Orange Treble and Bass Booster

[moosapotamus]

Curious... Anyone built one of these and get it to sound this good?

http://www.europeanmusical.com/new/bsm_or.html

(scheme at GEO)

~ Charlie

[Andy]

Is it necessary that they soak the transistors in resin for 3 days?

[alchemist]

yes! a friend and I spent hours protyping one on a test board with the NTE replacement for whatever transistor they orignally call for, it was increadibly frustrating. and when we finally got it to work, well it sucked!

we found it a pretty useless effect, but since you have built alot of things successfully, I would give it a try but with the orignal component transistor( if you care to find it)

Then again  thats just my opinion...

-josh

[Mike Nichting]

What was the original tranny??  What type of resin are they talking about??

I dig the tone and would love to build one if I can get the exact parts needed.

Thanks all,
Mike

[Phorhas]

I bekive that it was an OC76 PNP Ge

[petemoore]

Kind of interesting...that clipping sounded so bright and heavy ... hard to beleieve one GE can abuse itself that way...

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello--
  The Orange TB is basically a Rangemaster with a treble/bass blend pot in front.  I prefer the circuit WITHOUT any blend pots or tone controls.  [ "Tone" controls will suck some of the gain out of the circuit...]   The Rangemaster is biased for OC 44 trannys and the Orange for OC 76, so there is gonna be some variation there....
 As far as all the marketing bull about soaking the trannys in resin.........I dunno......the tranny is either going to be good or it's not, so soaking it in ANYTHING shouldn't matter.  What might help is soaking the whole circuit board in resin to lock down all the components.
Germanium treble boosters [properly biased] sound GREAT through a cranked-up Marshall or Vox-type amp but NOT so great through a stock [non-master volume] Fender amp.  They were designed to be played through British amps!
Brian.

[brian wenz]

Hello Hello Again--
 I just re-read the hype at the  Orangew TB link and it does not state that the actuall transistor is soaked in resin for 3 days  [as if that would mean anything at all].  What it does  seem to say is the whole circuit is soaked to  insure "trouble free" use and stability [keeps the parts from moving around on the circuit board from any hard knocks].   Nothing fancy about that !
Brian.

[RickL]

I built one, and while I can't say it sounds exactly like that, it at least works, with no obvious gating or other nastly noises. Like the Rangemaster it has to be biased for the particular transistor you use to work well. I socketed the transistor, picked one that didn't leak too badly and played with the collector resistor until I got a sound I could live with.

I don't remember what transistor I used, 2SB...

[Johan]

I built one for a friend about a year ago, and it sounded pretty much like the soundfiles in the link.
I used an old AC125 with Hfe around 100. It didnt seem to give much boost, more of a reshape of the tone without loosing signal strength.
I didnt play anything with values to change the bias or anything, so...
...try it on your breadboard. should take less than an hour and then you know...
..when I tried it, I used the neckpickup on my LesPaul through a 1972 50watt Marshall...

Johan

[Bluesgeetar]

It seems like when I ask a question about the Orange TB it falls on deaf ears and no response!  Apparently you have clout.  So is this a board for everyone interested in DIY effects and learning how to build them or is this a place for a small club of DIY engineers who toy with guitar stuff to meet and ignore us beginners.  I'm feeling an air of snobbyness on this board.  Kind of like it is beneath the kids in Calculas class to help the poorer kids trying to make it through pre-Algebra.  The kids in calculas only associate with each other and stick to their own little club.  I'm glad though that Moose asked this question!  Finally I get my question answered from a few days ago on another guys post.  So for us dumb kids in pre-algebra if we want a question answered we have to befriend one of the smart kids and get him to ask our questions for us at their club.  Ok so I see how it works here now!  So now I have to figure out which engineer/guru/guy with clout person I have to befriend to ask my questions for me here.  I would like to say to one person here you are awsome bro!  I look forward to your great wisdom and help in the near future via Private Messages you've been sending me.  Thanks for not ignoring me.  I pay back kindness bro.

