built mini booster...is that all there is?

[oczad]

ok...i did a bit of testing for you... a mpf102 works fine, and as suspected, didnt give nearly as much boost...it still boosted the signal a "decent" amount, but not even close to the amount that the NTE458's do (and likely the J201's)....

Thanks ! I may socket the 102 so i can easily change it if it's not happening. But it'll probably be fine, as i only use a bit of boost.  Probably about 6DB at most i'd guess.

Don't forget the use of a booster for a 3-6 dB boost for a solo/lead take-over. In places where you want to keep you r sound, but just need to stand out more, boosters do what a TS can't. Especially whan you are running a clean sound, and want a slightly louder, SLIGHTLY more driven sound.

Actually my screamer is modded and has a lot of output so that i can turn the drive all the way down and volume up and get a clean boost, tho a bit middy. But the mids can actually be nice. But anyway thats what i use the screamer for. I never use it's distortion. I prefer it to all the clean boosts i've tried so far, but i'm hoping this one works out even better.

[Alpha579]

Dragonfly, just to let u know, changing the input cap wouldnt make ne difference coz the knee of the 1M/input cap rc filter in 7.2hz...much lower than an electric guitar, so it wont alter the sound at all...

[Dragonfly]

Dragonfly, just to let u know, changing the input cap wouldnt make ne difference coz the knee of the 1M/input cap rc filter in 7.2hz...much lower than an electric guitar, so it wont alter the sound at all...

...and thats exactly why i told him to alter the tone at the "end" of the circuit...  

i havent changed the schemo notes (yet) to reflect that however....

[oczad]

Wel, i built it but won't be able to see how i like it till i plug into my amp. I tried it in a Hot Rod Deluxe which is the only amp i'm near at the moment, but they sound so horrible to me i can't begin to see whether i like it. I can tell tho that the tone seems to be much tighter than that mini booster and the drive control i think i'm gonna like. Anyway, i'll report back later when i try it with my amp.

[javacody]

oczad, I didn't care much for the minibooster myself until I did the following two things:

1. Used J201 FET's
2. Followed RG's suggestions for getting more gain.

The version I built of the minibooster hammers the hell out of the front end of an amplifier.

You should be able to take any basic booster and tweak it's frequency response to your own tastes, so if the question you are really asking is (and I believe it is), is "What kind of frequency shaping in a booster will make me weak in the knees?", then I'm not sure anyone here can help you. I suggest you invest in a breadboard and $10 in components and try all the boosters out there and also try tweaking their frequency response. I haven't been happy with the stock build of any project I've done. I've always tweaked things to suit my tastes, my playing style, my guitars, and my amps.

I'm not even close to qualified to tell you how to do this effectively, but there are probably hundreds of posts here in the forum and stuff in the faq on it. Try changing input and output caps, try tweaking RC filters in between stages, try messing with the biasing of FET's and transistors, etc. etc.

Anyway, welcome to the forum and remember, effects building as a hobby isn't just about saving money, its also about relaxing, maybe learning something, and having a good time.

[oczad]

You should be able to take any basic booster and tweak it's frequency response to your own tastes

Yep,  quite true, and thats the case here as i just tested ut out. i need to tweak it.

I suggest you invest in a breadboard and $10 in components and try all the boosters out there

I'm too old and jaded for that ! I've been doing thisn for years, tho rarely building boosters. And to be honest i just don't have the energy and drive to do what you suggest. I only did this because  then cost of all those boutique boxes are just way too much to be taking a chance on, and knowing how simple most are i figured theres gotta be a simple circuit online that would sound as good.

That said, heres my take the sparkle boost. I didn't find the magic i was hoping for, but what i did find is a box that does sound good and equals anything i've used and has a bit more tone than many. I did however use the mpf102,so i don't know if the recommended transistor would be any better as far as tone goes. (yes, more gain i know...but better tone maybe?)

Theres only one thing that will keep me from using it over  my screamer.....mids. I can see why anyone who wants a clean boost that doesn't change the tone would like this circuit a lot, and this is certainly no fault of the pedal, just a matter of taste. but i guess i'm realizing that the same reason i prefer my screamer over other things i've used is the mids it has.  Now if i could njust get some tube screamer type mids happening it might just be the better choice. But while i'm familiar with how to get more or less highs, i have no idea how to get more mids. If anyone has any suggestions i'll try them, but as i said earlier i just don't have the energy or drive to spend hours tweaking and experimenting.

