What are the settings on your Dumbleator?

[JazzGuitarGimp]

One of the best analog tape emulations going right now is the El Capistan from Strymon. Demos on their website. It's amazing.

[jcsifu]

One of the best analog tape emulations going right now is the El Capistan from Strymon. Demos on their website. It's amazing.

This is indeed an amazing design JGGimp. It is awesome sounding as well as prob the most versatile 1 trick pony pedal (only tape) that I have ever seen. It is extra cool that it was given a great spring reverb sim to boot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYda1k6AZuo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kQ6qfvG9yc

[Structo]

I have taken the best advice from this thread and made a Sticky thread posted above. ^^^^

But feel free to add to this thread and I will add good stuff to the Sticky.

[talbany]

I have taken the best advice from this thread and made a Sticky thread posted above. ^^^^

But feel free to add to this thread and I will add good stuff to the Sticky.

Tom
Thanks for the useful sticky..
The other thing we should probably mention (as you know) is cables!!

Since the D-lator sits at the back end of the preamp, it's a great spot for tweaking the overall sound of the amp..Also the lator is a low impedance (after the buffer) device any alterations to the unit can be very effective..
These include cables!
As we all know cables carry with them a certain amount of capacitance (rated PF per foot)..depending on the type and length of cable adding capacitance is an effective way of removing certain frequencies that can be rather harsh and un musical in some amps (especially in OD)..A good example of this would be Robben Ford's use of 6ft cables (some even use the same cables as what is in the amp).. If you like a bright tone and the amp is not harsh go the opposite direction..Good low capacitance cables cut short..
The next tweak point are the bright switches..
This is another great tweak spot.. You don't have to use the same value bright caps as what's in the original's (as posted in the files section).. Since this unit has 2 (one for send and one for return and if you want one on the drive or mix) this gives you 4 different bright sounds to choose from (if you use different values) so try different values here that better match your guitars speaker cab and of coarse style!!
BTW..I use these switches all the time as it's a great way to slightly brighten your tone on the fly!!
Also if you want to add a bit of gain and harmonic content to your tone try adding a bypass switch to the NFB loop on the return amp..Works great at giving the amp a bit more zing at low volume..

Tony

[Structo]

Added to the Sticky!

[Max]

Some examples for some of the settings used by Robben Ford (AFAIR you'll find many more in the internet):

http://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/s ... umble1.jpg

http://personalpages.manchester.ac.uk/s ... 202002.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzVq9JsBLsI

Cheers,

Max

[rogb]

Some great information here! Thanks to all.

I am intrigued by the Mesamix addition to the Dlator.
Any more information or others who have tried it would be good to hear too.
Thanks to Tony and Claus for their words / work on it.
I think I will give it a try as I have no MiniMix. I did try the earlier iteration of the parallel Dlator but didn't prefer it to the series original wiring.

[jcsifu]

Pics taken out...now that I saw a diagram of the switching of the cliff jacks I will redo my hand drawing of the layout

[jcsifu]

BTW Tony,
Just picked up on evilbay a LXP 15.2 for $75 + ship. I'll look forward to that being added to the mix...I read up a lot on reviews and downloaded the manual and it seems like this will work fine. Most commonly stated fact is that these units won't stack a lot at a time but will give few effects but will be quality. That works for me as I don't want a lot of crap in my sound, so just adding good sounding verb and delay at a level just shy of obvious should be nice.

[Structo]

The 1000pf bright cap on the Drive pot was way too large for me.

I ended up using a 350pf I believe.

[jcsifu]

The 1000pf bright cap on the Drive pot was way too large for me.

I ended up using a 350pf I believe.

Agreed, I used a 250pf. I would never use that bright switch with that 1k in there as it is like audibly getting hit over the head and I prefer more subtle differences.

Does my drawing look right? Do I need to keep the connection between the top right contacts of send and return jacks (the red wire in the layout) for when nothing is in the loop?

[Structo]

I think it does but I have had a couple of "Tom & Jerry's.

Let me show what I did.

I used a different transformer so pay little mind to the power supply and dropping resistors.
But the voltages through out the buffer should be close to the original D'lator.

The first triode should have around 270-280-300v on the plate.

The tail of the cathode follower should have around 31vdc on it.
If I recall, 27K worked for me.
If not adjust the 27K for the right voltage. This is pretty important!

I am far from a guru but I suggest you install a bypass switch on the Dumbleator.
This is a very good tool for troubleshooting if your Dumbleator doesn't work out of the gate.

That way, you can eliminate the loop and focus on the cables or whatever your issue is/.

But as I mentioned, it is a very good mod, for troubleshooting.
Hey, I'm just one guy here among many, so weigh your responsed to this question.


This is TLPRI signing off.
10-24

[jcsifu]

Luthierwnc had posted this take on bypass series/parallel back in 2008


http://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... a664b32672

[rogb]

I saw all the threads posted in the last few years. Build your own, byo MiniMix, Mesa trick, etc... I found a MiniMixII on ebay for cheap and haven't looked back. It's a great unit.

Also, AFAIR I don't believe there is an analog path in the 2290. It's all AD converted, but with an unusual ADC running at 1MHz that changes its dynamic range on the fly. Many think that ADC is magic.

This is true with many of these units..I have not heard of one with true bypass when mixing signals in the unit..without the schematic you never know!!
I wish I had room in my rack for a minimix.. But the Mesamix seems to do fine for what I do!!..A noticeable difference from serial..
3 Cool things I like about the Mesamix
Low value mix pot
It's in Phase
Low impedance signal driving the mix pot..(very little loading)..

Keep in mind you really need input and output controls on the unit to balance the signal..Otherwise you may notice a slight null when mixing

Tony

I wired this in today but I can't get it to sound quite right with the OD. It sounds like its overloading somewhere a little. Cleans sound good
Do I need to use the parallel/killdry settings on the TC or just leave it series and rely on the 25K mix? I have tried it both ways but I can't find a middle ground for OD/clean.
The schematic seems easy to follow, I'm sure I haven't screwed up the rewiring as it all works. If someone could add a photo or a sketch so I can double check that would be great!

[JHP]

Do I need to use the parallel/killdry settings on the TC or just leave it series and rely on the 25K mix?

When running parallel the norm is to set the FX to 100% wet or killdry, otherwise there can be a comb filtering effect.