Introducing the "Cream Pie" !

[markm]

interesting....

so basically, we have people that like it biased as low as 3 volts, and as high as 6.9 volts ! 

shocking, really....   

i guess you could really "build a case" for making the "bias" trim pot an "external pot"..... 

AC

....ummmm, I was thinking that same thought.
I'd have to mess around with some resistors so that the bias pot doesn't completely shut down the circuit.
Mine, at the extreme just kills it.
One thing I do that maybe alot of y'all don't do is, I roll back my volume on the Tele a bit at times for different tones which maybe why when done by ear, it is biased a bit hotter.
When the volume on the guitar is wide open, it gets pretty gritty but, real....well....creamie!!

[Dragonfly]

BTW...I just posted a SUPER SMALL layout for the CPV2 in my gallery... http://aronnelson.com/gallery/album94

this layout is TINY !

AC

[markm]

Small is right.
They make postage stamps bigger than that! 

[Dragonfly]

Small is right.
They make postage stamps bigger than that! 

[Dragonfly]

Small is right.
They make postage stamps bigger than that! 

btw...i had this "vision" of using this layout as a booster / drive that was "in" a guitar...mounted in the control cavity ! thats why i came up with the "tiny" layout....

yes...i'm sick....

AC

[coffyrock]

awesome! that is teeny!

[Dragonfly]

awesome! that is teeny!

probably a tighter squeeze than anyone will ever need...but hey...maybe..

[petemoore]

  Here's what I'm thinking now.
  This Cream Pie is an A1 Booster w/ lotsa character, performs extremely well with my little tube amp. *Quite a dynamic affiar they get going on @ med/high volume levels especially, quiet notes/volume attenuations illiciting a much-cleaned-up- [but still different than bypass] sound compared to inputs of higher levels, guitar turned up/hard note attacks/Chords, which can go right up to 'distorter' realm. *Depending on input levels.
  High marks for low parts count, excellent tone, I'm finding it quite useful as Boost [and Fuzz/OD pre-boost], compares very favorably to other Ge boosters I have/have tried...gets LotS of usage!

[Dragonfly]

  Here's what I'm thinking now.
  This Cream Pie is an A1 Booster w/ lotsa character, performs extremely well with my little tube amp. *Quite a dynamic affiar they get going on @ med/high volume levels especially, quiet notes/volume attenuations illiciting a much-cleaned-up- [but still different than bypass] sound compared to inputs of higher levels, guitar turned up/hard note attacks/Chords, which can go right up to 'distorter' realm. *Depending on input levels.
  High marks for low parts count, excellent tone, I'm finding it quite useful as Boost [and Fuzz/OD pre-boost], compares very favorably to other Ge boosters I have/have tried...gets LotS of usage!

you know me Pete...i love these easy little circuits

i have the feeling that the Cream Pie could end up as a building block for many other circuits...it boosts a FF REALLY well, so a 3 tranny fuzz with the CP as a booster stage is certainly viable...i'm also thinking as a "lower gain" recovery stage after a EQ section in a opamp distortion pedal could be really cool too...lots of possibilities....


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and to those just thinking about building this circuit....

one thing i should mention...its important to use good quality parts in these "low parts count" circuits...MF resistors, good caps, etc definitely go a long way toward keeping things quiet and sounding good....

enjoy !

AC

[petemoore]

I have the feeling that the Cream Pie could end up as a building block for many other circuits...it boosts a FF REALLY well.
  Practice tonight I brought a couple 9V's the CP and the FF, had excellent control on gain with mosly just guitar volume, the CP doing all the Clean to Dirt gains, CP>FF covering a wide range of gain to thick Fuzz using light/heavy touch and volume control and coil tap attenuations.
  Lots of picking dynamics @ lower gains. 
  so a 3 tranny fuzz with the CP as a booster stage is certainly viable...i'm also thinking as a "lower gain" recovery stage after a EQ section in a opamp distortion pedal could be really cool too...lots of possibilities....
  My RM boosts harder, probably because of the E bypass cap or something else about it, neither the RM or CP get set at full.
  I am using the 10kL/.1uf 'TC' a little all the time, more makes for really nice Thicker Cream.
  Maybe this bends the rules, I think they needed bent the whole time and we just figured it out !!!
  I tried that SBxxx in numerous RM configs, I have the testboard with about all trimpots 'n sockets...never occured to me to substantially increase, or in this CP's case, eliminate the Base to Ground bias resistor entirely, probably because the RM's always exhibited a sharp brightness...increasing input Z would logically mean retaining more high end where it's already enough...BTW and OT...I did add the TC [20kl/.1uf] to the RM so I could make a better comparison.
  Anyway, after whipping the CP Board up, the SBxxx for the first time in all the GE boost encarnations exhibited excellent and substantially greater distortion characteristics.
  "X" factors...
  HB pickups, neck PU has coil tap, 400k pots neck pot has HF Bleed cap.
  Little 5e3 tube amp @ 15w > 2x12'' Alnico Blue/Fender special design in Antique pine cab [which has resonance ~similar to an accoustic's body].
  The FF is close to Axis Face GE. 

