J. Rockett Archer IKON gold

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

Hey all, I have an Archer ikon torn down on my bench so thought I'd ask if there's any interest in some quality gut shots for a possible trace? AFAIK it may be an exact klon copy but I hafta say it sounds pretty nice even compared to a couple other klones I've come across. It's mostly SMD with a few through hole parts but everything is well spaced out, parts appear to all be marked and labelled (R1,R2,etc) and the traces are mostly visible. Anyway, if someone's willing to take a crack at it just say the word and I'll throw some pics up.

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arivabox
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Post by arivabox »

The scheme is already there PCB, it is easier to take one Klone board from the heap and add changes, if any.

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Frank_NH
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Post by Frank_NH »

gainiac wrote:Hey all, I have an Archer ikon torn down on my bench so thought I'd ask if there's any interest in some quality gut shots for a possible trace? AFAIK it may be an exact klon copy but I hafta say it sounds pretty nice even compared to a couple other klones I've come across. It's mostly SMD with a few through hole parts but everything is well spaced out, parts appear to all be marked and labelled (R1,R2,etc) and the traces are mostly visible. Anyway, if someone's willing to take a crack at it just say the word and I'll throw some pics up.
Yes - please share any trace you can do on the circuit. It's possible (probably likely) there are a few minor tweaks here and there. I've done my own Klon tweaking (e.g. replacing the standard Klon buffer with a Cornish buffer, adding an active midrange control) and so have some interest in the variations in the Klon that are out there. :D

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gainiac
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Post by gainiac »

Glad there's some interest, I'll start putting up pics and details here shortly as soon as I get the DSLR charged up. I took a closer look at the guts last night and there seems to be fewer parts in this than what a klon calls for so maybe it's not as much an exact copy as I thought.

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gainiac
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Post by gainiac »

Here's a couple starters to see what we're working with here. I took a detailed look at components using a stereo microscope and there are a handful of resistors and caps that aren't marked but most are. Next step I'm going to take some high res imgs and outline the traces with photoshop. Any suggestions/info requests feel free to interject anytime.

Image
Image

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gainiac
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Post by gainiac »

Hate to say this but using the "official" centaur schematic as a guide, this pedal is a note-for-note exact copy of the original, all the way down to using the same component numbering system (i.e. R1, R2, R3 etc are even the same parts on both). I suppose if you're looking to pick up a nice accurate version of the Klon rest assured this is one but I'm afraid there's nothing here to advance our cause any further.

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Post by bmxguitarsbmx »

How sad. It's like the Bootweak industry is trying to get killed by digital. Why buy a pedal these days? Why? :scratch:

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gainiac
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Post by gainiac »

bmxguitarsbmx wrote:How sad. It's like the Bootweak industry is trying to get killed by digital. Why buy a pedal these days? Why? :scratch:
Naturally I agree completely but I also spend enough time among "the other half" of pedal consumers (TGP crowd) who still to this day will eagerly put themselves on a 18 month waiting list and count the days until they have the privilege of paying $500+ for a pedal that has been laid bare for all to see on this forum for years now, has no special mojo and of which any of us could build in a few hours with leftover parts so this is how pedals still get sold.

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Post by Frank_NH »

Well, if you want a different take on the Klon, here is a link to a vero layout of my Unicorn Overdrive. It’s a mashup of the Klon circuit with the Cornish buffer. It uses a bipolar supply for the op amp stages, giving it more than enough headroom. And it sounds so good that it’s earned a place on my pedalboard. The layout is not true bypass but keeps the buffer in the signal path like the original Klon. Enjoy. :D

http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabbl ... 44433.html

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bmxguitarsbmx
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Post by bmxguitarsbmx »

gainiac wrote:
bmxguitarsbmx wrote:How sad. It's like the Bootweak industry is trying to get killed by digital. Why buy a pedal these days? Why? :scratch:
Naturally I agree completely but I also spend enough time among "the other half" of pedal consumers (TGP crowd) who still to this day will eagerly put themselves on a 18 month waiting list and count the days until they have the privilege of paying $500+ for a pedal that has been laid bare for all to see on this forum for years now, has no special mojo and of which any of us could build in a few hours with leftover parts so this is how pedals still get sold.
What do you mean "no special mojo"? That dude came up with something that immediately everyone really liked. I wish builders would take inspiration from THAT! Anyone can build a copy, I just want to see innovation. Furthermore, I don't see a problem with him charging $500 for a pedal or $5000. There are plenty of people, less talented, that make much more than Bill. Anyway, for the record I have built a clone of the Klon. It's great! I would not sell them. Sorry for the rant. I really do think that the pedal business is a glorious opportunity that is squandered by lazy people that can't be bothered to learn basic electronics. I include Wampler in that list.

Thank you Frank_NH, always stoked to read your posts. I'll check out your work :D

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dan.schumaker
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Post by dan.schumaker »

In a slightly unrelated topic, does anyone have a source for the 9mm 100k B right angle pots used here?

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Post by Visualdistortion »

Tayda?
I wanna make it
I wanna make it wit chu
(again and again and again)

French... sorry ;)

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Post by dan.schumaker »

dan.schumaker wrote:In a slightly unrelated topic, does anyone have a source for the 9mm 100k B right angle pots used here?
Visualdistortion wrote:Tayda?
Thanks for that. I am wondering more where to get the 9mm right angle dual pot.

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Post by MoonWatcher »

bmxguitarsbmx wrote:I really do think that the pedal business is a glorious opportunity that is squandered by lazy people that can't be bothered to learn basic electronics.
While I won't argue that some of them are no doubt lazy, I think that a lot more of them are simply interested in making a profit with "a job that's cool."

And anyone who's intrigued enough to learn more than just basic electronics will probably be representative of your "outlier pedal vendors." For them, being lazy is probably equivalent to dying.

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