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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Gear »

Permalink The Surfy Bear Fet Reverb

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Well , looks like I'm going to build one, instead of going for reverb pedals.

How hard will it be to build it? I have good hands but zero knowledge in electricity?

If I got it right the major things I'll need are:

  1. Surfy Bear kit
  2. Reverb pan. Which one to choose? Accutronics? 2 or 3 springs? (and how do I suspend it inside the cabinet? Just hooks and springs?)
  3. Metal chassis that will serve as a heat-sink and a shield (how thick should it be? Will a PC power supply box work?)
  4. power supply

Cheers,
Mark.

Last edited: Mar 14, 2015 10:43:21

The instruction sheet is available as a pdf from his website. It has part numbers for the tank. If you have read through this thread, you will see that you're limited to your imagination for an enclosure. All the pc power supplies I have looked at have the amperage listed on the side of the case. You will need a voltmeter to figure out polarity. By using the pc supply, you should also be providing a cooling fan. I haven't used that yet but it's high on my list. I would suggest you read this whole thread if you haven't already. There are some electrical engineer types here but many just like you. There are some drawings that will help you as well as pics. Some of the musicians are very crafty. When you get done, you have the satisfaction of saying"I assembled my tank".

I don't think a fan is necessary as the circuit really doens't ge tthat hot. Maybe if you are going for small, but then the fan would obviate that choice's benefit. I went cheap & dirty with an old toolbox, which is approximately the size & shape of a stock unit, is heat-conductive & electrically shielding/ I also have spare room for another tank, cords, power supply, straps, chocolates, booze ... and a big enough target to make a well-placed kick for accent!

Squink Out!

Mark2Bra wrote:

Well , looks like I'm going to build one, instead of going for reverb pedals.

How hard will it be to build it? I have good hands but zero knowledge in electricity?

If I got it right the major things I'll need are:

  1. Surfy Bear kit
  2. Reverb pan. Which one to choose? Accutronics? 2 or 3 springs? (and how do I suspend it inside the cabinet? Just hooks and springs?)
  3. Metal chassis that will serve as a heat-sink and a shield (how thick should it be? Will a PC power supply box work?)
  4. power supply

Cheers,
Mark.

Hi Mark

Yes, you got it right.

There are different types of reverb pans. For not loosing gain, you should look for a type with in impedance 8ohm and out 2250ohm.
The metal chassis can be of any size/thickness, as long as it shields.
I have no experience of PC power supplies. If you have one, you can try it. Just be careful with the voltage and polarity Smile

You will probably also want to add a cabinet, knobs, and an on/off switch.

Greetings,
i received the R3 last week, just waiting for some components now and i'll start the project! it's gonna be a 1U rack..at first i'll let the original tone control but i maybe work on a bass/mid/treble eq... so excited to start it! i have lots of diferent reverb tanks here...type4, type9, some gibbs, OC's and unknown organs vintage tanks... i'll post here the result...
Peace.

https://soundcloud.com/anti-bypass

Wanted to use an ammunition box as a cabinet , but it is too small for the pan. . .

Mark2Bra wrote:

Wanted to use an ammunition box as a cabinet , but it is too small for the pan. . .

http://calarmy.com/containers/cans/index.html

The 20 and 30mm cans would work but are around 20lbs each.

Read through the whole topic.

A question I couldn't find a clear answer to: is there a difference in sound between vertical pans, 4ab3c1c and the horizontal 4ab3c1b ?

I want to order an Accutronics pan , but it seems like the C types are not shipped to my place.

I know that the B types have a compensation mod for different physical reasons , but is there a difference in sound between the two?

Cheers,
Mark.

Last edited: Mar 18, 2015 02:15:16

The sound difference because of manufacturing tolerances within the same type of pan is much more relevant imho. Afaik the only difference is the place where the suspension springs are hooked to the pan itself and can be modified easily yourself to convert the pan. Though it is not necessary...
LoeD

here comes the WEST SAMOA SURFER LEAGUE

I doubt whether you would hear any difference to be honest. I was using a vertical pan horizontally and it sounded... well, like reverb.

I think the specs stated for the tanks (delay and decay times) would be affected by it's orientation, but I doubt whether you could hear much difference.

In response to your earlier post - you do not need a metal case as a heatsink, just use heatsinks on the FETs. They get warm to the touch, but not ouchy-hot.

