Tube boost + overdrive running off a 9 volt battery

[rotylee]

a manual of condensed thread
http://www.aronnelson.com/DIYFiles/up/12AU7-6111_Valve_Caster_Summary_Rev002.pdf
check HUM and NOISE
a bread board layout of original circuit
http://www.beavisaudio.com/bboard/projects/ttb_Valvecaster.pdf
tube cricket
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=63479.msg506164#msg506164
boobtube schem
http://juansolo.demon.co.uk/stompage/schematics/Valve%20Casters/BoobTubeSchematicV2.jpg
latest iteration the Valve-master:
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=63479.msg819365#msg819365
high voltage
http://www.geofex.com/circuits/+9_to_33.htm
charge pump layout
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=71381.msg607779#msg607779

[Rick899]

Yes I've been reading .... I tried it with a 12 volt ac adapter.  "Atrocious" hum is how someone who had the same result described it.  I need a regulated power supply  ... a LM 7812 voltage regulator but I can't find any info on installing one in a valvecaster to eliminate the noise  when using 12 volts ....

[iccaros]

A LM7812 on its datasheet shows how to connect it, but this works, replace the LED with the Valvecaster + and - connections..
. regulated power is not necessarily, you get hum from poor soldering joint or needing to filter your power, so a 10uf 20v on the power input, also do not wire heaters to your signal ground. The components are good up to there max voltage rating, except heaters on the tube which are good for 12.6 +/- 10%. so if you go above 13.5v you will need a resistor, zener or regulator to reduce voltage to the heaters

I am using a voltage booster, so I have 12v in with a filter cap across the input and heaters directly connected to the jack. I connect all signal grounds to the last cap in my voltage multiplier, not to same ground point as the heaters or the first ground connection on the multiplier. 
 

[Rick899]

Iccaros: Thanks for posting that. I looked closely at a few data sheets and found it. Didn't quite understand it till I  read what you wrote.

Rotylee:  Thanks for the manual of the condensed thread. Very helpful.

[Sjefman]

Hi Guys,
This is my valvecaster. After reading about a lot of problems with tone (dark sounding circuit), JJ tubes (not that good on 9v), and power supply's I was wondering if my valvecaster would do anything good. (I already ordered a JJ 12au7, and I've only got a 9v china switching power supply)

Luckily, when I tried my pedal yesterday I was surprised about how great it sounds!

I took out the tone circuit (I don't have any problems with full tone here), soldered it together, drilled an enclosure and played.

this is what it looks like:

(before painting)


and after painting:


and these are my sounds:

First sound = clean, second = gain 0, third = gain 1/3, fourth = gain 2/3, and last but not least, full gain!

somehow my MacBook mic decides to get nasty every once in a while, so the sound morphes a bit.... it's my mic, not the pedal (luckily!)


I really like the way this tube reacts to the loudness of my strumming. It just screams if you want it to!


next build will be a reverb, then a tubescreamer, and then I will throw away my boss me20

[Renegadrian]

Nce! I got a Vester amp too (and a strat copy) - pity they made them close...

I like your valvy! Now go and buy a 12v wall wart, there are some on evilbay for cheap! 12v/1A

[Sjefman]

I had a behringer before... a big mistake. When I trashed it because it was a crappy amp which broke down about every five minutes, my neighbour (who also plays guitar) brought me this vester which he had lying around in the attic. he hadn't used it for years and didn't know if it still worked.

it did

I really love this tiny amp... it's one 10 in speaker provided with 30 watts, with amazing tone and the louder it gets, the bluesier.

I'll go and try a 12v soon, but now I've got this working I just want to play... a lot...



by the way. I've got a friend who's built a 2ch 12au7 phono preamp, and while I was trying to get this working, I asked him for advice. He has had the problem that whenever he put the valvecaster diagram on his breadboard, each time it sounded different? even while using the exact same components? weird stuff 

[Perkla]

Intresting pedal.. but after so many that seems to have build this pedal and almost no one have recorded anything, thats lame.. hahaha, i am sure ppl want to hear what this pedal sounds like, both the single tube and the double tube version.. , i belive this is not a high gain pedal...not easy to get high gain out of a tube distortion i belive..

I would concider building this pedal, if i know what it sounds like

[Bill Mountain]

Intresting pedal.. but after so many that seems to have build this pedal and almost no one have recorded anything, thats lame.. hahaha, i am sure ppl want to hear what this pedal sounds like, both the single tube and the double tube version.. , i belive this is not a high gain pedal...not easy to get high gain out of a tube distortion i belive..

