# The Mojito Deluxe



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

Thanks to Jubal81 for designing and providing the face plate and board.  Thanks to HamishR for planting the initial idea and nudging me in the right direction sonically.


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## dlazzarini (Nov 5, 2020)

Nice looking pedal. I like the use of 2 different knob styles


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## Barry (Nov 5, 2020)

Are these going to be available?


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## HamishR (Nov 5, 2020)

Fab! I'm actually speechless.


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

dlazzarini said:


> Nice looking pedal. I like the use of 2 different knob styles



Thanks.  I might have used mini-chicken heads for BASS, TREBLE & BOOST, but I can't find any in clear.

I like to think the clear knobs symbolize the club soda and ice while the green knobs are the lime and mint.  Damn, now I'm getting thirsty!


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## jubal81 (Nov 6, 2020)

I gotta say, when it comes to low- to mid-gain OD, this thing is a good as I've ever tried. 
It's received the "I've been playing my open-G tele and have no clue what time it is" award.
Only variation on mine was using 2n5457 JFETs for the clip diodes, as suggested by Chuck in his original post.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Nov 6, 2020)

Barry said:


> Are these going to be available?


You could try adding it to the Wish List.


jubal81 said:


> "I've been playing my open-G tele and have no clue what time it is"



I was doing the exact same thing today!


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## Barry (Nov 6, 2020)

Chuck D. Bones said:


> You could try adding it to the Wish List.
> 
> 
> I was doing the exact same thing today!


Done


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## HamishR (Nov 6, 2020)

"Only variation on mine was using 2n5457 JFETs for the clip diodes, as suggested by Chuck in his original post."

Jubal81 I suspect it will sound identical. Bjorn seems to use these two Jfets almost interchangeably. I love this pedal and mainly use it with boost off. It's become my main OD for a Gibson - it's incredible.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Nov 10, 2020)

Here's another one I just built for a friend of mine.  I love the tones coming out of this thing!  Box is bare aluminum.  I jitterbugged the outside with 220 grit.  This time I installed a CA3130EZ manufactured in this century.


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## HamishR (Nov 11, 2020)

That looks great Chuck. I like your homage to the NBC logo in your stomp switch wiring. The front of the pedal looks fab. The clear knobs look good too.


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## zgrav (Apr 16, 2021)

I built this pedal a few months ago and really like its versatility.  One question -- when the pedal is powered up for the first time in a day I will usually get a vey low level high pitched tone.  Everything earlier in the chain is  bypassed and the tone goes away if the Mojito is bypassed.  But I can also switch the bypass in and out a few times on the Mojito and the tone will also go away when the Mojito is not bypassed.  It gently fades away.   

I have not tried swapping out the transistors in the pedal to see if a different part would eliminate the issue since it is a minor issue that usually resolves itself after a few minutes.  But I wanted to ask whether a probable cause and quick fix comes to mind.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 16, 2021)

I have two of these, one built on Vero and one on a PCB and neither one does that.  First thing I'd suspect is the power supply.


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## zgrav (Apr 16, 2021)

Thanks.  I agree it could be the power supply.  A bit odd that this never shows up with the many other pedals that are shifted in and out of the chain from day to day.  If I overcome my inertia I may swap out the power supply and see if that takes care of it.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 16, 2021)

It's an easy test and will tell us if we're on the right track or not.

Can we see some pix of your build?


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## zgrav (Apr 17, 2021)

Switching power supplies and removing some pedals out of the chain removed any high tones from this pedal.  Switching the power supply back  with the reduced number of pedals also left the pedal absolutely clean.    This is the Mojito, renamed the "Honey Beer"  (wheat / lager / stout / malt / hops for the pots).  The design is a full-top print on matte photo paper covered with wide packing tape.  --


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 17, 2021)

Nice work!  I guess we know how you celebrated your victory over the squeal.  🍺🍺🍺

Vero and/or outboard pot wiring can make some circuits prone to oscillation.  The Mojito has a high input impedance, so it should not upset anything upstream.  The output is pretty low impedance, so unless the volume is dimed it should not have a problems driving any pedal.


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## zgrav (Apr 17, 2021)

Seems like I was putting some stress on the power supply with too many pedals in a signal chain.  Easily remedied by unplugging the power jacks from a couple not being used at the time.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 17, 2021)

Too much current or too much capacitance load can upset a power supply.  Which power supply are you using?