[joelap]

Might be a bit of overkill for such a simple circuit, but what about adding a small microprocessor like the PIC series and two 7 segment displays, and have the micro sample the bias voltage, convert to digital, then read it out to the 7 segment display?  Kind of a novelty thing, but that way the bias voltage can be varied on a pot and it'll look cool as all hell, varying the bias pot and getting a voltage readout.

I might do this just for the ha-ha's, and for the potential extra credit in my microprocessor class I'm taking

[markm]

BTW,
I have a nice graphic in mind for the enclosure of my Creampie.
If it works out well, I may make it available to whomever wants to use it!
Stay tuned! 

[Dragonfly]

Might be a bit of overkill for such a simple circuit, but what about adding a small microprocessor like the PIC series and two 7 segment displays, and have the micro sample the bias voltage, convert to digital, then read it out to the 7 segment display?  Kind of a novelty thing, but that way the bias voltage can be varied on a pot and it'll look cool as all hell, varying the bias pot and getting a voltage readout.

I might do this just for the ha-ha's, and for the potential extra credit in my microprocessor class I'm taking

it'd be easier, and in my opinion, cooler (more in the simplicity spirit of the CP) to do it with a analog VU meter...i'd love to see the digital readout however 

i like the idea....      joe gagan used it on his nitroburner, IIRC...

AC

[Dragonfly]

BTW,
I have a nice graphic in mind for the enclosure of my Creampie.
If it works out well, I may make it available to whomever wants to use it!
Stay tuned! 

coming from you, brother, its gonna be killer !

[joelap]

Might be a bit of overkill for such a simple circuit, but what about adding a small microprocessor like the PIC series and two 7 segment displays, and have the micro sample the bias voltage, convert to digital, then read it out to the 7 segment display?  Kind of a novelty thing, but that way the bias voltage can be varied on a pot and it'll look cool as all hell, varying the bias pot and getting a voltage readout.

I might do this just for the ha-ha's, and for the potential extra credit in my microprocessor class I'm taking

it'd be easier, and in my opinion, cooler (more in the simplicity spirit of the CP) to do it with a analog VU meter...i'd love to see the digital readout however 

i like the idea....      joe gagan used it on his nitroburner, IIRC...

AC

haha YES!  I almost forgot about that possibility!  That would be freaking awesome!

Do they have one that'll measure voltage between 0 and 9 or 10 volts?, I've never used one before so I'd be completely lost in that area.  Would a VU automatically measure the voltage, or would Ineed to feed a microcontroller first?

[Dragonfly]

haha YES!  I almost forgot about that possibility!  That would be freaking awesome!

Do they have one that'll measure voltage between 0 and 9 or 10 volts?, I've never used one before so I'd be completely lost in that area.  Would a VU automatically measure the voltage, or would Ineed to feed a microcontroller first?

yep...you can get 'em....check joe's nitroburner for details...its easy to  implement....

AC

[Barcode80]

i don't think you need a microcontroller though. remember, vu meters have been around much longer than microcontrollers...

[petemoore]

yep...you can get 'em....check joe's nitroburner for details...its easy to  implement....
  The wiring would be easy, I have VU's big/small/vintage/modern-ish-er, many indicator bar types. The part I stumped on is getting the hole mount VU thing happening. VU w/backlight would make a real neat pedal 'medallion, taken apart, a name plate could be rubber cemented on the face...
   

[Dragonfly]

yep...you can get 'em....check joe's nitroburner for details...its easy to  implement....
  The wiring would be easy, I have VU's big/small/vintage/modern-ish-er, many indicator bar types. The part I stumped on is getting the hole mount VU thing happening. VU w/backlight would make a real neat pedal 'medallion, taken apart, a name plate could be rubber cemented on the face...
   

round VU meters are easy...use a hole saw in the appropriate sixe....

rectanle or square...use a drill bit to get the corners, hacksaw and file for straight lines...

"backlit" would be cool

AC

[petemoore]

use a hole saw in the appropriate sixe....
  Wood would be EZ, metal...dunno...never tried cause I feared it catching as it came through one side of the hole, thick metal still on the other side [enough to make it hard to keep going with the bit/knock the rest out, I avoided this task when tube amp chassis building by paralleling two lipped edge metal sheets/spanning the sockets between these for exl. cooling and nice EZ/quick/sturdy [enough for my R'n R] mount.
rectanle or square...use a drill bit to get the corners, hacksaw and file for straight lines...I suppose not too bad, but I don't know about the corners drilled letting a hacksaw blade width begin.
  Wood grain is still my favorite color !!!