Re: BYOC 5-knob compressor finished

Tony Done <tonydone@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I just put the final touches this morning.

This isn't a complete test, but is based on a couple of amps and a couple of
guitars, one of which has very noisy P90s in a noisy environment.

First, soldering irons. I used a $10 Nicholson 40w, no problems at all, but
I did make fine point on it, got it very well tinned and cleaned it with a
damp rag every time it started to tarnish. I blunt tip may be OK with a 25w
iron, but might have caused problems with this one.

The downloadable instructions were very clear, and the PCB was well marked.
No electronic knowledge needed provided you read the instructions carefully.

Populating the PCB was really easy, and all parts were present and correct.
It certainly paid to spend a few minutes sorting and clearly marking the
resistors and caps before soldering. Even so, I managed to get one cap in
the wrong place and had to move it, no problem. I left the wires full
length, poked them through the board and bent them over to hold the parts in
place. I then soldered them up in batches and cut them flush with fret
pliers (nail clippers would do). It doesn't look quite as neat as cutting
them before soldering, but I think it makes the job easier.

Installing all the connecting wires - there are a lot of them - was more
hassle than the PCB, and I'm now wondering if it wouldn't have been better
to connect the wires to the PCB before the electronic components, contrary
to the instructions. Also, all the hookup wire supplied is one colour. A few
different colours would help if you were doing the wiring before the
electronics. Still, it worked out in the end.

The only thing that didn't work well were the SIP snap-off sockets for the
BA6110 chip. It worked OK for the transistors, but wouldn't connect well
with the chip. I ended up holding it down with insulating tape.

How does it work? The compression only starts to show quack and OD when
sustain is turned up past 3 o'clock. The blend control is excellent, and the
attack and tone controls are subtle. The compression itself is subtle and
fairly transparent below 3 o'clock. Not suitable for someone looking for a
big up-front effect, it the kind of effect you only notice when it is turned
off.

I think that at moderate sustain settings (less than 3 o'clock) the pedal
itself is effectively silent, but like all other compressors it will amplify
guitar noises under some circumstances. When I played my noisy LP Special in
my usual noisy environment the pedal didn't seem to add any noise to speak
of. However when I laid the guitar on the floor to make some adjustments it
was evidently in a bad spot for RF noise, and the pedal certainly amplified
it. Interestingly, the noise subsided as soon I played a note on the guitar,
definitely not just masking it. Not sure what was going on there.

The kit comes with a choice of two chips and two sets of diodes. I ended up
using the BA6110 chip, which seems a bit less fuzzy than the CA3080, and the
2N5088 transistors. I think these added a little more "grit" than the
2SC1849s.

All in all I'm pleased with the result, and I wonder if some of the problems
with noise and distortion that have been reported are due to assembly rather
than design or parts. Or, giving way to paranoia, it the performance of my
compressor different from expectation because I did something wrong?

Tony D


thanks Tony - great report. I have some BYOC pedals but they
were made for me. (although I did build the fuzz which is a much
simpler pedal than what you built).
I was wondering about the noise - but it seems that it's quiet and
not adding in any extra hiss or noise which is good.

Sounds to be a good pedal by what you are saying
and they included every part needed.

one question though - Does it exhibit any of those annoying 'breathing'
or 'whoosing' artifacts ?
Some compressors can do this (although some only do it when the
sustain or attack is turned all the way up and don't do it with
any lesser settings).
.

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