Zvex - Box of Metal  [traced]

General documentation, gut shot, schematic links, ongoing circuit tracing, deep thoughts ... all about boutique stompboxes.
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tomtom
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Post by tomtom »

I just take a look at my friend's BOM and found some differencies.

It's one of the first, not a vexter.
Input cap is 10n, the missing cap is there too, 2n2
and it's quite hard to read but my cap meter with short leads
shows a 180p cap for the treble side of the tonestack, not a 2n.

Vactrol is VTL5C9 (fast attack, fast decay)

I liked the gate function as it's a bit noisy but you need to open the gate
fully clockwise or it sounds like a gated fuzz but it's usefull if you need
clean rythm work because with such amount of gain it's could be messy,
nice bass response though. I think it might be nice to put some resistance
instead of wiring the three SHO to ground, less drive but less noise too
and use a second footswitch as a boost clamping those stages to ground.

What else ? 10R power supply R, I will take another look, the warranty seal
is broken so !
Tom

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Post by briggs »

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feelsobad
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Post by feelsobad »

I'm waiting for a schematic of gate section :wink:

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culturejam
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Post by culturejam »

feelsobad wrote:I'm waiting for a schematic of gate section :wink:
Why? It sounds crappy and isn't really needed. On mine, even with gain dimed, it doesn't hum or otherwise make a lot of hiss or noise.

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culturejam
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Post by culturejam »

Okay, attached is my attempt to redraw Bajaman's excellent schematic. I did it mostly as a practice exercise, but I figured I'd share it.

If anybody sees any mistakes, please let me know and I'll correct it.
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5knobSHO.png
5knobSHO.png (9.6 KiB) Viewed 5605 times

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bumblebee
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Post by bumblebee »

The mistakes I see are you have thegain pot numbering wrong, lug 1 should go to ground or they will be rotating backwards. You have the volume pot orientated correctly.


I forgot to say before, why doesn't 5 SHO's and a marshall tonestack surprise me? Vzex sure gets a lot of mileage out of the SHO doesn't he!
I so dislike the modern digital world that I need to use semi-digital effects to emulate the analog world of cassette, VHS, and vinyl.

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Post by culturejam »

bumblebee wrote:The mistakes I see are you have thegain pot numbering wrong, lug 1 should go to ground or they will be rotating backwards. You have the volume pot orientated correctly.
Bajaman's schem has the wiper drawn on the left side, which usually means that lug 1 is at the top. The trimmer on the last SHO stage is also drawn this way.The others are drawn with the wiper on the right. Maybe a coincidence?

bumblebee wrote:I forgot to say before, why doesn't 5 SHO's and a marshall tonestack surprise me? Vzex sure gets a lot of mileage out of the SHO doesn't he!
Hey man, that's just good business efficiency. :lol:

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estragon
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Post by estragon »

R6 and R7 should be kilo ohms (K), not ohms (R).

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culturejam
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Post by culturejam »

estragon wrote:R6 and R7 should be kilo ohms (K), not ohms (R).
Thanks! I'll fix it when I get home tonight.

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madbean
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Post by madbean »

Got a PCB I'm working up on this if anyone is interested.

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bajaman
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Post by bajaman »

Got a PCB I'm working up on this if anyone is interested.
not surface mount I hope!!
bajaman
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Post by madbean »

bajaman wrote:
Got a PCB I'm working up on this if anyone is interested.
not surface mount I hope!!
bajaman
Nah, it's through-hole. Good news is it will fit in a B box zVex style. Pretty much done with it...just doing some checking. No gate function, though.

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culturejam
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Post by culturejam »

madbean wrote:Good news is it will fit in a B box zVex style. Pretty much done with it...just doing some checking. No gate function, though.
You da man, MadBean. Can't wait to see it / build it.

It's a good thing, too, because I just traded the BOM for a Catalinbread Heliotrope. :mrgreen:

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culturejam
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Post by culturejam »

Okay, I fixed the resistor values and added the value for the GAIN pot.
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box_of_5shos.png
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bajaman
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Post by bajaman »

C11 should be attached to the other end of the bass potentiometer :wink:
bajaman
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madbean
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Post by madbean »

bajaman wrote:C11 should be attached to the other end of the bass potentiometer :wink:
bajaman
Hmm, the original drawing had it the other way, did it not? Anyone wanna firm this up? I've got the build docs ready to go.

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culturejam
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Post by culturejam »

madbean wrote:
bajaman wrote:C11 should be attached to the other end of the bass potentiometer :wink:
bajaman
Hmm, the original drawing had it the other way, did it not? Anyone wanna firm this up? I've got the build docs ready to go.
I agree with the Bean.

Baja, your original drawing shows C11 connected to the bottom (lug 1) of the Bass pot. Should we change it to connect to the other outer lug (3)?

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bajaman
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Post by bajaman »

Yes - change it - my sketch is wrong :oops: my apologies - I just checked the board photos.
Please post the PCB layout when you have it finished madbean :wink:
Thanks guys
bajaman
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madbean
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Post by madbean »

Ok, here is rev.0 ~ unverified.

Have a look [smilie=a_ohyahbaby.gif]

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Post by bajaman »

Looks good - great work madbean :applause: :applause: :applause:
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