Roger Mayer - Voodoo 1

[vhollund]

Hello
First post here on this great site

Like title indicates , the pots gone bad , and the buffer gone out of fashion...Im ready to risk my self into modding my Voodoo1
Have anyone here done the experience ?

The pots looks really cheap and are directly implanted to the pcb
but it looks like i could change them with a little luck and isolationtape

Edit:
Pots:
1X 47k (gain) 2X 100k
It seems possible to change them , I'll do that

In my Voodoo 1 the IC is LM 301AN

I have no idea how to bypass the buffer

Edit :
Ok I changed the pots
It got abit messy and i ended up having to cut in under the cobber in the pcb and solder directly to it
Pots and switches directly to pcb should be forbidden by law

I dono if any follows this thread but me but anyway
I can say that if you have just alittle less thumps than me a know better how to not burn to much with the solder iron ,
you can easily cut the old pots in a Voodoo 1 and solder new ones to what will be left of the connectors


Now I just need to bypass the buffer
Im totally newbee so if someone here can help me out I will be greatfull

Vaughn

[vhollund]

Hello
Ive heard its possible to bypass the buffer in the pedal
but Im pretty newbie on schematics reading
Can somebody help shed a light?


In my Voodoo 1 the IC is LM 301AN
The pots are 47k log (gain) 100k lin (tone) 100k log (vol)
Thanks

[soulsonic]

That schematic doesn't show any buffer.
Could you post up some pictures of yours so we can get a better idea of what's going on?
Thanks.

[vhollund]

ok ill try to get a hold of a camara capable of showing it

[Bernardduur]

Most Mayer pedals have an output buffer; dunno if the above schematic is correct, but my Voodoo Bass was always run through the buffer as shown after the output pot.

[Dirk_Hendrik]

That schematic doesn't show any buffer.
Could you post up some pictures of yours so we can get a better idea of what's going on?
Thanks.

As Bernard says as well that circuit around that transistor between the level pot and the output looks very much like an emitter follower to me

Having that said, I don't have a clue where the mojo idea comes from that "removing the buffer" will give an "instant improvement" in sound. I'd leave that buffer sitting where it is.

@ vhollund
In my personal opinion I think that if you're not able to determine what to remove in your schematic you better stay out of that pedal

[soulsonic]

As Bernard says as well that circuit around that transistor between the level pot and the output looks very much like an emitter follower to me

Having that said, I don't have a clue where the mojo idea comes from that "removing the buffer" will give an "instant improvement" in sound. I'd leave that buffer sitting where it is.

This is true, but I was thinking he meant he wanted to remove an input buffer - like what most builders use for a buffered bypass. I only see the output buffer, and to me, it seems like an essential part of the circuit.
I see, but I don't understand. Roger Mayer has blinded me with his mojo power!

[vhollund]

Thanks ,
The thing is that the pedal definitely has a "Buffery" thing going on even when its off
A/B'ed the sound it losses its hugeness and gets a bit harder , when the pedal is in the signal chain
Just like a buffer usually does to a signal

Does the signal still go through the IC when its off, or how?

[soulsonic]

That's why I can't help you - I don't know how the bypass switch is wired up and it's not shown in that schematic.
I'm looking at the scheme for a Page-1 - that shows two outputs: a buffered output and a hard-wired (HW) output. It looks like if you plug into the HW output the buffer is bypassed.
Does your Voodo-1 have those dual output jacks?

[vhollund]

Yes it has 2 outputs
If i pull the juice when the pedal is off, the signal becomes alot weaker

Electronically the Voodoo-1 shares all the same basic Voodoo Series features with dual output buffering or hard wire output etc.

unfortunately I dont have a camara good enougth for showing the guts

This is the outside , then you can guess how it sounds (joke)


I'll try to get a picture taken of the inside

Thanks

[ChrisB]

Hi guys, did anyone ever have a go at building one of these?
I have found a schematic and a pic of the inside but as I am still a novice at building was wondering if there was a layout to follow to try building it.

Schematic : http://www.freeinfosociety.com/electron ... php?id=654
Inside pic : http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~cbradley/voodoo1.JPG

Many thanks.

[Dirk_Hendrik]

Building? No.

But I had one for repair and, from a personal opinion, it was one of the most poor sounding buzz boxes I've heard in years.

[ChrisB]

I am surprised as I like the tone Mike Landau gets and he seems to have his Voodoo1 on nearly all the time as a boost but they are so expensive and as I live in Ireland there is nowhere to try one before I buy.

[ik6gpy]

Building? No.

But I had one for repair and, from a personal opinion, it was one of the most poor sounding buzz boxes I've heard in years.

I totally agree. This is a very bad sounding box IMO. It can't do pure boost due to the lack of volume when the gain is low, it can't do nice overdriven sounds due to its muddines and finally it can't do a real fuzz sound when the gain is maxed. So just don't build it, you'll waste your money.
Guitarists like Landau, Gilmour, Henderson ecc.. would sound killer even trough a 15 watts solid state amp
Matteo

[mfgobbi]

It's a very buzzy sounding fuzz at higher gain settings (above 11 oclock),
but at lower gain it can be a clean boost or a very dynamic distortion.
It cleans up great and sounds like a slightly distorted old fender. Those low
gain qualities are similar to andertons fuzz (red llama).

I believe that both Scott Henderson and Landau use it with gain set low and
volume crancked.

Building? No.

But I had one for repair and, from a personal opinion, it was one of the most poor sounding buzz boxes I've heard in years.

[Bernardduur]

Building? No.

But I had one for repair and, from a personal opinion, it was one of the most poor sounding buzz boxes I've heard in years.

+2

I had the bass version in for some modding as it is a very bad sounding pedal.......... tone section was really annoyingly small....... no nice tone from that one

[ChrisB]

It's a very buzzy sounding fuzz at higher gain settings (above 11 oclock),
but at lower gain it can be a clean boost or a very dynamic distortion.
It cleans up great and sounds like a slightly distorted old fender. Those low
gain qualities are similar to andertons fuzz (red llama).

I believe that both Scott Henderson and Landau use it with gain set low and
volume crancked.

Building? No.

But I had one for repair and, from a personal opinion, it was one of the most poor sounding buzz boxes I've heard in years.

Hmmm, I might try the Red Llama then...

[vhollund]

I finally got a camera that can take a high resolution photo
so here it is

Let me hear what you think
Could there be improvments changing then chip maybe
or is it possible to make a true bypass ?

[analogguru]

Ok, here is the first time in stompbox history an authentic
Roger Mayer - Voodoo-1 schematic

enjoy,
analogguru

[analogguru]

Here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3160&p=34589#p34589
an authentic schematic of the RM Voodoo-1 can be found.
If you control the cap values - especially of C9 and C10 - and let me know them I could finish the schematic.

You can have a look at the:
Roger Mayer - Mongoose schematic
and the:
Roger Mayer - Spitfire schematic
and compare the three to see, what Roger Mayer does to sell you basically the same circuit three times. Use it as an inspiration for modding your Voodoo-1.

I don´t know what you expect from true bypass -sometimes it is even better when the signal is buffered.
The simplest way to bypass the buffer is to desolder the white wire from the output jacks and solder the yellow one there - even when it is then not "true" bypass.
For real true bypass you can wire it as shown in the mongoose or spitfire schematics, if you don´t need the LED.
If you want to keep the LED you would need another footswitch - a 3PDT.

analogguru