MP Blueberry Bass OD clone tech question

[fyred1]

I've tried a 500k and a 250k log pot in place of the 1M.  I'm not sure why, but the tone of the effect seems to be adversely altered, with the changes.  I'm not knowledgeable enough about these things to understand why, so I put the 1M back. Maybe eventually I'll understand more about all of it.  

The pedal sounds great, as it is.  I get what I want out of it, provided I keep the drive set low.  Instead of further altering the circuit, I'll just build the BJFE version as soon as I can.    

Again, thank you for your help.  

You can hear the pedal in use in this video:  https://youtu.be/8h4v8EE42d8  (Pardon the vocal mistakes. I had only just learned the song.)

The bass is a Stingray 5, with the switch set to parallel, a tiny bit a bass boost, and mids rolled back a bit.  I think it sounds pretty great. :)

[fyred1]

I have all the parts on the way for the BJFE Blueberry.  Thanks to David at mklec, for his help.

I have these two layouts:


and


Not exactly sure which version I'll build.  I guess they're both verified.  

Which layout is popular, here?

[Silver Blues]

I used the bottom layout, it's a little bigger of a board but is less cramped.

[rocket88]

both are verified. i'm partial to the 2nd (bottom) one since i made the layout . as silver said, the layout i made is a tad less cramped because there's only one standing resistor and no double links, and as a plus for me, it's just wide enough to touch the sides of the enclosure with the wires so it holds itself in place.

[fyred1]

Thanks again, to everyone, for all your help. :)

And thanks rocket88, for taking the time to create your layout.  

*is there a way to post in a thread without clicking "reply"?  I feel like I'm missing something.

[rocket88]

Anytime man, always happy to help. And to answer your question about replying nope, no other way to respond. That's how it works. It's a long story. Lol

[Silver Blues]

rocket88 wrote

...it's just wide enough to touch the sides of the enclosure with the wires so it holds itself in place.

Right yeah, I should mention that my board needed some careful filing to fit properly as the board is just exactly the right size to fit inside a 1590B and no smaller. I put some insulating tape along the sides just to be safe but it works well. Measure twice, cut once and all that.

[fyred1]

Yeah. The MP version I built just barely fits in a 1590B. That's why I'm leaning toward the first layout. It's a bit smaller.  Thing is, it says there are 5 links.  Call me crazy, but I only see four.

[Silver Blues]

The blue circle signifies a double link (two links that share one hole), so there are 5.

[fyred1]

Oh!  I was thinking they were calling the blue circles "links".  Newb mistake.  Thank you.  

[Travis]

I used to use electrical tape like that, then I started sanding the board so that the tracks won't short on the enclosure even if the board is butting up to the enclosure. Before I populate the board, I flip it track side up and sand the ends of the board at a 45° angle with a sanding block. This creates a little distance from the tracks and the edge of the board.

Keep in mind that the dust is nasty so wear a dust mask if you try this. I do it for every board

[Silver Blues]

I actually tried to do this myself but decided to put the tape in anyway for my own peace of mind.

[fyred1]

Got the BJFE version built and boxed.  Worked on it yesterday and today.  I'm two for two!  No issues, and this one went smoother and turned out neater. As it should be, I suppose. I used the rocket88 layout. It fit in the enclosure, pretty well. The MP layout was larger and harder to fit.  

Here's the circuit:


I like the BJFE Blueberry very much.  I think it's better than the MP version, because there is more control of the overdrive before it goes into full burn.  They both sound pretty great, though; IMO.

I don't think I'll ever go into business doing this, but it's a pretty great hobby.  Thanks for everything.

[fyred1]

How long should it take to build this effect?  I think it took me about 5.5 to 6 hours, total, without painting the enclosure. I didn't really keep track, though.

[rocket88]

depends on who's building it. for me the offboard takes the longest, and if there's a lot of pots and switches the time goes up even more. the last one of these i built it took me about something like 1-2hrs once the enclosure was painted and ready.

i went on a building spree last night and built 7 different boards (4 custom muffs/muff variants, 1 boost, 1 blend, 1 large board OD) in about 4 hours. nothings boxed yet, because i still have to design and make the enclosures, and once they're done they'll all get wired up.

[fyred1]

There are probably faster ways to build these things. I place one part, flip the board, solder the part, then place the next the next part...  I'm thinking, if I wanted to work faster, I could place all the resistors, tape them down, then solder all of them at once, then move onto the diodes, then caps... (or whatever order).  This is only my second build. I'm in no hurry, anyway.

My Comparison:

What I've found, so far, is the BJFE is darker sounding than the MP. I'd say it sounds more vintage (the top end is attenuated), whereas the MP has more top end grind (more sizzle comes through). There are differences in the midrange too, and the MP might sound a bit deeper--but that could be because of the difference in the mids.  I didn't sit with them for very long.  I'll play with them some more, tomorrow.  

Is my description of the differences pretty consistent with everyone else's findings?  I'm curious.

EDIT 6-17:  Found today that I had a poor ground connection, when I opened up the box.  Resoldering it  seems to have added some of the upper register back into the effect.  It sounds incredible!  What a great box!  I mean, I liked it before, but now...  :) :) :)
 

[M. Spencer]

I built the BJFE (rocket's version) and both my bass player friends liked it tone wise, but wished it had a little more gain. I may have to build the MP version!

[rocket88]

spencer - you can try changing the gain pot to a 1M. that should increase the amount of gain on tap.

fyred - as far as tone goes. what i hear is that the BJFE is much more natural sounding, the bearfoot has a bit of a mid bump, and the MP is just another animal completely.

[M. Spencer]

Thanks, I may try that first