# Monarch



## Chuck D. Bones (Dec 25, 2020)

Here it is, the famous (infamous?) Monarch.  Now that I have it working, I'm really liking this pedal.  It's a great dirty boost that cleans up pretty well.  Good control ranges.

Like many EQD pedals, this one requires mods to make it work right.  The starting point is this schematic from Effects Layouts.  Effects Layouts (Tangerine), Pedal Parts (Orange King) and Stewmac offer, or have offered Monarch kits.  They all match the schematic below, except for one resistor value (R6).  It's a simple design.  1st stage is basically a SHO.  Next comes a James tone stack, followed by a gain control.  After that we have a mu-amp, a source-follower and finally a mild low-pass filter.





*How does this thing even work?*
Major design flaw #1: no DC bias path for Q2's gate.  Easily fixed by jumpering C9, Removing R11 and replacing C10 with a 10K resistor.  The 10K resistor is a "gate stopper" that prevents RF oscillations.

Major design flaw #2: no DC bias path for Q4's gate.  Easily fixed by replacing C12 with a 10K resistor.  Again, the 10K gate stopper prevents RF oscillations.

With those changes the circuit works great.  But why stop there?

*FET Substitutions*
Q1 is a MOSFET in the original circuit.  Depending on whose schematic you're looking at, R6 is either 33Ω or 330Ω (see schematic above).  The difference is about 8dB gain.  MOSFETs and JFETs have the same transfer function (relationship between input and output), but JFETs are quieter and have more gain at these currents.  I breadboarded it both ways and they sounded the same.  I ended up going with a JFET.  The biasing is slightly different, as you can see in my schematic.  I selected a value for R6 that put Q1's drain voltage at 5V for maximum headroom.  Different JFETs may require different resistor values.  R6 ended up being large enough that it reduces the 1st stage gain, so I added bypass cap C19.  That took the gain up to around 32dB, same as the MOSFET with R6 = 33Ω.  I put a 470Ω resistor (R18) in series with C19 to bring the gain down to 24dB.  Both settings sound good, so I added a switch to my breadboard that allows me to switch Q1's gain from 24dB to 32dB by shorting out R18.  The lower gain setting (switch open) provides more headroom in the 1st stage if you want to play clean.  The higher setting has a little more bite.  You could go with the switch or hard-wire it for either gain.

There is nothing magic about the 2N5457 and since I don't have any, I tried PF5102 and MPF4393.  Both work, but the PF5102 has slightly higher gain in this circuit so I went with that one.  Other JFETs will also work.  NB: not all 2N5457s will work in this circuit because their Vp range is so large.  Whatever JFET you use, we want one with Vp no larger than 2V or we start losing too much headroom.

We set the drain current in the 2nd stage by selecting Q3 and/or adjusting R14.  I went with 560Ω on my breadboard, although 1K works well too.  I found that setting the current in the 2nd stage between 1mA & 2mA gives good results.  An easy way to measure the 2nd stage drain current is to measure the voltage across R14 and divide by R14's resistance.  On my breadboard, that voltage is 637mV.  637mV / 562Ω = 1.13mA.

Q4 does not need to be a JFET, a BJT works the same, sounds the same, has slightly more headroom and doesn't need a gate stopper resistor.  I used a 2N5089. Just about any NPN will work, I even tried germanium and that worked too!  But seriously, don't waste a germanium transistor here.  It's just an emitter-follower, you won't get any extra mojo.

As always, mind the pinout when subbing transistors.




*Tone Controls*
They work pretty well. I have no idea how well their sound matches an Orange amp. The component values in the Monarch's tone stack deviate from the Orange amp somewhat.  If you want the sound and feel of a Monarch, leave the values as-is.  Otherwise, experiment!  You can use Duncan's Tone Stack Calculator to see what happens when you changes the R's & C's.  B1M pots may work better for BASS & TREBLE if you prefer settings at the top end of their ranges.

*Level Control*
At full boogie, this pedal makes well over 3.5Vp-p at the output jack.  EQD put in a B-taper LEVEL pot.  An A-taper is more appropriate in my opinion.  Even with an A100K, unity is pretty low - between 8:00 and 9:00.

