sparkle motion schematic and updates

here is the schematic for the sparkle motion - a modified rangemaster - with which i will be doing a short of of 15 in the next 2 weeks.

the transistor is any NPN germanium you have available; i check what i have on hand for gain and used ones around 100 hfe. i don't check for leakage, i just pop it in and use my ears... i can hear if it's overly noisy or not.

the 33k/50k pot *should* allow for a bias range of around 3.5v-6.5v, though it will vary slightly depending on your transistor. personally, i like the rangemaster biased a little lower than usual, but this setup allows for a pretty wide sweep with lots of tonal variations.

the EQ control is a dual-gang potentiometer and allows for a wide range of sounds - from trebly boost to full-range boost to heavy driven boost. when the treble switch is (on) it disables the first section (eq, A) of the eq control and will allow for a "standard" rangemaster sound. in this mode the control will still work at adding some slight heft to the signal, though.

lots of possibilities here!

for those interested in one of the 15, the PCBs are on their way to me and should be here by monday or tuesday. it'll take me at least all week to get them finished, what with other orders and such, so i'll have a newsletter(!) sent out then as well as the requisite postings on the forum, etc.

2 quick edits:
*if you need a higher or lower travel on the pot, change the 33k to either a 22k or 47k. if you want less range, use a smaller value (25k) pot, though you'll probably need to tweak the emitter (33k) resistor to get the sweep you want.
*the input/volume pots are both audio/log taper while the EQ and bias are linear.

MotherTone: Interview with Brian From smallsound/bigsound!...

MotherTone: Interview with Brian From Small Sound / Big Sound!...: "Smallsound/Bigsound effects is a hyper rad custom/small batch pedal company based out of Philadelphia, PA. They make killer fuzz/OD/gli..."

also, from their archives: a nice review of the team awesome! fuzzmachine.

smallsound/bigsound sparkle motion treble booster

treble boost named sparkle motion.

neat experience

so i've been trying to get my pedals into a guitar store which is right around the corner from where i live - dipinto's guitars in philadelphia. i went in once and they didn't seem too interested, i assumed because they are a small shop and don't get a ton of foot traffic... anyways, i guess evan from the dangerous ponies dropped the smallsound/bigsound name to the right guy in the store and they wanted to check out my goods. kewl!

so i dropped by a few days ago with some stuff. homey played guitar while i sat on the floor and twisted knobs; explaining the controls on each pedal. people came in the store and since it's a small place they seemed to be pretty interested in both the dude sitting on the floor and the sounds they were hearing. one guy started asking me about a particular sound he had heard us messing with and wanted to try it out - it was a team awesome! he was a bassist and had been interested in a particular grind-y sound. i did the same walkthrough of the controls, etc. while he played and he wanted to buy it then and there - turns out he was on tour and playing philly that night. after walking across the street to get a coffee together, i find out that the producer my band just worked with (the amazing john agnello) had just recorded their band a few weeks prior... wow! small world!

we made the deal and he used the pedal that night. my girlfriend and i went to the show and we ended up hanging out for a while drinking with the band - all really cool people who were fine conversationalists. they're called mean creek and you should check them out!

slightly new direction for new finishes?

cape may, nj photoshoot = good times.