tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84962852024-03-13T01:20:44.870-07:00The Mask of ZorroJorge Zorro's thoughts on guitar repair, pedal mods, and performance. Music for the People!Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-32257752899261654552015-12-17T15:48:00.000-08:002015-12-17T15:48:35.170-08:00Squeeze bottle review<div class="hreview"><div class="item"><p><a href="http://www.thesportsauthority.com/GATORADE-Squeeze-Bottle-32-Ounces/product.jsp?productId=11573459">Originally submitted at Sports Authority</a></p><div><img src="http://images.powerreviews.com/images_products/09/60/23927629_100.jpg" class="photo" align="left" style="margin: 0 0.5em 0 0"><p style="margin-top:0">Features 32-ounce bottle Wide-mouth opening for easy emptying and refilling Removable lid with opening for sipping GATORADE® graphics Dishwasher safe</p></div><a href="http://www.sportsauthority.com/GATORADE-Squeeze-Bottle-32-Ounces/product.jsp?productId=11573459" style="display: none;" class="url fn"><span class="fn">GATORADE Squeeze Bottle - 32 Ounces</span></a></div><br clear="left"><p><strong class="summary">Says Gatorade but holds water!!</strong></p><div>By <strong>Jorge El Zorro</strong> from <strong>Seatown WA</strong> on <strong><abbr title="20151217T1200-0800" class="dtreviewed" style="border: none; text-decoration: none;">12/17/2015</abbr></strong></div><p><div style="margin: 0.5em 0; height: 15px; width: 83px; background-image: url(http://images.powerreviews.com/images_merchants/stars/10132_stars_small.gif); background-position: 0px -180px;" class="prStars prStarsSmall"> </div></p><div style="display: none"><span class="rating">5</span>out of 5</div><p style="margin-top:1em" class="description">It's green. It holds water. It says Gatorade. You can squeeze it. WATER - it's what your body needs. Zero calories. I drink that stuff every day.</p><p style="margin-top:0.5em">(<a href="http://www.powerreviews.com/legal/terms_of_use.html" rel="license">legalese</a>)</p></div>
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-90522602379649399602014-03-28T09:48:00.002-07:002014-03-28T09:52:06.988-07:00Pedal of the Month for March: Austone Vibrostomp
Texas likes BIG!!
<P>
This Austone Vibrostomp is one of the bigger pedals out there, with a footprint of 4 inches by 4 inches. The pedal contains both TREMOLO and VIBRATO. For my March show I pulled off two pedals from my board, a tremolo and a chorus pedal, and replaced the two of them with an Austone Vibrostomp.
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A toggle switch selects between the tremolo and vibrato modes. Another switch selects a HIGH or LOW range in the LFO (high and low speeds). The LED glows with the rate of the modulation - COOL!
<P>
The inside of the enclosure was signed by Jon Bessent.
<a href="http://stompboxaddict.blogspot.com/2010/09/austone-electronics-jon-byron-bessent.html">RIP. Austone products are no longer in production.</a>
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<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/vibrostomp2.jpg">
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-19022939774706617182014-03-27T09:06:00.000-07:002014-03-27T09:06:26.908-07:00Replacement buttons for Crybaby 535 boost switch
The Dunlop Crybaby 535Q has plenty of bells and whistles. The wah has a nifty little boost switch that lets you control some gain from your wah pedal.
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A client had a 535 with a missing button for the switch. But where to find one? I was looking all over the interwebs but wasn't having any luck. And I wanted to give the dude a working pedal so he could do a gig.
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So I went all old school and made a trip to the hardware store. I got some thin wooden dowels and some nice birch buttons. I cut and whittled down a section of the dowel. Then I drilled a small hole in the button and glued the section of dowel. Bam!! New replacement button in natural wood color. With a little spray paint these would look just like the original.
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<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/crybabybuttons.jpg">
<P>Later I finally discovered some authentic Dunlop plastic replacements at www.newoldsounds.com - they cost more than the wooden ones.
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-70342155311572976042013-10-08T11:10:00.001-07:002013-10-08T11:10:44.178-07:00Destroyer Project (3): Paint booth
This project used toxic lacquer paints with noxious fumes so it had to be done outdoors. A painting booth protected the guitar from dust and debris while the paint was drying.
<P>
I built a paint booth that resembled a telephone booth. It's basically an open box covered in plastic. The ends were salvaged from an old coffee table. Some wood scraps and plastic sheeting from Home Depot completed the necessary supplies.
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I put in a hook in a cross member in the top of the booth. There was another hook in the little neck stick in the guitar. This way the guitar could hang in the booth between the paint layers.