*Presence Control*
I added a PRESENCE control after Q4 to allow me to reign in the higher-order harmonics generated in the 2nd stage when the GAIN is set high.  See my schematic above for the details.  When PRESENCE is dimed, it is slightly brighter than a stock Monarch.  At 4:00 it's about the same as the Monarch and it gets gradually darker as you turn it down.  You could make PRESENCE an internal trimpot if you like. C16 & R17 don't do anything within the range of human hearing, so they're gone in my circuit.

*Other Mods*
Some of the capacitor values are a bit silly.  C3 is 68nF in the Orange amp.  100nF has the same freq response as 470nF, so use whatever you have.  C14 can be as low as 100nF and have the same freq response.  I used 220nF for both.
I picked a value for C19 that provides strong bass response, even in the higher-gain mode.  If you want less bass in the higher-gain mode, reduce C19.
C13 controls the bass response in the 2nd stage and dominates the pedal's overall bass response. Reduce C13 to tighten the bass and increase it to fatten the bass.

One more thought... That BALLS switch could be a stomp switch!  We could add a pot to set how much gain boost we get when we hit the switch.  Something like this:




At this point, I think I've made enough changes that I can make like JHS and claim this design as my own.


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## cooder (Dec 26, 2020)

Well right... another one on the list to do me thinks...
Cheers Chuck and all the write up wisdom!


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## chongmagic (Dec 26, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Here it is, the famous (infamous?) Monarch.  Now that I have it working, I'm really liking this pedal.  It's a great dirty boost that cleans up pretty well.  Good control ranges.
> 
> Like many EQD pedals, this one requires mods to make it work right.  The starting point is this schematic from Effects Layouts.  Effects Layouts (Tangerine), Pedal Parts (Orange King) and Stewmac offer, or have offered Monarch kits.  They all match the schematic below, except for one resistor value (R6).  It's a simple design.  1st stage is basically a SHO.  Next comes a James tone stack, followed by a gain control.  After that we have a mu-amp, a source-follower and finally a mild low-pass filter.
> 
> ...


I remember us working on this circuit together Chuck. Once it worked it was great. I think EQD just throws stuff together sometimes with no idea if it is correct or not.


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## music6000 (Dec 26, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> At this point, I think I've made enough changes that I can make like JHS and claim this design as my own.


So, Something like this :


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## Chuck D. Bones (Dec 26, 2020)

Looks good!  I have a 6-knob version in mind, with two stomp switches and two LEDs.  Top row: LEVEL, PRESENCE, GAIN.  Bottom row: BALLS, BASS, TREBLE.


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## Devoureddeth (Dec 26, 2020)

This is pretty dang cool, very impressive. I don't want to show my take on it now.


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## music6000 (Dec 26, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Looks good!  I have a 6-knob version in mind, with two stomp switches and two LEDs.  Top row: LEVEL, PRESENCE, GAIN.  Bottom row: BALLS, BASS, TREBLE.


Something Like This!
This is designed using PedalPCB 6 Pot Drill Temp, :


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## Barry (Dec 26, 2020)

Boneyard edition coming soon?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Dec 27, 2020)

We can put it on the wish list.  

Here's my Vero.  Gonna drill the box this afternoon.


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## BurntFingers (Dec 27, 2020)

If you made the 100k between the Bass and treble (r9) controls into a vr, would that work as a mids shift control?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Dec 27, 2020)

Not really.  It moves the crossover point a little bit, not enough to be useful.  On the Orange Super Bass amp, R8 is a 100K MID pot.  It doesn't do much unless TREBLE is dimed.  If you want to move the BASS or TREBLE ranges, you have to mess with the caps.

Try these things with Duncan's Tone Stack Calculator and you'll see what I mean.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Dec 27, 2020)

Chassis machining complete.  Tayda "Glowing Orange," you need sunglasses to look at this thing.





Took a wire cup to the insides so the switches, jacks & pots will make metal-to-metal contact.  I have to chase the threads because they get paint _everywhere_.


