Zvex - Box of Rock  [traced]

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madbean
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Post by madbean »

Sounds great....you hit the nail on the mark. Admittedly, it was my first PCB design and not a terribly good layout on my part.

As far as comparisons to the BSAIB2....the BOR has a different feel, IMO. The BSAIB I built a few years ago was much more "mushy" sound than the BOR. A very liquid feel for lead playing, whereas the BOR feels more dry; awesome for rhythm work. I like them both, but the BOR has a permanent place on my board :)

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snoof
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Post by snoof »

I agree. IMO the BOR is less compressed, more "hard" sounding. The BSIAB def can get "mushy" and a bit flabby at some settings. I am in the process of putting one together for mostly rhythm work. On the subject of the Zener diode, ROG uses a regular red LED for the protection in their Peppermill. So maybe that might work here instead of the 9v zener if you can't find one. When I breadboarded the BOR, it was a bit noisy, so we'll see how noisy the final product is.

@ Madbean, what's your experience with the noise level on your's??
Last edited by snoof on 09 Oct 2008, 15:19, edited 1 time in total.

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jimosity
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Post by jimosity »

Cool - I actually ordered the right zener diodes for the project, so no issue there.
Guess I'll put the BSIAB2 back on my list of other things I'll build in the future...
Thanks guys - I really dig this one; here I was all hip on my CrunchBox and this guy is a little more fun.

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Post by snoof »

I actually breadboarded the Crunchbox right before I did the BOR. I was pretty happy w/ the Crunchbox, but when I heard the BOR, I thought it did "that" thing a bit better than the Crunch.

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madbean
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Post by madbean »

Noise isn't any worse than any other medium gain pedal that I've used. Actually, I think mine is rather quiet. By all means, use metal film resistors in this bad boy, especially for any of the larger values.

As far the LED thing, yeah that will work in place of the zener, I think. Luckily, BS170's are cheap and if you blow one, it's an easy fix. Plus, they all sound a tinsy bit different.

I way prefer the BOR over the Crunch Box. But, my CB build was a bit crappy. That thing has ridiculous gain...more than you could ever need.

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MoreCowbell
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Post by MoreCowbell »

Just make a dual pedal....

BSIAB2
BOR

covers rhythm and lead

call it the "Box Of Brown". :shock:

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Post by snoof »

@Bean- Encouraging to hear, thanks for the reply. Yep, the CB has a lot a grind on tap, I believe subbed in a dif gain pot on my build. I didn't need all that dist.

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Mr. G.
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Post by Mr. G. »

If I were to replace the tone control with a Marshall style tone stack, would I replace >THIS< section or >THIS< section?

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madbean
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Post by madbean »

The second. The two RC filters in series after the tone control form a second-order (-12db per octave) low pass filter starting at about 8kHz. So, if you are going to replace the tone control you could probably do away with all of that. Also, be aware that replacing the current tone section might lead to an increase in the output volume. Maybe not so much if you do the Marshall-type.

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madbean
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Post by madbean »

MoreCowbell wrote:Just make a dual pedal....

BSIAB2
BOR

covers rhythm and lead

call it the "Box Of Brown". :shock:

Rather fond of "Pound of Brown" myself.

Or, the "Fudge Factory" :)

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Mr. G.
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Post by Mr. G. »

Thanks! yeah, I was planning on using the Marshall tone stack from the Duncan TSC as a starting point. I'll probably socket all 4 components so I can experiment. I might also try replacing the filter section with a presence control, a la the Crunch Box.

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Mr. G.
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YATS (many)
BOR
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Crunchbox
SHO (several)
Fuzz Factory
Several LM386 based distortions
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Post by Mr. G. »

Just got done with the build, and it actually worked on the first try :D!!!! It sounds 1000 times better than my last BOR build, which I think had a few bugs. I like having the 3-band Marshall tone stack. The knobs are pretty interactive with each other. The highs can be a little over bearing at some settings, so I think I'm going to add a presence control. Other than that, it's a great sounding pedal. I used Torchy's layout as my starting place. I'll report back after adding the presence control.

