This is a weird one man. I think that I can verify that the circuit is functioning properly and the layout is accurate. I don't know what was intended here. As a boost it works well, of course. As you turn the gain control up it becomes less of an almost clean, full range boost and more of a treble booster. The reduction function is subtle and acts as a simple limiter. It seems to be dependent upon FET choice and diodes. But as a proper noise gate? Not so much. Maybe with the proper parts. I used a 2N5457 and a J201 with the same result. Thanks Anders. Report back if someone else has different results.
It works very well as a pretty loud and hairy boost. The gate does work but not in a way that effectively eliminates much noise. I tried it before and after a couple noisy circuits on my board. Not a waste of time though. It's interesting and I could be a really useful circuit if the gate was enhanced a bit.
Hello, looking at the schematic it indicates that the 4.7 UF (C4) should be reversed and the 330NF (c3) is marked as electrolytic 0.33uf with the negative side oriented to GAIN 2...I made this change but I don't notice any difference between electrolytic and ceramic in this case.
And it's true that the gate depends a lot on the selected N-FET; at the moment I've tried several, even bending the legs, and I'm currently using a 2N5457, but the gate is subtle...
The silicon diodes did indeed cause the circuit to gate more. So much that the circuit is sputtering out. I tried nearly every diode I have. D9J's had a nice sound overall and I'm out of 1N270's but they may have a slightly higher forward voltage to do the job. I'm guessing that even with the exact original part it would still be a relatively subtle effect.
Only five units made?! Interesting. The layout looks clean. Gain could be 50kC, not 5kC, but the writing is sketchy.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteYeah the handwriting is sketchy but the BOM onthe first page says 5kC for the Gain pot.
DeleteOh yeah, I see. Makes more sense somehow.
DeleteI was looking for some demo. I found on the official web site. But that is just an overdrive/booster? Why "Gate"?
ReplyDeleteIt's apparently acting as both a boost and a noise gate. Bjorn's designs are generally pretty quality.
DeleteThis is a weird one man. I think that I can verify that the circuit is functioning properly and the layout is accurate. I don't know what was intended here. As a boost it works well, of course. As you turn the gain control up it becomes less of an almost clean, full range boost and more of a treble booster. The reduction function is subtle and acts as a simple limiter. It seems to be dependent upon FET choice and diodes. But as a proper noise gate? Not so much. Maybe with the proper parts. I used a 2N5457 and a J201 with the same result. Thanks Anders. Report back if someone else has different results.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, and with more than 5M on the input the switch is still popping like a proper Rangemaster haha.
DeleteThanks Tom for tackling this and giving us a report. I'm curious how it stacks with other pedals.
DeleteTagged.
It works very well as a pretty loud and hairy boost. The gate does work but not in a way that effectively eliminates much noise. I tried it before and after a couple noisy circuits on my board. Not a waste of time though. It's interesting and I could be a really useful circuit if the gate was enhanced a bit.
DeleteHello, looking at the schematic it indicates that the 4.7 UF (C4) should be reversed and the 330NF (c3) is marked as electrolytic 0.33uf with the negative side oriented to GAIN 2...I made this change but I don't notice any difference between electrolytic and ceramic in this case.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's true that the gate depends a lot on the selected N-FET; at the moment I've tried several, even bending the legs, and I'm currently using a 2N5457, but the gate is subtle...
ReplyDeleteYeah, that 4.7uf should definitely be flipped. I wonder if the gain of Q2 would impact the gating. Maybe playing with the drain on the JFET too.
DeleteWell spotted on the electro cap. For more gating , try silicon diodes fo rD1 and D2...
DeleteThe diodes don’t seem to be as responsible as you’d think. It operates in a similar way without them. But I’ll try that
DeleteThe silicon diodes did indeed cause the circuit to gate more. So much that the circuit is sputtering out. I tried nearly every diode I have. D9J's had a nice sound overall and I'm out of 1N270's but they may have a slightly higher forward voltage to do the job. I'm guessing that even with the exact original part it would still be a relatively subtle effect.
Delete