# quick parenthesis question...



## jspake (Apr 29, 2020)

hi folks, i'm new here. i have not completed a pedal build in nearly 15 years, but i used to dabble quite a bit back in the early 2000s... i've got the bug again, and WOW things have changed. its a great time to be into this stuff, and i'm very excited by the explosion of this community. i'm preparing to order parts and board for a couple of builds, and i want to get my ducks in a row before doing so...

the parenthesis pedal has caught my eye, and i wanted to throw a quick question out there. if built with the 3 button switch configuration will the octave switch behave like a standalone "squidward" effect, or does it rely on interaction with the blended distortion circuit? in other words, if i wanted to combine the octave with my big muff sound, but not engage the boost or distortion in the pedal, would that give me the same basic sound as a big muff combined with the squidward?


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## Ratimus (Apr 29, 2020)

Looking at the schematic, the octave pot blends between the octave effect and the clean, buffered signal. It's entirely pre-distortion, so it should be fine as a standalone.


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## jspake (Apr 29, 2020)

awesome, thanks. its been a while since i have tried to decipher schematics, and i was never that greta to begin with. i appreciate you taking the time to take a look. cheers!


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## Robert (Apr 29, 2020)

You will have to modify the wiring slightly from the diagram in the build docs, but it can definitely be done.


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## jspake (Apr 29, 2020)

i’m sure i will cross this bridge when i get to it, but is that a simple alteration of the off board wiring, or will i need to jumper/cut portions of the board?


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## Robert (Apr 29, 2020)

It should only involve off-board wiring.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 29, 2020)

Be sure to read the Build Reports forum to see what a good Parenthesis build looks like.  Then read the Troubleshooting forum, the Parenthesis is all over that like a rash.  It's a good board, but it's amazing how many people screw it up.  Have fun procuring good JFETs and don't spend too much $ on the LM308 or Ge diodes.


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## jspake (Apr 30, 2020)

i've looked at a couple of the build reports already, and yes i noticed there was a lot of representation of that pedal on the various forums... i just thought it was popular, not problematic! 

i've got a couple of dozen bs170s and 2n7000 jfets laying around somewhere from a some SHO builds i did a while back. as for the LM308 and GE diodes, how much is too much?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 30, 2020)

Yeah, it's both.  Noobs think they can build this pedal as their first build and sometimes they get a nasty surprise.  If you use good parts and good workmanship, it will work the first time you power it up.

BS170 and 2N7000 are not JFETs.  
How much is too much is subjective.  Buy from a reputable supplier and you won't get ripped off.  Don't buy semiconductors on eBay unless you know how to test them and are a gambler because there is too much trash and fake shit being sold there.


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## jspake (Apr 30, 2020)

?‍♂️
those are not jfets... i knew that...

i'm much better at following directions than i am at troubleshooting right now, so i'm going to put my eggs in THAT basket and hope for the best.

i see some lm308 chips on reverb for around $10 a pop. i don't know if that's a lot? i'm shocked at pricing of things all the time -it cost me $30 to replace the slider knobs on my old MG-1 synth last year, so i really just never know what to expect. i'm dropping something off at my buddy's amp repair shop. tomorrow, maybe i'll see if he's got any chips/ge bits he can part with.


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## BermudaRhombus2 (Apr 30, 2020)

I got everything I needed from Smallbear and Tayda, so hopefully it works out for me. I just wish there was a good list of suggestions for the GE diodes.


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## MightySmallElectrons (Apr 30, 2020)

BermudaRhombus2 said:


> I got everything I needed from Smallbear and Tayda, so hopefully it works out for me. I just wish there was a good list of suggestions for the GE diodes.



I think I read that 1n34a was good.


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## zgrav (Apr 30, 2020)

Chuck's comments are on point for this pedal.  Probably better suited to a builder that has some troubleshooting experience to isolate the cause of any issues in a finished build, including whether you might need a small inventory of "fussy parts" to try out in a socket for your best sound.  Sometimes it is not just having a working transistor, but having a working transistor that is either at one end of its acceptable range of operating specs, or maybe in the worst case a little bit out of its operating specs.   Add in that there are people selling old stock for out of production parts that failed to pass inspection, and you can have a hot mess sorting things out.


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## music6000 (Apr 30, 2020)

The jfets are the  PF5102 
Make sure you purchase them from a reliable source like Mouser, Don't even think about Ebay!, Amazon, Etsy, Banzai ect ect!


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 30, 2020)

In this pedal, any Ge diode will work. Schottkys like BA42 and BA46 will work too. D1 & D2 should be matched to obtain the strongest octave tone.


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## jspake (Apr 30, 2020)

you guys are being so incredibly helpful, thank you so much.

i plan to socket all of the diodes, transistors, and the IC to fine tune the variables as much as possible. i've found some D9K and 1N60 diodes that i have seen referenced on other threads, and i'm going to try a few of the many LM308 alternatives and just see what works. still don't have a source for the PF5102 at the moment though. i do have a few J201s from some projects i started but never finished YEARS ago (shaka distortion?) would those work in a pinch?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 30, 2020)

Yes, but something with a higher Vp like 2N5485 or MPF4393 would work better than J201 or PF5102.  Save the J201s for something that needs those because they are unobtanium now in the TO-92 package.


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## Nostradoomus (Apr 30, 2020)

2n5458s have been pretty bulletproof in my parentheses/rat builds. And I’ll say it once more, 1n5817s rock for octave diodes!


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## jspake (Apr 30, 2020)

thanks for the note on the J201s. i kind of recall them being hard to source even in 2000 or so.

i found some 1n5817 diodes that i will try out. is tayda a reputable source for the 2n5458?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 30, 2020)

Maybe.  No matter where you get JFETs, be prepared to test them because their specs are pretty loose and even some in-spec parts may not work well.  For the Parenthesis & Rat, the ideal Vp is between -3V and -6V.  Values outside that will work, but the headroom is diminished.


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## Nostradoomus (Apr 30, 2020)

Never had luck with Tayda JFETs. I get mine from uk-electronic.de


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## jspake (Apr 30, 2020)

oh, well it looks like mouser has them, so that's easy. i would assume mouser isn't selling garbage these days, or have times changed?


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## Nostradoomus (Apr 30, 2020)

Mouser is a safe bet


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## jspake (Apr 30, 2020)

alright! it sounds like i have a lead on all the components i need to make this now, with at least one alternate for the tricky bits. thanks again, all. i'll post more as this pedal comes together.


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## bengarland (May 1, 2020)

I usually buy all my ICs, transistors, diodes, etc from Mouser. What they don't have I get from UTSource. So far, I haven't received any obviously bad parts. I was skeptical at first because their (UTSource) prices seem fairly normal for "hard to find" parts when compared to specialty guitar pedal shops that charge $3 for a single diode or whatever. Take this recommendation with a grain of salt since I'm a newbie and I haven't actually tested any of these parts -- but all of the pedals I've built with them sound good to me.


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## jspake (May 1, 2020)

i’m down with that advice. i’ve always known mouser to be one of the more dependable resources (like mcmaster-carr or MSC), but since i have not used them in several years i wasn’t positive they were still A list. it’s shocking how much has changed in this little world since i built my last box ?
i’m unfamiliar with UTsource, i’ll investigate. thanks!


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## jspake (May 1, 2020)

i found some interesting things on the UTSource site. went ahead and place an order, hoping for the best. i'm going to be socketing the heck out of this build so i figure i may as well have plenty of alts to test, right?


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