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Mr. G.
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COT (Briggs mods)
Crunchbox
SHO (several)
Fuzz Factory
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Post by Mr. G. »

Got the presence control added. Works like a charm! I'm really liking this pedal so far.

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Post by snoof »

good to hear that the pres crkt worked well. I just completed my build, and I left the last .002u cap off. Fully CW the treb is way too much, but there's still enough room on the pot to get the tone I want, and still have all the treb i could ever use if needed.

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Post by sliberty »

I finally got back to my BOR build, and there were two last issues. One has been discussed here - the tone pot orientation was backwards. I fixed that easily by reversing wires to logs 1 and 3. The other was not exactly a mistake on the board - I didn't have enough 5.1K resistors when I did the build, so I used a 4.7K resistor for the first BS170. I incorretly assumed it would be "close enough". Well, Noooooooooooooooooooooo, it wasn't. Once I changed it to a 5.1K, the pedal came alive.

This thing is not t all disappointing. It does take a little getting used to though. Balancing the settings between gain and tone seem to be very important.

I'd like to see a schematic and layout showing the circuit with a full tone stack and presence pot if anyone has drawn them or is willing to do so.

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jimosity
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Post by jimosity »

+1 on seeing the whole tone stack with presence...

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Mr. G.
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Completed builds: 3-loop + tuner out TB loop pedal
Eternity overdrive (Deaj perf layout)
YATS (many)
BOR
DLS
COT (Briggs mods)
Crunchbox
SHO (several)
Fuzz Factory
Several LM386 based distortions
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
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Post by Mr. G. »

I replaced this section from the BOR:
Image

with this section:
Image

The Marshall tone stack came from the Duncan Tone Stack Calculator, and the presence portion came from the v2 Crunch Box schematic.

I socketed all of the components of the tone stack, so I could play with the values.

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Mr. G.
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Posts: 384
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my favorite amplifier: Undecided
Completed builds: 3-loop + tuner out TB loop pedal
Eternity overdrive (Deaj perf layout)
YATS (many)
BOR
DLS
COT (Briggs mods)
Crunchbox
SHO (several)
Fuzz Factory
Several LM386 based distortions
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada
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Post by Mr. G. »

Even though the pedal sounds good with the Marshall tone stack, I'm thinking that it can sound better with a different tone section. So, after doing some research on the AMZ site, I've decided to replace the tone stack with this tone section: Tone/Body/Hi-Cut

I basically copied the v2 AMZ Presence Control (found >here<) with values that I had on hand, and added a variable low-pass filter (presence/hi-cut control) on the end.

I find that the BOR has too much of a scooped mid tone for my liking. Hopefully this new tone section will give me better control over it.

I'm still researching other options, so I'm not sure if I'll stick with this idea or not. I'll report back with my findings.

What do you guys think about this?

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sliberty
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Post by sliberty »

Well, I only have my BOR working for a short time (like 2 days?), but i am actually quiet happy with the tone control and the results it provides. Set low, it resembles a JTM with that very full , slightly woofy bass. Turned up to 50% or more, it resebles that bright Plexi sort of tone. Not sure I will mess with it at all actually, but certainly not for a while - I want to live with it a bit as-is.

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chris_d
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Post by chris_d »

sliberty wrote:Well, I only have my BOR working for a short time (like 2 days?), but i am actually quiet happy with the tone control and the results it provides. Set low, it resembles a JTM with that very full , slightly woofy bass. Turned up to 50% or more, it resebles that bright Plexi sort of tone. Not sure I will mess with it at all actually, but certainly not for a while - I want to live with it a bit as-is.
Once i got mine right, i was perfectly happy with it in its stock form. It is one of really only a couple DIY pedals i have built that i was as pleased with as that.

The most i would consider doing MAYBE would be just tweaking the stock Muff-type tonestack cap values a little for a slightly different range, but at the moment, i am pretty much 100% happy with the range this thing has right now. And i have been using mine for several months, as well, as one of two OD pedals that see constant action.

It is a good one!

-chris

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