Vintage EHX Small Clone Repair

[Mr.Kite]

Hi guys,

Just want to share with you my experience with a malfunctioning 1981 EHX Small Clone, maybe it could help someone with the same problem...

Recently I found a "vintage looking" Small Clone (I wasn't sure) for VERY cheap, so, knowing how "rare" these pedals are, I thought "why not?" but obvoiusly, when it arrived, it wasn't working properly: almost no modulation, just the "fixed delay" of the chorus but very "soft", no movement at all. Just at max Rate I could hear a slight, fast swirling tone in the background.
So I opened it up and checked the pot with a tester: interrupted! Damn, it's a CTS 1MC (reverse log) pot with a D shaft and PCB mounting angled pins, 24mm, almost impossible to find these days...Luckily, Banzai had an Alpha 1MC 24mm pot (6€!) with PCB angled pins, but obvoiusly not D shaft, so I had to replace the knob too. I opted for a Davies pointer style, which I don't know if it's storically accurate (saw many EHX with that knobs, but every SC I saw had "Ice Puck" knobs) but I like it and it helps me to immediately distinguish between my Original and my Reissue!
Well, it was just the pot! Now it works perfectly!
My only doubt is that the Alpha Rev Log taper is quite different from the original CTS probably, so you may find the same settings in different spots, let's say 5 before and 6.5 now, but every setting is still achievable, just in different spots...except that the pot (bought only one because it is "unusual" and "expensive") was a little on the low side (950k or so) and the max rate settings is SLIGHTLY slower than on my Reissue, but man, it sounds so much better IMO! Warmer, less bass and treble and more mids, which I like, but especially the fixed Depth settings are much more musical to my ears! The Reissue is a little exagerated, often is too much, while the Original almost the opposite, much softer, but I prefer it: instant "Come As You Are" tone, and it has a MN3007, no need for the SAD1024! The Reissue sounds "out of tune", too much vibrato for that kind of tones, but I prefer the original for EVERYTHING on guitar...That said, the Reissue is better on bass, since it doesn't cut the low end and the effect is less apparent in that register...for the same reason I suspect the Reissue to be better also on keyboards, and that's enough for me to keep both!

A pic of the culprit:



And my two babies (Reissue on the left):



So, if you have a SC, especially vintage, with a similar problem, check the pot! I read a lot of similar experiences and the advice is always "change the electros" or "fried chip, replace them all!" which is the best way to cannibalize a vintage valuable pedal, while IME caps and ICs are FAR less prone to fail than electro-mechanical devices as pots and switches...check things that EASILY wear out FIRST!

Hope this can help someone, cheers!

[thermionix]

FAR less prone to fail than electro-mechanical devices as pots and switches

Amen to that!  But I gotta ask, did you try cleaning the original pot?  DeOxit saves a whole bunch of them from replacement.

[Mr.Kite]

But I gotta ask, did you try cleaning the original pot?  DeOxit saves a whole bunch of them from replacement.

Obviously, but it was completely GONE!

But thanks for pointing that out, it's important to try at least, we don't want to replace components for the sake of!

[Scruffie]

There's a good reason they sound so different, the delay time is increased a fair bit on the reissue.

[Mr.Kite]

There's a good reason they sound so different, the delay time is increased a fair bit on the reissue.

Exactly what I thought!

Which explains why the Reissue is slightly noiser: higher delay time on a BBD chip = more hiss, especially on low notes...

[thermionix]

Also the boldness of the font, the color of the screws.  Must have a good ear though.

FWIW, I much prefer the Davies style knob.

[Tony Forestiere]

Nah, I think the pointer knob looks fine.

[Mr.Kite]

Nah, I think the pointer knob looks fine.

The "originals" were cool, but I don't like the "reissues":

(Original above)


I couldn't use the original because of the D shaft and the white stripe on the reissue is too thin, I don't like it...the edge is different too...The original seems marginally larger, probably a "metric conversion" difference...

[thermionix]

Nah, I think the pointer knob looks fine.

That's the one I was referring to.  The plain round one isn't bad, but the pointer has more class.  And better tone, obviously.