Need to get the amplification section out of a pedal

[mugician]

I recently rehoused a Boss HM-2 with HUGE amounts of volume on tap. All I use it for is a volume boost to slam the front end of my overdrive.

It's been acting up lately, and I don't want to use the thing anymore, except that I still need that boost. I was thinking of using the amplification section of the circuit and putting in the same box as my overdrive, making a new PCB and using all the same parts...

Basically, I'd build a completely brand new thing, but I'm WAY poor right now and really need to get my rig working again ASAP.

Can anyone help me find where the circuit amplifies the signal in the schematic and pull it out for stand alone use? I don't want all the extra baggage - and there's a LOT. Thanks!

[mugician]

OR: just help me get a usable and HUGE boost out of these parts.

[Fuzzer]

Dude, I would suggest you to build a booster, simple circuit, not even as much hassle as what you're suggesting, that, off course, is if you exclusively use it as a volume boost.

The mini booster is great.

[mugician]

Is it really that complex to get the amp stage out of this circuit? I mean get the amp stage out of the schematic as it's own schem, and then put it to a new PCB/layout. Is that really gonna be that complex?

Also, if it really truly is going to be a bitch, what can I do with the parts from this pedal to make a boost?

[Fuzzer]

Hmm, if you gotta do it, then;

Dismiss everything that goes after IC1B from there now comes your output 1[uF] capacitor which goes to the 10k resistor and then to the 10k volume pot.

Keep in mind that you still need the 4.5 volt supply, just that the right arm (with the 68k going to IC1A) goes away.

The first stage which is a source follower can be left out if you want. It doesn't provide any volume boost, it's the input buffer.

I guess you could still use the germanium diodes if you want, they make a rudimentary noise gate.

[mugician]

Whoa... uh... what about a simple booster? Is that doable with these parts?

[RnFR]

why not just clip out the silicon diodes, jumper the ge diodes and clip out the tone section?

[mugician]

K. I might as well write out exactly what's going on. I rehoused the pedal because I was under the assumption that it didn't work right (I had an idea of how it should sound, and since I found it in a trash can in really bad shape and sounded like shit, I figure there was something wrong). I rehoused it with new pots, jacks, switch and IC's.

It worked okay. Fitting everything in the new enclosure was a nightmare, and there was a lot of strain on wires everywhere. At one point I took ALL the clipping diodes out except one in the feedback loop, because I thought it would make the pedal sound like a TS. Definitely not even close. At that point I started using it to slam the front end of my RAT clone, and it worked decently. The problem is that I don't want the extra baggage (the clipping section, shitty sounding tone-stack etc.). Another issue I have with the thing is that the PCB is gigantic.

I'm really just trying to keep my rig going with what I've got. I'm too poor right now to buy the parts I need to make my uber overdrive that I've been dreaming about, so I need to keep my rig functioning until then.

The other day, the HM-2 started quitting out. It sounded weird, and the sound kept cutting in and out. I opened it up and spent 4 hours rewiring the pots and whatnot to organize the guts so there wasn't anymore strain anywhere. Now before this all happened, I was able to get a clean boost that sounded great. After this rewire (I didn't change any components or ANYTHING) I can't get the pedal clean anymore.

So now, I just want to get rid of everything, take all the parts and reuse them on a smaller new board to make JUST a booster circuit the put in the same enclosure as my other pedal.

So again: can I make a simple booster using JUST the parts on this PCB?

PS - I don't mean to sound snappy, I just thought I'd try and clear things up.

[RnFR]

then, i would try that stage around Q6.