Shaka Tube Wiring...GOT IT!!!

[petemoore]

WOW !!! With the Fetzer Valve in front, this thing really sounds great. The highs are superb sounding, very round for the amount of highs content, the bass is very full, lush and warm, all the explitives I can think of that pertain to the 'good', and the 'better', this really did a number on the RCA Victor amp/speaker, I gave it a Greatly inspired play with the DIST+ and Fetzer, it's like the Beez Kneez  smooth, glaaassy brightness, excellent attack tones, just lovely!!! The most exciting pedal I've built in a long time. Took a while for me [1rst tries], definitely worth the efforts.
 Clean Tones, with and without the Fetzer, just straight into the tube stages...really fun to play, likes having the front end hammered just
a bit.
 I added a rolloff cap at the input of the tube, and the distortion with a DS-1 gets a really heavy 'Grank' sound, the tone knob on the DS-1 is much more Q like, and more active. Too Cool messing around with the tube!
 Being as it just fired up hours ago, this would be a pre-lim review, really nice sounding circuit, I can say for sure, I'm really going to like using this one...seems clean enough it could be used as a mic pre to my ears.
 :oops:  Just a slight miswire of PS polarity there for a time or two...much better now...lolive and learn, as the saying goes !!!
 I scared myself again when I saw the PS for the signal circuit there with prongs in the air and it was working...lol...one of those  :shock: ...'circuit moments'..till I thought about caps and measured the Tube voltages which were slowly dropping as whichever caps were supplying them drained!!!
 Too cool..I tried the OA section, connected to it's own 11V battery,I don't know what's going on there...no big matter.
 The tube alone definitely boosts, and has that glassy character, adds slight distortion, with a distortion pre', it is really quite good sounding, of course quite noticably tube like/unlike any of my other builds.
 A first successful tube build is a landmark achievement to me, other than the power supply [in my case supplies..2 wallwarts] it's quite like wiring a transistor stage.
 I really put the helpers through the paces on this one, and I'm typing THank You !!! I mean 'Thank You'. Aron, for posting the schematic, Paul Morassy, Doug H. ...yours [and others] help...what can I say but 'thanks' !!!
 I put a DS-1 [stock] in front of the tube section, and it really helped change it's performance...right there is a fun player...
 I need to get the regulator to eliminate the need for the other PS, and then think about boxes...
 Also the OA section needs attention...It seems like if it's running on a battery..+ at pin 8 and pin 4 t ground it should work...hmm...well at any rate the TUBE WORKS!!!
 Daft if I don't make it tough on myself..
 The moral? :Check the 'obvious' stuff... :oops:
 Then it will work... :lol:

[sir_modulus]

Do you know where i can get a non hand drawn version? I can only find the hand drawn schematic....If there isn't one, I'll just make one (if it's okay with the maker).

[Gilles C]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/cgi-bin/webbbs_scripts/webbbs_config.pl?noframes;read=327

[petemoore]

That's neater...I had N/P actually though, reading the Hand Drawn schem...I had to print a landscaped version to get the output and the PS section...even though I put together, but am not actually using the PS section.

[sir_modulus]

Hey thanks! I've been looking for that one everywhere.

[petemoore]

I much tempted to box it as is...
 But...should I try trimpots on the Plate resistors? Or is the bias preset close enough that I probably wouldn't tell much difference?
 ...Mods...[other than voicing] that I might like to try before boxxing it???

[Paul Marossy]

Congrats.  

I put a switched treble cut cap on the output of mine to smooth things out a little bit, per Aron's suggestion. I used a 0.015uF cap. Like I said before, it really is a nice sounding circuit, I use it quite a bit when I am playing rhythm. Nice fat, round tone.  

[petemoore]

 Totally great sounding circuit, seems to like being by itself, with a Fuzz or Booster [all the ones I've tried so far] in front...Hammer time !!!
  :?:
  I'm in the process of visualizing boxes for the circuit, thinking of soldering a 'bulb protection screen from thick solid core wire' and attaching that to cover the hole where the top of the tube will protrude..
or something...haven't really decided how to box it.
 I don't know if a RACO punchout hole would be large enough for the tube to fit through, and I have limited machining tools...I'll probably craft something that'll look kool, and is the shape I want from metals and woods.

[Doug H]

Pete,

Glad you got it working.

Now try it with a pair of 6ak6's. (Get decent GE's or something, stay away from 'no name' brands.)

You will be amazed at the compression.

Schematic here:

http://home.cfl.rr.com/dbhammond/pdriver_sch.gif

You can make the same changes to the PS you just made and etc....

Doug

[george]

Congrats.  

I put a switched treble cut cap on the output of mine to smooth things out a little bit, per Aron's suggestion. I used a 0.015uF cap. Like I said before, it really is a nice sounding circuit, I use it quite a bit when I am playing rhythm. Nice fat, round tone.  

I find the tone cap 0f 0.01uf too small - I have a .022 in there.
I've also replaced the 100k tone pot with a 100k resistor and 10K pot - it gives me more fine control.

[Paul Marossy]

Well, I suppose what kind of guitar you have factors in there. I have a guitar with a mahogany body and a sort of dark tone with the way I set my pickups. The 0.01uF cap works just fine for me.  But, with a Strat on the bridge pickup, that's probably not big enough... everything sounds too bright with my Strat.  

[petemoore]

I'ts in a box, no switch yet, in front of the Dynakit St70 Amp.
 I does what I wanted a stage to do there,  for a long time...ever since the Dynakit Stereo preamp died.
 Running the input from effects into this 12AX7 tube is quit different than running them directly into the 7199 pentode in the ST70 [EL34 ouput tubes].
 Daft if I didn't try the Rangemaster into these tubes, and right away get round, tanky, tubey tones, deep thunx and shimmery highs.
 A great sounding and very useful box!!!  
The box is:
 A U shaped frame, from a stereo panel, using the small slotted section to cut out the tube hole with sharp cutters, only had to cut about a total of 1/2'' length, squarely taking out six or eight tabs.
 A 6 ply cheerios cardboard box...I just kept going around with glue, layers of cardboard, and staples that I pulled after the glue dried, until I felt it would be strong enough , ...quite the lo-fi solution, I think It'll be plenty strong for a Stompswitch...should I feel the need for one.
 Two Bic Pen sheath pieces 2'' long hold the board, Via 2 thru screws/nuts. The tube protrudes about 1.5''.
 After I frame it in leather, it should be a quite presentable black box
 I spent at least An hour on the enclosure so far . I think it's an easily workable solution, for one with very limited machining tools like me, plenty sturdy.