Jack Deville - Dark Echo  [traced]

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

Finally got one of these bad boys. :thumbsup

Jack himself has posted gut shots of this, so there's nothing particularly new here. Just thought I'd start a thread on this very nice pedal.

Check out the tight PCB layout! :shock: And note the proper strain relief for the battery leads. Very well done all around.

The modulation is definitely not like any other delay I've tried. With "Sway" set low, the LFO speed is high but the depth is minimal. With Sway cranked up, speed is lower and depth is greater. Very interesting.

Not sure what the trimmer does yet. I assume something LFO-related. Will try it out later.

Dark_Echo.jpg
Dark_Echo_01.jpg

Dark_Echo_02.jpg
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sinner
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Post by sinner »

Masterpiece! How he do that with only two layers? Artistic!
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teej212
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Post by teej212 »

trimmer is volume boost
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~arph
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Post by ~arph »

sinner wrote:Masterpiece! How he do that with only two layers? Artistic!
Narrow traces? I see one going between two resistor pads.

LFO perhaps some kind of tweaked quadrature oscillator.. known for lower amplitude at faster settings.
Is done by a single quad opamp too..
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Post by culturejam »

~arph wrote:LFO perhaps some kind of tweaked quadrature oscillator.. known for lower amplitude at faster settings.
Is done by a single quad opamp too..
Well, I think there is only a dual left over for the LFO. The other dual, I can only imagine, is for input buffering and output mixing.
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Duckman
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Post by Duckman »

Very neat build (design) with minimalist aesthetics. I love (envy) it :lol:
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Post by LaceSensor »

not to be picky but he chose the shittest looking knobs for what is otherwise a beautiful looking, sounding and engineered device.

Just my 2p
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Post by culturejam »

I actually don't care for those knobs either, but a lot of builders use them. Like Barber.

I can easily swap knobs, though. Better a knob I don't like than a shitty sound. :mrgreen:
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Post by Greenmachine »

They're not that pretty, but they are very nice to handle.
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Post by culturejam »

Greenmachine wrote:They're not that pretty, but they are very nice to handle.
Sounds like some of the things I said in college to justify sexual misadventures. :lol: :horsey:
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Post by Sweetalk »

That's a nice layout!!!, I really like it!
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Post by LaceSensor »

culturejam wrote:I actually don't care for those knobs either, but a lot of builders use them. Like Barber.

I can easily swap knobs, though. Better a knob I don't like than a shitty sound. :mrgreen:
A good point, fairly made.
I just think a premium product deserves nicer knobs :)
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Post by IvIark »

I really like Zendrive knobs for some reason. Don't listen to 'em Jack! :D
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Post by phibes »

culturejam wrote:
Greenmachine wrote:They're not that pretty, but they are very nice to handle.
Sounds like some of the things I said in college to justify sexual misadventures. :lol: :horsey:
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaha! Been there!
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Post by Jack Deville »

culturejam wrote:
~arph wrote:LFO perhaps some kind of tweaked quadrature oscillator.. known for lower amplitude at faster settings.
Is done by a single quad opamp too..
Well, I think there is only a dual left over for the LFO. The other dual, I can only imagine, is for input buffering and output mixing.
Cj, you've got the right idea.

Two dual opamps in the circuit. Opamps on the DC jack side of the board create the oscillator, which is a simple, yet cool and stable circuit. Here are a few hints: sway control at minimum, oscillator shuts off. Sway control at maximum, oscillator frequency is at minimum.
Opamps on the opposing side of the PCB perform driver and mix amplifier duties as suspected.
Trimmer is output gain control.
The real prize in that circuit is the modulation control circuit. No current wasting LED/opto rig. Nope. This one is hipper and more obscure than that.

:)
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Post by BaldPaul »

Just epic workmanship. Awesome. And I agree the knobs are ugly.
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Post by greigoroth »

Holy shit, that layout!

Am I insane in saying that I think the knobs work really well with the black, fairly minimalist look?
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Post by Jack Deville »

greigoroth wrote:Holy shit, that layout!

Am I insane in saying that I think the knobs work really well with the black, fairly minimalist look?
Nope.
I'm a "professional."
Buy my products and make me rich.

www.jackdeville.com
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Post by okgb »

the knobs don't look so typical , but neither do I think they match the quality or features
maybe if you're going for a sleeper look or counting on people to know your reputation or
trusting them to hear the product speak for itself , Wouldn't be my first choice , then again
the amount of products I've designed & marketed is zero , hope they're doing well for you .
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Post by rocklander »

fsb.. REing knobs since ages ago... :applause:
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