Analogman Chorus Deep Switch

[jmdfd415]

I just noticed this on his site.  The clips sound pretty interesting.  Does anybody know what this switch is changing?

[Fret Wire]

AnalogMike is a member of this forum. Just shoot him a pm with your questions.

[jmdfd415]

Im thinking he probably wont just tell me his mod that he has done.  So I was just wondering if anyone has this pedal and knows or if someone has done this mod to a small clone.

[jonathan perez]

its not heart surgery, check out all of the smal clone mods and make a decision for yourself. 

[jmdfd415]

I have checked out the mods but I havent found one that does this.

[jonathan perez]

well, if i can recall correctly, its based on low-cut/boost capacitor changes.

[analogmike]

it is a cap change for delay time change

[Mark Hammer]

Makes sense, and pretty dang simple.

Indeed, a shift in delay range of even a millisecond or two is often responsible for the audible differences and tonal preferences of one chorus vs another.  I took John Hollis' idea from the Zombie and implemented a 3-position toggle on my Zombie for a very thick chorus, "normal" chorus, and edge-of-flanger chorus tone.  I like it a lot, and inserted a short/long delay range switch in my Small Clone clone as well.

I highly recommend experimenting with the clock cap in choruses.  Something interesting happens as you move from single-digit to doule-digit delay times.  My old blue MXR Digital Delay isn't great at a lot of things, but it does delay nicely.  In particular, you can keep bumping the modulation range to longer and longer delays.  So, for instance, you can have the delay time sweep back and forth between 20 and 28msec if you felt like it.  Once you're out there, you start getting into that ethereal Pat Metheny type chorus, which is quite distinct from the harder edged, and more resonant, Andy Summers style chorus.  I like them both but they each work better in different contexts, and most chorus pedals come preordained for generally only one context.  The "deep" switch allows for the unit to be a little more flexible in terms of where the chorus sound produced fits best, and its simple to do.  You can simply pop a hole, add a toggle and place another small value cap in parallel with the one beside the clock generator already.

[jonathan perez]

it is a cap change for delay time change

whoops! i did the same mod for my ce-2, and totally forgot!

now to find the damned thing....

[vanessa]

Makes sense, and pretty dang simple.

Indeed, a shift in delay range of even a millisecond or two is often responsible for the audible differences and tonal preferences of one chorus vs another.  I took John Hollis' idea from the Zombie and implemented a 3-position toggle on my Zombie for a very thick chorus, "normal" chorus, and edge-of-flanger chorus tone.  I like it a lot, and inserted a short/long delay range switch in my Small Clone clone as well.

I'm putting together the parts for Nelson's EH Clone Theory layout. It is like the deluxe version of the Small Clone, better from what I have read. There's a mod included that has a slap-back delay switch with a variable delay pot. I'm guessing here but I think you can use it to fatten up the chorus (deep switch), get some bathroom reverb, or some basic slap-back delay. It's got a stereo mod and a couple of other things. I'm waiting to hear back from Nelson on what the issue is with the variable feedback mod in the layout.

Here's the link to the build:

http://topopiccione.atspace.com/PJ12EHCloneTheory.html

[jmdfd415]

Wow I havent checked on here since this morning.  Thanks for all the replys guys this really helps alot!  Now I just need to figure out how to wire the 3 way toggle switch so that I can use 3 different caps?!?  If I am thinking of this right this would be the cap that connects to pin one of the cd4047?

[Mark Hammer]

Whatever pedal you are intending to mod, it is going to be a cap that is generally 220pf or less, and hugging either an MN3101, MN3102, or CD4047.

The wiring strategy is as follows:
1) pull the existing cap
2) run leads from the existing pads to the two outside lugs of the 3-position toggle switch
3) solder one cap between outside lug A and the common/middle lug, and another cap between the common and other outside lug

When the switch is in the middle position, the two caps will be connected to the board in series.  When the switch is in one side position, it shunts the cap on the opposite side, making the capacitance equal to whatever the value is of the cap is on the same side as the bat handle.

The hard part is doing the math for the series combo.  When two caps are in series, their effective value is equal to 1/C = 1/ca + 1/cb.  As an example, a 150pf and 100pf cap in series yield 60pf.

Wiring up the caps in parallel makes it a whole lot easier as far as calculations go but it is susceptible to popping.  Not a HUGE pop, I gather, since caps that small don't store a lot of charge, but if this is something you might be gigging with, the more pop-free approach is preferred.

[jmdfd415]

Thanks alot mark that is exactly what I was looking for!

[analogmike]

Also note that when you increase the delay time (on any pedal with BBDs) you get more white noise.

I rigged up a 3005 chip in my chorus (normally uses a 3007 chip) to quadruple the delay time and see what it would sound like and if it could work as a slapback delay. It was still just a chorus with the stock timing cap, when I increased it to be a short delay it was REALLY NOISY. That's why analog delays use compander chips and filters to kill the noise.

Have fun!

[jonathan perez]

i noticed that too, as i did the same thing...hmm...