Red knob fender SS amp OD channel schematic? for mutant stompbox project...

[Processaurus]

Looking for a schematic,  for either the fender deluxe 85, or the x-15, or other red knobber. A friend I play music with and I are obsessed with the cheezy 80s bedroom volume sounding overdrive you can get from those red knob era amps.  The overdrive sounds similar on both of them.  With all the distortion circuits I've tried building, I always compare it to the OD on the x-15 (practice amp).  I must be deaf or something, but I usually like the amp's OD better.  So if you can't beat em, clone em, right?  I took it apart and saw it has yellow LEDs in the feedback loop of a tl072, nothing too exotic.  I'd also like to impliment the contour knob on the X-15, it goes from a shallow mid boost to flat, to mid scoop, without losing volume, which is nice.    Anyway, I'm serious about cloning it into pedal from, in order to get that authentic bedroom sound at stage volumes.  Kinda backwards.  It'd make a nice 3 knobber, complete with the red fender knobs.  I just need the schematic, if a kind forumite has one lying around, or knows whats going on inside. 

Thanks

Modified for grammar? thats unpossible

[RDV]

I like those amps too.

IMO one of the things that makes those circuits sound good is that most of them run on dual 15v supplies, with the accompanying extra headroom that allows. So, even if you have the schems for them, you're going to have to convert them to a single 9v supply or power them with a dual supply.

Just a theory.

RDV

[Processaurus]

I like those amps too.

IMO one of the things that makes those circuits sound good is that most of them run on dual 15v supplies, with the accompanying extra headroom that allows. So, even if you have the schems for them, you're going to have to convert them to a single 9v supply or power them with a dual supply.

Just a theory.

RDV

Yeah, I think the X-15 has either a bipolar 12v supply or 15v supply, when I peeked.  I'd be happy using a charge pump for a bipolar 9v supply, if it doesn't take a ton of current.  Headroom from higher voltage than that I don't think would be totally necessary in this case, since it would be used as a distortion box and the first stage would do the clipping, so there wouldn't be big transients after that to get clipped in an ugly way. 

[Processaurus]

Anyone?  I really like how it sounds, I'd show y'all good forumites what comes out of the project.  Jonny Greenwood uses the Deluxe 85, supposedly.

[gtrmac]

Fender has a schematic for the Stage 100 and some others on their website:

http://www.fender.com/support/amp_schematics/

[Doug_H]

Referencing the Stage 100 schematic mentioned above- from the input through the first op amp to the right, follow the top string for the "drive" channel, all the way to the last "drive select" point. The string underneath with the familiar TMB tone stack looks like it is probably the "clean" channel. Back to the drive channel- from the input through the rightmost "drive select" point there are 4 gain stgs with both shunt and feedback loop diode clipping and a tone control towards the end. Interesting to see the bridged-t notch filter towards the input.  The FETs are used for switching- treat them like a switch and you can work out how the "more drive" control works.

Whatever it sounds like, it looks like they put a lot of work into it.  Have fun,

Doug

[GFR]

http://www.fender.com/support/manuals/manuals.php

DESCRIPTION	OWNER'S MANUAL	SCHEMATIC
Deluxe 85	YES	YES
X-15	YES	YES

PRICING SCHEDULE
OTHER FENDER® AMPLIFIER SCHEMATICS OR OWNER'S MANUALS    $5.00 EACH ITEM

[GFR]

Here's the Deluxe 85:




Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

[Processaurus]

Here's the Deluxe 85:




Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

You're the best!  I ordered the x-15 schematic from fender, it'll be interesting to compare them.  Don't have time to give it a good look right now, maybe later.  Thanks again,
Ben

[phaeton]

I empathize with "liking that cheesy 80s bedroom sound".  I recently wrote to Peavey and got the schematic for my 1975 Pacer so that I too, can make a pedal out of its preamp, in the same box as the popular OD pedal I used incessantly with that amp.

Essentially a "My 1990s Thrash Sound" pedal. 

I wish you luck!

[RDV]

Oh man, I had a Pacer too! I was just saving up for one of thoses newfangled Bandits!

Yes I am old.

RDV

[Doug_H]

Back in the mid-70's when I was in high school I bought this bohemoth Peavey amp with 2 channels at 130W per of pure silicon power. It had a big cabinet with 2 15's (I think it was actually intended for bass guitar.) I don't remember what the model # was. It was the first big "real" amp I bought since my first- a silvertone amp-in-a-case. With that and a distortion+ I was good to go in those days.

I remember my dad's initial reaction: "What do you need that much power for? Chet Atkins doesn't need that big of an amp!" Years later I realized "dang it if he wasn't right..."

Doug

[RDV]

I had that one too! My was called a "Musician" and it had a tall 412 cabinet, and yes , it was awful!

RDV

[Doug_H]

Yeah, the 2x15 cab was pretty tall too, a real pain to haul around... The clean sound was pretty dull but I never played clean back then anyway. It had a "distortion" knob on it too but God help us--- I learned early on never to touch that!

Doug

[phaeton]

LOL this is hilarous.... too bad we're hijacking the thread...

For all the trash people talk about the Pacer I still like it.  By itself it's not spectacular, but I've heard worse, and although I have an all-tube Goblin the Pacer has its uses.  I can get a couple of different sterile distortion sounds out of it, but with a TS-10 in front and all knobs full up it has a specific "sound" that I just love.  Noisy as hell and doesn't work for everything, but I like it.

It's not intentional, but on a number of occasions people have called the sound stuff like "EVH Junior" and "Eddie In A Box".  I percieve some major differences from Eddie's early sounds but it's kind of the same concept and I suppose it could be prone to a *few* similarities.