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## BPFuzz (Dec 27, 2020)

Thanks for this! When I was first starting out last year, Stewmac had the official board kits for some of EQD's stuff. I almost grabbed a Monarch but went with the White Light. Then they all sold out before I grabbed any others.


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

Labels & better LED colors pending.  Controls are:
(top row) LEVEL - PRESENCE - GAIN
(bottom row) BASS - TREBLE - JUICE
left switch is ENGAGE, right switch is JUICE
I renamed the boost control to a more family-friendly "JUICE."
Setting shown are for pretty heavy overdrive.









I'm not nearly as A-R about wire routing as some folks here, but it freakin' works!

Beautiful tones from this thing.  Between the JUICE & GAIN controls, it goes smoothly from clean to breakup.  Lots of volume available for overdriving an amp.  BASS, TREBLE & PRESENCE provide good EQ sculpting.  Wonderful as a treble booster.  So far, I'm happy with how the tone controls are tuned. 

This is a keeper. 

Here's the latest schematic.  I used different JFETs (same part number) and did not have to adjust the bias.


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## cooder (Dec 29, 2020)

Awesome stuff thanks so much for sharing all the thought process and schematic! Looks like a great rocking machine!


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## mdc (Dec 29, 2020)

I'd love to see the vero layout if you happened to draw one out in DIYLC. 
Also, I hope you used EQD-spec blindness inducing clear LEDs for the sake of tradition.


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

I use VeroRoute to lay out my Vero boards.  Board is 17 x 17.  14 cuts, 2 links.
1st pic is the assembly diagram.  See schematic above for part values.  C1 is MLCC.  C11, C13, C18 are tantalum.  C18 is aluminum.  All other caps are film (I used silver-mica for C8, but film is also acceptable).  If you plan on running this on 18V, make sure C18 is rated for 25V or higher.  All resistors are metal film; I used carbon film for R20 and the LED resistors, but MF is ok too.

2nd pic is the actual cut board, viewed from the solder side.









Pots are:
JUICE - C1K
TREBLE, BASS & GAIN - A1M
PRESENCE - C100K
LEVEL - A100K

Outboard connections:
PRESENCE1 to LEVEL3
LEVEL2 to OUT
TREBLE2 to GAIN3
JUICE2 to JUICE sw1
JUICE sw2 to GND
LEVEL1 to GND
LED1+ and LED2+ to LED anodes
LED cathodes to stomp switches


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## mdc (Jan 3, 2021)

Thanks so much! Any particular reason for the MLCC/tantalum caps or was it for spacing/layout reasons?


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## mdc (Jan 3, 2021)

Also, vero-route looks very cool. Having all the connections traced seems super handy.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jan 3, 2021)

mdc said:


> Thanks so much! Any particular reason for the MLCC/tantalum caps or was it for spacing/layout reasons?


MLCC had the right footprint for C1, I have a bunch and they are superior to disk ceramics.  I prefer to use tantalum over aluminum in the audio path because tantalum is more transparent and much less leaky.  But aluminum will fit and will work.



mdc said:


> Also, vero-route looks very cool. Having all the connections traced seems super handy.



I really like using VeroRoute.  It keeps track of the connections.  It's easy to use and so far the only downside, if you can call it that, is sometimes I have to get "creative" with the parts to get the lead spacing the way I want.  I didn't have to do it here, but somethimes I have to place a film cap where I know an electrolytic will go because the electrolytic's lead spacing is 0.1" and I want the leads to span 0.3".


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## uranium_jones (Jan 28, 2021)

I just stumbled on this thread looking for a clone of the EQD Monarch. (Really, I just want to build an Orange amp in a pedal.) What's the likelihood of this turning into a PCB? I have no idea what this "Vero" is. I'll go back to my corner now and suck on my lollipop.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jan 28, 2021)

I have a friend who wants to buy one as soon as boards are available.  
I just added it to the WISHLIST.


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## Robert (Jan 28, 2021)

I shall make it happen.


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## chongmagic (Jan 28, 2021)

Robert said:


> I shall make it happen.



It is an awesome pedal when it is done right!


