Not so OT - Pedal for Hot Rod Deluxe?

[Gilles C]

Last night, I took my Fender Hot Rod deluxe with me for a monthly jam in Quebec.

Since my back seems to be in a better shape these days than in the past 4-5 years, I decided it was time to test it.

Wow, I don't want to sell it or buy another amp anymore.  :lol:

Ok, so, what it means is that I will try to build effects to get a better/different sound than try to get a good sound, whixh I have with the HRD.  :roll:

While reading about that amp on the net, I saw that some like the sound of the Full Drive 2 box with the HRD.

Any replacement in the DIY family?

What could I build to get close to thae sound of that box?

Speaking of the HRD, here are a few interesting links on the subject. I know some of you have one too.  :wink:

(Oh, the first one is a special one...)

http://vintone.com/the_rig.html

http://www.vintone.com/rc_hrdhead_tol.html

http://studentweb.eku.edu/justin_holton/

Gilles

[brett]

Hi.  The BluesBreaker (see tonepad.com) is excellent and under-rated.  For heavy stuff an Axis fuzz is cool (see fuzzcentral.com).

cheers

[RDV]

I don't own one(though I'd like to), but I sat in on another band's equipment to try out for a job once, and the guitar player had one. He had all these so-called boo-teek pedals, all real pretty, I turned them on one-by-one and I couldn't even tell if they were on(except for the pretty lights, one of em' was that full-drive thingy). Then I stepped on an aural hand grenade called a Danelectro Fab-Tone, and the windows blew out of the joint. Unbelievable. A "could you ask your guitar player to turn down please" kind of pedal. I like pedals that I know are on when I turn them on.

uh..what was the question? :wink:

RDV

[Gilles C]

Hummm... The BluesBreaker could be a good choice.

Having a Fender sound to start with means I should get away from Fender sounding distortion now  :cry:

Therefore, a Marshallish distortion could be a good choice.

Being a tube amp, maybe this time, I should get away from FETs...  :cry:

Thanks for the suggestion, it's the first and only in my list right now. (Or maybe GMArts disto. I always wnted to try it  :roll: )

I also want to build a volume box controlled with 2 footswitches, MORE and LESS. With a PIC maybe.  

I was too loud and didn't have time to play with the guitar volume... I was too busy with my hands  

[petemoore]

FabTone...Killer. over the top distortion. Kick that thing on, if you don't know it, there's something wrong with it or you ! ! !
 I went through 2 failed ones, [one of the joys of buying from a music store like Akron Music], the third one kept going...probably some kind of personal PS issue...
 Yes I like my BB pedal, sounds sorta like a TS, I found it much easier to get the tone knob to work right though. Blues Breaker is a Great Build.
 Then of course there's the modded, front end boosted DIST+, for harder type distortions. I should thing the DIST+ could be modded to sound great through a HOT ROD Deluxe...I like mine with a high precision/low noise OA, socketted diodes and 'twangy bite' saturation control [AMZ].
 I like the sound of 'hard to build/cheep pedals" like FAB TONE, etc. I just can't get along with the construction..jacks in PCB is like Noowayy for me anymore...but at that price, I can't refuse.

[Gilles C]

Yes I like my BB pedal, sounds sorta like a TS, I found it much easier to get the tone knob to work right though. Blues Breaker is a Great Build.
 Then of course there's the modded, front end boosted DIST+, for harder type distortions. I should thing the DIST+ could be modded to sound great through a HOT ROD Deluxe...I like mine with a high precision/low noise OA, socketted diodes and 'twangy bite' saturation control [AMZ].

What needs to be modded to fit well with the HRD? (Or is that the details you added: the OA, diodes and twangy bite...)

Seems like the kind of info I should know    

The score:

BluesBreaker 2 points
Dist+ (??)      1 point
Fab-Tone       0 point (too much gain. I already have too much  :wink: )

Btw, I agree with you RDV, I like to know when it's on.

Ah yeah, I remember I have to add a LED to my Mosfet Booster. I like to turn the volume down completely before I switch guitars. It doesn't work well when it's bypassed.   :oops:

[Ed G.]

