Booster suggestion...

[Twitch]

I'm interested in making a booster.  I've been doing some research on a couple different sites and have seen a lot of different projects that look interesting.  I'm not looking for an insane boost, just one to push my strat enough so that I can get some blues breakup on the clean channel of my Classic 30.

What booster would you suggest I make?  I've seen a lot of cool looking schematics on this site, as well as some on others.  Rangemaster?  Sparklebooster?  What would you advise for my first pedal?

[Dragonfly]

Rangemaster?  Sparklebooster?  What would you advise for my first pedal?

i say Sparkle Boost....but i'm biased ]

seriously though...the Rangemaster is a GREAT build IF you get a hold of a good transistor..talk to steve at small bear....the other disadvantage to the rangemaster is its positive ground, which means it cant be used with most power supplies...but its a great sounding pedal with most EL84 based amps, like your peavey classic 30.

i'd also suggest looking into the AMZ mosfet boost, the AMZ miniboost, and especially Gus' NPN Boost, as theres a full forum (the beginners forum here) thats dedicated to its' construction....

anyway, good luck...welcome to your new addiction !

Andy
Dragonfly FX

[Twitch]

Are there any sound clips to these pedals online?

[petemoore]

Get 'some' Jfets. A comparitively 'cheep' component, their consistancy 'strays'.
 Sparkle Boost [NEW!]
 Stratoblaster
 Fetzer
 X   they're all great performers {I've not tried the SB yet recent reviews available].
 NPN Si if you want to try a bipolar board [board 'n parts is less than 10 I think] like NPN boost or LPB.
 Rangemaster...cool sounding ...two words...1Finicky 2Character.
 Jfets [are inconsistant, try one...the other...the other other]
 J201 great performer [I'd just get 'some' 4+? of these]
 NTE 458 a Leetle more and a more $
 MPF102 ...less
-------------------------------
 For NPN si builds
 NTE123
 MPSA18
 2n5088  
 2n5089  
 2n3904
 BCxxx [BC 109, BC108 etc.]
 About any NPN si will work.

[Twitch]

I better clarify what I'm looking for.  I'm getting a Keeley Modded Ts9 in a couple months, so that takes care of my smooth overdrive/clean boost.

I want this booster to boost my pickups enough to give me a dirty blues tone.  What would you advise?

[petemoore]

Perf? a Sparkle Boost, or pick a Jfet design.
 NPN Boost, beginner forum...excellent NPN si booster.
 Order a large Strip Board or perf, a hand ful of transistors, some 100k's and whatever other pots, a few battery clips, a strip of breakaway sockets at least 10, a various resistor values package or the ones you'll use [you can build a custom resistor value from resistors], lets see wire,
 Read...Read...Small Bear Tweek-O, Beginner forum, FAQ, Debugging, GEO...Check out Runoff groove articles, Link around, look at schems, listen to samples...
 J201 Great performer [get a bunch, theyre cheap]
 NTE458 [like j201] but Leetle more gain, more $
 MPF102...Little less gain RS has 'em
 THese Jfets vary from one of one kind to another of the same kind.
NPN Si's
 *2n5088 'great all 'rounder
 *2n5089 [for high gain low noise/general applications]
 *MPSA18 like 5089
 BCxxx touch of character [bc 109 bc 108 etc.]
 2n3904 'yer basic Med NPN Si
 MPSA13 darlington gains reported over 1000 hfe [for Bazz Fuzz build...lol]
 These are the *Q's I can think to suggest for the
 NPN Boost...
 LPB...
  ...'bout ANY NPN Si Q
 I recommend socketting the input cap, and Q on that board.
 >>> a 1 stage Jfet booster, to wet feet without causing them to remain cold. 2. Mini Booster [MU Amp].
 Because I think with tuning the amp / TS will be yond with [1 or both] these.
 Think you might want to start thinking Fuzz Face? 2n2369's [to choose Q1 from]

[MartyMart]

As far as boosters go, I've built the "AMZ Mosfet boost" "LPB-1" Dragonfly's "Sparkle Boost" and a "Peppermill" from the guys at www.runoffgroove.com
For a good "Basic" and simple build, the "LPB-1" is great
My favourite ( used also with a classic 30 ) is the "Sparkle boost" a little more complex, but you should be fine with it and I'm sure between us we can get that working right for ya !
Re: TS-9 mod, if you "PM" me, I'd be happy to send you a "step by step" guide to all the mods for it ! I've sold about 20 of them and have got great responses to the mod.
That just depends on how you feel "poking around" with a soldering iron, if your careful and confident enough, you can do it, but ( and its a big BUT )  you could easily destroy the TS-9, lift pads or "burn up" some components.....

