j_flanders wrote:

It produces quite a lot of heat.

I mounted it inside a relatively small Hammond box, which I covered with Fender tweed fabric. No vent holes.

I didn't want to drill a hole in the enclosure and have an 'ugly' screw on the outside which normally secures the pcb heat-pad to the enclosure serving as the heatsink.
So, I made a large custom metal plate inside the box and screwed the pcb to that. The metal plate itself acts as the heatsink but the plate is also in contact with the hammond box.
But with the tweed covering and no vent holes the heat builds up inside the pedal and the heat transfer to the surrounding air outside the box is probably poor.

It has been in use on a daily basis for a couple of years without a problem.
Sometimes I forget to turn it off and it has been on for more than 24 hours straight.

Just sharing my personal experience and the 'risk' I took, not recommending it.

Edit: It looks like taifighter above did the same thing. Maybe he screwed it to the bottom of the box? Seems unlikely. I don't see a screw on the front though. Maybe it's just 'floating' inside?

Mine is screwed into the bottom plate of the pedal enclosure

I haven't posted in awhile on this long thread I created several years ago but glad to see it still dominates. My original surfy bear is now in the hands of our other guitarist in the band. He built a new cab and updated a few things. My Dual Surfy Bear is getting a simple update to one of the circuits thanks to Bjorn but I will state once again the sheer pleasure of having not one, but two of these to run in stereo. Here it sits on my 1x15 EV SRO cab. I chose just the quilter to power the last show and the tone was perfect!

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

Thanks but just a guy hungry for low cost drip! Bjorn deserves the praise!

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

At 120 volts the current wouldn't exceed 100mA. In theory a 0.1 amp fuse could work and will protect against damage from major power supply malfunctions. Most modern power supplies are internally protected anyway.
Solid build, Ankof!

Well, the Surfybear and trem use about 5 watts, so with a margin of a few watts it'll be fine. If you don't keep the margin you run the risk of blowing the fuse on the startup current. So it's easy but not very scientific I'll admit...

I’d like to show my appreciation for this thread:

https://surfguitar101.com/forums/topic/7145/

Specifically, Mr_Reverb63’s contribution of the reverb pan mod.

I’ve been at odds with my Surfybear build for a while (too long to want to admit to). The most pervasive problem I’ve had throughout the process was an unwanted “fuzz” quality to the overall sound. Randomly I ran across the above thread and I’m happy to say that the transducer shim mod was the solution to this issue. Wanted to make sure it was cross-referenced here should others end up with a squirrelly pan in their builds.

From past me to future you

Hi
Here is my Surfy Bear reverb build. I wanted it to look old as if it had been in use for decades and painted over a number of times. May not look like much but it sounds cool though!!
Best Regards
Martin

sublime40oz wrote:

What are you guys using for RCA cables? Im having a hard time finding a decent right angled short rca cable. Is there a reasonably priced source for jacks that I can just solder myself?

I'm using these

Hosa CRA-201RR Dual Right-angle RCA to Same Stereo Interconnect, 3.3 feet
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010CHHQW/ref=cm_sw_r_em_api_i_rJMlCbQXBQK31

This is a confession followed by a question. About a month and a half ago I built a Surfybear. It wasn't too difficult everything went fine and I've been playing it ever since. I understand what the unit does and what it's emulating, how it's driving the amp and all this. But I have to confess that as much as I like the reverb and authentic drip, I don't like how it colors the tone of my guitar. It kind of fuzzes the glassy top of the sound losing the attack and clarity. I'm not so interested in an authentic retro sound. I'm not a purest. But in a prefect world I would like a little more transparency from the Surfybear. Granted, I know it's not a true bypass circuit blah blah blah and that's how the Fenders worked. But is there a way to run this, maybe adjusting the attenuator or setting up the signal chain in some exotic way I've never heard of that would allow me to retain some tonal clarity with the Surfybear? I can't be the only person on here who feels this way about the sound.

The Vicissitones
Diesel Marine
The Rasputones

ElectricLimnology wrote:

This is a confession followed by a question. About a month and a half ago I built a Surfybear. It wasn't too difficult everything went fine and I've been playing it ever since. I understand what the unit does and what it's emulating, how it's driving the amp and all this. But I have to confess that as much as I like the reverb and authentic drip, I don't like how it colors the tone of my guitar. It kind of fuzzes the glassy top of the sound losing the attack and clarity. I'm not so interested in an authentic retro sound. I'm not a purest. But in a prefect world I would like a little more transparency from the Surfybear. Granted, I know it's not a true bypass circuit blah blah blah and that's how the Fenders worked. But is there a way to run this, maybe adjusting the attenuator or setting up the signal chain in some exotic way I've never heard of that would allow me to retain some tonal clarity with the Surfybear? I can't be the only person on here who feels this way about the sound.

You mean you get a distortion on the upper frequencies, or do you experience a dull kind of sound? The first situation is solved with dropping the volume of your guitar. The second situation is due to the nature of the surfy bear. It mimics the Fender tank in every way so your signal always runs through the first buffer, which affects the sound. Not a big deal for most but if your looking for a more modern, glassy or hifi sound, you probably want to build a true bypass switch to get at least the dry signal unchanged. In case your Surfy Bear is fitted with a MOD or TAD pan, you might want to look for a brighter tank like an Accutronics. A vintage one will even be better to get more top sparkle in your signal.