Son of Oh shit, its the "I just boughted it" Thread!!!

[redeyeflight]

Dang. I have been looking for one of those for a long time...if you end ip not liking it please let me know!!!

[daCod]

DOD/MXR style preamp drive or ?

[Doveholes]

Dang. I have been looking for one of those for a long time...if you end ip not liking it please let me know!!!

Sure thing. Though I must admit that I’m currently absolutely loving it.

Will keep an eye out for another for you!

[Doveholes]

DOD/MXR style preamp drive or ?

I found this description from the maker on another forum...

It is really what it says on the tin - an Overdriven Preamp. In other words the bandwidth is deliberately kept wide - the bass is left mostly intact as you rightly say, but the treble is gently rolled off, though not wiped out entirely. The bandwidth does not narrow much with increased Drive either. It is based on my old design for the Dinosaural Tube Bender (nothing to do with Tone Benders, btw).

The OPA clipping is done by the amplifier devices "naturally" and is not achieved in the usual way by using diodes, etc. Early Fuzzes e.g. Vox Tone Bender & Arbiter Fuzz Face essentially used transistor mic preamp circuits run flat out with the distinctive and relatively gentle sound of Germanium device "soft-clipping" so there are parallel's there but that's all. The OPA uses silicon, however.

The OPA and Tube Bender before it are original designs and not at all based on prevailing "classics" like the Tube Screamer, et al. I've nothing against the old TS9/10 but I think a lot of, ahem, "folklore" has grown around those. I just wanted to make and use something different for myself - an alternative to that usual (somewhat fizzy?) OD sound. I wanted something more transparent and wide sounding and yet more muscular when "walloped". I try to make stuff I'd want to use myself first and then make and sell them in the hope that others will like them too!

Same goes for the Brown Source and the other Lovetone stuff. These were certainly inspired by what went before of course, but my own circuits owe(d) little to anything in the occasional cases of being partly inspired by a classic design because of endless iterations and tweaks. I suppose it's a pride thing: wanting to skin the cat in a new way rather than just copy stuff, plus I am an electronics engineer by trade so would experiment and do things my own way until I felt in my own heart that a circuit was "mine"...coding geeks probably do the same thing with programming. I've always favoured dark, warm sounds to shouty upper mids and brittle top end, so you've totally got where I'm coming from. I was raised on 1960's and 70's vinyl singles coming through a valve radiogram in a big wooden cabinet with the tone control backed off slightly. So I feel the need to preserve that expected warmth!

[Doc Holliday]

I spoke to Dan the other day. He’s no intention of making anything outside the Thorpy brand for the foreseeable future.

[Jim Goad]

Picked up a joblot of About 25 Guitars to fix up. Here are 3 of the more interesting ones.

67BEC735-378D-4703-9EFD-3934B48032E1.jpeg (1.17 MiB) Viewed 2242 times

I’ve seen 2 pickup Encore Rick copies before but never one with 3. The early 70s Shaftesbury Rick copy is in rough cosmetic condition but it’s solid and original except for the input Jack. Middle one is a mystery. Set neck offset with unusual neck that appears to be a steel or aluminium bar with the headstock bolted on and wooden strips and fretboard glued in place. It’s very well built. The pickups are Dimarzio and not original to this guitar. Trem looks very similar to 60s Japanese ones but might be a later mod. Any info on this one would be appreciated.

[daCod]

that tri-pickup ricken-copy is hot af wish shipping wasnt such a bugger otherwise i'd start compiling funds

that middle one - metal neck of sorts? you should reach out to harvester guitars. see if he recognizes anything about it

[Jim Goad]

Yeah I’ll get on to harvester guitars.

More pics:

7D40DD0C-39DF-4688-8B2B-1FC5BE095BB3.jpeg (1.24 MiB) Viewed 2184 times

2FE5A2C8-8631-4D8A-8363-41F4277DD4E9.jpeg (1.27 MiB) Viewed 2184 times

Hagström bridge appears to be original and it was a 3 pickup guitar!

[daCod]

Dude!

[Jim Goad]

Hagström Futurama Coronado Automatic! Thanks to Goodfuzzysounds on Instagram. Looks like the steel bar is a very elaborate headstock repair. I’m really excited to get this playable now.

http://www.hagstrom.org.uk/images/CatSe ... orauto.jpg