I would concider building this pedal, if i know what it sounds like

There are plenty of vids on youtube.

[Perkla]

Intresting pedal.. but after so many that seems to have build this pedal and almost no one have recorded anything, thats lame.. hahaha, i am sure ppl want to hear what this pedal sounds like, both the single tube and the double tube version.. , i belive this is not a high gain pedal...not easy to get high gain out of a tube distortion i belive..

I would concider building this pedal, if i know what it sounds like

There are plenty of vids on youtube.

I have not seen very much homebuilt tube distortion pedals on youtube..

[ayayay!]

After all this tweaking and playing with this circuit, I really just like it pretty much in it's original form except for the tone control and the caps. 

I've decided I like it with no tone control and a switchable cap to ground to de-brighten it.  Leave that tone pot out of it.  It also helps a LOT to just make C1 & C2 smaller to control bass.  Keeps things from getting flabby.  I'm pretty happy with a .01uF or .012uF for C1, .01uF for C2, and a 680K for R2 for more gain.

Makes it an ideal pedal at the end of the pedalboard as a gain and/or solo boost. 

[iccaros]

I have not seen very much homebuilt tube distortion pedals on youtube..

simple search...5 sec
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=youtube#q=valvecaster+site:youtube.com&sa=X&ei=rWX_ToCvC5HZiAKO__S7Dg&ved=0CFsQ2wE&hl=en&safe=off&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=a07b3761d35d504a&biw=1920&bih=1075

[JRM]

I have a spare NOS Philips 12AU7 and I might try to assemble this. The only thing that blows my mind is the huge thread: 134 pages. I'm kind of lost in the 11th...

[Renegadrian]

no glory without some suffering...come on, don't be lazy, read on and learn from every page...there's no shortcut!
(actually there is, but you didn't read this page neither!) SHAME ON YOU!!! 

[Rick899]

JRM:  There's a post at the top of this page with links to key sections of this thread. Good place to start. 

[zambo]

page 134 and counting....wow  tubes are sweet.

[Rick899]

Well I have been reading the tube pedal book here ... and I got the basic (   revision: 1.0 from 30 October 2008 from a beavis audio research breadboard layout)  Valvecaster working on a breadboard. The more I play it the more I like it.  But I  see from this material that there are "improved" Valvecasters and a valvemaster and other versions of this tube pedal.

So the question is:    Which of these versions will sound best when run on 12 volts?        Can one power a revision 1.0 Valvecaster with a regulated power supply made with a IC 7812  and improve its sound?

What effect would using a B50k pot for the tone pot have on the sound of the pedal? 

Thanks.

[Yeahno]

Well...

Now that I'm on the other side of the new year, I spent some time hammering that flat spot on my forehead even flatter...

...and got the Valvecaster working on a breadboard.  12v really is the minimum for the Valvecaster to sound like anything, so the thread title itself is...well...unhelpful.  Sure, you can drive a 12AU7 on 9v.  But you don't want to.

So, having only read about 2/3rds of the 134 pages (and counting) of the thread, I didn't catch how subtle the effects of this pedal are.  It's really, really subtle.  It's there, certainly, but I can barely get it to break up with the volume & gain dimed.  I'm not looking for "metal"...just a reliable, crunchy breakup off my Tele when I hit the strings harder.  I'm not sure that this is the pedal for me yet.

I've read that some folks like putting a boost in front of it (or even building a boost into the thing) and that makes the pedal break up in what sounds like the way I'm looking for.  But I'm also stuck on the appeal of the all-tube aspects of this thing.

So now I'm wondering if the thing to do isn't simply to build a Twincaster.

Thoughts?

[Dongle]

Well, my thought on this issue is that I dont care about the design of anything - as long as it sound sgreat.
And if you like the sound of an IC before the pedal, why dont you go for it? An all-tube-approach does not help you, if you dont play it because it does not sound as good.

In addition: I think even the hardcore tubers agree, that a buffer behind the tube is needed. The buffer also has an IC... So why not put anotherone in front of the pedal to boost?
And by the way: ICs are still analogue.... so you still would have an "analogue, hand wired tube pedal"...

[Renegadrian]

Disagree!  (you could also have a tube buffer if you really want...)