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## Danbieranowski (Jan 29, 2021)

Looking forward to this one!


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## Devoureddeth (Jan 31, 2021)

I have breadboarded all variations including my own and it makes a nice overdrive. Curious how that Model T power amp circuit would sound on this; I am not talking about the LM386 version, but the FET model. If only someone had a schematic haha.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Feb 1, 2021)

Are you talking about this one by Coda Effects?


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## Devoureddeth (Feb 2, 2021)

No the EAE one, I have found a good power amp mimic but its benefits are limited on your and traditional Monarch. I have heard the EAE FET Model T uses a simpler circuit than the one posted.


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## dmnCrawler (Feb 20, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> I use VeroRoute to lay out my Vero boards.  Board is 17 x 17.  14 cuts, 2 links.
> 1st pic is the assembly diagram.  See schematic above for part values.  C1 is MLCC.  C11, C13, C18 are tantalum.  C18 is aluminum.  All other caps are film (I used silver-mica for C8, but film is also acceptable).  If you plan on running this on 18V, make sure C18 is rated for 25V or higher.  All resistors are metal film; I used carbon film for R20 and the LED resistors, but MF is ok too.


I was bored so I made a DIYLC layout.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Feb 20, 2021)

Nice!  But...
1. Some cuts are not visible.
2.  D1 anode lead needs to connect one row lower.
3. + markers on C11, C13 & C18 should be -.

Still checking...


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## uranium_jones (Feb 20, 2021)

Is there a thread for learning about this Vero board stuff? Can someone point me to it or direct me where would be the best place to start one?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Feb 20, 2021)

You might want to start here...

http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/09/vero-layout-guide.html


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## dmnCrawler (Feb 20, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Nice!  But...
> 1. Some cuts are not visible.
> 2.  D1 anode lead needs to connect one row lower.
> 3. + markers on C11, C13 & C18 should be -.
> ...


Updated: (The tantalum symbols have positive in the marked area for some reason.)


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## Chuck D. Bones (Feb 21, 2021)

Looks good!


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## uranium_jones (Feb 26, 2021)

Does the Juice stomp switch literally have only two wires connect to it? Would the bypass switch be wired as a standard breakout board?


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## Chuck D. Bones (Feb 26, 2021)

The JUICE switch on mine has two pairs of wires.  One pair as shown on the schematic and another pair to light up the Juice LED.  You can use a standard breakout board on that switch and not use all of the terminals.

The main switch is wired as true bypass, so you can use a standard breakout board if you like.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 12, 2021)




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## cooder (Apr 12, 2021)

Awesome, that's very orange I might add...
Looking like a great successful prototype Boneyard board there. Yum.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 12, 2021)

My first one was day-glow orange, but it seems Tayda doesn't sell those glowing colors anymore.


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## Feral Feline (Apr 13, 2021)

Dahmneht... I want Dayglo Abortion Orange enclosures... 😿

Here yesterday, gone today, guano tomorrow...


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## almondcity (Apr 23, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> *How does this thing even work?*
> Major design flaw #1: no DC bias path for Q2's gate.  Easily fixed by jumpering C9, Removing R11 and replacing C10 with a 10K resistor.  The 10K resistor is a "gate stopper" that prevents RF oscillations.
> 
> Major design flaw #2: no DC bias path for Q4's gate.  Easily fixed by replacing C12 with a 10K resistor.  Again, the 10K gate stopper prevents RF oscillations.



Any chance of the PPCB board coming soon?  I got a Tangerine PCB to build for a friend and was planning on making the above changes but I'd love to get the extra balls version if it's not too far out

Also wanted some clarification so I don't mess something up: to jump C9 I assume I just run a wire between pads?  And removing R11 means just leave the spot empty (no jumper)?

Thanks


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 23, 2021)

Correct on both counts.  PedalPCB will be offering the Viceroy board very soon, so you might want to wait for that.


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## uranium_jones (Apr 26, 2021)

I just started my first vero board project thanks to this thread, and it feels like both less and more work than my average build. Maybe it's just because I had all the components handy when I decided to start building. (although it's a Big Muff and not a Monarch/Viceroy)

I am going to try to learn that VeroRoute software too while I'm at it. Maybe before the year is out I can actually "design" something original(ish).