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## zgrav (Apr 17, 2021)

It is a Tomsline, 6 9v out (5 100man, 1 1A), plus a 12v and 18v out.  usually about a dozen pedals on the 9 v line counting the looper and tuner.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 17, 2021)

Tomsline is Chinese budget-grade stuff.  I'm not dissing your gear, I'm using a Caline CP-5, which is also Chinese budget-grade eqpmt.  It works ok for most pedals, but it is not stable for all loads and the grounds are not isolated.

The Mojito is a pretty benign load.  The CA3130's power supply current varies with signal level, but the max current is under 20mA, not counting LED current.


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## zgrav (Apr 17, 2021)

I would probably be the first one to diss my power supply, except that it has worked pretty well for me for a couple of years.  My guess it that the stress on the power supply is coming from other pedals, but the Mojito is the one picking up the noise from it.  It is basically the canary in the coal mine, which sounds like a good idea for another pedal name.


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 17, 2021)

It's always the last straw that gets blamed for breaking the camel's back.


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## Feral Feline (Apr 20, 2021)

I was trying to see if I could pick up a Celestial Engineering PCB (great name for a pedal, btw, LOVE Mojitos):






						HOME
					

Your Global Sourcing Partner




					www.celestial-engineering.com
				





Have you got a Mojito recipe, CDB? I haven't made your Margarita yet, but I made sure to copy down the recipe — will make it as a celebratory drink in due time...


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

Best Mojito I ever had was in a restaurant in Montreal.  After dinner, I went over and complimented the bartender and asked him which rum he used.  He showed me the bottle and told me that it's not about the ingredients, it's about the bartender.  Indeed.

Here's how I make Mojitos.  The tricky part is making sure they are not too sweet and not too limey.

Equipment:
22oz (650ml) stainless steel shaker
Tall glass that will fit into the top of the shaker
muddle stick - I made mine from a 3/4" oak dowel.  Cut it about 10" long, sand it smooth and oil it lightly with veg oil. 

Bill of Materials for one serving:
8 to 10 fresh mint leaves - I prefer spearmint, but other varieties work too.
3 shots aged Caribbean rum - you don't have to spend a fortune, but use something decent.
1 TBSP agave nectar or simple syrup
1/2 lime, cut in 4 pieces
6-8oz club soda
ice

Procedure:
Place mint leaves in the bottom of the shaker.  Grab your muddle stick and bruise 'em up real good.
Add rum, agave nectar and stir.
Squeeze lime pieces _slightly_, just enough to release a little juice into the shaker and then toss 'em in.
Fill glass 1/2 full with ice cubes.
Invert glass into the shaker.  The glass basically becomes the cover for the shaker.  If you don't have a glass the right size, then just put the top on the shaker.
Shake vigorously, keeping the glass wedged into the shaker so none of the goodies get out. 
Set the shaker down, remove the glass.
Add club soda slowly to the shaker until it's 3/4 full.
Slowly pour the shaker into the glass.
Enjoy!


I'm not affiliated with those guys in Moscow.


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## Feral Feline (Apr 22, 2021)

Спасибо!

В России вы не присоединенный с московскими парнями,
ребята из Москвы мохито вам.


*Простой Русский мохито*
Ingredients
    1½ Parts Русский Vodka
    ⅔ Part Syrup
    6 Whole Mint Leaves
    4 Lime Quarters
    Soda Water

Directions
    MANGLE the mint, lime and syrup in a highball glass. Add vodka. Top up with soda water. Stir crazy. Add mint garnish.
высоси это насухо!



*Делюкс Русский мохито*
Ingredients
    1 oz *Citrus* Vodka
    1 Lime — wedged
    12 Honkin' Huge Mint Leaves
    2 tsp Brown-Sugar, makes it taste so good
    Champagne (Veuve Clicquot, or Baby Duck — your choice) & caviar

Directions
    Mangulate that lime, mint and brown-sugar in the bottom of a highball glass (as opposed to the top).
    Fill with ice-cubes, then add citrus vodka and top off with champagne. Skip the caviar.
    Stir it up, lil darlin', and garnish with lime and mint.
Старайтесь не жадно глотать...


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## fig (Apr 22, 2021)

...I use several trained hamsters with a regulator comrade ....

Now about that power supply...


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