YARC - Yet Another Ross Compressor!

[phillip]

Today I finished another Ross Compressor with an "attack" control using a 150KB pot from Robert Keeley, built on a modified version of FP's Ross Compressor layout from Tonepad.  The IC is an NTE996 from Mouser, but a member of the forum has sent me some LM3080 that I'm going to try out in the circuit also.  The NTE996 is most likely just a rebranded Harris CA3080...it sure sounds exactly the same as one anyhow!

The "attack" knob works quite well...a wide range of attack settings, but in the higher resistance range (clockwise) it becomes hard to tell that anything's changing because it gets fairly "squishy" sounding.

The "sustain" control is a 500KC pot from Small Bear and the "level" control is a 100KB pot.







Phillip

[petemoore]

Classy looking comp ya got there !!!

[jimbob]

I did the same w my ross compressor! same ic 996. I had the stock but liked it better. I was impressed. Nice job!

[Mark Hammer]

Nice work, Phil.  I see you even managed to mimic the font he uses, although you were clear to differentiate what you made from Keeley's pedals, and I recognize there is nothing malicious in what you did.  

I would draw everyone's attention to the forged SHO pedals that Zachary Vex discovered in Japan a few years ago.  In the case of the SHO, there was an entire Myrold paint job to "fake".  In the case of Robert Keeley's pedals, all the parts are readily available from SBE and other places, and obviously the font is easily available, such that a person COULD forge a Keeley pedal if they wanted to.  In view of the prices his pedals are able to command these days, and their apparent desirability and reputation, there is clearly motivation to forge.

Please note that I am *extremely* uncomfortable mentioning this since I would prefer that people leave Bob to make an honest living and do not embark on making a dishonest one themselves because I gave them the bright idea.  Nevertheless, there is a risk that forgeries can occur, and I would ask everyone here to behave as responsibly as possible, both in terms of not mimicking the look of Bob's pedals themselves, and in terms of discouraging friends or colleagues who intend to produce pedals bearing more than a remote resemblance.

Although Z-Vex pedals have also used commonly available chassis, (can you even BEGIN to count the number of boutique pedals advertised in Vintage Guitar or on Musictoyz or Pedalgeek that use a 1590B or BB?), he has used very idiosyncratic and hard to reproduce graphics as well as visibly labour-intensive finishes.  Personally, I think at a certain point it pays to go the Roger Mayer route and arrange for 100% unique chassis for "brand identity" and forgery blocking, but whatever I think there are a lot of pedal makers out there who run a very high risk of being copied and having someone else make money off cheap copies of their products.

Pedal-makers are well-advised to adopt packaging that is harder to fake, and pedal cloners are well-advised to be honest and not to pass off their pedals as those of someone who needs to make sales to pay their bank loan and rent.  I *believe* we're an honest bunch, but I still think we need to make a point of going the extra mile in showing it, given the high potential for abusing the capabilities we enjoy via the net and suppliers like Steve Daniels.

[Fret Wire]

Mark, I agree with the idea of what you're saying, but I think this is the wrong thread to place it. Phil's style is instantly recognizeable as Phillip Byrant's. Axis Effects doesn't even rhyme with Keely. I've never heard of any instance, or evidence of, anyone forging a Keely pedal. I think your post would be a great thread itself, or a reply to a trade dress thread. But, posted on the back of someone showing off their pedal, which is not being passed off as a copy...I don't know.

[MartyMart]

Phillip,
once more a "beautiful" build and a totally "professional" finish
very inspiring, I must say   :wink:

regards,
Marty.

Mark,
I get your point and agree with it 100%, but I too am not sure that the huge "cloning" subject was relevant here though ... ?  :roll:
I think the "font" used by Phillip was a "thank you RK for the 150k pot" nod, rather than a "negative" rip-off idea......

Cheers,
M.

[James P]

Phillip,
once more a "beautiful" build and a totally "professional" finish
very inspiring, I must say   :wink:

It's inspiring and annoying Marty!!!!

