Which Bluesmaster Should I Build?

[norburybrook]

they look great I like the white text too.


M

[dorrisant]

Right on. Glad you dig it. Text is actually not colored, it is just engraved and looks lighter gray.

[norburybrook]

Right on. Glad you dig it. Text is actually not colored, it is just engraved and looks lighter gray.

are they just made with regular cutting out of the shape then drilling?..no fancy CNC or the like?
whats the material the boards are made from?


M

[dorrisant]

CNC... everything is done on the CNC, all holes and perimeter.

[rootz]

Might be b-stock, but they look great. All holes line up perfectly and text looks really nice too. CNC rules. Just that scratch, but that's it. Probably will be mostly covered by components anyway.

[dorrisant]

whats the material the boards are made from?

G10 - FR4

[pompeiisneaks]

whats the material the boards are made from?

G10 - FR4

Yeah, love the stuff, I use it for my builds, but chose the blue color. Just make sure to wear a mask when drilling it gives off glass dust

~Phil

[ViperDoc]

I'm reading through as much Bluesmaster material as I can find and I wonder your thoughts on a few items:

1) Is there any rationale to placing the HRM tone controls on the chassis for ease of adjustment, or is this the kind of thing that never needs changing once you get it adjusted to your tastes? Specifically, I wonder if you ever see a benefit to using single coil vs. humbucker-loaded guitars?

2) How beneficial is the precision power supply? I love Joey Landreth's tone on the video clip here and norburybrook's picture inside the chassis seemed to be an F&T consolidated arrangement (and not hurting one bit).

3) Which schematic is "better": Frank's or the earlier posted version? The differences at first glance revolve, I think, around the V1 cathode bypass cap and resistor values as well as V1A plate load 150K vs 220K? I understand that higher plate loads make for a more smooth, compressed response, just wondering what y'all like for this circuit.

4) What purpose is served by the parallel caps around each rectifier circuit diode?

That's probably enough for now. Thanks.

[ijedouglas]

1) Is there any rationale to placing the HRM tone controls on the chassis for ease of adjustment, or is this the kind of thing that never needs changing once you get it adjusted to your tastes? Specifically, I wonder if you ever see a benefit to using single coil vs. humbucker-loaded guitars?

I pretty much set mine and forget. I guess you could move it to the chassis but you'll probably need to run coax.

2) How beneficial is the precision power supply? I love Joey Landreth's tone on the video clip here and norburybrook's picture inside the chassis seemed to be an F&T consolidated arrangement (and not hurting one bit).

No idea as I haven't A/Bd. I would go with what your gut tells you. I went with precision as that was what was in the BMs that I had seen. I guess the precision PS is a little more future proof with radials??

3) Which schematic is "better": Frank's or the earlier posted version? The differences at first glance revolve, I think, around the V1 cathode bypass cap and resistor values as well as V1A plate load 150K vs 220K? I understand that higher plate loads make for a more smooth, compressed response, just wondering what y'all like for this circuit

I used 120K/150K on V1 and 220K/150K on V1. Haven't tried higher on V1 but I love the cleans (as do many others with this circuit)

4) What purpose is served by the parallel caps around each rectifier circuit diode?

There is currently a discussion on this topic here: https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... &start=240. They are snubbers to reduce the diode switching noise. I use RGP10M-E3/54 which is a fast switching diode with a soft recovery.... no need for the snubbers.

[ViperDoc]

I pretty much set mine and forget. I guess you could move it to the chassis but you'll probably need to run coax.

OK.

No idea as I haven't A/Bd. I would go with what your gut tells you. I went with precision as that was what was in the BMs that I had seen. I guess the precision PS is a little more future proof with radials??

Good point. I recall one comment about it offering some kind of clarity and note separation, I have no idea personally how one would connect those dots.

I used 120K/150K on V1 and 220K/150K on V1. Haven't tried higher on V1 but I love the cleans (as do many others with this circuit)

Just to clarify, you mean 150K/120K on V1 and 220K/150K on V2? Good to know, thanks. I'm looking for more edgy, lush cleans as compared to the LPS #124. I heard #124 had its cathode bypass caps recently replaced with 25 uFs...

There is currently a discussion on this topic here: https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... &start=240. They are snubbers to reduce the diode switching noise. I use RGP10M-E3/54 which is a fast switching diode with a soft recovery.... no need for the snubbers.

LOL. I love this thread for several reasons. Thanks for the RGP10M-E3/54 recommendation. Ordered.

[ViperDoc]

I just noticed something in the posted schematic that I don't understand. The PAB relay has one side wired with a bypassed 22M resistor that isn't connected to anything, and the other side wired with a bypassed 72K resistor off the ground lug of the MID pot. I'm wondering if this is a preference of the builder to only ground-lift the tone stack as a whole and to a much lower degree and not switch-in a resistor on the wiper, or is this a mistake?

See here:



Just wondering. Thanks.

[ijedouglas]

Just to clarify, you mean 150K/120K on V1 and 220K/150K on V2?

Correct

[ijedouglas]

I just noticed something in the posted schematic that I don't understand. The PAB relay has one side wired with a bypassed 22M resistor that isn't connected to anything, and the other side wired with a bypassed 72K resistor off the ground lug of the MID pot. I'm wondering if this is a preference of the builder to only ground-lift the tone stack as a whole and to a much lower degree and not switch-in a resistor on the wiper, or is this a mistake?

See here:



Just wondering. Thanks.

I used this layout: https://ampgarage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12875

[ViperDoc]

I'm also wondering what radial caps work best in the precision power supply, other than what's readily available? Any that stand out in the pack?

[ijedouglas]

I'm also wondering what radial caps work best in the precision power supply, other than what's readily available? Any that stand out in the pack?

I really like the Nichicons. I'm currently trying out some Rubycons I found on eBay but the jury is still out