So in short, very nice circuit dragonfly. I never used any of the boutique stuff, but this certainly ranks right up there with what i HAVE tried. Nice job ! But unfortunatly for me,   i just need them mids !  :cry:

[javacody]

Often times, isn't boosting mids a matter of cutting bass and or highs (as in the tube screamer)?

If all you need are more mids, perhaps what you are really looking for is a booster into an eq (or vice versa)>

[oczad]

Often times, isn't boosting mids a matter of cutting bass and or highs (as in the tube screamer)?

Same thing. Only difference is overall DB

If all you need are more mids, perhaps what you are really looking for is a booster into an eq (or vice versa)>

You need to read my initial post or 2.

[Dragonfly]

That said, heres my take the sparkle boost. I didn't find the magic i was hoping for, but what i did find is a box that does sound good and equals anything i've used and has a bit more tone than many. I did however use the mpf102,so i don't know if the recommended transistor would be any better as far as tone goes. (yes, more gain i know...but better tone maybe?)

if you get a chance, try the NTE458...ive tried the J201, the MPF102, and the NTE458, and the tone and breakup of the NTE was FAR superior...not to say the others sounded bad...they definitely sound good in it...but i designed the circuit around the NTE458, so its obviously gonna be better with that FET....

Theres only one thing that will keep me from using it over  my screamer.....mids. I can see why anyone who wants a clean boost that doesn't change the tone would like this circuit a lot, and this is certainly no fault of the pedal, just a matter of taste. but i guess i'm realizing that the same reason i prefer my screamer over other things i've used is the mids it has.  Now if i could njust get some tube screamer type mids happening it might just be the better choice.

try a .022-.047 cap to ground after the 100k resistor and see if it gets closer to what youre looking for...

but youre definitely right...in "stock" form, its fairly transparent, though i find it adds a touch more sparkle to the top end, and tightens the bottom up quite nicely.

So in short, very nice circuit dragonfly. I never used any of the boutique stuff, but this certainly ranks right up there with what i HAVE tried. Nice job ! But unfortunatly for me,   i just need them mids !  :cry:

thanks...i figured it'd be worth a shot for you because of the low parts count and ez build...

if you get a chance, try the NTE458 with it...i think you might be surprised at the difference. plus you can get a bit more dirt and gain cranking with it :evil:

anyway, thanks for taking the time to build and review it...im always appreciative of anyone who takes the time to try one of my creations

best of luck finding your tone,
 andy
 dragonfly fx

[oczad]

Thanks. I will definatly try the nte  and the cap change. The low end with my amp tho.......for some reason it's not tight, and thats another reason i want more mids. But i'm thinking the mpf102 may be the cause of the low end loosness. So we shall see. But it may be a while till i can get the nte unless the electronics shop i need to go to tomorrow for something else happens to have it. they do carry nte, so they well may have it. I'll let you know what the results is.

[mat]

Hi Andy and Torchy,

I built the Sparkle Boost using the Torchys veroboard layout and have some difficulties to get it to work properly.

The parts are same dispite the 2k7 = 2k4 and the 5k lin is 10k lin and the fet is J201. (because i didnt have the exact matches)

Here is soundclip of it:

http://koti.welho.com/mtiilama/My%20Pedalboard_files/sdtes2t.mp3 (the hum is my amp and the sizzling sound is the pedalboardcase under the SM58 mic)

I hope it would be another way around but first is unprocessed signal and then the Sparkle Boost engaged.

My circuit cuts almost all highs away + some bass.  :cry:

Obviously i'm doing something wrong here.

-the fet is biased to 4.5V
-the gain and volume pots are full on the clip
-the 22n cap is polystyrene
-i measured all resistors before soldering
-the solderings should be ok (checked with magnifying glass)
-i tried with j201, 2n5089, bs170, bf245c...
-i feed it by 9V regulated supply

Any idea what might be wrong ?

Thanks,
mat

[Dragonfly]

Hi Andy and Torchy,

I built the Sparkle Boost using the Torchys veroboard layout and have some difficulties to get it to work properly.

i havent tried torchys veroboard layout, but he's usually "right on" when he does one....did you make the necessary "cuts" in the veroboards traces? (the little red "x" marks on his board...)

