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dio.pm

Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2021
Messages
6
Location
London
Hello all! I've recently joined this forum (but have read-only lurked here for a while) after having built a few DIY items, and I wanted to put a question to the community about what to build next..

I am a home-recorder and bass player, so all I build is centred around that (no mics at the moment, just DI for now). I would like to eventually be able to build this Trip Top amp (Trinity Trip Top Kit – Out Of Stock. Available July 5th), as I do love me some old Ampeg sounds, however I have not worked with AC voltages at all, done any point-to-point soldering or built something as complex. The DIY I have done for myself has been:

1) making my own cables (TS/instrument cables, balanced XLR, balanced XLRF to balanced TRF)
2) a mini macro-keyboard (arduino + PCB)
3) mini variable DC supply, repurposing an old laptop power brick (this required a lot of machining of plastic/wooden parts so it was great for learning to use tools)
4) HairBall audio fet/500 (build and calibration) + the sound skulptor XT500 kit

I also have a transformer-based mic-splitter half-done, so this is also something I ned to finish (done all the machining/parts/schematics, just assembly left!)

I also have my eye on this for a next build Sound Skulptor: LA502 Optical Compressor for the '500' Lunchbox, Effects, LA502 but it doesn't feel like it's a "step-up" build-wise to help me build up to the Trip Top.

Any ideas welcome! I should note that I am not doing this to save money (I thought I would in the beginning, but it turns out that mistakes in the hardware world are costly), but instead for the love of building gear that I will love to use and so that I will be able to repair/debug any problems when things eventually break down - I want to be using these pieces when I record!

Thanks a lot for reading this far!
 
Get into design a bit. Get LTSpice or something similar, and model up some well known analog circuits. Change some parameters around and see what happens to the operating points. If you change one component, try to predict what else would need to be changed to make it work. Don't just plug-and-play values. Do at least a few calculations by hand first to get an idea of what's happening. Then build a few really simple things, and see if you can tweak them to suit your taste. Redesign a couple of circuits to use an alternate part, i.e. a different transistor, tube, or op amp. Take a circuit that uses NPN transistors, and convert them all to PNP, and vice-versa. Build what you've redesigned, and see if actually works.
 
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Build a battery operated DI with a couple of FETs. Or a nice tube one that uses a bipolar power supply like I did. It's basically a tube OP amp. It goes from clean to saturating the OPT.
 
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