Inspiring in that it looks sooooo good.

Annoying in that Phillip makes such beautiful pedals and mine don't look anything like that - ever! ha ha.

He's certainly got a great eye for detail. If they sound anything like they look it'll be top class.

James P

[casey]

Nice work, Phil.  I see you even managed to mimic the font he uses, although you were clear to differentiate what you made from Keeley's pedals, and I recognize there is nothing malicious in what you did.  

I would draw everyone's attention to the forged SHO pedals that Zachary Vex discovered in Japan a few years ago.  In the case of the SHO, there was an entire Myrold paint job to "fake".  In the case of Robert Keeley's pedals, all the parts are readily available from SBE and other places, and obviously the font is easily available, such that a person COULD forge a Keeley pedal if they wanted to.  In view of the prices his pedals are able to command these days, and their apparent desirability and reputation, there is clearly motivation to forge.

Please note that I am *extremely* uncomfortable mentioning this since I would prefer that people leave Bob to make an honest living and do not embark on making a dishonest one themselves because I gave them the bright idea.  Nevertheless, there is a risk that forgeries can occur, and I would ask everyone here to behave as responsibly as possible, both in terms of not mimicking the look of Bob's pedals themselves, and in terms of discouraging friends or colleagues who intend to produce pedals bearing more than a remote resemblance.

Although Z-Vex pedals have also used commonly available chassis, (can you even BEGIN to count the number of boutique pedals advertised in Vintage Guitar or on Musictoyz or Pedalgeek that use a 1590B or BB?), he has used very idiosyncratic and hard to reproduce graphics as well as visibly labour-intensive finishes.  Personally, I think at a certain point it pays to go the Roger Mayer route and arrange for 100% unique chassis for "brand identity" and forgery blocking, but whatever I think there are a lot of pedal makers out there who run a very high risk of being copied and having someone else make money off cheap copies of their products.

Pedal-makers are well-advised to adopt packaging that is harder to fake, and pedal cloners are well-advised to be honest and not to pass off their pedals as those of someone who needs to make sales to pay their bank loan and rent.  I *believe* we're an honest bunch, but I still think we need to make a point of going the extra mile in showing it, given the high potential for abusing the capabilities we enjoy via the net and suppliers like Steve Daniels.

i think phillip's pedal looks better than keely's....really classy looking...also, phillips been using that same font for a while now.  i think it's just a coincidence.  

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/liquid/liquid1.jpg

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/blender/blender1.jpg

it's tripod: so you'll have to copy paste the links into the browser...

[phillip]

Thanks guys!  The font actually was a coincidence...that's the same font that I used on the other Compressor that I built (with the 3-way toggle).  I was messing around in PowerPoint trying to find a really good "retro" looking font that also spread out nicely across the bottom of the pedal, and that one really nailed it.  It's called "dymaxion script."  I can't remember if it came with Windows or if I downloaded it from one of the free font sites.

I would certainly like to thank RK for offering to sell the 150K pots to the DIY community...if anyone is thinking about building a Ross Compressor with a potentiometer-controlled attack, I would definitely get the 150K pot from him!

Also thanks to FP from Tonepad for making the Ross Compressor layout and for making it so small and compact...the small B boxes are a lifesaver when you're hauling all your junk around!

The paint jobs that I'm putting on the pedals are greatly inspired by Tom Pollock (Troubled Tom) and his work with pedals.  Who knows what mine would look like these days if I hadn't been inspired by his work!

Some more things that I forgot to mention about the circuit...

• All resistors are 1% metal film.
  
• 220pF on the input was replaced with a 100pF silver mica (a touch more treble).
  
• All transistors are 2N5088.  None were tested for gain, I just grabbed 5 random transistors out of the bag and soldered them in.
  
• 1uF and 10uF capacitors are 7mm-height miniature electros.
  
• All the other capacitors are polyester film "greenies."
  
