Ruby Build - FINISHED

[vanhansen]

Here it is, my ROG Ruby, with a Master Volume.  Thanks for everyone's input on this.  I'm really happy with it.

http://www.erikhansen.net/diy/ruby.htm

I also updated the Dunlop Crybaby page with an additional mod.  Click on the Home link to get to the index page.

[ezanker]

Looks great!
I like the tin, how deep is it?

Another Erik  :wink:

[vanhansen]

Thanks, Erik.

The tin is about 2-3 inches deep.  I didn't measure it but visually it looks to be about that deep.

[Marcos - Munky]

Cool!!!

[NaBo]

oh.  my.  god.  that is so awesome it hurts.  i have one of those fossil watch tins lying around myself.  guess i know what my next project will be.  a great one.  i cant wait to try it with my 4-12... maybe in conjunction with my 150W power amp  :lol:

[vanhansen]

You'll love how it sounds through your 4x12.  My next project is probably going to be the Fetzer Valve to run in front of it and then the Eighteen.  Ultimately, the Eighteen will be before it as the preamp.

[jayp5150]

Man, you beat me to it.  I have two of those Fossil tins sitting and waiting on parts (for Christmas gifts).

You will all hopefully get pics when I'm done.

Good looking work.

[NaBo]

i just perfed my ruby today and i LOVE the little thing.  stuck to schems, except i ended up using 0.056uf caps in place of the 0.047uf ones (cuz i screwed up the entry in my huge, unmanageable parts list spreadsheet...  :x!), and used a 2N5457.  HUGE sound when driving my 4x12, i was floored when i plugged in.  comparable to what my 150 watt power amp sounds like with volume at about 10 o'clock... which is LOUD.  this thing reaches well above my normal "bedroom playing volume".

i haven't got it into an enclosure yet, so im still kinda picking up radio stations and such, but that hasnt stopped me from playing with it for hours tonight.  i actually just have the off-board wiring done with about 10 carefully placed alligator clips at the moment, pending further information and modifications to the wiring...

so anyways vanhansen, i was wondering if you could help me figure out the wiring of the 25 ohm rheostat you included in yours?  see, this is actually my first build, and its kinda hard to tell from the pic... am i correct in thinking the 220uf cap is connected to lug 3, lug 2 goes to the tip of your output jack, and lug 1 is ground?  ... or do i have that reversed?  or completely wrong??? lol... anyway, from what i've heard so far from my ruby, a master volume control seems invaluable considering how the volume and gain controls are so interdependent, and to get to the sweet overdrive sounds, things have to get kinda loud.  and hey, thanks for posting your build in the first place van, plenty of good ideas in your approach.

i'd also like some help in using a dpdt rocker to turn it on/off (just happen to have one that was bought on clearance from crapshack) and light an LED indicator, if someone wouldn't mind... i have a good idea of what i'd need to do, i just need someone to confirm that its right or correct me.  i really dont wanna ruin my insanely wicked first build just cause i THOUGHT i knew what i was doing  :wink:



Also, huge thanks to Aron, JD, B Tremblay, Mark, and the many many others who have directly or indirectly helped me get this far in the past month.  it feels pretty damn good to breeze through your first build confidently and have everything work right the first time you plug in- couldnt have done it without you guys!  

[vanhansen]

Hey NaBo, glad to see you got the Ruby going.  The 25 ohm rheostat hooks up just as you said, the 220uf cap is connected to lug 3, lug 2 goes to the tip of your output jack, and lug 1 is ground.

For power, I just put a switch in the path of the ground wires from the DC jack, no LED though.

If you socketed your JFET, try a few others too.  Mine has a MPF201 and sounds wonderful.

[NaBo]

i think im getting the hang of this stuff!  thanks for the info, van

i ended up picking up a couple MPF102's today along with a crapload of other junk, so i tried one in the socket- even huger sound, the 2N5457 pales in comparison.  it handles my fat gibson with ease.

cant wait to go home tomorrow so i can drill out that tin and get this baby hardwired and boxed!

[javacody]

NaBo, do yourself a favor and try the Bassman mods. They are very, very cool. Also, if you socketed your JFET, try sliding two of the same JFET in there and see what you think of the sound.

I'm very happy with my Ruby, especially after Z. Vex gave me a little hint on placing a 5 uF NP cap on between the positive and negative speaker leads. Really smooths out the highs.

[NaBo]

mine's finished!  (almost... didnt get a chance to pick up a 25 ohm pot for master volume control before going home for the holidays)

boxed and wired it this evening.

here's pics!



This was quite a learning experience, even more than just the perfing of the circuit.  kind of a rats nest, since it was just guesswork as to how long to make the wires so the lid could still be easily removed for battery replacement and further tweaks... such as snipping that green wire at the top and adding the master volume control.  but the thing works great... i stuck two strips of electrical tape to the back of the perfboard just as a precautionary measure against shorts.  i just really wish i had my cab here.  instead, im just playing it through my old 30W crate's clean channel with volume at 0.5... and i love it.  (i also love how you can see right through the box when you look in one of the 1/4" jacks )

once again, THANK YOU EVERYONE

***EDIT***

I managed to solve the having-to-run-it-through-a-crap-amp problem!  i just bastardized said amp's speaker with a pair of alligator clips.  see?

im still faced with the only-having-my-crappy-homemade-guitar-that's-missing-a-tuning-post-home-with-me problem, as you can see, but its nice to finally hear its untainted power when boxed up and wired properly.

[vanhansen]

Nice job NaBo.  I have a power switch just like the one you have in yours but opted to use a mini toggle instead.  If you have any thin pieces of foam, you can put that between the board and the enclosure too.  Some just happened to come with my wife's watch so I just used that.  I velcro'd the board to one side.

Good work, and you're welcome.  

[SirPoonga]

Cool.  Out of curisousity, have you run bass through it?  I'm working on a headphone amp with cd aux in for my bass using a lm386 chip.  Was just curious if you tried it with bass.

[vanhansen]

I haven't tried it with a bass so I have no clue how it would sound.  I have pins 1 and 8 connected on the LM386 so it would definitely be overdriven.