Ross mod- from Phillip / Mark Hammer

[jimbob]

Last night i added the spdt switch for the Variable Recovery Mod. Im not sure if the effect is really subtle or that i just wired it up wrong. I used a Carling spdt switch from an old wah i wasnt using. I assumed the common was the lug located by itself on the opposite side of the 2 lugs. Is that correct?

The only REAL noticable thing I noticed was a volume change.

Anyone?

[Melanhead]

very subtle here as well ... didn't notice a volume change though ...

[Mark Hammer]

Well, buddy, it IS real subtle.  The thing is that it doesn't vary tone; it varies time.  The outcome of those time changes will depend on the timing of what you give it.

Huh?

Imagine you're punching a punching bag.  Whacketa-whacketa-whacketa.  Because the bag is in sync with your punching movements, every time you throw your fist forward you hear and feel the impact of fist against naugahyde (or leather, or whatever they are).  Okay.  Now suppose the bag has some sort of "mechanical flaw" that slows down how it returns.  You whack it, it flies back, but when your second fist arrives, in rhythm, to smack the bag, the bag isn't there yet.  No impact.  Of course, if you were not expecting to punch in rhythm, and were using one fist to hit the bag whenever it came back, you wouldn't notice the difference because you would only hit it when there was an opportunity for impact.

Let's move back to the compressor, now.  Untampered, and unchallenged, the compressor is set up to have moderate gain as a default.  When a note/chord is detected, the gain is rapidly, though not immediately, reduced.  So you hear a bit of the initial transient but not a lot of it.  The gain is reduced for some period of time and eventually returns to normal.  If you play another note before it returns to normal, you will not hear the "whack" because the "bag" is still on its way back.  If you play one note and wait, you *will* hear a "whack" the next time you pick because you've allowed the device to recover.

So here is the thing with the mod.  The default/stock design is set up for a slow recovery time (i.e., the "bag" comes back slowly).  If you attempt to pick fast under those conditions, the first note you pick after a brief period of silence will have an audible transient, but everything after that will lack any audible transient because the envelope follower is still "recovering".  If you pick a note and wait, you will still hear the transient of the next thing you pick because enough time has passed.  Conversely, if you do the mod and set it for fastest recovery time, you will hear little effect if you pick slowly, but WILL hear it if you decide to chicken-pick a bit.  And what you hear will basically be more of the initial transient of notes.  The amount of compression will be absolutely unchanged.  What will be different is how often you can hear that compression being applied.

But ultimately, this is one of those mods that tends to escape the ears of many because it depends heavily on how and how fast you pick.

Does that make it clearer for you?  I realize that for many it is one of those things that tends to run counter to how they normally think of effects, so don't feel embarrassed.

On the other hand, it ought not to produce a volume change so maybe it WAS connected wrong.

[jimbob]

I can say i did notice something different with the timing. But it seemed as though there were only 2 diff types. As I said, I used a Carling spdt footswitch with one lug on one side (that i used for the common) and 2 other lugs on the other side for the other connections. Does that sound right? I bet it is- cause i DID notice a difference.

[Mark Hammer]

Maybe we're getting our signals crossed here, but the suggested mod uses a 3-position toggle.  That is a SPDT that links common and side lug in one side position, common and other side lug in the other side position, and leaves the common isolated in the middle position.  Although you CAN use a Carling footswitch to select between recovery times (though why anyone would want to is beyond me), but the footswitch will only have 2 positions rather than the 3 available from a toggle.  Incidentally, a SPST switch will work just as well - you can simply use it to engage/lift a parallel resistor to produce one of two overall resistance settings.

[jimbob]

Now that makes more sense. Thanks mark. Im horrible at the understanding of switches. Im going out tonight to get the spdt toggle tonight. I feel silly now!

[Melanhead]

Great explanation Mark! ... Subtle but noticeable, if you know what to listen for ...