Fulltone - OCD [traced]
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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good quality caps = clear sound - mylar is shit
bajaman
bajaman
be kind to all animals - especially human beings
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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- Joined: 26 Jun 2007, 21:18
- Location: New Brighton, Christchurch, NZ
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Well Tantalum bead are better than aluminium in audio coupling circuits and the newer multilayer ceramics are a distinct improvement on the earlier low voltage ceramics, but I was meaning polystyrene and polypropylene foil capacitors not cheap shitty polyester (mylar) capacitors.Ah, so tantalum and ceramic rate as quality cap material?
cheers
bajaman
be kind to all animals - especially human beings
Thanks for explaining. But do you think that cap material would make the difference between a muddy and a sparkling pedal? Polystyrene caps would probably be difficult to find, but should I be able to hear a difference between polypropylene and (good quality) polyester caps, in a circuit like an OCD?
I once A/B-ed a tantalum and aluminium elco in a fuzz face clone for the input cap, but could not hear a difference (may be my ears though, which suffered from my guitar-playing "career" ).
I once A/B-ed a tantalum and aluminium elco in a fuzz face clone for the input cap, but could not hear a difference (may be my ears though, which suffered from my guitar-playing "career" ).
It's true that tantalum and aluminum electrolytics are crap in audio circuits compared to a polystyrene, but the characteristics of the crap do make a difference tonally in circuits, especially simple ones with amplification. I first built my OCD clone as a VLOD with standard high quality parts, and it was totally dead and uninspiring. When it was rebuilt with the OCD values and the proper cap dielectrics, it was 1000% different (better). I suspect that the tantalum caps (which sound TERRIBLE in hi-fi coupling applications, the detail is smeared with a grinding treble) add an aggression to the high end and help shape the harmonics that pass through. And a ceramic coupling cap will have a different tone (more aggressive upper mids but less treble) than a silver mica. So for a bypass cap, if the tone is too bright and sizzly, try a silver mica instead of a ceramic as the silver mica is more efficient at the higher frequencies. All the cap types are like spices, too much of one type or the wrong one in the wrong place is nasty, but combine them properly and it gets really tasty. To me the real value of gut shots (other than reverse engineering) is finding the proper capacitor types for the circuit.WormBoy wrote:Thanks for explaining. But do you think that cap material would make the difference between a muddy and a sparkling pedal? Polystyrene caps would probably be difficult to find, but should I be able to hear a difference between polypropylene and (good quality) polyester caps, in a circuit like an OCD?
I once A/B-ed a tantalum and aluminium elco in a fuzz face clone for the input cap, but could not hear a difference (may be my ears though, which suffered from my guitar-playing "career" ).
But you changed both the values and the material, so the difference may be mainly due to the value ... It is not that I don't believe that cap material makes a difference, I'm just having a hard time trying to figure out how much and in what direction ... and to figure out for which (parts of) circuits I will have to source for exotic and/or expensive caps. As I said *I* could not hear a difference between a tantalum and an aluminium of the same value in an FF, but I should be able to hear a difference between a tantalum and a good quality film cap in the audio path.MKB wrote: I first built my OCD clone as a VLOD with standard high quality parts, and it was totally dead and uninspiring. When it was rebuilt with the OCD values and the proper cap dielectrics, it was 1000% different (better).
Oh well, maybe I just have to breadboard the OCD and try all kinds of different caps in there ... that may be a fun project for summer vacation.
- foo zen trader
- Breadboard Brother
Does anyone have a verified layout?
regards,
Foo
regards,
Foo
JABBA DABBA DOOM
Started this layout a while ago - based on MarkM's. The OVD layout appears to have an error in the hp/lp switch wiring - the switch puts the 22k and 33k in series instead of parallel. The 220k from pin5 to vref was also missing - not sure if it should be there or not???? I changed the switch wiring, added the 220k and added some pads for an extra diode for assymetrical clipping if desired.
Commenst/suggestions/corrections are encouraged/appreciated.
For the record: I do not have an OCD. I have NEVER played an OCD. I have not traced an OCD. This layout was done from schematics, layouts and comments posted here.
Commenst/suggestions/corrections are encouraged/appreciated.
For the record: I do not have an OCD. I have NEVER played an OCD. I have not traced an OCD. This layout was done from schematics, layouts and comments posted here.
Try not to be a dick when speaking about others; try not to be pussy when others are speaking of you.
- foo zen trader
- Breadboard Brother
I asked Kusi... he's got much to do at the moment but he tries to finish/upload his version until next week...
cheers,
foo
cheers,
foo
JABBA DABBA DOOM
Here I leave my offer you
A greeting
A greeting
- drmathprog
- Breadboard Brother
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Where did the images on photobucket go?