After building a few fuzzes lately, I thought it was time to change. I've built a later revision of the Reckless Diode Compressor, and I really liked it. This is the first version, somewhat subtler than the last revision. It has similar characteristics but is a more complicated design with a dual rail power supply. This version also has an additional control for compression time that the later version doesn't have, which is a handy addition.
The power supply gave me a bit of trouble at one stage, as despite all the filtering, I saw some usual distortion on the oscilloscope. This disappeared when I changed to a MAX1054 - I used a 7660, not a MAX1044, as listed on the schematic.
The schematic calls for 470u caps in the power supply, however, these are usually pretty large, so I listed something a bit more vero friendly. Could increase the 10u from the base of the transistor to ground from 10u to 47u if you want more out of the capacitance multiplier (Positive to base, negative to ground). Could also add a 100ohm resistor on the input if you wanted to, there should be room.
I mostly used MLCC caps to save space on this layout where possible. If you don't like them in the audio path, there should be room behind the JFET for a pair of electrolytic caps.
The original thread by Jonny Reckless on DIY Stompboxes, including schematics and video demo can be found here
RECKLESS DIODE COMPRESSOR REV A1 - VERO LAYOUT
Hello Andrew! In the rev B version you mention which resistors control the attack and the release. Do you know which ones I should play here?
ReplyDeleteHello - might be best to post the question on the FSB post. Jonny might answer. I remember playing around with this at some stage, but I gave up as the stock version is really nice.
Deleteoops - the post is on DIY stompboxes
ReplyDeleteHey Andrew! how's it going?... I hope you're well, I'll be building a couple of pedals this weekend, I'd like to try this compressor. If I use a 1054, should I make a cut between pins 1-8?
ReplyDeleteHello Felipe - the text below is from Aion FX. Apparently it doesn't matter either way.
DeleteTechnical note
Unlike the 1044 and 7660 chips, the LT1054 does not have the feature to boost the switching frequency by jumpering pins 1 and 8. This is because it always operates at the boosted frequency. In other words, it’s internally hard-wired in jumper mode, and pin 1 has no function.
However, according to Linear Technologies (the original designer of the chip), there is no adverse effect of jumpering these pins. This means the LT1054 is a drop-in replacement for the 1044/7660 even if the PCB layout has a trace between pins 1 and 8.
Got it! thanks for the reply and the info!
Delete