Dyna Soar - Lite

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 08 Mar 2008, 08:29

I have this pedal that I know very little about. It's a Dyna Soar Lite Fuzz. The only thing I have found on the net is that the chick from Sonic Youth had a "regular" Dyna Soar pedal.

It's definitely from the 70's, with C1344 transistors (never heard of these before), built in a Bud Box. If I were to compare it to any pedal, it sounds like a Germanium Fuzz Face with a Tone knob. Anyone know anything about these pedals or does the circuit look familiar to anything else?

analogguru · Post by **analogguru** » 08 Mar 2008, 09:10

From the components used it is efinitely NOT from the 70´s it is more from the early 80´s.
(the yellow mulitchip ceramics -probably 100n - were not in use in the 70´s)

The schematic-topology appears to be an Electro-Harmonix BigMuffPi-clone.

If you could post better/additional pictures (especially one from the track side) it can be traced.

analogguru

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 08 Mar 2008, 09:25

analogguru wrote:From the components used it is efinitely NOT from the 70´s it is more from the early 80´s.
(the yellow mulitchip ceramics -probably 100n - were not in use in the 70´s)

The schematic-topology appears to be an Electro-Harmonix BigMuffPi-clone.

If you could post better/additional pictures (especially one from the track side) it can be traced.

analogguru

Heh, I meant to say I definitely "think" it's from the 70's

I'll post more pics. It has way less gain/fuzz than a Big Muff and with the tone dimed it's still way less trebly. Maybe this "Lite" version is a tamed down version of a Muff clone.

Bernardduur · Post by **Bernardduur** » 08 Mar 2008, 09:26

Awesome!

As a HUGE Youth fan I always wanted to knob what the Soar was.........

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 08 Mar 2008, 09:37

Alright, let's see if this helps...

Post by **modman** » 08 Mar 2008, 11:57

Bernardduur wrote:Awesome!

As a HUGE Youth fan I always wanted to knob what the Soar was.........

originally posted in alt.music.sonic-youth on july 4th, 1999 wrote:SONIC YOUTH STOLEN GEAR

While on a brief west coast tour in July 1999, a Ryder truck containing all of the band's touring equipment was stolen in Orange County, California. Sonic Youth had just played a show in Berkeley on July 2nd, and were scheduled to perform in Irvine on the 4th. The theft occurred overnight between 1am and 7:15am on the morning of the 4th, outside of a Ramada Inn in Orange County (101 State College Dr). The truck was found, completely empty, a few days later, and none of the gear has ever been recovered.

(....)
# Dyna Soar homemade distortion pedal

Homemade? Does that mean 'boutique'?

analogguru · Post by **analogguru** » 08 Mar 2008, 12:18

Yes it helps a little....

So it is definitely a Big-Muff-clone.
To finish the tracing I would need a better picture of the area shown below (both sides of the pcb), without the DC-jack hiding the pcb below.

Then I assume that on the yellow capacitors will be written 104, except that one in front where i assume that will be written 472 on it - please control and confirm this.

And what is written on the potentiometers too - I assume there will be printed "B100k".

Homemade? Does that mean 'boutique'?

It appears to me that this could have been sold as a kit, maybe accompaining a (japanese? or UK?) DIY-magazine-article....

I suspect too, that in the area shown is a mistake with the assembling (470p mixed up with 100n) which would acknowledge this hypothesis...

Funny things:
2 SC 1344 is a high-gain transitor with the emitter in the middle.
The component in the front middle which appears to be a 10k resistor is in reality a 10n ceramic axial capacitor.

and none of the gear has ever been recovered.

Shortly we will be able to make a clone of a clone of a clone as a present for sonic youth.... do they still exist ?

analogguru

Bernardduur · Post by **Bernardduur** » 08 Mar 2008, 15:19

Yeah, they still exist

Maybe you make them quite happy with it

Dirk_Hendrik · Post by **Dirk_Hendrik** » 08 Mar 2008, 17:12

Loosegroove,

Thanks for the pics so far!!

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 08 Mar 2008, 19:25

Hey guys. I'll have a few better pics up in a day or so. I took those pics at low resolution at night with bad lighting. Crap, I shouldn;t have put the pedal back together yet.

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 09 Mar 2008, 00:22

analogguru wrote: Then I assume that on the yellow capacitors will be written 104, except that one in front where i assume that will be written 472 on it - please control and confirm this.

And what is written on the potentiometers too - I assume there will be printed "B100k".

Alright, here we go...you are spot on except the closest cap says 209 on it (damn it was hard to read) as well as the one furthest to the right. Hopefully these pics will makes things a bit clearer:

Bernardduur · Post by **Bernardduur** » 09 Mar 2008, 01:29

Thanks man!

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 09 Mar 2008, 01:49

Bernardduur wrote:Thanks man!

Hey, no problem. So what do I get for all my efforts?

Bernardduur · Post by **Bernardduur** » 09 Mar 2008, 14:28

That I try to make a small schematic

I still miss some component value; please, fill in the blanks. Dunno the most right little yellow values; I guessed em

Schematic

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 09 Mar 2008, 17:31

All of the little yellow caps say 104 except the one below the tone pot, and the one furthest to the right. Those say 209. Is that what you were asking?

analogguru · Post by **analogguru** » 09 Mar 2008, 18:06

loosegroove wrote:All of the little yellow caps say 104 except the one below the tone pot, and the one furthest to the right. Those say 209. Is that what you were asking?

209 is absolutely impossible for this value
As far as I can see there a two rows of letters....

maybe it is also 682 ?
Anyway it must be a value between 102 and 822 -preferable between 222 and 472.

Yes, and what you also get is the information that your unit is assembled the wrong way. The two capacitors near the tone control which are mounted in parallel - marked 104 and 471 - have to be exchanged to make this unit work properly.

analogguru

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 09 Mar 2008, 18:27

analogguru wrote:
209 is absolutely impossible for this value
As far as I can see there a two rows of letters....

maybe it is also 682 ?
Anyway it must be a value between 102 and 822 -preferable between 222 and 472.
analogguru

Ah, I am such a noob idiot: ALL the yellow caps say 104 on them. Some of them were oriented in such a way that I was reading the wrong numbers

analogguru wrote:Yes, and what you also get is the information that your unit is assembled the wrong way. The two capacitors near the tone control which are mounted in parallel - marked 104 and 471 - have to be exchanged to make this unit work properly.

analogguru

The ones between the Tone and Volume pots?

analogguru · Post by **analogguru** » 09 Mar 2008, 18:54

I am talking about this what can be seen in the picture below

analogguru

loosegroove · Post by **loosegroove** » 09 Mar 2008, 18:59

Alright, well time to brush up on my non-existent soldering skills and switch those puppies. Thanks!

analogguru · Post by **analogguru** » 09 Mar 2008, 19:08

Don´t forget to look up for the value of the marked capacitor. If this is also an 104 than it is definitely wrong and has to be exchanged.

analogguru