Dearest Wise and Knowledgeable Citizens of the 'groupdiy',
I am but a mere peasant when it comes to analogue electronics knowledge, but I have somehow managed to get a prototype '82 Moons' saturation board from @rna Serial 003, I feel honoured (or am I a Guinea pig)
Here is the board, just before I got my hands on the final input transformer and the Prototype Panel Sticker.
![The Proto Sticker for the 82 Moons The Proto Sticker for the 82 Moons](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56511-5a74d5c78baa7a9a198e9fe8be9c0eca.jpg)
The Template for the Holes...
![82 moons panel hole cutting.jpg 82 moons panel hole cutting.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56512-4619552c02214892aef18d25e43ba175.jpg)
Holes Drilled, sockets and pots mounted, just the switches to go.
![82 Moons need switches.jpg 82 Moons need switches.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56514-8032b09da929cd9ee1fff0c4b76841a0.jpg)
Just the power to be connected! As you can see, there is plenty of room on the front panel for VU meters!
![82 Moons Nearly Ready to Go.jpg 82 Moons Nearly Ready to Go.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56515-52a93143329d71219d0706d8f28cd52e.jpg)
And here, you can hear the beast in action.
Ok, that is the backstory, the unit is in and sounds so awesome and different to the Sherman Filterbank, Sansamp PSA1, and other sat/dist units I have experience with.
Tone
I was asking @rna exactly why it sounds so awesome to my ears, and he explained it is a combination of the fact he ignored the Korg NuTube offical advice & dev board and found his own way with the implementation, coupled with the splendid Lundahl Input and Output transformers.
I think the Tilt EQ is such a simple but effective way to dial in the sound you 'want', without the faff. During the development phase, I was a little suspicious of the 'NuTube', having only seen it used in strange-looking headphone amplifiers and guitar pedals. My uneducated brain was not convinced you can have the 'valve sound' without the high voltages. I love the sound.
So, here is my question:
Does anyone have any advice or starting points for VU meter driver circuits?
I want to be able to switch between peak and RMS, but I have only vague ideas to get started. If anyone has some tips, it will save me from further harassing @rna![Smiling face with halo :innocent: 😇](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f607.png)
![IMG_9735.jpeg IMG_9735.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56517-fd8ea4a245791a1b0a1226d3c202bf48.jpg)
![IMG_9736.jpeg IMG_9736.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56518-75571f722174a0e5866afe71a91ad87b.jpg)
Many humble thanks
Nortotron.
I am but a mere peasant when it comes to analogue electronics knowledge, but I have somehow managed to get a prototype '82 Moons' saturation board from @rna Serial 003, I feel honoured (or am I a Guinea pig)
Here is the board, just before I got my hands on the final input transformer and the Prototype Panel Sticker.
![Charlie Moons Input and Nutube Output Transformers.jpg Charlie Moons Input and Nutube Output Transformers.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56510-b1ee1df7a3caba76bd2d3f6f51703c7c.jpg)
![The Proto Sticker for the 82 Moons The Proto Sticker for the 82 Moons](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56511-5a74d5c78baa7a9a198e9fe8be9c0eca.jpg)
The Template for the Holes...
![82 moons panel hole cutting.jpg 82 moons panel hole cutting.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56512-4619552c02214892aef18d25e43ba175.jpg)
Holes Drilled, sockets and pots mounted, just the switches to go.
![82 Moons need switches.jpg 82 Moons need switches.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56514-8032b09da929cd9ee1fff0c4b76841a0.jpg)
Just the power to be connected! As you can see, there is plenty of room on the front panel for VU meters!
![82 Moons Nearly Ready to Go.jpg 82 Moons Nearly Ready to Go.jpg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56515-52a93143329d71219d0706d8f28cd52e.jpg)
And here, you can hear the beast in action.
Ok, that is the backstory, the unit is in and sounds so awesome and different to the Sherman Filterbank, Sansamp PSA1, and other sat/dist units I have experience with.
Tone
I was asking @rna exactly why it sounds so awesome to my ears, and he explained it is a combination of the fact he ignored the Korg NuTube offical advice & dev board and found his own way with the implementation, coupled with the splendid Lundahl Input and Output transformers.
I think the Tilt EQ is such a simple but effective way to dial in the sound you 'want', without the faff. During the development phase, I was a little suspicious of the 'NuTube', having only seen it used in strange-looking headphone amplifiers and guitar pedals. My uneducated brain was not convinced you can have the 'valve sound' without the high voltages. I love the sound.
So, here is my question:
Does anyone have any advice or starting points for VU meter driver circuits?
I want to be able to switch between peak and RMS, but I have only vague ideas to get started. If anyone has some tips, it will save me from further harassing @rna
![Smiling face with halo :innocent: 😇](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f607.png)
![IMG_9735.jpeg IMG_9735.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56517-fd8ea4a245791a1b0a1226d3c202bf48.jpg)
![IMG_9736.jpeg IMG_9736.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/groupdiy/data/attachments/56/56518-75571f722174a0e5866afe71a91ad87b.jpg)
Many humble thanks
Nortotron.