Most of this probably isn't noteworthy or even all that interesting, but I figured I'd share my experience with adding reverb to a D'Lator since I think it works really well and sounds great. Basically, I just added two Hermida / GGG Reverb circuits in series at the point in the D'Lator circuit where the Recovery input pot normally goes. I used a dual pot to set both reverb mix levels the same at all settings.
The deal with the Hermida / GGG circuit with the old-style larger Belton bricks is that the higher you set them the more you hear the delay taps firing. I found that putting 2 in series and setting the mix controls identical eliminates that problem and give a very lush dense reverb sound. I also found that I never use the Recovery input control on the D'Lator so I figure that hole is better served as a reverb mix.
I did my own layout for the Reverb PCBs and shipped them off to Dorkbot to be fabbed. The layout works a bit better for daisy chaining them together than the GGG and is the same size and shape as the Belton brick itself with mounting tabs on the ends for the module. If anyone one is interested I'd be happy to post the Eagle .brd file and schematic for it.
Sonically I prefer this Reverb to any other I've used including old Fender spring reverbs. It just seems to sit in the mix better than anything else, has a very natural sound and doesn't wash out the sound too much when you crank it up.
This seems like a very good idea! I would be very interested to see the layout and scheme, thank you. I have a reverb pedal using the brick and like it very much though it gets out of hand very easily. I like the idea of the series connection. Cool!
Here is the layout and schematic for the reverb module. I used the medium brick in mine. The brick mounts to the board using leaf sockets. The holes aren't big enough to accomodate the brick pins as it sits right now. For direct mounting the pin hole sizes would need to be enlarged on the eagle .brd file.
-Aaron
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Smitty wrote:Nice Stuff! What power transformer are you using?
The D'Lator is just the Ceriatone kit, so it's whatever they sourced. I'd have to dig up the specs. I thought about using the 6.3v tap with a voltage doubler and regulator to power the reverbs, but I wasn't sure of the current implications.
Thanks! I was kind of worried about posting this given the recent wave of Ceriatone controversy, but it is what it is. I cheaped-out and got lazy on that end. After the #102 scratch build I just wanted to get the D'Lator done quick and start playing the rig. It was a somewhat mindless, paint-by-numbers exercise putting it together but it fulfilled my cheap and quick requirements nicely and seems to sound just fine. I figured the series connected Belton brick based reverbs might be worthy of posting, though now that I've added them in.
As it turns out the chassis size is perfect for what I'm doing. When leaving off the rack ears it fits perfectly in the front pocket of the rack bag I'm using as the amp headshell. It's a nice compact easily manageable rig now that I've built the reverb in there. I was also worried that I might have noise issues with the reverbs in the same chassis with the high voltage tube circuit, but it seems that I've lucked out in that department too.
I'm definitely going to try to get some clips of this together in the next couple days. I'm not quite sure if it's the novelty of someone building their own amp or genuine sonic enjoyment, but people keep raving about the sound of this rig. I know I really am liking it now that I'm starting to get a better handle on how to control it. Oh... And hyper-articulate-clarity be damned, I'm really starting to prefer the sound with the LNFB off in the #102 build.
I just played a simple bass line over a random beat in Garage band and improvised some stuff over it. The amp seems to record pretty well even using my crappy makeshift recording rig with a POD 2 as a mic pre plugged into the line in on my Mac.