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<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dest13_03.jpg">
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-5716414554841434602013-09-17T10:36:00.000-07:002013-09-17T10:37:54.938-07:00Destroyer Project: (2) Sealing and Priming
After the body is smooth then it is ready to apply the undercoats prior to painting. The goal is to smooth out the wood grain and to provide a surface for the paint to stick to.
<p>
First up is a lacquer sanding sealer. I brushed on 8 coats of sanding sealer, lightly sanding after each application. Basically, you keep putting this stuff on until you don't see any wood grain texture. You can still see the grain but you want to check the texture. This is a critical step. You don't want your guitar body to be all rough like an unfinished piece of plywood.
<p>
After the body looked good I moved on to primer. I used Duplicolor Filler Primer that I picked up at an auto parts store. Again, I used lacquer, since I planned on using the Duplicolor lacquers for the paint and gloss coat. Everything has to be compatible so it can all stick together.
<p>
Anyway, I put on so many coats that I used up the whole can of primer. Once the guitar turned gray I could see a few spots where wood grain was showing through. I just sanded through those and put on some sealer until it was good. For small grains I just gave it an extra blast of primer.
<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dest13_02.jpg">
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-10862731667981369322013-09-04T10:55:00.001-07:002013-09-17T10:37:46.043-07:00Destoyer Project: (1) Raw Body
It was time to expand my horizons and transition from guitar pedal projects to a full blown guitar project. I really like the look of the old Ibanez Destroyer style guitars. There is also the inspiration and homage to Ed Van Halen's early
<a href="http://valleywebs.com/van-halen/guitars.html">"Shark" guitar</a> - though I don't yet have any plans to take a chainsaw to the guitar.
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The project starts with a raw unfinished <a href="http://www.perleguitars.com">Perle</a> Destoyer body. Loads of elbow grease and sandpaper are needed to make the body as smooth as possible. The photos shows the guitar with a "neck stick" and masking in preparation for the sanding sealer process. The short window of warm weather in Seattle is the time for body finishing.
<P>
<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dest13_01.jpg">
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-44492457415801481392013-01-08T07:45:00.001-08:002013-01-08T07:45:35.209-08:00New shop light for the shop
I utilized the holidays to upgrade the lighting in the Zorro Repair Shop. So far I've installed a new overhead fluorescent lamp. Helps brighten the work area so I can see all those teeny tiny electronics components and circuits!
<P>
<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/newlight.jpg">
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-38085409935674396682012-12-11T11:35:00.000-08:002012-12-11T11:35:11.708-08:00RE-201 Space Echo: Maintenance of the Delicate BeastThere's nothing quite like the Roland RE-201 Space Echo.
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The nuances of analog tape delay are warm, unique, and full of character.
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<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/re201_small.jpg">
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A lot of TLC went into the unit shown in the photo.
<ul>
<li>new tape loop</li>
<li>new felt pads</li>
<li>cleaning of heads and tape loop path</li>
<li>demagnetizing the heads</li>
<li>cleaning all the potentiometers</li>
<li>replacing the broken indicator lamp with a LED</li>
</ul>
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After doing all the repairs I had to do a lot of testing the echo to make sure that it was all sounding good and all the controls weren't noisy!!
Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-48864317908096424442012-07-19T16:41:00.000-07:002014-02-04T20:46:17.853-08:00DL-4 Switch Mod and Control RepairThe Line 6 DL-4 is well known for hardware failures. It's an awesome pedal that fails at inappropriate times. BUT..."WE CAN REBUILD HIM"!!
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This DL-4 had two kinds of problems: switch failure and control (potentiometer) failure. It wasn't until the switches were replaced, getting the unit to where it could play, did I notice the problems with the controls.
<P>
There is a seminal video by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEDBrT63khQ">Juffrage</a> on the DL-4 switch replacement. THANK YOU, SIR!! The video gives brief details on the procedure to replace the standard tactile switch with a hardware switch.
<P>
Below is a photo showing the old tactile switch and spring loaded button pusher on the left and the new hardware switch on the right.
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<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dl4_04.JPG">
<P>
And here are the lowly switches on the main PCB for the DL-4:
<P><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dl4_01.JPG">
<P>Remove the (often broken) tactile switch and replace them with the new hardware switch like this:
<P><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dl4_02.JPG">
<P>
When the pedal is reassembled the new switches look basically the same as the original switches.
<P><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dl4_03.JPG">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-6532953946922813222012-05-09T07:23:00.000-07:002012-05-09T07:24:20.225-07:00Big Muff RehouseThe Electro Harmonix Big Muff are famous for the big bulky metal box. Very roomy and spacious inside. And they take up room on the pedal board.
