My new Ross Compressor

[phillip]

Here's a couple of pictures of my new Ross Compressor clone, complete with the "Hammer" mods



Robert Keeley eat your heart out!

P.S.  Mark, is it okay if I use your post about the switch mods on the upcoming Ross Compressor page at FC?

Phillip

[Lonestarjohnny]

How do you like it phillip, out of all the guitar comprssor's I've tried, My Old Ross is still the Best for me.
I Forgot, Great Looking Build.
JD

[phillip]

This is the only compressor that I've tried, and I have a feeling that it's the only one that I'll need  I especially like Mark Hammer's variable attack mod with the switch.

Is there supposed to be 0V on the bases of Q3 and Q4 when there's no signal going into the pedal?  I've posted the voltage readings of the transistors and ICs at Fuzz Central on the Ross Compressor page, and I thought that 0V on the bases of those two looked strange.  But going back and looking at the schematic, it looks like there will only be voltage there when there's some signal being fed into the circuit.

TIA!
Phillip

[Lonestarjohnny]

Sounds Correct to me, I'll have to check out Marks mod, sounds like a great Feature,
JD

[phillip]

Here it is, complete with "Hammer" mods:

http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/compressor.html



Phillip

[petemoore]

Tight !11!
 Looks like a prize to me

[Marcos - Munky]

Cool, Phillip. Looks beautiful.

[phillip]

Danke  

Phillip

[Peter Snowberg]

Beautiful!

Your builds are always so amazingly clean.  Great job!

Take care,
-Peter

[Mark Hammer]

Use away.  The attack/recovery control is certainly not my idea.  I just copied it from the Boss CS-2, the Ibanz CP10, the Marshall "Edward" compressor, and several others, and offered a way of implementing it with a toggle instead of a pot.

I didn't come up with any recipes.  I just sprinkled parsley on top and stuck an orange slice on the side of the plate.  Glad you find it a useful addition, though.

[Fret Wire]

Nice, professional looking build Phillip . BTW, Mark's mods sound like a great idea. Since you went off the Tonepad PCP, I wonder how hard it would be to add a second switch for the Ross/Dyna option. Seems like it would give the pedal alot of options, soundwise.

[phillip]

It probably would've been pretty difficult in the Hammond B box.  I barely got that SPDT switch to fit in there without interfering with something...especially since the circuit board it turned with all the components facing down (those tall eletro. caps were the worst problem).  I was actually thinking about doing the Ross/Dyna mod, but I couldn't find a 4PDT toggle switch with the short toggle lever that I wanted to use  :shock:

Phillip

[Mark Hammer]

Planning out a workable installation in a 1590B is an exercise in strategic spatial reasoning.  The size is convenient but unforgiving.  Your own installation has some strong points and weak ones.

Although I personally prefer using miniphone jacks installed at the far end (rear skirt) of the pedal, I understand to desire to use a (now) more standard barrel jack.  Their bulk makes them unwieldy, but since the space on either side of the stompswitch is otherwise unusable (more on that in a moment), putting a barrel jack there is wise use of the space.

The battery cavity looks a little bigger than is actually needed, though that may be more an illusion and effect of photo angle.  Certainly placing the battery in that location is a wise idea, and why it is commonly used.

Personally, I tend not to use indicator LEDs unless absolutely necessary.  "Necessary" I would define as use in a pedal which provides either no coloration or something so subtle or normal sounding that you need the LED to tell you if it is on.  I rarely, if ever, stick an LED in a fuzz.  I suppose if you use soft CMOS switching, the pedal/treadle provides so little feedback to your foot that an LED is necessary there,but with a stimpswitch and obvious "click", much less so.  

In any event, the LED is typically the panel-mount component you can afford to have closest to the stompswitch, simply because it has the lowest profile , and has no "setting" as such to be disturbed.  What I tend to do in two-knobbers is place the pots as close to the edge of the chassis as I can, and nestle any toggle between the two knobs near the back (where your LED currently is), or  between the knobs on the stompswitch side, or both (making a sort of diamond shape with the switches and 2 controls).  For whatever reason, you placed the toggle a little closer to the switch than I would personally feel comfortable with, but hey that may be just me.  In any event, forfeiting that LED parking space in the back and use of 16mm pots and slender knobs can buy one back a lot of usable panel space.

If you can stomach the asymmetry*, the LED can be installed on the side of the stompswitch opposite the barrel jack and save even more panel space.

Pretty and clean unit, though.

*  Marie Antoinette was said to have uttered "Bah!  We shall all DIE of symmetry!!" when she requested the windows at Versailles be closed on a chilly day and her request was declined for fear it would "spoil the symmetry of the room".

[Fret Wire]

Good points Mark and Phillip. I was planning on the Ross/Dyna build, then I saw your thread on the attack mod, and  thought switches for both mods would make a pretty versatile comp. And I definately want to use the 1590b. I'll have to take a real good look at the component and box specs and see if it's somehow feasible.

Phillip, I browsed Mouser, and didn't see any good candidates for a 4PDT switch either.

I guess we drifted OT, so once again, nice job Phillip . The quality of your builds, inside and out, set a nice level of finish to aim for.

[Fp-www.Tonepad.com]

Nice!

(lots of names there... except mine   )

Fp

[Mark Hammer]

:oops:   I thought I had given you props, but I guess in my rush to catch an express bus home I had one eye on the clock, one on the screen, and neither of them on my manners.

So, let me make amends.

In fact what MAKES a neat and pretty installation with room to spare inside of a 1590B for an extra switch is Francisco's very space-conscious layouts.  I know that *I* owe him one, and I imagine Philip does too.

Sorry, and thank you.

[zener]

Yeah, Francisco's layout's are the tightest layouts around. I owe him for my GT2 and wah.

[phillip]

Yes indeed.  FP's layout made a lot of difference in the space that was available inside the pedal.  I only had to make some minor modifications to the layout to get the extra resistor and solder pads on there for the switch mod.

Got a chance to test my soldering skills on a board with tight traces

Phillip

[Willthebold]

I just finished the mod you have on my DynaComp.  The attack variations are cool.  I was wondering if it was normal for a little fuzziness to seep through especially on the fast attack setting.  When I have sensitivity cranked and attack on fast, the bass notes on my guitar get fuzzy.  Probably normal, but I was just curious.

Will

[phillip]

I just finished the mod you have on my DynaComp.  The attack variations are cool.  I was wondering if it was normal for a little fuzziness to seep through especially on the fast attack setting.  When I have sensitivity cranked and attack on fast, the bass notes on my guitar get fuzzy.  Probably normal, but I was just curious.

Will

Hmm I haven't noticed any fuzziness from the compressor, but I'm usually playing with the amp on its OD channel, so I just might not be hearing it.  Have you tried adjusting the trimpot?  I remember reading that if the trimpot is misadjusted, it can have a gated sound.

Phillip