Sunday 29 November 2015

Black Arts Toneworks Pharaoh Supreme

Info about original:

The Supreme has all of the sounds and abilities of the Standard and Primitive Pharaohs, but with some very useful additions and a bit of a twist.
In place of the hi/lo switch,the Supreme utilizes a variable pre input control to infinitely adjust the saturation of the front end of the circuit from 1 to 10. In Place of the 3 way diode selector, the Supreme utilizes a 6 way rotary switch to select from the Standard Pharaoh diode settings, plus an additional 3 setting not available on the previous Pharaohs. The Pharaoh supreme allows selection from the following diode settings: Germanium, Asymmetrical Germanium(standard Pharaoh), Silicon (standard Pharaoh), Mosfet,LED and Bypass (standard Pharaoh).


The Pre knob control in addition to the Clip knob, produce an array of sounds and textures that expand the Pharaoh into the ultimate, or Supreme fuzz-stortion that Black Arts has produced.


Layout Updated:



A second layout for this effect, sorta requested, so i made a few modifications to the original layout posted. This once adds another space for the 2nd Ge diode for the asymmetrical clipping, and replaces to last clipping sockets with a single jumper, which should be there anyways. If you want to play with the clipping arrangements instead of the stock, use the clipping board in the first layout.



65 comments:

  1. That sounds (and looks) pretty heavy! Thanks Zach!

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  2. D13&D14 are missing description and differences in cuts positions between upper and lower veros confused me a bit, but it is still nice. I'll definitely try it.
    TY, Zach!

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  3. Check out Mark's old layout of the standard version where this one is based on: http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.nl/2012/02/black-arts-toneworks-pharaoh.html.

    Btw it doesen' matter if the cuts are moved... D13&14 are 1N914's

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    1. Yeah, already. Thanks anyway.

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    2. Months ago I tried the old layout with the diodes rotary switch, but I couldn't make it work properly; "no diode" switch possition sounded much lower in volume than "whatever diode" possition, what makes no sense.
      Waiting for verification so I can cure some frustration... ;)

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    3. yea. i took a look at the old layout and figured out what was wrong with it.

      also, i don't know why d13-d14 is missing from the notes. i'll fix that as soon as i can. as mentioned already they should be 1n914.

      in all honesty, really you can use whatever diodes you want for d1-d12, i just put in what the pharaoh supreme has. if you're going to follow the supreme exactly, you really only need one jumper for d11 and just ignore d12.

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  4. This is the infos I've already posted on the board:

    I've new informations:

    Red caps are actually 474
    103 and 223 for the other ones
    (caps are the same than the standard version)

    A100K on the volume pot
    A100K on the fuzz pot
    B500K on the pre pot

    Seems the Tone pot it's A100K too (4C4 written on top), just need the value of high, but certainly B25K.

    Mosfet
    Q5: BC20 2N 7000
    Q6: BD48 2N 7000

    So we've just to check the resistors values and it's good!

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    1. hey man. the circuit itself is the same as the regular pharaoh. the only difference is the pre-gain pot, and the additional clipping options.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    3. Just give again the informations I finded and the values of mosfet (2N7000)

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    4. Isnt a MOSFEt a transistor? in the diagram its handled like a diode..can someone please clariy this for me?

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  5. Are those circuit diagrams are made from creately like software? You can find some logic gate diagram templates from creately diagram community.

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  6. Okay, so my build is

    q1 - BC550, since i could not get mpsa18 (i also tried some 2n5088, but they were too noisy)
    q2-q4 - 2n5089

    d1-d2 - i tried 1n34a and they sound dull and i get significant volume drop
    d7-d8 - BS170 - crap, 2n7000 - okay
    d11-d12 - no jumpers, you put a jumper and get no sound

    I'm still not quite certain on the pre-gain pot, since it seems to duplicate my guitar's volume pot


    Overall it's a very nice high gain muff, it reminds me of iron bell and P19

    TY Zach

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    1. hey man. glad it worked out. did you just verify the layout? the pregain pot essentially changes the input impedance. the higher the impedance the lower the input signal. the less signal going in the less it hits q1 changing the amount of gain. so to some extent it's similar to changing the volume of your guitar.

      i don't get why you would get no signal with a jumper in place of diodes, because the jumper will remove the clipping on q3. similar to the middle position of the on/off/on clipping switch in the stock pharaoh.

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    2. Hey Zach,

      >did you just verify the layout

      I think not, since i still have a trouble with this jumper. I'll try to build it one more time from the very beginning and i'll tell you how it works.

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  7. Replies
    1. hey man. when you look at the back of a rotary switch there are positions (lugs around the perimeter), and poles (lugs in the center). the poles are labeled with letters, and lugs with numbers. so since this effect uses a 6 position 2 pole switch, you will see one of the poles in the center labeled A, SwA goes to that pole.

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    2. if i got it right you don't need a 2 pole switch. 1 suffices or am I just blind?

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    3. you can use a 1 pole 6 position rotary switch instead of a 2 pole 6 position rotary switch.