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Rehousing into a 1590 box is very common. Less common is putting all the jacks on the top side of the pedal. This is doable, though not easy.
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The toggle switch selects between the regular scooped mids and a more flattened mid - helps the guitar punch through in a band situation.
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This rehouse is called the Big Muff Tau. Hand lettering by yours truly.
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<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/bmt02.jpg">
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<img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/bmt03.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-71133212666406515622012-04-12T07:21:00.002-07:002012-04-12T07:27:18.428-07:00Keeping Track of all those CAPS!!Some of the vintage pedals require an overhaul of all the old electrolytic capacitors. It can make a HUGE difference in the sound!<br /><br />But how to keep track of which caps have been replaced and which ones haven't? My trick is to leave the legs on the caps until the project is finished. When the whole project is finished that's when it's time to clip off the leads. In the meantime, leave the leads until the pedal is sounding great.<br /><br />Here's a vintage Ibanez Flanger with a complete capacitor replacement job. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/fl901.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-33899815022611033252012-01-18T07:22:00.000-08:002012-01-18T07:37:48.075-08:00Adding a DC Jack to a Dunlop Fuzz FaceThe Dunlop Jimi Hendrix Fuzz Face sure looks like the original. Two knobs and a switch. All battery powered with no DC power jack. Mostly authentic. However, the new version uses NPN silicon transistors. <br /><br />That's good news. The NPN transistors are the same polarity as the transistors as most pedals out there. A DC power jack can be installed and it will have the same polarity as your other pedals. The Fuzz Face can be powered by a brick or 1-spot without any problems. <br /><br />Adding the DC jack is easy. Drill a hole, install the jack, and do some minor rewiring. Another option is to install a LED indicator.<br /><br />Adding the LED indicator usually means replacing the DPDT switch in the Fuzz Face with a 3PDT switch commonly used in boutique and DIY pedals. <br /><br />Below shows where a jack and LED grommet have been installed in a fuzz face. The INPUT and OUTPUT jacks have been removed to make a little room to work in.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/FF01.jpg"><br /><br />Below shows the all the new wiring in place. The connections from the DPDT switch were migrated to the top two rows of the 3PDT switch. The last row provides a connection between ground and the LED when the pedal is engaged. A 4.7k resistor was connected in series between the DC jack and the LED.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/FF03.jpg"><br /><br />Here's the modified pedal. A nice bright blue was selected for the LED color. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/FF05.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-34548328120203282072011-12-11T07:36:00.000-08:002011-12-11T07:45:26.033-08:00Dyna Comp CompressorThe MXR Dyna Comp is one of the best compressors out there. It is generally regarded as the compressor against which other compressors are compaired.<br /><br />However, they have a double sided circuit board. This makes repairs a bit tricky. Desoldering in particular becomes a cumbersome task. Too much heat can make a pad lift off from the board. <br /><br />The pedal below came into the shop with some intermittent problems after a previous potentiometer replacement. The pedal would cut out when the sensitivity knob was touched or manipulated. I found that the pads connecting the pot were starting to come loose. The solution was to make a solid electrical connection by putting in some jumper wires. These connected the lugs of the pot to the next component that the pot was supposed to be connected to. Some circuit tracing was required to figure out where to connect to.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dynacomp1.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-20954728356023276992011-09-26T16:31:00.000-07:002011-09-26T16:36:29.735-07:00Route 66Whoa this pedal is totally cool! What a great idea to combine a TS-808-like distortion with compression in one pedal. The housing is all totally old school pressed metal. The inside circuit is most beatious. Nice circuit layout, wide and roamy with plenty of elbow room. <br /><br />This unit had a fried resistor due to some abusive power supplies. The resistor was fried beyond all recognition (FUBAR). No way to tell what value it was. Some circuit tracing in the power supply section was required to determine an appropriate replacement value. The pedal is now on it's second life!!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/route66.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-60911511748982553792011-08-11T12:33:00.000-07:002011-08-11T12:43:43.434-07:00Replacing pots in an Arion Stereo ChorusThe Arion and Roctek pedals are notorious for failures in the potentiometers. The small cheap pots have extra-long shafts and are mounted directly onto the PCB. The long shafts provide more leverage, increasing the chances of something breaking.
<br />
<br />It's possible to replace these pots in some cases. With the Arion Stereo Flanger there isn't quite enough room to replace all 4 pots with standard 16mm Alpha pots. But you *can* replace the two outside pots.
