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A Cave Dweller, a Guv'Nor and a Rat!


bluesguitar65

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These are my recent pedal builds. (L-R) Madbean Cave Dweller Delay, dark and very hunting ambient delay, not your typical PT2399 Delay tone, but thats what makes this delay unique and different., General Guitar Gadgets Guv'nor, sounds close to the actual Marshall Guv'nor, but with an added clipping bonus, you can choose between the stock LED clipping tone, which is very open, punchy and tubby sounding or three diode asymmetric clipping, which sounds a little more compressed, bitty and nastier. The last but not least, the General Guitar Gadget (PRO CO) Rat, cloned after the 85' white face rat. I used LM308 chips just like the vintage 85' pro co rat. Sounds like the rat indeed.

 

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You home made pedal builders have got me thinking about finding my soldering iron.

 

What does it cost to build a Rat clone?

They vary from $45 to $60. I got mine from general guitar gadgets when they had it on sale for $45. Now its back up to $60. It maybe much cheaper if you just make it from scratch, meaning from a vero board and just source out the parts. But, if you are starting out, I would recommend buying the kit as everything you need is there so you can get familiarized with them. That is how I learned.

 

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=159&category_id=32

 

Dubs is a wiz on pedal making from this forum.

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You should put the cave dweller in a 1590A! That's what's cool about them

 

Have you been checking tagboardeffects lately? They've been crankin out the goods

 

Chanman - if you don't use a kit like $35

Hey Dubs [thumbup] I didn't have a 1590A on hand when I finished it, but I'll put the Cave Dweller II "Dub" edition in a 1590A. The pcb actually fits in one.

 

Chanman,

 

Here is a vero layout if you choose not to go for a kit. It looks pretty easy enough.

 

http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=38709&g2_serialNumber=4

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The PCB probly fits in a 1590A if you don't need jacks or a switch [flapper]

 

Hey bluesguitar, if I post some layouts I made one of these days would you want to build them? They'd probly be hand drawn but my writing is pretty easy to read

 

Chanman - do you just want the pedal or do you want to be learning too? If you just want the pedal, get a kit, if you want to learn, start with a schematic for a simple circuit like an LPB-1 and build it from scratch then move on to more complex circuits like the rat.

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The PCB probly fits in a 1590A if you don't need jacks or a switch [flapper]

 

Hey bluesguitar, if I post some layouts I made one of these days would you want to build them? They'd probly be hand drawn but my writing is pretty easy to read

 

Chanman - do you just want the pedal or do you want to be learning too? If you just want the pedal, get a kit, if you want to learn, start with a schematic for a simple circuit like an LPB-1 and build it from scratch then move on to more complex circuits like the rat.

Hey Dubs! Yes, I would build them!! Hell yea!! I've been reading up on how to etch your own PCB....it seems pretty easy enough, but perhaps easier said than done?

 

[flapper]

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Cool. If you have any tagboard or turretboard I made a really compact Rangemaster tagboard layout and a pretty compact Vox Tonebender "MK1.5" tagboard layout (fits in 1590b)

 

The Vox Tonebender layout could also be a Fuzz Face layout with some different component values.

 

Etching your own PCB shouldn't be too hard, I'm not really down with breathing and disposing of all those chemicals though.

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Cool. If you have any tagboard or turretboard I made a really compact Rangemaster tagboard layout and a pretty compact Vox Tonebender "MK1.5" tagboard layout (fits in 1590b)

 

The Vox Tonebender layout could also be a Fuzz Face layout with some different component values.

 

Etching your own PCB shouldn't be too hard, I'm not really down with breathing and disposing of all those chemicals though.

I have a couple of vero boards and I can probably do both. I have a couple enclosures on hand also.