The parts are same dispite the 2k7 = 2k4 and the 5k lin is 10k lin and the fet is J201. (because i didnt have the exact matches)

that shouldnt be an issue....did you verify the pinouts of your J201 ? the NTE458 is DGS, a J201 is DSG ...that could possibly be an issue

Here is soundclip of it:

http://koti.welho.com/mtiilama/My%20Pedalboard_files/sdtes2t.mp3 (the hum is my amp and the sizzling sound is the pedalboardcase under the SM58 mic)

I hope it would be another way around but first is unprocessed signal and then the Sparkle Boost engaged.

My circuit cuts almost all highs away + some bass.  :cry:

yup, somethings definitely not working right.

Obviously i'm doing something wrong here.

-the fet is biased to 4.5V
-the gain and volume pots are full on the clip
-the 22n cap is polystyrene
-i measured all resistors before soldering
-the solderings should be ok (checked with magnifying glass)
-i tried with j201, 2n5089, bs170, bf245c...
-i feed it by 9V regulated supply

Any idea what might be wrong ?

Thanks,
mat

like i mentioned, i'd spend a few minutes and check the pinout and make sure its correct...if its not, you should be able to just twist the J201's leads into place. also, check that your trace cuts are clean...iirc, torchys layout has two trace cuts, but i'll go back and check...

best of luck, and keep us updated...

andy
dragonfly fx

[oczad]

Ok, i installed the NTE and tried the cap to add mids. The cap just added various degrees of high end attenuation  leaving it with mostly fuzzy low end that was totally unusable. i tried a few caps but it just went from normal to varying degrees of that.

The NTE i can't really evaluate till i get home and try it with my amp. But it definatly has a lot more gain. Not that i need that, but hopefully it'll also just sound better with my amp. But again i'm not sure if i'll be able to use it unless i can get those mids i need.

[Eric H]

Ok, i installed the NTE and tried the cap to add mids. The cap just added various degrees of high end attenuation  leaving it with mostly fuzzy low end that was totally unusable.

You need to attenuate the bass --try a .001uf at the input, or a much smaller cap bypassing the gain control.

-Eric

[Dragonfly]

Ok, i installed the NTE and tried the cap to add mids. The cap just added various degrees of high end attenuation  leaving it with mostly fuzzy low end that was totally unusable.

the cap doesn't "add mids"...it simply takes away some high end....you may be able to run a seperate cap to ground at the front of the circuit to decrease bass, thus leaving the mids boosted....

try it with the 458 first, with no caps...then work from there....

[Alpha579]

you may be able to run a seperate cap to ground at the front of the circuit to decrease bass, thus leaving the mids boosted....

do you mean having a cap to ground at the gate or the fet? Because that will cut more highs....

[Dragonfly]

Ok, i installed the NTE and tried the cap to add mids. The cap just added various degrees of high end attenuation  leaving it with mostly fuzzy low end that was totally unusable. i tried a few caps but it just went from normal to varying degrees of that.

you could also try "tacking on" a modified big muff style tone control....with the values below, the 1-7k region is "kept", and as you turn the knob, either the highs or lows are attenuated further...

[vdm]

hey dragonfly,

sorry to go a bit OT, but i love those values in the BM tone circuit. I havent tried it, but it looks like you could get a nice highend rolloff, a mid boost, or a bass shelf cut. Doesnt suck too much signal either. maybe a good idea to put in an overdrive circuit or booster (such as this) to have a defined control over the sound, without it being super touchy like the standard bmp.

thanks for the idea.... this may be very useful :twisted:

trent

[Dragonfly]

hey dragonfly,

sorry to go a bit OT, but i love those values in the BM tone circuit. I havent tried it, but it looks like you could get a nice highend rolloff, a mid boost, or a bass shelf cut. Doesnt suck too much signal either. maybe a good idea to put in an overdrive circuit or booster (such as this) to have a defined control over the sound, without it being super touchy like the standard bmp.

thanks for the idea.... this may be very useful :twisted:

trent

no prob...i just messed around with the values a bit, and came up with this...seemed like it might be useul in this instance

[oczad]

Ok, tried it on my amp. Much better with the NTE. I no longer need more mids ! However the low end is too much and kinda fuzzy. i think it may be that the fuzziness is part and parcel of the excessive lows and that attenuating them may do the trick.

So i'll try Eric's suggestion and replace the .022 with an .001. Other than that i'm hearing some good stuff.....maybe a touch of that "magic" after all. We shall see...