Belton BTDR-1H Digital Reverb Module

[smallbearelec]

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Categories.bok?category=Reverb

[doug deeper]

i tried ripping one of these open, not easy!
looks like a much of smt pt2399s, great deal for this chip!
sounds wonderful!

[Mark Hammer]

Doesn't get much simpler than that!

[petemoore]

  For those about to be asking 4.4m questions [like I did] and building nearly as many reverbs to find out the answers to them, here's yet another [as yet untried?] option !
  It looks like Belton is making available a device based on signifigant research, very interesting and eduactional, just reading the data sheet !
  Vertical or Horizontal...!

[dano12]

very strange to have three versions for delay time: short, medium, and long.

[petemoore]

very strange to have three versions for delay time: short, medium, and long.
  "This is the medium-delay version."
  Being offered as an option, leads to the thinking:
  The chip compliment and much of the circuitry is the same or similar [in cost].
  The placement of the delay length setting components could be critical to the function of the device noise floor and the choice was made to simply offer 3 clock option settings to make the delay time selectable.
 
 
 

[Boogdish]

This is a spring reverb pan replacement, right?  Reverb pans are available as short, medium and long reverb times, so it makes sense to me to offer a replacement with the same option.  I'm sure if these become popular enough somone is going to open it up and figure out how add an adjustable delay amount feature.

my hometown is Belton, TX and I sort of want to get one of these just so I can have a part that says "Belton" on it in my amp.

[tommy.genes]

But does it sound like a thunderstorm when you kick it?

-- T. G. --

[petemoore]

  Apparently Doug deeper dug deeper and tore one open to find smt pt2399s, these chips don't do reverb Thunder-kiX.

[cloudscapes]

the whole appeal goes away if you can't physically interact with it, at least for me personally.

[Salvatore]

One could try to play guitar through it, I'm pretty sure it will interact that way.
(Have not tried it, but it looks like a very cheep deal)
But I know what you mean, kicking you're equipment ads to the musical experience,, for instants,,
I used to use my singer in the conventional way, which sometimes was boring, so I started kicking him,,
The sounds that generated where truly spectacular, and I never have been able to recreate those squeaks and grunts with diy, digital ore otherwise.
So instead of going vintage and ask that singer back (I don't really want him, he is such a whiner, complaining about bruises and such), the only other solution I could think of was to use a sampling devise, which I can kick, to get the spring thunder sounds and such.
(Pauses to make a cup of coffee *insert elevator music*)

Ah thats better, trying to wake up, sorry for that,,
Uhm yeah, nothing beats a spring reverb besides a better spring reverb, although you might prefer the not better one (whatever that means), and I love the clanking of metal it does.
I love all the other music devises to, as long as it processes sound, and does not ad to much (unwanted) noise, I'm interested.
Almost every effect has it's own special charm.

(DANGER, ridicules humor alert, read with cautious scepticism)

[DougH]

Cool! I saw one of those on Ebay a few months ago but couldn't find anything at the Belton site. I figured they weren't made anymore and were extremely rare. Nice!

[~arph]

Very interesting, I ordered some right away. Let see how they are for (large) stompbox use.

[petemoore]

  Very attractive package for those desiring wetness on the signal !
  I'm tempted to put this in one of my amps, or to put it inside a DPDT loop with another circuit, for the 'Xeffect'+Rev-delay sound at 1 switch.
  PT2399's in a low noise clocking package...very convenient ! [5v supply certainly simplifies the PS issues, but how much headroom does that allow for before it distorts? 

[David]

Did anybody see whether it did reverb "tails"?  I didn't, so I'm assuming it probably doesn't.
That doesn't rule it out, but I gotta get me some tail...
Not THAT kind!!!!

[doug deeper]

im not 100% that they are pt2399s, but there are the right amount of pins, and the passives look to be in all the right places on the top side at least.
there is some serious glue happening in there and i could only really get about a quarter of the casing off, and i lost a few resistors along the way....opening these up is not recommended!
i was hoping to tweak the "chip" a bit, but its basically a death sentence for the device.

[petemoore]

  Suffice it to say [for now] that there are no reverb springs in there, delay chips make the reverb...it'll be interesting when we get some the builders feedback on the unit here !

[~arph]

Ok, I built the belton pedal circuit as of smallbear yesterday using the Medium reverb version (look up the component at smallbear and there is a schematic there). I haven't had time to play with it long enough, but first impressions are:

If the input level is too high, it doesn't distort. No, worse, it stops reverbing, freaks out and starts generating lots of very loud noise. only way to get back at normal operation is by disconnectiing the power from the unit.. This happend while playing through it and only one some loud notes at a particular frequency.  Changing the cap value in the reverb filter solved this. (might have been due to the fact I was using humbuckers, and bridge pu), but it might be better to change the amplification factor a bit there.

You can hear long pulsating delays in the reverb.
The reverb is noticably out of tune with the guitar, so it appears there is some delay modulation going on.
The amount of reverb available is "over the top", but that is a good thing.

My first impression is, not very good. Only useful when the reverb is kept down.
Also no information on the mystery pin nr. 6. Applying voltage, current or draining current did not make a noticable difference. (I haven't put my DMM to the pin yet)

That's it, I'll continue my experimentations.

~arph

[dantahoua]

Hello there! I have a Mister Springgy Lee Jackson reverb pedal! This pedal sounds great!!! I opened it to see and guess what... Goop everywhere... But I could see the the BTDR in the pedal, so it seems that this BTDR module can make some great reverb sounding... This pedal is so transparent, I love it!! No problem with powerful guitar or with line level, this pedal is great. Would be great if we could clone it!!! Just check the sound sample on the lee jackson website.

[~arph]

Wouldn't be surprised if it is just the beltone schematic. Wet out only isn't that hard either.. just disconnect the clean sound :S
Can you tell which beltone module is in there? the short Medium or long version?