Original RM "wedge" Octavia schematic, layout, parts list?

[VintageCharlie]

Hello dear forum members,

this is my first post on the forum. After gathering almost all nos parts for a Marshall 45/100 (that will be built soon) i thought i'd also take a plunge into the pedals. I'm after a basic Hendrix rig. So on the list are: Octavia, Fuzz Face, Vox McCoy wah, Uni-Vibe. I've found parts lists and layouts (of the vintage parts) on the net for the wah, also Fuzz Face was no problem (as it has about 3 electric components ), but i can't seem to be able to find a decent RM "wedge" Octavia layout or parts identification (of the original parts and/or good and as authentic as possible modern substitutes), etc. When i write RM octavia, i always get the design without the transformer - his actual model - which i'm not interested in. I know the original wedge Octavia seems to be very rare, but is there really no layout/schematic/parts list with identified vintage parts and values? If you know a link, have a schematic or can identify the parts, please let me know - i'm very interested in this.
I have a Hendrix gear book (which is rubbish) but it has a nice pic of the wedge octavia inards - it's the same pic as on RM's website, but it's quite a lot bigger. Still, not a perfect picture, but the best i've seen (even most of the resistor values can be identified) - i can pm that to anybody who's interested. (i'd post it, but i suppose it's against copyrights, etc.) Oh, and i also have a pic of the Dunlop Octavio's insides too (a memeber of a different forum sent me this).

Thanks a lot in advance!

Kind regards,

VintageCharlie

[ckyvick]

isnt the transformer version the tychobrahe

[VintageCharlie]

Thanks for the quick reply ckyvick,

i'm not an expert about the pedals, so i'm probably wrong, but i think the tychobrahe is an "improvement" of the wedge octavia, it has definitely some changes, afaik. AND the Chicago Iron version of it also sounds completely different to the wedge octavia or the Dunlop Octavio - it is thicker, punchier, maybe more natural and organic sounding - which is not what i'm after - i'm after the tinny sounding octavia which has what Hendrix used often. So i can't imagine it's the same - maybe it's the same circuit - i don't know, but the values should then be definitely different. Or am i wrong and it is the same as the tychobrahe?

[VintageCharlie]

Searched all over the net, still couldn't find it - but i'm sure it has to be out there, somewhere?

[zombiwoof]

From what I've read, Mayer was continually tinkering with and changing the Octavia circuit in Jimi's pedal(s).  I don't know if you can pin down just one version that he used, as it was changing constantly.  Mayer himself has tried to muddy the waters by claiming that each "clone" of his pedal that has come out commercially is not accurate, according to him they were either copies of versions that he subsequently changed, or prototypes, etc.  Specifically he has criticized both the Tycobrahe and the Dunlop Hendrix Octavia as not being correct.  You might just have to settle with making one of the versions that is known to work well rather than trying to exactly duplicate some version that Hendrix actually used.

Al

[rousejeremy]

I built one with this layout last summer. http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/TCobrettis-Stuff/album161/octavia_vero.gif.html

No transformer and it works perfectly!

[VintageCharlie]

Thanks for the input guys!

I think i didn't make myself clear - i'm after the layout/schematic of the unit that was reproduced by Dunlop as the Hendrix Octavia JH-OC1 ("Octavio"), which (the original) is photographed on RM's website. A parts identification list of the old parts is especially what i'm after. I see the resistors are mostly pihers, no idea about other stuff in it - any help is much appreciated. Though RM has claimed that this specific unit from the Hendrix museum in Seattle has in fact never been used by Hendrix himself, i don't care about that, as to my ear it sounds spot on to what i'm after (even the Dunlop version). And as to most of the claims from RM, i think he has probably just lost most of his rights to his own inventions, which is why there is so much contradiction and why he always insists that the transformerless designs are better and what Hendrix used, etc. (to my ear they just don't sound right without the transformer).

[VintageCharlie]

I found a draft of a Dunclop Octavio here:

http://www.....org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4041&start=40   (insert f r e e s t o m p b o x e s between the www. and .org)

There are also some board pics of the Dunlop, also from the backside.

I'd need still an identification of the vintage parts (the brands) on the original. If somebody has a good eye for the old stuff (or somebody just interested), i could pm him the pic of the original octavia i have.

Thanks!

Regards,

VintageCharlie

[VintageCharlie]

rousejeremy,

does it sound like the Dunlop Octavio or could it be compared to some other octavia? Anything like the tone of the Hendrix BOG octavia - quite tinny, with a very pronounced upper octave?

Thanks!

[zombiwoof]

rousejeremy,

does it sound like the Dunlop Octavio or could it be compared to some other octavia? Anything like the tone of the Hendrix BOG octavia - quite tinny, with a very pronounced upper octave?

Thanks!

A lot of the BOG Octavia sounds are most likely due to the silicon Fuzz Face he was using with it at the time, IMO.

Al