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<br />An example is shown below. The outside pots have been replaced with Alpha 16mm pots. The pots are now mounted on the pedal housing. The original Arion knobs wouldn't fit on the Alpha shaft. Some filing, or drilling out, is required so that the knob can go onto the new shaft. The plastic bar that goes across the pot shafts inside the pedal housing was also cut so that it only went across the two original shafts.
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<br />This pedal lost it's original battery cover. Generic replacements are available directly from Arion.
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<br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/SFL04.jpg">
<br /><br>
<br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/SFL02.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-80641299475448922462011-07-01T10:26:00.000-07:002011-07-01T10:37:08.674-07:00PSA/ACA switch for BOSS HM-2Here's a Boss HM-2 with a switch that selects between a Boss PSA or ACA power supply. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrNc4ytZYOOH05JJME3X7UO_tt12og5mzJ0hn3UZViAbRshiloBDcfMZG9fPye-Mrj1d02pZgsAqOqK8r3sDi-R2kRuCs99V8WzuKeLvBX3WPnSdWDJuHKgnqfIilxfhIEGsobQ/s1600/HM2_MIT03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrNc4ytZYOOH05JJME3X7UO_tt12og5mzJ0hn3UZViAbRshiloBDcfMZG9fPye-Mrj1d02pZgsAqOqK8r3sDi-R2kRuCs99V8WzuKeLvBX3WPnSdWDJuHKgnqfIilxfhIEGsobQ/s320/HM2_MIT03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624438880913366882" /></a><br /><br /><br />When you use a PSA power supply and put the switch in the PSA position then the pedal works great. When you use a PSA power supply and put the switch in the ACA position, like the stock circuit, then the pedal is starved for voltage. The circuit isn't quite getting enough voltage to work like it was designed to. It sounds very lo-fi and ratty. In a mostly bad sort of way. <br /><br />One of my earlier <a href="http://jorgezorro.blogspot.com/2009/12/boss-aca-to-psa-power-supply-mod.html">posts</a> talked about the ACA to PSA mod. This pedal has a switch to select the option of engaging the mod (PSA mode) or going back to stock (ACA mode).Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-56753156485448362182011-06-17T16:14:00.000-07:002011-06-17T16:22:41.926-07:00Seeing Eye-Dog ModThe Boss SD-1 is like a DS-1 on steroids. The distortion is more aggressive. <br /><br />I tried several mods on this SD-1 until I finally found some that I liked. It has a Seeing Eye-Dog mod on the inside. There is a new toggle switch for the tone. In one position a filter cap is lifted out. This gives the pedal a bright loud sound, great for punk or No Wave. Putting the switch in the other position gives a darker bassier sound, like a neck pick up sound. <br /><br />Of course the boring little red LED indicator has been swapped out for a giant bright orange LED.<br /><br />Here's the inside of the pedal showing the filter cap and toggle switch.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/sd1_01.jpg"><br /><br />Here's a photo of the modded pedal with the toggle switch for the tone.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/sd1_02.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-73718647367101008012011-05-23T07:40:00.000-07:002011-05-23T07:45:51.305-07:00Fish Fights at the ShipwreckGot to check out the new aquarium at the Shipwreck Tavern before the show on May 21, 2011. At 150 gallons this big tank is noticeable. <br /><br />It's a fresh water aquarium. There was a catfish, a couple of boisterous crayfish and a few other fish (gouramis?). The show went well - the Shipwreck is always a good place to play. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/SHOWS/shipmay11_02.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-15980865224847415022011-05-18T11:09:00.000-07:002011-05-18T11:18:15.909-07:00Fremont White RabbitBrad Yaeger and the Country Gentlemen had a great show last night at the recently opened <a href="http://www.fremontwhiterabbit.com">Fremont White Rabbit</a>. This is "The Bar Formerly Known as TosT".<br /><br />The industrial atmosphere has been transformed into a dark cozy "rabbit hole". Dark interior with books and candles on the wall and some blue mood lighting. <br /><br />Performers will notice great improvements. For starters there is now a real green room, complete with chilled bottled water. Whoa! A first for the Country Gentlemen! Huge monitors are in the front of the stage. A burly snake is on stage left. Very professional looking. The back of the stage is adorned by a trippy commissioned painting that gives the illusion of a giant rabbit hole. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/SHOWS/whiterabbit02.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-55880944301435670822011-04-20T15:36:00.000-07:002011-04-20T15:52:17.133-07:00Vintage DOD FX55-B Supra DistortionThe FX55 used to be called the "Super Distortion". Until some good lawyers from a pickup manufacturer started sending persuasive letters to DOD and they had to change the name.<br /><br />Here are a couple of red rocking vintage DOD FX55-B pedals. The pedal on the left is probably from 1994. The pedal on the right is probably from 1988. <br /><br />The left pedal has the "bar" style model name while the right has "box" style. The logo is "italics" on the left and is "shaded relief" on the right. Footswitch plate is blank on the left and has a "DOD" on the right. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dodfx55b.jpg"><br /><br />Below shows some differences in the bottom plates. Smooth for the left and serrated (WICKED!!) on the right.<br /><br /> <img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dodfxbot.jpg"><br /><br />And on the inside? Not much difference. The PCB layout hasn't changed between models. The biggest difference seems to be a transition from yellow to greenie caps. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dodfxpcb.jpg"><br /><br />Both of these came into the repair shop with switching problems. Here's the internal switch on the 80's model.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dodsw.jpg"><br /><br /><br />Information on the dates of these red rockers came from the<br /><a href="http://www.americaspedal.net/index.html">America's Pedal</a> web site.Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-13035955090052036712011-03-30T10:54:00.000-07:002011-03-30T11:24:27.226-07:00Rehousing a Rocktek FlangerNot really a huge fan of plastic enclosures, I decided to rehouse a worthy Rocktek Flanger in the enclosure of an MXR Stereo Chorus (with a dead Reticon chip).<br /><br />I removed the Flanger from the enclosure. Q6 was removed and jumpered to put the flanger in an "always on" mode. D3 was also removed. True bypass switching will be used on this project.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/rofl01b.jpg"><br /><br />After verifying the "always on" mod I then removed the in/out jacks and all the pots. I purchased new replacement pots and put those in the MXR enclosure. I used the old jacks from the MXR chorus. I needed to drill holes for the on/off LED, the LFO rate indicator LED and the Feedback pot.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/rofl2.jpg"><br /><br />Usually a stereo input jack is used to switch a connection to the power supply (ie, turn on the box). None of the MXR jacks were stereo. I installed a SPST on/off switch in the hole for the old AC power connection. The wires for the on/off switch were connected to the input jack ground connections on the flanger PCB. <br /><br />The flanger also needed some ground jumpers on the old pot connections.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/rofl03.jpg"><br /><br />Another beautious mod was to decrease the value of the feedback resistor. The pedal can now go into howling self oscillations when the feedback knob is cranked! My dog loves these sounds so much that he howls back at the pedal.<br /><br /><img src = "http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/rofl04.jpg"><br /><br />More info:<br /><a href="http://www.pedalarea.com/flangers.htm">Pedal Area</a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanging">Wikipedia entry for flanging</a>Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-14519057431254451352011-03-15T07:40:00.001-07:002011-03-15T07:43:48.869-07:00Seeing Eye DogHere's a DS-1 with the Seeing Eye Dog mod and a switch to go into Ultra Underdog mode. The little LED lights up when you play your guitar. Cool! Wink, wink! The on/off indicator LED has been replaced with a big bright blue LED. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/ds1eye.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-88422081822836775082011-03-02T08:26:00.000-08:002011-03-02T08:32:03.737-08:00Big Heavy BallThe Ernie Ball Volume pedals are extremely heavy duty. These look like they could last forever - with some TLC now and then. <br /><br />This 6150 needed to be taken apart and put back together to get it tweaked back into place. I like how it has strings and springs inside. Very old school mechanical. The aluminum and the mechanics make me thing of WWII airplanes. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/ball6150.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-83475586700559206852011-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:002011-01-27T07:35:19.570-08:00Interesting Sounds from the BF-2Here's a mod that comes from the Brian Wampler book. Putting the cap across a couple of pins on the clock controller gives some big depth on this Boss BF-2 Flanger. Woohoo! More of a bend than a mod.<br /><br />Decided to not keep this one for now. <br /><br />Otherwise, I did all of the Wampler mods to clean up the hiss and reduce the "boxy" sound. Then I replaced the op-amps with Burr Brown low noise op amps. Now a sweet sounding "Made in Japan" BF-2.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/bf2mod.jpg"><br /><br /><br><br />Time to play around with some of the trimpots!!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/bf2mod2.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8496285.post-31844292525998274692011-01-07T15:48:00.000-08:002011-01-07T15:51:18.197-08:00ZMD #4 - the Dog FaceZorro Music Devices #4 is finished. <br /><br />It's called Dog Face.<br /><br />It's mean! It's fierce! It'll bite ya!!<br /><br />It's a Fuzz Face clone. This pedal has provided hours of fun! I've been practicing with this one and haven't used my Tube Screamer or Big Muff for a while. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.jorgezorro.com/Images/GUITAR/dogface02.jpg">Jorge Zorrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14956823429364580290noreply@blogger.com0