[EdJ]

I think you are seeing that wrong;there may be all kinds of reasons for people not answering or answering.I  honestly think there was nothing personal against you.There may have been something on the telly,kids crying,broken strings,cold coffee,no tobacco left,friends at the door whatever...This,i honestly think,is the greatest community on the web.
Keep posting and you will see.
Greetings from the Netherlands,Ed

[Johan]

Bluesgeetar

sorry that you got that impression. Like Ed pointed out, there can be many reasons people didnt respond to your question. some might just visit a few times a week, some might not have tried to build the unit you asked about and simply dont know. personaly, I came back from 10 days in Greece this morning...keep asking when you have questions..this forum has been around for a number of years and newbies have always been just as wellcome as seasoned builders. just stick around and I think you will see that everybody, in the end get the same treatment. sometimes the "pro's" ask questions and the new guys no something no one else had a qlue about. every one has something to learn and something to offer...
...and I hope the postings above gave you some answers about Orange treble&bass...

Johan

[moosapotamus]

Clout? I doubt it.
But, I do think EdJ and Johan are right on the money. The folks on this board are the best! So, please keep posting.

Honestly, a week ago I wouldn't have responded to a thread on the Orange booster, myself. I've seen the scheme, but the scheme doesn't make any sound and, frankly, it just looks like a lot of other boosters... boring.

It didn't really interest me until I came across that clip. I think it sounds fantastic! Maybe that's what people were responding to when they replied, the sound clip, not the person who posted the link.

On a more philosophical level, there are probably lots of different things that encourage people to reply to a particular post, and I'll bet it's not too much unlike selling sports drinks. If anyone here is a psychology student, it might make a good topic for a term paper, or something... or, maybe not.

Keep posting!
~ Charlie

[Peter Snowberg]

Bluesgeetar, I'm sorry you took things that way, but I have to agree with moosapotamus, EdJ, and Johan. No clout. Alignment of the moon may have influence however.

I've seen a lot of forums over the years and the people here are about the most "un-clique"-est group I've seen. I've been an engineer and designer for quite a few years, and the day I stop learning is the day I die. I've seen deep (technical) questions here get amazing responses from people who are asking very basic electronics questions in other threads. Knowledge is NOT universal and we can ALL learn from each other.

I think Moosapotamus hit the nail on the head in regards to the clip. Seeing is one thing, but we're all talking about sounds so hearing will touch off a LOT more discussion.

Don't sweat it and please keep posting!

Take care,
-Peter

[Bluesgeetar]

I will admit after I heard that clip of the treble on clip, I was pretty stunned.  I looked over at my supply of OC76 and thought sweeeeeeeet.  Might ort to get started on that first.  Think I'm gonna use my OC76 that test at 76 something for that one.

[Mike Nichting]

Hey Bluesgeetar,
I have felt the same way a couple of times but nobody means any harm or disrespect.
The only reason I posted(and I only asked a question) is because there was a sound clip and I could here it. If there wouldn't have been a clip I wouldn't have paid any mind after reading the post~!!

Best of luck bro~!!

Mike nichting

[petemoore]

I'm not comparing you guys to an religous entities...but I had my doubt's about you too.
  When I started reading articles and posts and looking at a schematic I had to wonder...is this some clever scoundrel pulling my leg???  This looks so good, it can't be true [internet vibe]!
  Then when building I wondered...what if this works...but not quite 'all the way' what if one R value is'nt optimal...it would be easy to 'mickey' a schem...
  So far, the only real bad schematic [that's not labeled as ?able] is the Claustrophobia, and some Flame Factory schematic...of course they were caught right away and labeled 'bad'...I think that Claustro is still floating around here somewhere though ... lol[there's a mick...]
  Soon I realized that these guys are looking at modding/modding every single component on many of the posted schems anyway...back and forth, happily working [sometimes in 'teams'] looking to optmize the efkt, find appropriate applications, or bend the ckt. to 'Need's Demand'.
  Ive gotten explanations that made me feel sorry for the writers fingers, often containing more info than I could assimilate.
 I'm assuming to understand 'guru' ya gotta be 'guru'...I'm still working on that...lol
 Obviously there are those that can read/write/comprehend/calculate complex functions, and those that can read  schematics/have soldering skills...my soldering skills are legendary [lol] and I'm becoming more  "ckt literate"!
  The orange or Dallas article at GEO is one great place I found that helps teach literacy and understanding of ckt function.  
  Mumblipeg, steal your leg!!!
   
  These guys are OK...
 
   You guys are OK]...