, what can I do to make the transition from bass to highs smoother? I just want to get rid of that subtle "roar" I´m getting when using wah+distortion...

I´m wondering if changing the midrange resistor (1.5k) could help to smooth out the sweeping? Or is it a drawnback of using the less gainny BC109s?

Thanks in advance
A quick thing to try is to move the distortion before the wah if it's after it or after the wah if it's before it. Sometimes this changes how the wah behaves.
Yeah, I did that. Actually I put the stock components back only to see if the stock pedal would behave the same way and... it did. So now I´m accepting that I can live with it as it is.

However, if someone knows another way to make the sweeping more even, any tips would be very appreciated.

Thanks

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Post by mojah63 »

rafamoraes82 wrote:
Bside2234 wrote:
rafamoraes82 wrote:I think I need some thoughts... Recently I´ve been trying some mods on my GCB95.

I tried to change the 0.01uF cap to 0.022uF (it got too bassy), and mechanicaly changed the range of the wah pot like... 1 or 2 notches, but eventually I reverted those changes to stock specs afterwards.

By now the changes running are:

1- 33k resistor (in parallel with the inductor) changed to 47k;
2- MPSA18 Transistors changed to BC109B (according to Fuzz Central website - http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/axiswah.php - this mod is meant to give the pedal a more mellow wah response, along with more bass).

Problem is, although theese two mods gave me the tone I wanted when playing clean (a more "woh" effect rather than "weh", and less ear pearcing highs), when I´m using distortion along with the wah there is a drastic change when I rock the pedal from the up position to the down position. It seems that when the sweeping reaches a certain high frequency (near the foot down position), the wah effect suddenly makes a huge "roar" from then on.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear, and for my poor english...

So, what can I do to make the transition from bass to highs smoother? I just want to get rid of that subtle "roar" I´m getting when using wah+distortion...

I´m wondering if changing the midrange resistor (1.5k) could help to smooth out the sweeping? Or is it a drawnback of using the less gainny BC109s?

Thanks in advance
A quick thing to try is to move the distortion before the wah if it's after it or after the wah if it's before it. Sometimes this changes how the wah behaves.
Yeah, I did that. Actually I put the stock components back only to see if the stock pedal would behave the same way and... it did. So now I´m accepting that I can live with it as it is.

However, if someone knows another way to make the sweeping more even, any tips would be very appreciated.

Thanks
The sweep is abrupt? Dump hot potz II if it's in there for a hot potz I or a gagan smooth pot. You can try and increase the .22uf cap off the wiper to .33or .47 ala Teese mod. The Teese way works a little bit. It smoothed out my crybaby but it's still not as smooth as my older Vox wah with a hot potz I...

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Post by rafamoraes82 »

mojah63 wrote:
rafamoraes82 wrote:
Bside2234 wrote:
rafamoraes82 wrote:I think I need some thoughts... Recently I´ve been trying some mods on my GCB95.

I tried to change the 0.01uF cap to 0.022uF (it got too bassy), and mechanicaly changed the range of the wah pot like... 1 or 2 notches, but eventually I reverted those changes to stock specs afterwards.

By now the changes running are:

1- 33k resistor (in parallel with the inductor) changed to 47k;
2- MPSA18 Transistors changed to BC109B (according to Fuzz Central website - http://fuzzcentral.ssguitar.com/axiswah.php - this mod is meant to give the pedal a more mellow wah response, along with more bass).

Problem is, although theese two mods gave me the tone I wanted when playing clean (a more "woh" effect rather than "weh", and less ear pearcing highs), when I´m using distortion along with the wah there is a drastic change when I rock the pedal from the up position to the down position. It seems that when the sweeping reaches a certain high frequency (near the foot down position), the wah effect suddenly makes a huge "roar" from then on.

Sorry if I did not make myself clear, and for my poor english...

So, what can I do to make the transition from bass to highs smoother? I just want to get rid of that subtle "roar" I´m getting when using wah+distortion...

I´m wondering if changing the midrange resistor (1.5k) could help to smooth out the sweeping? Or is it a drawnback of using the less gainny BC109s?

Thanks in advance
A quick thing to try is to move the distortion before the wah if it's after it or after the wah if it's before it. Sometimes this changes how the wah behaves.
Yeah, I did that. Actually I put the stock components back only to see if the stock pedal would behave the same way and... it did. So now I´m accepting that I can live with it as it is.

However, if someone knows another way to make the sweeping more even, any tips would be very appreciated.

Thanks
The sweep is abrupt? Dump hot potz II if it's in there for a hot potz I or a gagan smooth pot. You can try and increase the .22uf cap off the wiper to .33or .47 ala Teese mod. The Teese way works a little bit. It smoothed out my crybaby but it's still not as smooth as my older Vox wah with a hot potz I...
I will try the .33uF cap mod. Thanks again

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Post by Rocket Roll »

Solidhex wrote: What effect on the sound does bringing the 4.7uf down to 4uf have?
It's subtle, but it's worth it if you:
a) like the sound of the original Italian Jens
b) play loud (preferably in front of people, and with other people's help) and can really hear (and feel) what's going on with your sound
c) don't mind a bit of hacking, 'cause your wah may end looking like this:
91568551_2871657252870255_4604796830755061760_o.jpg
To sum, it removes a slice of unnecessary and shrill highs. Gets you a step closer to "papery" sound of old Jens.

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Post by Jwa1ky »

I noticed in my crybaby that C2 and C7 have places in the PCB, but aren't actually in the pedal. Does adding them change the sound at all?

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Post by Rocket Roll »

bajaman wrote: 30 Jul 2007, 05:24 Forget about Teese wahs and all the bullshit about specially manufactured parts etc., here is how to make any standard cry baby wah sound much better. :wink:
So here's an old Dunlop JH-1 which was modded with a Halo inductor replica from Banzai and a different set of trannies (nothing fancy, just some BC547-550 type), but all component values were bone stock:
Dunlop JH1 Before Mod.mp3
(2.74 MiB) Downloaded 130 times
After the Bajaman mod. I didn't have a 3u3 bipolar electrolyte, so I used a regular, polarized one:
Dunlop JH1 After Mod.mp3
(3.95 MiB) Downloaded 133 times
Telecaster into a Deluxe Reverb with a Celestion G12M Greenback in both examples.

Yes, the wah sweeps a bit treblier, it's more of an "A" than an "O". I guess it will make it more prominent and more "concrete" in a live situation.

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