Torchy's MXR ZW44

col · March 16, 2005, 03:48:43 AM

One of the pins for pot 1 is shown twice on the diagram. Which one of these should be pin 2 for pot 3? Does anyone have the original schematic or know wgher it is posted?

Col

Torchy · March 16, 2005, 07:06:54 AM

I'll check it tonight after work ... its just mislabelled ... :oops:

Dragonfly · March 16, 2005, 08:51:46 AM

..i *think* that the one labelled "VR1-3" in the upper right hand corner is probably supposed o be "VR3-2"...but im sure Torchy will let you know

andy

petemoore · March 16, 2005, 10:03:22 AM

Where's the source schematic for this layout...great layout...this one probably took a little time to create !!!
Looks like a kind of DIST + ? [I'm not as good at reading' vero layouts]..but has an E follower up front and uses both sides of a Dual Oa...snazzy !!1

MartyMart · March 16, 2005, 10:35:01 AM

It's supposed to be a "Boss SD-1" rip-off !!
Looks a bit similar to me .....?
BTW I borrowed one and thought it was very nice indeed !

Marty.

Torchy · March 16, 2005, 02:25:16 PM

Updated layout (correct pot labelling) here .

vanhansen · March 16, 2005, 02:48:32 PM

Torchy, you are an invaluable asset. I can't decide whether to build this one or buy it.

audioguy · March 16, 2005, 02:59:04 PM

wow... cool

adgators89 · March 16, 2005, 08:01:19 PM

It kind of is a Boss SD-1 ripoff. anyone with a SD-1 can mod it to sound exactly like the ZW-44.

JIG · March 17, 2005, 02:28:12 AM

Did not have a chance to A/B the SD-1 and the ZW-44 side by side, but I did try them both. I bought the ZW-44. It just kick A$$! :twisted: I am using mine into a home built 6V6 Marshall plexi with Gibson guitars. I am pretty dicriminating when it comes to OD's and distortions and the pedal just has the tone dripping from it

It slams the front of the amp BEAUTIFULLY! And I just discovered that with my GE-7 (which I will soon do some noise reducing mods on) I can get a decent scooped mid metal tone out of. Not guite Hi-Gain death metal, but in the ball park. Enough that you can play a song that requires two distinct distortion tones and get your point across.

Yeah, I know this might sound like a HC review. I don't post on HC until I have had a year or so to evaluate my gear. I haven't had the ZW-44 for a year yet, but I will! Had it for 2 months so far and it is ON most of the time! Definite keeper.

FWIW,

JIG

col · March 17, 2005, 02:32:40 AM

Thanks for that. I built the board but didn't connect the pots. Hopefully I'll get time tonight,

Col

kojjum · March 17, 2005, 05:20:08 AM

Does anybody know of a good replacement for MPSA14? The MPSA14 is hard to get hold of here in Sweden.

//jens

col · March 17, 2005, 05:46:17 AM

The data sheet says an MPSA13 will work which is the only MPSA transistor I can get locally. I have also used some high power un-numbered Motorola transistors I got in bulk very cheaply off e-bay in place of other Darlington tansisors and they have worked just fine. If you socket it you can try a number of other transistors and see which sounds best.

kojjum · March 17, 2005, 05:58:37 AM

The only Darlington transistors I can easily get hold of is BC517, BC618 and BC875. Will compare the datasheets and see wich of them that is the closest match.

//jens

col · March 18, 2005, 02:43:18 AM

Finished it last night and it sounds great, thanks Torchy! I tried one of the high power Motorola transistors I got and a MPSA13 and couldn't tell the difference. I might try a couple of others to see if I can help kojjum over the weekend.

kojjum · March 18, 2005, 04:24:01 AM

Almost finnished my build yesterday with parts I had laying around as well. Found a reseller that stocks the MPSA14 in Sweden, www.bejoken.se Will contact them later today and see if they sell to private persons or if you need to have a company.

Thanks Torchy for a great Vero layout!
Will put up some images as soon as he build is boxed up. Will be a Zakkified 1590B

//jens

bassmeister · March 18, 2005, 07:43:02 AM

Don't know if this is interesting for others than us swedes, but I'll write it in english anyway, if you would want to order from here.

Kojjum, I've been searching a while for an other parts supplier than ELFA that allows private persons to buy. Have you tried //www.trimlog.se, //www.labbelektronik.se or //www.bhiab.se? The latter, as an example, sells metal film resistors at 2 SEK for 10. For you others, that's about .30 $ for 10 resistors. Can anyone beat that? :wink:

edit: It's not bhiab that has the chepest metal film resistors. It's yet another dealer, //www.autemashop.com

kojjum · March 18, 2005, 08:01:52 AM

Thanks for the link. BHIAB stocks the MPSA14 as well!

Here's a dummy of what it will look like when it is finnished.

//jens

d95err · March 18, 2005, 09:29:20 AM

Quote from: kojjumDoes anybody know of a good replacement for MPSA14? The MPSA14 is hard to get hold of here in Sweden.

//jens

If you can find an electronics store that can deliver from Farnell, you can get the MPSA14. I usually shop at Tord Larssons Elektronik in Uppsala, and they can deliver from Farnell, although it costs a little bit extra for the shipping.

vanhansen · March 18, 2005, 09:48:33 PM

I had a chance to demo the ZW-44 at GC tonight. For once it was pretty quiet in there other than the radio. I played an Epi SG through the ZW-44 and in to a Rolan Jazz Chorus. WOW, this pedal is SICK (good sick). I played it with the amp's distortion off, the pedal's drive all the way up. Nice warm tone. Much more drive than the SD-1. I then dialed in the amp's distortion, got it EQ'd to my liking, then kicked on the pedal. HOLY CRAP BATMAN!!! I thought the amp was going to jump out at me. The sustain is incredible, the tone is very warm. You can still hear the natural tone of the amp with it on. Needless to say, I was impressed. I've tried a lot of overdrives in my 18 years of playing and this one takes the cake. I may have one on my possession this weekend.

Great build or great buy, either way you want to go.

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Torchy's MXR ZW44