Silver Solder Mojo

[Mobisimo]

Hey all,

I was just about to throw together a couple effects, and I have been hearing things about how silver solder does wonders for pedals.  Apparently, that's the secret to the Landgraff Dynamic Overdrive...  Anyway, I figure it's gotta be worth a try.  Does anyone have experience confirming or denying this myth, and also where to come by the stuff? (I have had a hard time finding it online)

Thanks in advance,

Aaron

[Fret Wire]

If I was in business selling it, I'd tell you it's true, but it's "mojo BS" to the 10th degree. Just use a good iron, and 63/37 solder, and your soldering worries are over. In other words, the solder you choose affects how well you solder the components to the board, not how the effect sounds. And after using  regular 60/40 solder a long time, then trying 63/37, the difference is amazing how much nicer it is. Peter Snowberg turned a bunch of us on to that solder.
http://www.circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/6262

If you need an iron here's a good affordable one:
http://circuitspecialists.com/prod.itml/icOid/7501

If you order $2.00 more dollars worth of stuff, Circuit Specialists then gives you a free DMM on orders over $50! Great solder, a good electronically temp controlled iron, and a free DMM for $50.

BTW, that pedal you mentioned probably hypes the silver solder so you won't think about how much you just spent on a modded Tubescreamer clone.

[brett]

Apparently, that's the secret to the Landgraff Dynamic Overdrive...

Cool name for a pedal.  Surprising it needs silver solder as well as that fancy name.

Sure that silver solder story is fake, but it IS true that if you turn your tubescreamer upside down, the electrons flow through the top of the circuit and don't caught in the electronic "sludge" in the bottom of the copper tracks.  Right?

[travissk]

I use that iron and that solder, and can offer nothing but great recommendations for both. Especially the solder

[Steve C]

In small print on all the silver solder packages I've seen it says only 3% silver.  Stick with the 63/37.

[Fret Wire]

Sure that silver solder story is fake, but it IS true that if you turn your tubescreamer upside down, the electrons flow through the top of the circuit and don't caught in the electronic "sludge" in the bottom of the copper tracks.  Right?

My testing shows that 2 degrees past upside down is best for Si diodes, and 5 degrees before upside down for Ge diodes. But, you must use a radioactive titanium protractor to measure the degree's, or the tone will suffer greatly.

[petemoore]

I tried measuring the resistance of solder, but failed.
 I found phelonic board to be so resistive as to be insulating though...maybe there's mojo in that1

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

it IS true that if you turn your tubescreamer upside down, the electrons flow through the top of the circuit and don't caught in the electronic "sludge" in the bottom of the copper tracks.  Right?

Absolutely correct! plus, remember all audio filters have to be connected backwards to backwash after 2,000 hours listening. :lol: (that's from an old synth manual, hope it didn't fool anyone...)

[brett]

all audio filters have to be connected backwards to backwash after 2,000 hours listening

Ok, so if the filtered stuff doesn't accumulate in the circuit, it gets dumped to ground/earth, right?  How long is that stuff gonna stay down there?  Has anybody noticed it come BACK UP the earth connection and fill your circuit with sh$%?  Makes you wonder.... :wink:

[Fret Wire]

That's what the 100uf Audio-Septic caps are for. Harmonic waste storage. Make sure the polarity is correct, or it will backwash out the input jack and load your pickups.

[Fret Wire]

BTW, Mobisimo: We're not goofin' on you. Just having some fun with the pedal maker's hype. Given the amount of hype that some of the boutique pedal makers use in their advertising, it's a perfectly legit question to ask. We're more than happy to help you save money on equipment, so you can spend your money on what really counts: components to make more pedals! $8 for a whole pound of good solder, it'll last you quite a while.

[Ge_Whiz]

Huh, cheapskates - skimpin' on the gold plating...

[gez]

No mojo, the silver in it helps prevent 'wolf tones'....or should that be werewolf??...hmmm...

[george]

Sure that silver solder story is fake, but it IS true that if you turn your tubescreamer upside down, the electrons flow through the top of the circuit and don't caught in the electronic "sludge" in the bottom of the copper tracks.  Right?

My testing shows that 2 degrees past upside down is best for Si diodes, and 5 degrees before upside down for Ge diodes. But, you must use a radioactive titanium protractor to measure the degree's, or the tone will suffer greatly.

and remember it only works in the northern hemisphere - that's why SRV never toured Australia or NZ

[AL]

Aaron,

Just so you know there was a schematic for the Landgraff floating around the web a few months ago (I'm not sure if it was verified) but it was really nothing more than a modified Tube Screamer. If I remember correctly it had a switch so you could go between a pair of silicon diodes and a pair of LED's. Not much to it really. The "secret" to the Landgraff is probably a good PR guy. I haven't actually heard one (and at that price I never will  :shock: ) so I really can't comment on the actual tone but, again, the schematic was similar to a Tube Screamer. I would buy a cheap TS-7 and read RG's article "The Technology of the Tube Screamer".

As far as the silver solder goes, it may make a small difference (who knows?) but whether you can actually hear the differnce is another story. Don't waste your money. Go with the recommendations above. And good luck with your builds.  

AL

[Michael Weidenauer]

I use Silver-Solder (5%AG - 95%S-Sn) for years and I will continue. It's harder to solder and I don't know if anybody can hear a differnce, but: Last year I ran out of Silver-Solder and used normal solder (60%S-Sn - 38%Pb - 2%Cu). In most of these pedals some solder-joints broke after a while beeing kicked around rehersal-room floors  :shock: - that never happened in pedals where I used Silver-Solder (it's much harder).  

So maybe not the Magic-Tone-Mojo but for me it's the Durability-Mojo !

           Michael

[petemoore]

Hmmmm, I haven't had physical restrian failure from using RS solder, been using it for years, and never had a part break loose.
 Once a month I put a fresh garlic clove in my boxes, some are more sensative to parasitic vampirism, this keeps the signal from becoming too 'toothy' :?

[mikeb]

Ahem ... solder is *supposed* to be a mechanical / supportive device, it *isn't* supposed to be used for conduction. Ideally, the parts being soldered should contact the PCB track / other part directly, with the wolder being used to hold the part in place. If you consistently rely on solder for conduction - i.e. don't perform correct mechanical assembly - you're making a poor joint and need to work on your soldering skills before even considering selling something to someone else.

Non-silver solder seems to have been good enough for thousands of manufacturers to use in mission and life-critical applications over the years; applications that are far more demandind than being used in music rehearsals. Again - it's far more likely to be a quality of construction and assembly issue.

Mike

[Paul Marossy]

While lead/tin solder is approx. 12 times more resistive than silver solder is, it makes no audible difference which solder you use. The only benefit to silver solder is that it is supposedly more friendly for the environment (and yes, people) than lead, both of which occur naturally in ore form. Silver solder does not flow anywhere near as well, either. Anyhow, this is in the same vein as the silver wiring in guitar amp hogwash. If we were talking about lengths of wire hundreds of feet long, maybe. But an 18" long wire (if that)? Gimme a break.  :roll:

[cd]

BS to make you feel good about dropping $400 on a $50 pedal.