Dirty cheap Colour Box/Neve preamp style.

Hello!

So, I have ordered some cheap chinese 600:600 audio transformers ($2.62 for 5 trafos). I built a guitar reamp box with it, and it sounds quite good!
Checked the frequency response using audio interface and software, and got a quite good result for that price: -3dB at 70Hz! That is perfect for guitar!

So, now I'm thinking about building a guitar pedal similar to JHS Colour Box. Based on Neve 1073 pre, only mic input, two BA284 stages and a EQ. Without 1073 output stage, maybe a IC output buffer.

I need your opinions on this idea, and help me decide:
shuld I put in there a Baxandall eq like JHS did
OR
1073 bass (shelf)/mid/high eq with fixed frequencies for bass and mid?

Peace 

I really dislike that JHS company, so much bullshit at the page.

Putting Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Motown associated with Neve is just plain bullshit.
Beatles - EMI and Helios
Led Zeppelin -  Helios
Motown - Altec Tube Mixer, Custom mixer and equipment

Also the Direct guitar distorted sound is achieved by going straight into the recorder, you can use any mic pre for that.
If you go through a guitar amp then it's another thing, it's not the direct guitar sound you ear in records anymore.
Marketing Bullshit again.

There's something made to work that way, it's the Fuzz pedal, a lot of different Fuzz boxes and a lot of different flavours.
Fuzz is the type of distortion you get by connecting the guitar to a Mic input. The Fuzz pedal was invented so you didn't need a console to achieve the Fuzz.

Now for your question:

Oloorin said:

I need your opinions on this idea, and help me decide:
shuld I put in there a Baxandall eq like JHS did
OR
1073 bass (shelf)/mid/high eq with fixed frequencies for bass and mid?

Click to expand...

For the 1073 EQ you would need inductors. Go with a Baxandall EQ and make it simple

IIRC, 1073 hi/low shelves ARE a Baxandall.

Dylan W said:

IIRC, 1073 hi/low shelves ARE a Baxandall.

Click to expand...

Yes, an active Baxandall actually.
I'm still not sure if I want to keep the mid control. Using only one 200mH inductor I could keep ranges 7.2k, 4.8k, 3.2k (maybe even 10k and 1.6k). And there is a cheap 100mH inductor on Farnell, so two of them will make a 200mH inductor.

Whoops said:

I really dislike that JHS company, so much bullsh*t at the page.

Also the Direct guitar distorted sound is achieved by going straight into the recorder, you can use any mic pre for that.
If you go through a guitar amp then it's another thing, it's not the direct guitar sound you ear in records anymore.
Marketing Bullsh*t again.

Click to expand...

I dislike JHS too. Overpriced, and they sell stolen ideas.
I'm not after direct guitar sound. I want a low budget, mod friendly, dirty multipurpose box, to use it in amp fx loop or as a guitar mic preamp.

> an active Baxandall actually.

Baxandall's plan *is* active.

The "passive bax" is something else. James published a paper on the theme, but the bits were in general circulation when he wrote.

No idea on that JHS,
But since looking for cheap&dirty preamp
I just made this out of junk I had:
hamptone FETboy JFP to lundahl output.
you could add more jfp's to make it more dirty or get more gain.