LM833N replacement for ROG Thunderchief

Started by solarplexus, January 28, 2023, 07:50:12 AM

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solarplexus

Hi guys,

I haven't been here in a LONG time, probably around 10 years.  I had put my soldering iron down to focus on other things.  Who knew that JHS would become what it is now!   :icon_lol: I'm kidding. 

More seriously, I am finishing some builds I had started 10 years ago.  Yes.  And one of them was a Thor from ROG.  I just rocked my socks off.  So then I decided to make a new build, but here it is:

I am trying to build myself an Amp-in-a-box pedal for my setup.  Right now, I use the Vox Copperhead drive, which is actually great, but sounds almost EXACTLY like the Thor, with more EQ knobs and a cab sim.  So I want to try the Thunderchief into Dan's Multicab Sim and put that in one pedal.

Problem is, I can't find any LM833N anywhere.  I read that a NE5532 is a replacement for it, but in the Thunderchief, who knows?  I know that ROG are really specific when they come up with parts and values in their designs. 

Any of you used NE5532 in the Thunderchief? 

And I guess I should have foreseen that some parts would become obsolete in time, but you know, life gets in the way.

Thanks for any help/tips!
DIY Poser.

duck_arse

Mouser Part # 926-LM833N/NOPB  -- shows 17,000 in stock at 0.99. how many do you need?

I don't shop at mouser, but many people do, and it's easy enough to tyupe in qwikly.

welcome back.
You hold the small basket while I strain the gnat.

ElectricDruid

As Duck said, welcome back!

I can't advise you as to whether NE5532 is a good replacement, but on the face of it I can't see anything particularly super-special about the LM833N:

https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/lm833-n.pdf

If I were you, I'd put a socket in for the op-amp (it's the standard dual package) and then you can test it and get it running with whatever op-amp you have around, and if you come across a LM833 in the future, you can pop one in. But tbh, you might well find that it sounds fine with something else. Someone else's idea of "the perfect op-amp" is exactly that: someone else's idea, not yours.


solarplexus

Quote from: duck_arse on January 28, 2023, 08:12:13 AM
Mouser Part # 926-LM833N/NOPB  -- shows 17,000 in stock at 0.99. how many do you need?

I don't shop at mouser, but many people do, and it's easy enough to tyupe in qwikly.

welcome back.
*facepalm*

Thanks.  Welcome back to me indeed.
DIY Poser.

solarplexus

#4
Quote from: duck_arse on January 28, 2023, 08:12:13 AM
Mouser Part # 926-LM833N/NOPB  -- shows 17,000 in stock at 0.99. how many do you need?

I don't shop at mouser, but many people do, and it's easy enough to tyupe in qwikly.

welcome back.

Is it the same, but updated chip, tough?  The specs are quite similar but the operating supply current is different.
DIY Poser.

Ben N

Quote from: duck_arse on January 28, 2023, 08:12:13 AM
I don't shop at mouser, but many people do, and it's easy enough to tyupe in qwikly.

Apparently not THAT easy to tyupe in qwikly, eh Duck?  :icon_mrgreen:
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duck_arse

Quote from: solarplexus on January 28, 2023, 07:50:12 AM
I can't find any LM833N anywhere. .....  I know that ROG are really specific ..... 


Quote from: duck_arse on January 28, 2023, 08:12:13 AM
.... LM833N/NOPB ..... tyupe in qwikly.


Quote from: solarplexus on January 28, 2023, 08:57:58 AM
Is it the same, but updated chip, tough?


Quote from: duck_arse

?


You hold the small basket while I strain the gnat.

bluebunny

Quote from: solarplexus on January 28, 2023, 08:57:58 AM
Is it the same, but updated chip, tough?  The specs are quite similar but the operating supply current is different.

This is rock'n'roll.  The letter differences won't stop your Thunderchief scaring your granny.
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Ohm's Law - much like Coles Law, but with less cabbage...

ElectricDruid

Quote from: bluebunny on January 29, 2023, 08:39:19 AM
This is rock'n'roll.  The letter differences won't stop your Thunderchief scaring your granny.
<throws another TV out of another hotel window>

FSFX

#9
So, what is so so special about the LM833 compared to all of the other bipolar input op amps we all use everywhere, or is it just the the manufacturer described it as follows so it must be better for a guitar dirt pedal.

The LM833 device is a dual operational amplifier with high-performance specifications for use in quality audio and data-signal applications.

• Dual-Supply Operation: ±5 V to ±18 V

• Low Noise Voltage: 4.5 nV/√Hz


https://www.cycfi.com/projects/six-pack/op-amp-shootout/


duck_arse

#10
Quote from: bluebunny on January 29, 2023, 08:39:19 AM
Quote from: solarplexus on January 28, 2023, 08:57:58 AM
Is it the same, but updated chip, tough?  The specs are quite similar but the operating supply current is different.

This is rock'n'roll.  The letter differences won't stop your Thunderchief scaring your granny.



one of these will certainly scare your granny. (I think it's a D variant)
You hold the small basket while I strain the gnat.

GGBB

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PRR

The '5532 used to be over-priced.

Linear saw a chance to carve-off a snack. All the parameters which matter are close-enough. The implementation is different, so if you plan to smack the snot out of it, you may hear "differences" at extremes of the operation.

I think Linear then slacked-off and under-sold the '833. Lots of places it could have been used didn't adopt it. The '5532 had a long pedigree as a strain-gauge preamp and (until the fire) continuous fabrication. Designers can be habit-bound.

I used '833 a few times for "nice" audio and didn't note anything different from '5532. I did not slam them mercilessly or run them over +/-16V or drive 270 Ohms.

I have a small suspicion that Linear ran-off thousands of LM833 and never sold them all. That TI and ON may be selling from that pile, or packaging from a few old wafers.

AFAIK, and as-said, '833 should still be around. If there were a '5532 shortage.... but no, I looked today, and many thousand '5532s are in warehouses.
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