Electric mistress mods

[fenderiarhs]

i would like to try and mod my electric mistress deluxe reissue....Problem is i cannot send it over to H.Davis (the creator of the EM) since only the shipping cost from where i live would around the 90$ mark. So i was wondering if it would be possible to swap the chip on my EMdeluxe reissue with the reticon SAD1042 chip (the one old electric mistress come stock with). Is it possible to swap those chips without any other mod on the circuit and how will it affect the sound of the pedal??

Do you know of any other mods i can make to improve my EMDeluxe?

[StephenGiles]

I think you mean SAD 1024! What chip is in the box now? I guarantee that it is not a pin for pin replacement.

[Uma Floresta]

i would like to try and mod my electric mistress deluxe reissue....Problem is i cannot send it over to H.Davis (the creator of the EM) since only the shipping cost from where i live would around the 90$ mark. So i was wondering if it would be possible to swap the chip on my EMdeluxe reissue with the reticon SAD1042 chip (the one old electric mistress come stock with). Is it possible to swap those chips without any other mod on the circuit and how will it affect the sound of the pedal??

Do you know of any other mods i can make to improve my EMDeluxe?

I don't think so. The BBD chip in the reissue has 8 pins instead of 16. I've been told that it is a SAD512D.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=53302.new;topicseen#new

[fenderiarhs]

you are right..........they are different , so chip swapping is not an option.

I noticed the .0033uF cap (modification to make it sound more like the non-Deluxe EM) and that would be something interesting. I never played a non deluxe EM....so what's the difference soundwise?

Did you mod yours with true bypass?

[Uma Floresta]

you are right..........they are different , so chip swapping is not an option.

I noticed the .0033uF cap (modification to make it sound more like the non-Deluxe EM) and that would be something interesting. I never played a non deluxe EM....so what's the difference soundwise?

Did you mod yours with true bypass?

That was Howard Davis' mod. I didn't post the pic with the intention of publishing his mod, but unfortunately it was necessary to figure out how to do the vibrato mod. Anyway, as far as I can tell, the difference in sound is that the Mistress sounds a bit less metallic, but with a more pronounced sweep. I'm not sure how accurate that description is, since it was a couple of weeks between hearing the stock version and then the mod. I do know that after the mod I can get some spot-on Andy Summers sounds.

At one point, the green cap came disconnected at one end after I dropped the mistress while changing out all the ceramic caps to metal film. I wasn't aware of it at first, but I noticed the sound became more muted. I resoldered the end back on, and the familiar sound returned. I think replacing all the caps resulted in a smoother overall sound, but again, it's hard to say for certain.

I haven't modified it for true bypass yet, but I will soon. I have a power jack on order, and as soon as it arrives, I'm going to get rid of the onboard transformer first and wire it up so I can run it off of an external wall wart. Then I'll modify it for true bypass. I don't find the bypass to really hurt my tone, but mostly I'd like to have an LED indicator. The big thing is getting rid of the internal transformer, which adds noise.

[tmichutka]

Did you ever wire the true bypass on your DEM?  I did it on mine and also took out the internal transformer.  My question though, is how to convert the AC the DEM uses to DC in order to wire the LED?  I know you use rectifier diodes but I've never attempted this before.  I've got the ground hooked up so all that's missing is +DC.  Thanks!

[funkyfarm]

I noticed the .0033uF cap (modification to make it sound more like the non-Deluxe EM) and that would be something interesting. I never played a non deluxe EM....so what's the difference soundwise?

I didn't noticed the 3n3 cap. mod. it's in the feedback back path ?
I have made some deluxe electric mistress PSU / IC upgrade test and I would just say is that an external 18VDC psu connected to an old green deluxe pedal really changes the deal, even in bypass mode. I bought last week my wallwart psu 13$ in an electronics store.

http://sslstudiodesign.free.fr/DEM/TEST%20DEM%20BACKGROUND.mp3

funny to see it could smooth interferences waveform...
as info max. peak is indicated after ICs name, but there is a lot of "artefacts", distorting results ? NE5532 not tested but noise-wise it should be somewhere between 4558 and TL ? I'm lazy with datasheets...

http://sslstudiodesign.free.fr/DEM/
on this page there's also test samples I've made. maybe too short, maybe this synth pattern is the perfect for this kindof test (I do not play guitar anymore), but focusing on the feedback/resonance part of sound is a little bit enlightening.
original 4558 : 5532  072  2604
original 741 : 071
altrough differences are very very subtul, I'd say that 4558 cut high and low ends : )
07x really starts to "clean" sound by removing a bit of the dirty muddy whoosh fx from feedback/COLOUR parameter, also giving high ends "more precision" and maybe giving just a little more bottom. with 071 and op2604  DEM flanger is getting a better educated character, something more tidy, almost à la A/DA !
Or maybe I'm completly wrong. all this is quite subtul for my ears, except shuting down this cheap stock transformer. on my board both TL071 and OP2604 are still on board but I wonder if 071 and 5532 would not be the perfectly suitable upgrade here.

[StephenGiles]

Yes but the "dirty muddy whoosh" is the wonderful Electric Mistress SAD 1024, almost no filtering sound - do you really want it sound like a Boss??

[funkyfarm]

"dirty muddy whoosh" for sure. that's was my main guitar sound for ten years from the day i was given an old green version.
But as i don't play guitar anymore, and have now "extended my bandwidth", i still wonder if 071 & 5532 would not be better for my sh101 or dr110.
And as i'm getting old i guess i am now more comfortable with something a little bit less punk-wise...
noise from internal transformer is just caused by a cheap component ? or more than quality, proximity with the pcb is involved ?
for example shielded cables for audio path wouldn't improve s/n ratio ?
Cheers.