 

I think effect of those chemicals would only be for just a few days...after that you won't smell and fell the effects anymore [biggrin]

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I wouldn't be afraid to etch - Ferric Chloride is a pretty non-toxic chemical in fact the only hazard part is after you have used it a lot the copper chloride that is left is considered toxic and prohibited from dumping but it can either be disposed of properly at any hazardous houshold waste location or if you use it allot like I do in my art. I have a five gallon drying tank and I just dry the liquid out and then dispose of the dried sludge by taking it to a hazardous waste drop off but only about once a year. other than that it's very easy to etch and can done at very little cost.

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I wouldn't be afraid to etch - Ferric Chloride is a pretty non-toxic chemical in fact the only hazard part is after you have used it a lot the copper chloride that is left is considered toxic and prohibited from dumping but it can either be disposed of properly at any hazardous houshold waste location or if you use it allot like I do in my art. I have a five gallon drying tank and I just dry the liquid out and then dispose of the dried sludge by taking it to a hazardous waste drop off but only about once a year. other than that it's very easy to etch and can done at very little cost.

Yea? So how much would you charge to etch a pcb, lets say this one......... a Madbean Sea Urchin delay.

 

post-10424-023203500 1355267370_thumb.gif

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Chanman - do you just want the pedal or do you want to be learning too? If you just want the pedal, get a kit, if you want to learn, start with a schematic for a simple circuit like an LPB-1 and build it from scratch then move on to more complex circuits like the rat.

 

 

I want the pedal, but I'd like the fun of building it, too. I'm cool with a kit, but I am also cool with a $35 price tag!

 

I've had 460 classroom hours of digital electronics and microprocessors, excel at soldering and am mighty comfortable at the component level on a circuit board. However, I've only had to cut a trace once, and it was like 30 years ago when I was fresh out of school. I am not sure that particular skill would still be with me :).

 

The vero layout looked pretty straight forward.

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Cutting a trace on vero board is easy. Don't bother doing it with a knife, just take a drill bit approximately the same diameter as the width of the trace and drill it where the cut is. You don't need to drill all the way through the board or use a drill, just make sure the trace is completely cut.

 

I don't really like Aron Nelson's layouts. There are a lot of standing resistors and weird spans in general. This layout is much better

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRvvV-qkZds/T5nMGeil0mI/AAAAAAAABWs/V8HMV7vn_Bo/s1600/Proco+Rat+-+smaller.png

 

I also highly recommend you wire the clipping diodes on a switch or at least socket them. I think LEDs sound the best in a Rat.

 

 

 

 

Bluesguitar there's a guy on the Madbean forum that sells etched versions of the discontinued boards.

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Cutting a trace on vero board is easy. Don't bother doing it with a knife, just take a drill bit approximately the same diameter as the width of the trace and drill it where the cut is. You don't need to drill all the way through the board or use a drill, just make sure the trace is completely cut.

 

I don't really like Aron Nelson's layouts. There are a lot of standing resistors and weird spans in general. This layout is much better

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XRvvV-qkZds/T5nMGeil0mI/AAAAAAAABWs/V8HMV7vn_Bo/s1600/Proco+Rat+-+smaller.png

 

I also highly recommend you wire the clipping diodes on a switch or at least socket them. I think LEDs sound the best in a Rat.

 

 

 

 

Bluesguitar there's a guy on the Madbean forum that sells etched versions of the discontinued boards.

Yea, I got hold of him....Haberdasher. Pretty cool dude and price is pretty resonable.

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I want the pedal, but I'd like the fun of building it, too. I'm cool with a kit, but I am also cool with a $35 price tag!

 

I've had 460 classroom hours of digital electronics and microprocessors, excel at soldering and am mighty comfortable at the component level on a circuit board. However, I've only had to cut a trace once, and it was like 30 years ago when I was fresh out of school. I am not sure that particular skill would still be with me :).

 

The vero layout looked pretty straight forward.

Man, with those credentials, you are more than qualified to build a pedal! [flapper]

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Man, with those credentials, you are more than qualified to build a pedal! [flapper]

 

Yeah. It's more of a daunting task to find my electronics stuff than to build the pedal. Everything since the late '80s has been board level so I've not needed them since...

 

...

 

...

 

1985? [confused]

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