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

LoeD wrote:

The sound difference because of manufacturing tolerances within the same type of pan is much more relevant imho. Afaik the only difference is the place where the suspension springs are hooked to the pan itself and can be modified easily yourself to convert the pan. Though it is not necessary...
LoeD

I agree, that is exactly my opinion too.
Maybe you will find a difference in how the tank is affected when you kick it for a splash, depending on you have the pan vertical or horizontal...

In response to your earlier post - you do not need a metal case as a heatsink, just use heatsinks on the FETs. They get warm to the touch, but not ouchy-hot.

Can I attach it to a small radiator that you get in the motherboards? and to wrap the circuit board and cables in aluminium foil?

hi!
use a bigger radiator ... i used a piece of sheet brass, 8 mm thick, with a few holes drilled into it ...

yours
wolfi

http://www.surfgrammeln-san.org
https://www.facebook.com/BaluUndSurfgrammeln
http://greencookierecords.bandcamp.com/album/coming-out-soon-los-chicharrones-del-surf-10

Mark2Bra wrote:

Can I attach it to a small radiator that you get in the motherboards? and to wrap the circuit board and cables in aluminium foil?

Might be a risk for short circuits.
I recommend that you glue the alu foil on the inside of your cabinet instead.
Remember to connect the shield to ground!

Mark2Bra wrote:

In response to your earlier post - you do not need a metal case as a heatsink, just use heatsinks on the FETs. They get warm to the touch, but not ouchy-hot.

Can I attach it to a small radiator that you get in the motherboards? and to wrap the circuit board and cables in aluminium foil?

Just use the heatsinks that come with the FETs in the kit. It's best to order the FETs from Surfy Bear as they are matched. The heatsinks come with screws for the FETs and to secure the sinks to the board. You don't need anything else. It won't get that hot - it doesn't dissipate anywhere near the same amount of power as a PC.

As for a box - you can put it in a small project box like a pedal then connect to a separate tank, or build something to house the circuit and the tanks together, which would obviously be bigger. A PC power supply might do the trick, but it won't look all that great!

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

Just use the heatsinks that come with the FETs in the kit.

Does the R4 come with a heat sink? I understood that it's heat sink is the box/chassis it is mounted on.

I guess I will stick with the traditional design and build a cabinet out of ply wood, with a horizontal pan.

How far should the pan be from the chassis with the board?
In amps , the pan is in the bottom in order to keep it as far away as possible from the upper part (to reduce hum , I guess?)

Should I keep it away from the R4 board as well? If not , than I guess I can come up with quite a small cabinet unit.

R4 heatsink? No. It's a low power resistor mounted on the pcb.

In an amp, the reverb pan needs to be away from the transformers to reduce hum. In the Surfy Bear, the power supply is a separate unit plugged into the wall and doesn't induce hum.

It's possible to put the surfy bear in an effects pedal sized box, with the reverb pan separate.

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

Last edited: Mar 18, 2015 08:02:28

da-ron wrote:

R4 heatsink? No. It's a low power resistor mounted on the pcb.

In an amp, the reverb pan needs to be away from the transformers to reduce hum. In the Surfy Bear, the power supply is a separate unit plugged into the wall and doesn't induce hum.

It's possible to put the surfy bear in an effects pedal sized box, with the reverb pan separate.

http://thewaterboarders.bandcamp.com/

In the Surfy Bear, the power supply is a separate unit plugged into the wall and doesn't induce hum.

Good. Than it seems like I'll be able to put it into a relatively small/shallow cabinet.

I'll ask another question: Will mounting the pan (horizontal, B type) on springs give different sound than just screwing it directly to the cabinet? I hear different opinions on that one, such as:

The only purpose of the suspended mounting is to be able to lock the reverb springs for transport. There is a lever which pushes the reverb tank towards the baffle onto a small piece of foam that is glued underneath it - thus keeping the springs from rattling during transport.

To mount the reverb tank on my build I put four bolts through the front of the baffle and secured them with nuts on the backside - seems to hold up well so far. If you don't care when your springs rattle during transport you can get away with screwing the pan straight to the baffle - it will sound no different.

Last edited: Mar 18, 2015 09:10:11

hi!
as long as the mounting does not warp the outer pan so that the inner pan comes into contact and can no longer vibrate freely, I have not witnessed great differences when screwing the pan onto the cabinet ...

yours
wolfi

http://www.surfgrammeln-san.org
https://www.facebook.com/BaluUndSurfgrammeln
http://greencookierecords.bandcamp.com/album/coming-out-soon-los-chicharrones-del-surf-10

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