Cheers,
Marty  

[GreenEye]

..but its a great sounding pedal with most EL84 based amps, like your peavey classic 30.

So that's why I like my rangemaster with my Precision Electronics PA with EL84s so much!

[Twitch]

I'm leaning towards the minibooster, mosfet boost, and the sparkle.  But what about this Booster 2.5?  Any opinions?

And what's JFET  :oops:

[Torchy]

crp

[Twitch]

Thanks Torchy.

I am interested in building more than one.  For my first pedal I want one that can give my strat a clean boost through my Classic 30, along with some breakup for blues.  Which of those 3 would you suggest?

[Torchy]

crp

[Twitch]

After reading through the sparkle boost thread it does seem like what I want.

But me being a first time and not being able to read schematics very well I'm going to need...

Parts List
List of the tools I need to complete this project

:oops:

[javacody]

I think you are going to need to build all the pedals listed so far. After you are done with all of those, come back and we'll have you build some other stuff.  LOL   :lol:

Check out the beginner schematics at General Guitar Gadgets. They really helped me when I was starting out (the Fuzz Face is one of the beginner schems I can remember).

You are going to need a soldering iron, solder, a desoldering braid (or solder sucker, I prefer braid), wire, I have 3 colors I use (red, black, and green, but I've also salvaged tons of wire out of old electronics), screwdrivers (probably phillips, but I'd have both in several sizes), something to tighten down the nuts on the jacks and pots, and maybe a magnifying glass for debugging purposes.

Sparkle Boost Parts (1 each of the following):
Stomp Switch
Stereo 1/4" jack
mono 1/4" jack
battery clip
9 volt battery

100K Log pot
5K Lin pot
100K trim pot

2.2 MOhm Resistor
1 MOhm Resistor
2.7 KOhm Resistor (2K7)
100 KOhm Resistor

0.022 uF capacitor
10 uF capacitor
1 uF capacitor

Either strip board, a circuit board, or perf board.

In addition, please read the DIY Stompbox FAQ and the GEOFex Stompbox FAQ

I honestly think you would be much better off building the beginner project (Gus' NPN boost) as it has everything you could possibly need to get a simple boost up and running.

[Dragonfly]

Sparkleboost.
:wink:

now im feelin' all "blushy" and what not  :oops:

[bigjonny]

...the other disadvantage to the rangemaster is its positive ground, which means it cant be used with most power supplies...

I'm not disagreeing with the others, but wanted to make you aware that you can "flip" the circuit, and make a negative ground, PNP Rangemaster to make it compatible with modern power supplies.

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/geb_rm_sc_pn.gif

[petemoore]

The only 'treble Boost' I've been using lately is a Fuzz Face.

[Dragonfly]

...the other disadvantage to the rangemaster is its positive ground, which means it cant be used with most power supplies...

I'm not disagreeing with the others, but wanted to make you aware that you can "flip" the circuit, and make a negative ground, PNP Rangemaster to make it compatible with modern power supplies.

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/geb_rm_sc_pn.gif

you can do that, but as RG (i believe its RG) points out, its not always the most "stable" thing to do.....many PNP Germs dont like it.

[bigjonny]

you can do that, but as RG (i believe its RG) points out, its not always the most "stable" thing to do.....many PNP Germs dont like it.

Well, to be the devil's advocate for always using negative ground...

You can also obtain NPN Ge transistors (though less common than PNP).  Just flip around the battery supply, and the polar capicitors. From the GGG PNP Postive Ground schem.

Point being: there are a couple ways around the caveat of having your Rangemaster's power being incompatible with modern supplies.  Just wanted to make sure Twitch was aware of the possibilities.