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## Leftovernoise (May 9, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> View attachment 10955
> 
> View attachment 10956


Hey Chuck, so got all my parts and most of the way built, but the build doc isn't up yet. Already got all my holes drilled ok. Only question I have is if I can follow your wiring in this pic for the juice switch. I think I got everything else figured out.

Looks like you have the 3rd pad on the pcb connected to the middle pin and the middle right pin on the switch. 1st pad going to lower middle on the switch, and the 4th pad going to the lower right.

Anything I'm missing here or is that all I need? Super stoked to get this thing up and crunchin! Thanks for your work on this!


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## Chuck D. Bones (May 9, 2021)

That's correct.  The far left pad enables the JUICE (Boost) function.  The two middle pads are ground.  The right-hand pad goes to the cathode of the JUICE LED.  Since both middle pads are ground, I chose to run one ground wire to both middle pins on the JUICE stomp switch.


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## Leftovernoise (May 9, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> That's correct.  The far left pad enables the JUICE (Boost) function.  The two middle pads are ground.  The right-hand pad goes to the cathode of the JUICE LED.  Since both middle pads are ground, I chose to run one ground wire to both middle pins on the JUICE stomp switch.


Awesome! Thank you!


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## Leftovernoise (May 14, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> That's correct.  The far left pad enables the JUICE (Boost) function.  The two middle pads are ground.  The right-hand pad goes to the cathode of the JUICE LED.  Since both middle pads are ground, I chose to run one ground wire to both middle pins on the JUICE stomp switch.


Got it up and running and after 2 days, I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite overdrives! It's really touch responsive and the crunch is beautiful! Ended up going with a 10uf for C3 and just keep the juice on at all times. With gain and juice around noonish I can get clean/edge of break-up when play soft and full blown crunchy goodness when I dig in!

Thanks again for all the help!


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## Chuck D. Bones (May 14, 2021)

My pleasure.  It IS a great sounding pedal.


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## finebyfine (May 18, 2021)

Just ordered my board for this when it got restocked, really looking forward to it. I have a design in mind for the enclosure but every time I come back to this thread and see your dayglow orange from Tayda I wish they still offered it.


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## Leftovernoise (May 18, 2021)

finebyfine said:


> Just ordered my board for this when it got restocked, really looking forward to it. I have a design in mind for the enclosure but every time I come back to this thread and see your dayglow orange from Tayda I wish they still offered it.


I also went with orange I originally ordered an orange enclosure from smallbear but once it got here I hated the color. So I ended up painting it a better orange and also added some black stripe things!


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## finebyfine (May 18, 2021)

Leftovernoise said:


> I also went with orange I originally ordered an orange enclosure from smallbear but once it got here I hated the color. So I ended up painting it a better orange and also added some black stripe things!



Looks incredible!! I really like the burnt orange from Tayda for what its worth. What kind of paint did you use?


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## Leftovernoise (May 18, 2021)

finebyfine said:


> Looks incredible!! I really like the burnt orange from Tayda for what its worth. What kind of paint did you use?


Thank you! Golden high flow acrylics, orange is called Vat Orange and the black is carbon black. Airbrushed the whole thing orange and then dried, sprayed 1 layer of clear coat. Covered up the parts I wanted to stay orange with painters tape and then sprayed the rest black.


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## finebyfine (May 18, 2021)

Leftovernoise said:


> Thank you! Golden high flow acrylics, orange is called Vat Orange and the black is carbon black. Airbrushed the whole thing orange and then dried, sprayed 1 layer of clear coat. Covered up the parts I wanted to stay orange with painters tape and then sprayed the rest black.



Awesome, thank you! I love golden paints too (but hated paying for them in my brief stint at art school)


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## Chuck D. Bones (May 18, 2021)

finebyfine said:


> Just ordered my board for this when it got restocked, really looking forward to it. I have a design in mind for the enclosure but every time I come back to this thread and see your dayglow orange from Tayda I wish they still offered it.


