3 rangemaster questions

[rockgardenlove]

I'm a bit confused about the jacks...what color is the "hot" output from the guitar, and what is the "hot" output from the rangemaster?  And then also, do I need a stereo jack on one side or something?  There are 3 wires coming out of the left jack, and I'll be using mono cables...


Then one more thing, if I wanted to make a toggleable fuzz/distortion thing, would a pair of diodes in series with a 10uf cap in between the collector of and base of the transistor work as intended?

I was also thinking of adding a volume pot too, at the end of the circuit with a 100k pot...sound like a good pot value?

Thanks!

[d95err]

First of all, the layout you posted is for a Brian May Treble booster, not a Rangemaster. They are very similar circuits, but if you reall *really* want the Rangemaster mojo, you should build the Rangemaster.

I'm a bit confused about the jacks...what color is the "hot" output from the guitar, and what is the "hot" output from the rangemaster?  And then also, do I need a stereo jack on one side or something?  There are 3 wires coming out of the left jack, and I'll be using mono cables...

The purpose of the stereo jack is to disconnect the battery if nothing is plugged in. You can use a mono jack, but then the battery would be on all the time and run out quickly. Jack wiring is essentially the same for all effects, there are plenty of articles on this if you look around.

Then one more thing, if I wanted to make a toggleable fuzz/distortion thing, would a pair of diodes in series with a 10uf cap in between the collector of and base of the transistor work as intended?

Don't know really. Try it out! A pair of diodes to ground at the output (before the output cap) would probably work as well.

I was also thinking of adding a volume pot too, at the end of the circuit with a 100k pot...sound like a good pot value?

The Rangemaster uses a 10k pot, but a 100k pot would probably work well too.

[rockgardenlove]

Thanks for your reply!  Great forums!

One more question, how do you think I might go about adding a tone adjustment knob?  Just add your standard pot-capacitor setup before the boost or what?  Or would it be better to swap capacitors w/ a switch?

Thanks guys!

[Herr Masel]

Search for info on tonestacks. A common one to add to stompboxes is the big muff tonestack, but I don't think a treble booster needs one. Check out the mods page on this site for info about tonestacks and adding clipping: http://www.diystompboxes.com/cnews/mods.html.

[rockgardenlove]

Hey wow, cool stuff.  I think I'll do a clipping control with .  I'll also use 2 mismatching diodes.  Then I may do the Muff tone on a breadboard just to see how it works. 

[potul]

I suggest anyway to first try the treble booster in breadboad (it's a simple circuit) before adding any clipping stage. These are not clean boosters, I mean that they already add some distortion.

A typical mod for the treble boosters is changing the input capacitor in order to get different tone response. In my rangemaster I have a 3 position switch so I can change from treble booster, to full range booster to "bassy" booster.

Potul

[d95err]

One more question, how do you think I might go about adding a tone adjustment knob?  Just add your standard pot-capacitor setup before the boost or what?  Or would it be better to swap capacitors w/ a switch?

You could use a pot to gradually switch between two input caps. Use two input caps in paralell. One small, one bigger. Put a pot in series with the bigger cap. When the pot is at zero resistance, the input cap value will be the sum of both caps. With the pot at max resistance, the value would essentially be the smaller value. This should enable you to dial in the frequency response you want. I'm not sure what size of pot to use, but my guess is that about 10k would be a value to start trying. The small cap could be the standard value (or slightly smaller), and the bigger cap could be about 0.1uF.

Using a standard pot-cap lowpass filter on the output would enable you to get a mid-boost, since the circuit would cut both bass and treble.

[Khas Evets]

Then one more thing, if I wanted to make a toggleable fuzz/distortion thing, would a pair of diodes in series with a 10uf cap in between the collector of and base of the transistor work as intended?

I've experimented with this on the breadboard and liked the results. I wouldn't call it a fuzz, though. It adds a little grit and reduces the output a little. I stole the idea from a BMP.

[rockgardenlove]

One more question, how do you think I might go about adding a tone adjustment knob?  Just add your standard pot-capacitor setup before the boost or what?  Or would it be better to swap capacitors w/ a switch?

You could use a pot to gradually switch between two input caps. Use two input caps in paralell. One small, one bigger. Put a pot in series with the bigger cap. When the pot is at zero resistance, the input cap value will be the sum of both caps. With the pot at max resistance, the value would essentially be the smaller value. This should enable you to dial in the frequency response you want. I'm not sure what size of pot to use, but my guess is that about 10k would be a value to start trying. The small cap could be the standard value (or slightly smaller), and the bigger cap could be about 0.1uF.

Using a standard pot-cap lowpass filter on the output would enable you to get a mid-boost, since the circuit would cut both bass and treble.

Don't quite see the two cap setup working...can someone draw a little shematic or something?  I'm a bit confused on this.

[petesguitar1]

I've got a rangemaster all kitted out on a PCB from tonepad, but alas, no volume - it's barely audible - any ideas?

[vanhansen]

I've got a rangemaster all kitted out on a PCB from tonepad, but alas, no volume - it's barely audible - any ideas?

Pete, I replied to your Rangemaster thread with some questions to clarify things.

The gain pot on the Rangemaster isn't on the output, it's between 9v and the collector pin of the transistor.  No need for another pot at the output with it. 

I've built and NPN version and it sounds great.  There's a perfboard layout I made for anyone wanting to build one.  It's based off the schematic that Aron has hosted.

[rockgardenlove]

One more question, how do you think I might go about adding a tone adjustment knob?  Just add your standard pot-capacitor setup before the boost or what?  Or would it be better to swap capacitors w/ a switch?

You could use a pot to gradually switch between two input caps. Use two input caps in paralell. One small, one bigger. Put a pot in series with the bigger cap. When the pot is at zero resistance, the input cap value will be the sum of both caps. With the pot at max resistance, the value would essentially be the smaller value. This should enable you to dial in the frequency response you want. I'm not sure what size of pot to use, but my guess is that about 10k would be a value to start trying. The small cap could be the standard value (or slightly smaller), and the bigger cap could be about 0.1uF.

Using a standard pot-cap lowpass filter on the output would enable you to get a mid-boost, since the circuit would cut both bass and treble.

Don't quite see the two cap setup working...can someone draw a little shematic or something?  I'm a bit confused on this.

?

[petesguitar1]

Thanks Vanhansen. Done. My autonotify thing doesn't seem to be working. Hmmmm! 

[rockgardenlove]

Bump after all the thread jacking