Onboard Preamp , stratoblater ?

[petey twofinger]

i want to spice up my kids mini strat , i was tinking a startoblaster would do the trick . i see that there is a pot involved , i would rather avvoid this . my question  is this , if i eliminate the pot and sub in a jumper , would that be too much gain for anice clean tone , or produce hiss ?

am i barking up the wrong tree ?

is there a better , quieter circuit , say a tillman perhaps ?

i do realize this is a cop out, asking this type of question ... i am so busy atm , my back injury prevents me from working as long as i used to be able to ... trying to cut the tinker time down a bit

thanks !

[brett]

Hi
the stratoblaster is a cool buffer+booster. Without the pot, there's be too much boost.
There are a few different versions, but in each case you can replace the pot with a resistor about half or one third of the source resistor. e.g. one version has a 22k drain resistor and 12k source resistor. In this case, I'd replace the pot with a 4.7k resistor.
The gain will be approx (drain resistor/source resistor). In the case above, that's 22/4.7 or about 6. That's in the middle of the "good" range of 2 to 10. At 2, the gain would be almost undetectable, and at 10 it'll be very solid. Beware wishing for too much gain (unless you like distortion all of the time).
have fun

[Ronan]

What Brett said, or another approach is fit a trimpot in place of the pot and adjust it to taste.

[Mark Hammer]

I'd agree with Ronan's suggestion.  Use a trimpot to set the amount of gain.  Ideally, you want a maximum output that optimizes S/N ratio, and makes it a little bit easier to overdrive an amp, without wreaking havoc with pedals.  Keep in mind that there are plenty of pedals designed around assumptions about maximum possible input level.

[petey twofinger]

she is using a boss gt6 atm , but during the summer we go to the woods for remote jams , she uses peals . i tried the ministrat / gt6 combo with a gus smalley npn boost and it seemed to add more hiss/background noise than what actually was worth the boost improvement , when i was using the gt6 for dirt that is . .... i am thinking i will try a few options before cutting anything in , a tillman , for instance . i know the trim pot is better than a fixed resistor , but i am thinking an actual gain pot , mounted on the pickgaurd could be the best solution ... as long as i have the circuit by passable with a switch ... that way it would be the most flexible . i have a really tiny pot that looks like its 35 k but the bom calls for a 50k ... hmmm . also  i dont have a knob for the tiny shaft yet , but i am thinking wrap saran over the shaft then add some jb wled maybe . either that or go for a full size rev log 50k and get a strat stykle knob , i think there is room .

i am just hoping there is room for a 9 volter inside the strat cavity , i have a battery compartment i could " route it out " with a drill bit , but ... . i have a new rechargable 9volt , i could double sided tape that  that in maybe between the pu's or somewhere . then add an inline style 2.1 mm dc jack somewhere by the strap post to recharge it . seems like it could be a nice feature , if i like it , eventually gonna do the same to my american standard , but that pick gaurd is signed by adrian belew ...

i am curious , whats the deal with active pick ups , are the the same as a normal pick up and is it just some sort of boost circuit / buffer , or am i completely knackered when i try to think .

[WaveshapeIllusions]

The stratoblaster is a good circuit. You could also use a spdt switch to flip the source cap in and out if the circuit. Perhaps with a resistor in series so the gain isn't too high.

Regarding the battery options,  I've gotten 3 CR2032 coin cells to fit in a small cavity easily. They have less available power than a 9 volt but current draw is low, so they'll last a while.

Active pickups just have the preamp enclosed in the shell. EMGs, for example have a really small preamp in there. Sometimes they're underwound for better frequency response, since the preamp provides enough make up gain.

[petey twofinger]

i was thinking about that cr3032 idea as well , i would say use 3 to get 9 volts ... arent those things " rechargable " in a sense , hmmm .

thanks for the info !