I know!  Why would they stop offering the dayglow colors?


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## finebyfine (May 26, 2021)

Howdy Chuck - I'm planning my build and I don't have PF5102s and don't have any on order anywhere. Tried to double check your notes in this thread but wanted to ask you for some clarification, please. If I'm using 2N5457s (w/ Vp < 2) would I be safe using trimpots for R6, R14 and R18 or are there any other places I'm missing and or would any of those be unnecessary? Thanks!


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## Chuck D. Bones (May 26, 2021)

The first thing you need to know is that the ref des on the schematic I posted above are not the same as the ref des on the production board.  Same circuit, just different ref des.  The only resistor you might need to tweak is the 1.8K, which I believe is marked R4 on the board.  There are a few ways to do Select-In-Test.  The idea is to minimize stress to the PCB.  If you have breadboard capabilities, then just build the first stage on a breadboard (you can leave out all of the caps and the JUICE pot) and tweak R4 until you have something close to 5V on Q1's drain.  Make sure the JFET you use on the breadboard is the one you install for Q1 on the board.  Option two is build the board, but don't solder R4.  The friction of the leads in the plated-thru holes should make good enough electrical contact for this test (you can jam a toothpick in each resistor hole to ensure good electrical contact).  Adjust the value of R4 to get 5V on the drain.  Option 3, permanently install a 5K or 10K trimpot for R4.  Option 4, temporarily install a 5K or 10K trimpot for R4, adjust it to get 5V on the drain, then remove the trimpot, measure it and install the nearest standard resistor.


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## finebyfine (May 26, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> The first thing you need to know is that the ref des on the schematic I posted above are not the same as the ref des on the production board.  Same circuit, just different ref des.  The only resistor you might need to tweak is the 1.8K, which I believe is marked R4 on the board.  There are a few ways to do Select-In-Test.  The idea is to minimize stress to the PCB.  If you have breadboard capabilities, then just build the first stage on a breadboard (you can leave out all of the caps and the JUICE pot) and tweak R4 until you have something close to 5V on Q1's drain.  Make sure the JFET you use on the breadboard is the one you install for Q1 on the board.  Option two is build the board, but don't solder R4.  The friction of the leads in the plated-thru holes should make good enough electrical contact for this test (you can jam a toothpick in each resistor hole to ensure good electrical contact).  Adjust the value of R4 to get 5V on the drain.  Option 3, permanently install a 5K or 10K trimpot for R4.  Option 4, temporarily install a 5K or 10K trimpot for R4, adjust it to get 5V on the drain, then remove the trimpot, measure it and install the nearest standard resistor.



Thank you so much Chuck!! Your expertise is truly a gift. I'll try those in descending order once my 2N5457s show up


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## Chuck D. Bones (May 26, 2021)

I'm happy to share, as so many others do...

I kinda listed the options in order of preference.


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## finebyfine (May 26, 2021)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> I'm happy to share, as so many others do...
> 
> I kinda listed the options in order of preference.



Using a trimpot is probably what I would naturally do but this is definitely a build I want to push myself on


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## Idlebeach (Jul 21, 2021)

Thanks a bunch for posting this and all your other great posts! This helped me get my Tangerine working. I would've been scratching my head forever.


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## cdwillis (Feb 1, 2022)

I know this is an old thread, but I came across it looking for a schematic for the Monarch. I did a quick control F looking for "Jack Orman" and didn't see anyone mentioning that the stage immediately after the tone stack is the AMZ Mini Booster, his adaptation of the old mu amp circuit






						Guitar Effects - AMZ Mini-Booster
					

The Mini-Booster is a dual jfet transistor boost pedal for guitars.




					www.muzique.com


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## Chuck D. Bones (Feb 1, 2022)

Mr. Orman didn't invent the mu amp, but he surely did bring it to the attention of the DIY pedal community.  I first saw that circuit using JFETs in an electronics magazine in the mid 70's and built a distortion pedal with it.  Catalinbread uses them in many of their pedal circuits.  EQD put one in the Monarch, which is the basis of the Viceroy.


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