Menatone - Red Snapper (schem inside)

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bucksears
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Post by bucksears »

Double-checked mine last night and all values are the same as Dirk's schem, except for the Volume - I'm still using the 100k from the Snapster list. I'll swap that out later as it sounds fine right now.

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PokeyPete
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Post by PokeyPete »

I am not at all familiar with the Red Snapper. The schematic reminds me very much of a tube screamer.
Would that be a fair comparison?
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mcaviel
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Post by mcaviel »

you got it right!

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bucksears
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Post by bucksears »

My little assessment so far:
Not a lot of LOW-end, but has MUCH more gain than a TS. Very nice mids/upper mids. I would take one of these 10x over a Boss Blues Driver (which is what I was going to look at first).
I have one built up with some tweed-era Fender graphics as I wanted something with some grit and twang. I could easily build one with two footswitches and dual gain knobs; does a nice low-gain OD for gritty rhythms and then hit the gain up for rock. Definitely all with an American flavor - originally looking something similar to Tom Petty 'Mary Jane's Last Dance' opening chords. The RS is a little tighter than that the way I have it config'd, but has those mids.

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PokeyPete
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Post by PokeyPete »

bucksears wrote:My little assessment so far:
Not a lot of LOW-end, but has MUCH more gain than a TS. Very nice mids/upper mids. I would take one of these 10x over a Boss Blues Driver (which is what I was going to look at first).
I have one built up with some tweed-era Fender graphics as I wanted something with some grit and twang. I could easily build one with two footswitches and dual gain knobs; does a nice low-gain OD for gritty rhythms and then hit the gain up for rock. Definitely all with an American flavor - originally looking something similar to Tom Petty 'Mary Jane's Last Dance' opening chords. The RS is a little tighter than that the way I have it config'd, but has those mids.
Thank you very much for that description. :D
I know the Blues Driver is a very highly thought of pedal. If you prefer this 10x over that one, it must have something going for it. 8)
“No man is so foolish but he may sometimes give another
good counsel, and no man so wise that he may not easily err
if he takes no other counsel than his own. He that is taught
only by himself has a fool for a master.”
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Lemmings
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Post by Lemmings »

Sorry to bump an old thread, but what does the 'cut' part of the circuit consist of?

How could I incorporate it into a tagboard / turret layout like this?

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IvIark
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Post by IvIark »

There are a few value changes between the 3 and 4 knob Snapper, but for a Cut pot take out the 33K resistor and replace it with a 25K lin pot. 6 to Cut3, 7 to Cut1, and a 10nF cap between Cut2 and Cut3.
"If anyone is a 'genius' for putting jacks in such a pedal in the only spot where they could physically fit, then I assume I too am a genius for correctly inserting my legs into my pants this morning." - candletears7 - TGP

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Lemmings
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Post by Lemmings »

Awesome, thank you!

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Lemmings
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Post by Lemmings »

Took a day off exam study today to build this:

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Point to point Red Snapper clone in a surf green enclosure.

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Mojo provided by Vishay / Dale RN60 resistors, Mallory capacitors, and the obligatory blue Philips electrolytic.

Thanks to all those who contributed in this thread, and particularly to IvIark for providing the layout.

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jzilla
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Post by jzilla »

Check out the transistor in the lower left connected to the diode. What's up with that?
IMG_9159.jpg
Haven't seen any 3 knob DIY layouts with it. This pic is of a friend's 2003 RS. (Also found a pic of one from '99 on Reverb. Same circuit.) It sounds different from my clone - a bit more compressed, slightly more low end and mids, warmer, and a smoother top end (doesn't get spiky the way the clone can). More fun to play tbh, especially at very low gain. The 3 knob circuit must have changed at some point, huh?

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george giblet
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Post by george giblet »

The transistor + diode (and also the 4k7's) looks a lot like RG's Millennium bypass circuit. Transistor would then be a JFET. Notice how only two sets of contacts are used on the foot switch.

Apart from that, it's doesn't look much different to the generic 3-knob RS.

It's worth checking the cap values in detail. I can see the first stage feedback cap is 120pF, not 100pF.

Other things that can throw you off are the precise pot values and tapers, subtle changes like 20k vs 25k.
So when you set the units to the same pot positions there's subtle differences in resistance.

The Red Snapper was largely a copy of the Clark Gainster, the Clark Gainster had quite a few subtle variants.

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paleojenn
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Post by paleojenn »

guys, the Red Snapper pre dated the Gainster by 5 years.

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george giblet
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Post by george giblet »

guys, the Red Snapper pre dated the Gainster by 5 years.
Looking through some old info that seems to be the case.
Red Snapper approx 1996, Clarke Gainster 2001.

I also found some more info on the Red Snapper:

1) 3-knob - Early Unit upto at least 1998
- Markings: Smiling Fish Decal and no word "Overdrive" on the label
Different circuit to later models:
- first stage 120pF feedback cap, 12k in series with gain pot
- second stage AC couple 22uF coupling cap to second stage
1k input resistor 2k2 feedback resistor ; unverified
- LED through switch
- carbon comp resistors

2) 3-knob from 2003 (PCB same as that posted by jzilla)
- Markings: Newer big mouthed fish logo, dotted knob markers.
Big mouthed fish versions came with both dotted
and line knob markers, later units have dots.
Has word overdrive under Red Snapper.
- first stage 120pF feedback cap, 4k7 in series with gain pot
- second stage DC coupled, 4.7k input resistor, 15k feedback resistor, 2n2 feedback cap
- LED circuit is RG's millenium bypass (2N5457 JFET, LED, 1N914, 2x4k7)

3) 4-knobs, left for another day.

Clearly there are differences between the very early 3-knob's.
There appears to be no feedback cap on the second stage

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smear
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Post by smear »

george giblet wrote: 06 Sep 2022, 22:18
guys, the Red Snapper pre dated the Gainster by 5 years.
Looking through some old info that seems to be the case.
Red Snapper approx 1996, Clarke Gainster 2001.

3) 4-knobs, left for another day.

Clearly there are differences between the very early 3-knob's.
There appears to be no feedback cap on the second stage
Any chance you can explain the differences in the 4-knob version?

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george giblet
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Post by george giblet »

Any chance you can explain the differences in the 4-knob version?
I don't have all my old files but this is a good representation:
menatone red snapper - 4 knob - mostly correct.png

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smear
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Post by smear »

george giblet wrote: 23 Jan 2023, 03:36
Any chance you can explain the differences in the 4-knob version?
I don't have all my old files but this is a good representation:

menatone red snapper - 4 knob - mostly correct.png
thanks very much!

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