While reading about that amp on the net, I saw that some like the sound of the Full Drive 2 box with the HRD.

Any replacement in the DIY family?

The fulltone is basically a tube screamer with some slight mods. The biggest mod is a 3pdt switch that switches in another drive pot in series for more distortion.
This schem is pretty close: http://www.greene-pedals.com/scrmr.html
If you start with that, then check out geofex.com's 'the technology of the tube screamer' and read it over a bunch of times, you can make your own ideal fulltone-killer.

[brett]

Yeah, for 1980s rock n roll the dist+ is a cool pedal.  Especially if you've got an equaliser attached, so you can control the top-end "grit".  

If you want to try something different....a simple circuit that I feel would work well is the Jordan Bosstone.

have fun...

[petemoore]

Gp tp AMZ, Labs Notebook, Saturation control page, look at the diagram next to the text reference words "twangy Bite' among the other clipping voicing options.
 I used the Dist+ Circuit with a High Precision/low noise opamp, [it only takes a single OA] but I used a socket and wired it to use half a dual. 5532 is a great choice as is the 4558, TL072 performs well, I used the 4558.
 1n914 diodes, but it's worth the trouble to add a socket for diode configuration experimentation.
 I use a small cap paralleling the diodes, this smooths the high end of the clipping sound...I always try different pf caps for this position, I think .0047uf or .0068uf...trying the different value caps here is another good reason to socket.
 Of course playing it through your amp at the levels you'd normally use, for a time, trying different settings and efkt chains, then revoicing, lets you find Your DIST+ sound.
 This one does quite well for me with a booster on the front end [I prefer fet boosters].
 I have a Fetzer valve [ROG] housed with the DIST+, and the input cap should be voiced here too, though I think I used the stock value tho in my socket.
 I tried numerous 741 DIST+ types, New Clipper, OD250 etc., but none of those survived my A/B tests and were scavenged, I found I like the 'better' opamps dynamic. tone, distortion, and Noise characteristics.
 If you build this for a single hookup and socket, you can try single HP/Low Noise opamp types Or the original chip, the 741.
 I used a 1/2 a dual because it was there.

[Gilles C]

OK , found the Twangy Bite thing. Looks good. I could use an IC socket with a dip module to test different options...

I'm taking notes of the things to try  :twisted:

And after reading the suggestions for the Dist+, the Green-Pedal, the Fulltone  and all, it reminded me that SRV was using 2 x TS9 in series with his amps. Maybe that's the sound I'm after, 'cause he's the one who got me hooked on Blues with a touch of Rock.

Now I know here I'm heading.  

Thanks guys, you put me back on the track.

I always liked the fat sound of the HRD, but I wanted a little something for those other times where you wish you had another amp.

:idea:  :idea:  :idea:  :arrow:      

Gilles

[Gilles C]

:oops:

[Ed G.]

I would suggest building the BSIAB, but I'm about to release the BSIAB II, which is a pretty high gain unit, with some lower-gain tones in there as well.
It has a lot of sustain, as well as definition, clarity and dynamics. I'm pretty happy with it right now.

[dosmun]

These are from GGG

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/fulldrive_1.jpg

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/fulldrive_2.jpg[/url]

[Gilles C]

These are from GGG

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/fulldrive_1.jpg

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/fulldrive_2.jpg[/url]

Cool...  I already checked on GGG, but not at the right place, in the Tube Screamer section.  :oops:

When I don't use FETs  :wink: (BSIAB 2 could be the next one...), I like a FET buffer, an opamp (5532 for low noise...), and an output buffer (transistor).

http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/ampins/webbop/5532.htm

The FullDrive 2 was the missing thing in my inspiration stuff. I also like to build 2 pcbs and always compare one mod to another one with an AB switch box. Or I switch a part with a relay and a footswitch while I'm playing my guitar.

Now I have everything I need to begin my new project.  :twisted:

That would be a good occasion to start my new site all over.  :roll:

Thanks again

Gilles Coco Gadget (as my friends call me... guest why...   )