"ROG Condor" spkr sim review W/PICS !

[MartyMart]

http://www.runoffgroove.com/condor.html  for schem and layout
I used Torchy's vero version and it fired up first time, no de-bug needed.

MODS:
I had no 22uf caps so used 33uf's
High pass filter caps down to 33n for less bass
Low pass filter resistors down to 15k for more highs
IC's used  OPA2134's
Q1  J201
The rest stock.

I'm very, very impressed with this little beauty, I tried it with a strat and a HB pup gtr
through a number of "stompers"  BM/TS-9/BazzFuzz/FF/Highway'89 into a mackie desk
and was "believing" that I had an amp/cab setup   !!  10/10 for ROG and STM 
Thats about the best sim I've heard, easily keeps up with a Palmer ( which i borrowed to check )
though of course the "tone" is a little different, quality was superb.
If you're in need of a way to record through your soundcard, I would recommend this 100%  !
There are great notes on modding the sound to your taste and also info on switching for some
different flavours, at the site.

Good job boy's and a great circuit 
( sorry for gushing about this, but I'm pretty much blown away and not someone who's "easily pleased" !! )

Marty.

[B Tremblay]

Excellent!  I'm very happy to hear that you're enjoying it.  Now you'll have to post a clip!

[MartyMart]

Photo's :
http://www.pbase.com/image/53012993
http://www.pbase.com/image/53013001

Used an old Marshall amp switch box !
I thought that was "apt" 
No switch,  "when you're in.... you're on "

Marty.

[Bernardduur]

Haha, I like the box! Nice one!

[MartyMart]

EDIT:
Found it and it;s from stm also !!
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=25077.0


I've just been trying it with my "speaker saturator" circuit, which came
from here .... somewhere  ... WOW   This is V-COOL
It really adds that "speaker breakup" to the tone .... most satisfying
perhaps I'll re-house them in one BIG speaker sim/sat box with four
knobs and a bright/dark switch  !!
They work real well together .....

Marty.

[spudulike]

Small hint.

Try the saturation simulator into a clean Ruby, and slowly turn up the gain ...

[Marcos - Munky]

Nice. I have one Condor built too, but I didn't boxed it yet. When I use it to record the guitar in my PC, should I use the line in or mic in?

[stm]

EDIT:
Found it and it;s from stm also !!
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=25077.0

I've just been trying it with my "speaker saturator" circuit, which came
from here .... somewhere  ... WOW   This is V-COOL
It really adds that "speaker breakup" to the tone .... most satisfying
perhaps I'll re-house them in one BIG speaker sim/sat box with four
knobs and a bright/dark switch  !!
They work real well together .....

Marty.

Nice to see you like it!  Regarding the Speaker Sat Sim, I was a bit dissappointed at the time I posted the idea because there was no feedback from anyone actually trying the circuit; instead the thread diverged into how you should play "Sunshine of my love"...

When we designed this circuit with Brian we opted for a simple J201 preamp stage at the input for adding a little dirt and gain recovery. Of course a SSS can be placed there at the expense of two extra op-amps, which is still reasonable.

One final note regarding the Ge diodes: I have measured many of them, and have found "significant" voltage differences even between diodes attached to a common paper strip (as shipped from the factory). My findings here indicated some devices had a clear tendency toward 200mV (when using 1 mA test current provided by a digital meter), and others tended to 320 mV. There were no in-between values. This was really strange, considering I was using diodes supposedly form the same production batch. One thing to consider here is Ge diode matching, so as to have identical voltages on each side.

Also, it is possible to build an equivalent diode network using 6·Ge+1*Si instead od 8·Ge+2·Si. You make a full-wave rectifier bridge composed of 4 Ge's, and in the center you place two Ge's + 1 Si.

Regards.

[MartyMart]

STM, when i first made it ( last year ) I wasn't so convinced about "what it was doing"
It seemed like just a "slight boost with VERY slight OD"
I have built it without any matching at all and have 8 X 1N91 Ge with 2x 4148 .....
that's a LOT of quite expensive Ge diodes  !!
However, placed after a BM triangle and before the Condor, it seems to add quite a lot
in as much as some "squish" and some drive, which does sound very "speaker like" !
The 10k pot doesn't seem to add anything ? off or full the sound is "almost" identical
in nature, same amount of "crunch" seems to be there ....  ?

Cheers and thanks for the great work

Marty.

[stm]

STM, when i first made it ( last year ) I wasn't so convinced about "what it was doing"
It seemed like just a "slight boost with VERY slight OD"
I have built it without any matching at all and have 8 X 1N91 Ge with 2x 4148 .....
that's a LOT of quite expensive Ge diodes  !!
However, placed after a BM triangle and before the Condor, it seems to add quite a lot
in as much as some "squish" and some drive, which does sound very "speaker like" !
The 10k pot doesn't seem to add anything ? off or full the sound is "almost" identical
in nature, same amount of "crunch" seems to be there ....  ?

Cheers and thanks for the great work

Marty.

The 10k pot acts as a mixer between the output of the OpAmp (clean signal) and the other end of the pot which is connected to the diodes (compressed/OD signal).  So, if it is wired properly, it should let you travel from full clean to slight OD and in between. The effect is indeed subtle, but the pot is needed to be able to cope adequately with different input levels.

If for some reason the OpAmp stage is already clipping you won't notice a difference when moving the 10k pot. Try lifting the diodes and see if you notice a difference in sound (should become clean). Also, with the pot with the wiper at the op-amp's output it shouldn't matter if the diodes are there or not.

And yes, this circuit uses lots of expensive Ge's    This is why the proposed FWR network might alleviate things a little.