Earthquaker Devices Acapulco Gold

[bigbonedstacks]

So I need this pedal, I love the sound. There's a few people working on the schematic based on gut shots. I'm still relatively new to this thing so I'm not sure how I would get the schematic onto vero, but I would love to have this build. Plus it's low parts count so it shouldn't be too bad.

Here's the video of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neazXtE5mPE

And the freestompboxes page with the gut shots and such.

http://www.freestompboxes.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26977&p=255106#p255106

[Silver Blues]

Yeah this is a neat pedal. I'd like to see this too. I'd offer to tackle it once schems are put up but knowing my schedule someone else will probably get to it before me. It'll likely get done in any case

[petey twofinger]

i have yet to try a dirtbox using the lm386 that i have boxed up .

now my daughter is a huge UA fan , after hearing the demo i am thinking this may be the perfect way to use those chips i purchased , back in 2009 .

so thoss another vote in the kitty or two from me and Deet for the EQD AG guys , and thanks so much for the effort , it is really appreciated and i always refer folks to this site as it really is the tops as far as this hobby goes . no contest .  

[Chris60601]

Wish there were good pics since the schem is missing some values.

[rocket88]

i read the thread at FSB and it seems like it won't be that long before its figured out. there's not a lot of components. i could be wrong, but it seems to me like they're using one 386 to overdrive the second. since reading the thread i started looking into some other 386 OD/Distortion pedals and this reminds me of two simplified Stiff Hippy II OD from PJP.

i just have to say though, EQD explanation of what it's supposed to sound like is ridiculous. they claim it's supposed to sound like an overdriven sunn model t. while it's got a nice OD/Distortion it sounds nothing like an overdriven sunn model t, let alone a sunn model t at all. doesn't take anything away from the tone, but i just hate bs marketing.

[squirrels]

I've been following this one at FSB and was wondering if there was any hope in a layout. I have the parts and could give verifying it a shot. Thanks.

[Alex]

Already made a layout but I was waiting for the schematic to be 100% verified before putting it up on the main page.
Let me know how it sounds!

[squirrels]

Awesome. I didn't realize that was your layout on FSB. I'll put it together tonight when I get home from work. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks, much appreciated.

[Chris60601]

Pretty low part count too, nice job, Alex

[Alex]

Should fit in a 1590a box.

[squirrels]

That's my plan at least. I don't know if it's OCD or something but if it looks like I can cram it in a 1590A I'll try. I have plans to get a Harmonic Transformer in one. If I didn't box it up with a Phantom Octave I was thinking of putting a Great Destroyer in one too.

[Synsound]

Ha! I originally put my Great Destroyer and Phantom Octave in a box together.

[nocentelli]

rocket88 wrote

i just have to say though, EQD explanation of what it's supposed to sound like is ridiculous. they claim it's supposed to sound like an overdriven sunn model t. while it's got a nice OD/Distortion it sounds nothing like an overdriven sunn model t, let alone a sunn model t at all. doesn't take anything away from the tone, but i just hate bs marketing.

EQD: "Now, how could we emulate the sound of an overdriven Sunn Model T? I know, let's use a 25 cent chip amp to drive the crap out of another 25 cent chip amp. Job done."

[notnews]

as silly as the marketing campaign is we all know certain people will read that description, see their cool artwork, listen to a demo and the placebo effect (or some sort of placebo-influencer effect) will take over and wallets will start draining.

[squirrels]

Layout works. Can't comment on the tone, just tested it at low volume... I can hear a lot of low end though. I'm using two JRC386Ds. Marketing gimmicks aside, the pedal demo sounded pretty good for stoner type stuff so it seemed like a good fit for my board. I'm looking forward to compare it to my Sonic Titan.

[rocket88]

hopefully it sounds good at normal levels, cause in the demos it does sounds good. but, i got to say though, the more i get into building and as i've been looking at building amps the marketing lies really bother me, especially when companies make claims that "______" pedal mimics "_______" legendary amp when there's literally nothing in common between the two. it's a shame, because it's aimed at people that don't know any better and fall for it. like if they just marketed this as a one knobbie heavy distortion box they would be golden, pun intended. there's no need to mention the sunn model t at all.

btw, when fender came out with the reissue of the model t when they bought sunn i was equally irked, because it was nothing like the 1st or 2nd gen. they were just using the name to sell it, which you still can as a fender bassman 300.

[squirrels]

It's hard for me to say how it compares to demo videos, I'm really bad at it considering it seems like most videos are done with at least the amps clean channel. My amp doesn't clean do clean too well. I use an Orange OR15 with the gain set to about 1:00... so it's pretty dirty. The rest of the EQ is usually set with the treble around 2:00, mids around 11:00 and bass around 2-3:00. I'm using JRC386Ds in my build.

It's definitely bass heavy and fuzzy. Borderline muddy but when I dialed my bass knob back it helped some. It didn't really sound too good for stuff like Red Fang like the PGS demo did (with my rig at least) but it gave me a phenomenal doom tone. I wanted to compare it to my Sonic Titan... the AG has way more gain and low end but isn't as focused as the Titan. I played the riff to Snakes For The Divine (I have certain riffs I like to play when testing stuff out... again, OCD? ) and the AG was too muddy for it. Dopesmoker, perfect. Definitely a one trick doom pedal in my opinion. I think it could definitely benefit from a gain control. One thing I really liked is that it cleans up fairly well with the guitars volume.

I have it in an enclosure I test things out with for a few days before making a decision whether to keep it or not... still not sure. Thanks for the layout Alex.

EDIT: I turned the amps treble and mids up and a little less bass and it helped. Also it didn't play too well with my Blacktop Jazzmaster and Ibanez AX120 tuned to E standard and dropped D. It. loved my PRS Singlect Trem tuned to C.

[squirrels]

Hopefully I'll have some more feedback tomorrow after I play around with my amp a bit more.

[rocket88]

i think the problem with the sound not being the same or really that similar may be the chip you're using. i could be wrong, but i think the jrc386d is similar to the lm386n, and is a power amp chip, not an op amp.

[Silver Blues]

Well all 386s are power amp chips aren't they? Isn't that the point?