[BUILD] TBDD

[horvitz]

So, here's what I've been working on for a while now.  Folks over on FB have been getting sick of my development pics so I thought I'd make an attempt to bother some new people.  Between this and Peterson's very cool looking Colour, we may need an FX section pretty soon

I suppose that most of you will gather what it is very quickly from the pics, but the short description is that it's the Dimension-D jammed into 500 format.  Made a few changes from the original both to deal with available components and some changes that I wanted (input/output sections and the blend, mostly).  It's nice and quiet though, and sounds pretty darn smooth to me.  I even managed to get my hands on interlocking switches.  This thing is very busy!  There are nearly 500 components in there.

There are plenty of technical details to chat about, but for now here's some pics.  More info to come.

 

[abechap024]

Can I be the first to say: Totally Awesome!! 8)

 

[horvitz]

Can I be the first to say: Totally Awesome!! 8)

No, that would be TA.  Has to start with TB.  Totally Bitchin' would be acceptable.  Thanks  ;D

So, some basic tech data:

Uses TL07x with the exception of the LFO which has TL082 and 4558 just like the original.

Transistors are J112 and KSC1815.  There are probably a lot of other good options but these seem to emulate the original very well.

THAT chips for in and out.

SA571 replaces SA570.  I've read that some people prefer the older 570 but maybe that's just an "older is better" thing.  The 571 can be purchased now and is a drop-in replacement.

It's a little power hungry but just barely slides in under VPR spec.  With the meter in dot mode, it's about 140mA on the -16 and 250mA on the +16.  You can put the meter in bar mode but with all 10 lit, it jumps up to 365mA on the + which is outside spec for two slots.

On the original, there were both "Off" and "Bypass" switches, with the Off being a soft bypass (disables the effect) and the Bypass being a true hard bypass.  On mine, there is a header and shunt where you can select which of those two actions the Off button performs.  In either case, it will go to hard bypass if the power is off.

Put all the test points and calibration on the right side board so you don't have to go fiddling between the two.

I'm kinda rambling here as things occur to me.  There's probably more, but I'm sure it will come up.

 

[pucho812]

for your next assignment, yo must provide us  with some audio samples.

great work though, very inspiring

 

[spneca]

Wow!  I must have one!  I love your TB550As.

 

[kante1603]

Absolutely great!
When I first saw the caps on the switches I immediately thought of my old Roland!
Let the good old times come back please

Udo.

 

[horvitz]

for your next assignment, yo must provide us  with some audio samples.

I most likely possess the technology to do something like this   Let me see if I can get something together this weekend.  I'll run a side by side with a vintage unit.

 

[lyonsdk]

Wow!  I like it...a lot!

Excellent work - looking forward to some sound samples.

 

[pucho812]

for your next assignment, yo must provide us  with some audio samples.

I most likely possess the technology to do something like this   Let me see if I can get something together this weekend.  I'll run a side by side with a vintage unit.

ooooooo. looking forward to it

 

[abechap024]

Can I be the first to say: Totally Awesome!! 8)

No, that would be TA.  Has to start with TB.  Totally *****in' would be acceptable.  Thanks  ;D

Ah, I stand corrected

 

[Brian Roth]

I'm curious....will circuit boards and panels (or a kit) be available?

Bri

 

[horvitz]

I'm curious....will circuit boards and panels (or a kit) be available?

Absolutely!  Should be in fairly short order, too.  Something like just a couple of weeks.  I'll be offering full kits for now.  If anyone wants to build it as it stands, that's the way to go.  If folks want to get into experimenting, I could potentially offer some partials but that would have to wait until I get to the end of the run to see what I wind up with for spares.

 

[spneca]

Absolutely!  Should be in fairly short order, too.  Something like just a couple of weeks.  I'll be offering full kits for now.  If anyone wants to build it as it stands, that's the way to go.  If folks want to get into experimenting, I could potentially offer some partials but that would have to wait until I get to the end of the run to see what I wind up with for spares.

Great.  Any idea on price for the full kit?

 

[horvitz]

Great.  Any idea on price for the full kit?

Not just yet.. I still need to get some final numbers on my metal work and then sit down and do the exercise to see what this thing actually cost me.  I'll let you all know when I have that.  It'll be less than the EQ was, anyway.. that's as close as I can get right now.

 

[pan60]

I'm curious....will circuit boards and panels (or a kit) be available?

Bri

Sweet to see!
we may have to get a couple of these Brian: )

God I forgot just how much of a pain it is t post here.
That's why I don't come by much.

 

[Biasrocks]

Looks awesome Brian!

One problem, I've only got one slot left.

I'm going to have to make some room, or get a 6 banger API.

Regards,
Mark

 

[mulletchuck]

500+ components, and 200 of 'em are in the LED meter assembly hahahah    ;D ;D ;D

Looks great, Brian! 

 

[[silent:arts]]

make an option for powering the LEDs from 24V ...

Nice work, I'm in.

 

[horvitz]

Chuck, you ain't kidding!  That meter was a pain..  Wonder how a sax would sound though this thing?

make an option for powering the LEDs from 24V ...

Why didn't I think about that?!  Damn.. well, rev 2 I suppose..

So, here are some samples of (very) crappy acoustic.  The SDD is the original and TBDD is mine.  I cycle through each setting: Off-1-2-3-4.  These were done by playing back the same sample through both and just swapping the cables.

SDD-320
TBDD

** Edit: Sound clips are available again **

For more critical listening, you can replace the mp3 in those links with wav to download a hi-res file.  They are about 7M, so please don't download them unless the mp3 really isn't cutting it for you.

Also, to be very fair, I think that my vintage Dimension-D is not functioning quite correctly.  It seems that the LFO only oscillates once and then stops.  This makes the transitions from one step to the next more pronounced since it has previously stopped oscillating.  So, maybe not the best comparison but you get the idea.

 

[jsteiger]

make an option for powering the LEDs from 24V ...

And maybe a BJT constant current source....

Looks awesome Brian!