• 0.001uF capacitor paralelling 10K on the output for more treble response (thanks Mark!).[/list:u]
  Phillip[/color]

[Mark Hammer]

Make no mistake.  It's an extremely professional, classy-looking and tasteful build, and not intended to "masquerade" as anything other than Phil's pedal/build.  The knobs are a bit big for my personal tastes, but terrific looking and exuding quality all the same - a goal Phil has been consistently able to achieve.  I was just kind of taken aback by the rapidity with which I was instantly reminded of Keeley's pedals by the font he used as a nod of thanks to Bob, and the extent to which so many commercial builders have laid themselves open to those who might lack the integrity that Phil shows.  

In his interviews, Roger Mayer notes that the "spaceship" design chassis he uses was functional in intent (protect the controls from feet and dropping, permit stompswitch access from any angle) but also intended to make his pedals instantly recognizable as *his*.  Of course, few basement builders can afford to sink that kind of money into contracting someone to produce one-of-a-kind chassis (just think how many Klon Centaur pedals had to be sold before the tab for that custom-cast chassis was paid off), and given how widely available the Hammond/Eddystone chassis are, and how great they can look (as Phil's pedal demonstrates), most aspiring boutique builders use them.  If the complexity/simplicity of the circuit itself does not prevent copying/pirating, and the cosmetic features that distinguish or identify a brand are "only" things like knobs and legend fonts affixed to a common chassis, then the wall between a fun and satisfying hobby, and undermining someone's business becomes potentially very thin indeed.  Most of us here just want to make things that sound better to us or for our friends, but oncein a while someone aspires to make a living from it.  I'm enough of a Pollyanna to believe in people's honesty long after others have stopped doing so, but even for someone like me, depending exclusively on the honesty and integrity of others to prevent production/sales of fraudulent clones is stretching things a bit.

I'm certainly not scolding anyone here, and perhaps others are right in noting that maybe this isn't the place for it, but "Holy dead ringer Batman!" it sure is easy to produce copies these days.  And we need to think about that from time to time.

Now, back to the adulation........you spent more on those knobs than I spend on a whole pedal, buddy! :lol:

[phillip]

you spent more on those knobs than I spend on a whole pedal, buddy! :lol:

Nah they weren't that expensive  Granted, they weren't as cheap as ho-hum plastic knobs...I think the total for the three of them came to about $4.50 or so.  I think the aluminum knobs have a much better look and feel

Phillip

[pbrommer]

Hey Phillip--
Did you get the chips I sent? And how do they sound in comparison to a CA3080E? Or is the USPS being slow and stupid?

Patrick

[phillip]

They haven't arrived yet, but hopefully they will tomorrow.

Phillip

[phillip]

They arrived this afternoon (Saturday) and they sound great!

One thing that I've noticed about all three of the Ross Compressor circuits that I've built...none of them have ever required adjustment of the 2K trim pot.  I've always put the trimmer in it's center position, with 1K of resistance on each side and all three have worked like a charm with them set like that.  Has anyone else noticed this?  Might be easy to just solder in a couple of 1K resistors...but then again that might be pushing my luck a little

Phillip

[nelson]

I would desolder and stick in a resistor, trimpots are more expensive.....and never around when you need em......atleast in my experience...

[analogmike]

One thing that I've noticed about all three of the Ross Compressor circuits that I've built...none of them have ever required adjustment of the 2K trim pot.  I've always put the trimmer in it's center position, with 1K of resistance on each side and all three have worked like a charm with them set like that.  Has anyone else noticed this?  Might be easy to just solder in a couple of 1K resistors...but then again that might be pushing my luck a little

I have built nearly 2000 compressors with the Ross circuitry, almost all with attack knob or trimpot before Robert invented it

All of them have worked perfectly with the BIAS trimpot half way. In fact, I made my last rev board with some extra holes so I could just solder in two resistors. But I still put the trimpots in, as it's nice to move it throughout the range as a functionality test.

have fun!

[troubledtom]

thank you , Phillip   :wink:
      very nice job!
          peace and good health,
                     - tt