# Glory Hole & Centaur (Refractor board by Aion)



## caiofilipini (Jul 2, 2020)

Just finished my latest builds (4th and 5th ever) earlier tonight. First, the Glory Hole:








And second, a Centaur using Aion's Refractor board. The Refractor kit was actually my first build ever, then a friend asked me to build one for him, so I got the PCB and sourced the parts (was already doing it for my other builds anyway):








It was also my first time using waterslide decals. They didn't turn out great, but I did learn a lot and had fun in the process!


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## TheSin (Jul 3, 2020)

Nice builds! Two of my favorite pedals.


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## Barry (Jul 3, 2020)

Nice looking builds


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## caiofilipini (Jul 3, 2020)

Thank you!

@TheSin I had high hopes the for Glory Hole, and even though I do like it, it doesn't sound as good as the Pauper I built a couple weeks ago. Not sure why. Unity volume is all the way around 2 o'clock, so there's not a lot of headroom. I did use 25V caps, so I should probably try running it at 18V and see what I get.


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## phi1 (Jul 3, 2020)

About the pauper comparison, the MG and PoT are both based on Blues Breaker circuits, but different versions. There are several differences between the MG and PoT, but in my opinion the resistors R3 and R4 on the glory hole schem, which have different values on the pauper, give the biggest distinction in sound (why the morning glory is brighter and benefits from the cut switch). These resistor differences reflect the different BB versions each was derived from.


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## TheSin (Jul 3, 2020)

caiofilipini said:


> Thank you!
> 
> @TheSin I had high hopes the for Glory Hole, and even though I do like it, it doesn't sound as good as the Pauper I built a couple weeks ago. Not sure why. Unity volume is all the way around 2 o'clock, so there's not a lot of headroom. I did use 25V caps, so I should probably try running it at 18V and see what I get.


I don’t have any issues like that with my GH....(was gonna say my Glory Hole but it just didn’t sound right ?)...mine turned out great and I even bought a second one. Maybe you need to take a look at your components and make sure things are correct.
As for the Pauper, I just got my pcb and will be building it soon, got me the ma856 diodes...I can’t wait!


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## caiofilipini (Jul 4, 2020)

phi1 said:


> About the pauper comparison, the MG and PoT are both based on Blues Breaker circuits, but different versions. There are several differences between the MG and PoT, but in my opinion the resistors R3 and R4 on the glory hole schem, which have different values on the pauper, give the biggest distinction in sound (why the morning glory is brighter and benefits from the cut switch). These resistor differences reflect the different BB versions each was derived from.



Thanks! I knew they were both based on the Bluesbreaker, but I appreciate the detailed response!


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## caiofilipini (Jul 4, 2020)

TheSin said:


> I don’t have any issues like that with my GH....(was gonna say my Glory Hole but it just didn’t sound right ?)...mine turned out great and I even bought a second one. Maybe you need to take a look at your components and make sure things are correct.
> As for the Pauper, I just got my pcb and will be building it soon, got me the ma856 diodes...I can’t wait!



Cool! Can you tell where is unity gain on your builds?

I double checked everything and couldn't spot anything weird. I never played a real MG, and most of the demos I've seen were using the v4, which is known for having more volume, so there's that.


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## TheSin (Jul 4, 2020)

caiofilipini said:


> Cool! Can you tell where is unity gain on your builds?
> 
> I double checked everything and couldn't spot anything weird. I never played a real MG, and most of the demos I've seen were using the v4, which is known for having more volume, so there's that.


Between noon and 1 o'clock for my rig, so we’re pretty close.


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## caiofilipini (Jul 4, 2020)

TheSin said:


> Between noon and 1 o'clock for my rig, so we’re pretty close.



Okay, I'm not that far off, so it's probably fine. I'll spend some more time with it and have some fun. Thanks!


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## caiofilipini (Jul 5, 2020)

This comparison between the MG v3 and v4 shows clearly why I was expecting more headroom before I realized the PCB is based on v4:


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## phi1 (Jul 5, 2020)

Couple thoughts about unity volume. (Your comment about v3 vs v4 is also a good point). 

the drive pot setting affects the Volume, so in comparing with each other I didn’t see mention of the drive pot settinG (unless I missed it), which may account for the difference.

also, it’s an A taper volume pot. Some pedals use B taper, which makes Unity occur much earlier in the sweep, but max output is the same. From 2 o clock to max the A taper should still jump up in volume quite a bit. Its probably a tactic for some builders to use B taper to give the illusion of more volume since it reaches unity faster.


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## caiofilipini (Jul 5, 2020)

phi1 said:


> the drive pot setting affects the Volume, so in comparing with each other I didn’t see mention of the drive pot settinG (unless I missed it), which may account for the difference.



I did notice that and they interact a lot more after volume is at noon.



phi1 said:


> also, it’s an A taper volume pot. Some pedals use B taper, which makes Unity occur much earlier in the sweep, but max output is the same. From 2 o clock to max the A taper should still jump up in volume quite a bit. Its probably a tactic for some builders to use B taper to give the illusion of more volume since it reaches unity faster.



I thought about that and even considered swapping out the A taper for a B taper, although I'm not sure whether I need to change anything else to accommodate the B taper pot.
Also, I read somewhere that they did change some pot types on v4, along with some other significant changes, so it's not really a fair comparison.

Great points. Thanks phi1!


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## Chuck D. Bones (Jul 5, 2020)

Good looking builds!


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## caiofilipini (Jul 5, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> Good looking builds!



Thanks, Chuck! I've learned a lot since that first Mach 1 you helped me troubleshoot.


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