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    4. Thanks for the reply. I think i'll mess up my 2pole6 to a 1pole12 and add 6 more clippers.. who needs Batteries anyway :D I think i can scramble up some time tomorrow and let you know

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  8. Something I don't quite understand.... If pre gain pot is @ 0, then there's a shunt/direct connection between input and base of Q1, with no input resistance like the original pharaoh 39K (and all other muff style based circuits, they have a input resistor of some kind).
    Is this ok??

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    1. I mean, besides input cap of course...

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    2. The input resistor is to prevent the first amp stage from clipping by reducing the signal to the base.. With this resistor as a variable, you can dial in a stock setting, reduce the input signal even more OR remove any resistance and hit the base with everything your guitar has and clip the first stage.

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    3. ciaran is spot on. the idea is that you can control how much signal hits q1, which effectively effects the amount of distortion you're going to get out of it. since there is no resistor in line with the pot, if you are full CCW you will have no signal entering the circuit. you can out a resistor inline to change that if you want. it's just the way the circuit is designed.

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    4. You mean ccw = full signal right?
      I read in the comments that this pot will work like the guitar volume pot. If so, the more it adds resistance to the input signal, the more it will "darken" the sound, right?
      If so, shoudn't a treble bleed cap across the pot lugs 1-3 make any sense? What do you think?

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    5. I meant pot lugs 1 and 2, sorry...

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    6. CCW is turning the pot to the left, which will cut the signal, ie removing signal.

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    7. CW = clockwise, CCW = counterclockwise.
      +m

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  9. I'm sorry, maybe it's a noob question, but I wonder if there is one ge-diode missing for the asym-clipping?
    I counted the diodes in this photo and there should be one more, or am I wrong?!...

    http://www.talkbass.com/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi940.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fad243%2FXXLBass%2F004_zpssvjs0z7m.jpg&hash=d04d0e8c65d189f64b335eb439ac2f54

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  10. Oh... or goes it without saying, that one puts two diodes in series at that point... so D3 would be two Diodes then?

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    1. hey man. correct. if you want it exactly like the stock pharaoh supreme you're going to want to make one of the asymmetrical ge diodes 2 in series. i've added a 2nd layout so you don't have to double up the diodes for 1 socket.

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    2. I'm sorry but could you explain this more in detail?
      I'm trying to figure this asymmetrical part out and the only difference I see in the layout between the two versions is that things swap positions and D12-D13 are changed to a actual jumper. SW2 is still only connected to D3 & D4 and I can't see how to make either of them two in series.
      Thanks.

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    3. I think you have the two 1N914 and three asymmetrical ge diodes mixed up?
      I made my own version of the clipping board, one that fits the description better I think, also with the two ge options after each other on the switch.
      I understand the clipping board is more of an example than an actual layout but that makes it a but confusing :p

      http://musik.bergsland.se/media/pedals/pharao_clipping.png

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    4. the 2nd layout has D5-D7 in an asymmetrical arrangement. yes it's labeled incorrectly, as it's labeled as 1N914 diodes and D3-D4 as Ge. what you made is exactly the same as i posted, so i'm not sure what confused you.

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    5. The labels and the layout confused me.
      My layout is the same except the labels :D

      Thank you Zach.

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    6. I was very confused by this as well

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  11. Any progress towards verifying this?

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    1. I#m not quite sure.. built it, works, essentially love it, though 2 issues arose:

      firstly the diode layout will require extensive testing, what the best config would be, but i was prepared (actually looking forward to) it.

      more gravely i'm having a high pitched noise, not too loud but enough to be a nuisance.. any clues to what causes this?

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    2. Did you solve your high pitched noise?
      I got it as well, not at low volume but as you turn up the knobs that affect volume and in combination with the clipping position with higher output.

      Maybe this is expected?

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  12. Verified! I've built 2 and they sound great!

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  13. New to mosfet clipping here. Do any of the legs need to be clipped or tied together? Thanks

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    1. Wondering the same over here.

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    2. connect drain and source of the MOSFET together, this becomes one leg of the "diode", and the gate is the other "leg." you can just search MOSFET clipping on google, and you'll find tons of info, including how to wire them.

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  14. Thanks zach. That's what I came up with in my reserch...appreciate the confirmation

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    1. No worries man. Good luck and enjoy the build.

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  15. ive got some of those 6 way rotary clipping boards from perf and pcb made how would I be able to wire that up, sorry for the stupid question

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    1. If you look at the layout you'll see where each wire goes to the switch. On the diode daughter board you'll see each wire has Sw with a number. The number is what pole of the switch it goes to. On the main board you'll see SwA, which is the center pole of the switch. You'll also notice that the daughter board has a connection to the highs pot as well.

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    2. ok so with the perf and pcb rotary board how would I run the wire to the highs heres a picture of the pcbs I have etched for the rotary board I'm talking about

      http://effectslayouts.blogspot.ca/2015/05/rotary-clipping-switch.html

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    3. I understand how to do it with the vero board for sure but I'm lost with the pcbs I have made and if I can id rather use them up because my rotary switches are pcb mount

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    4. I also wanted to thank you guys for your help and all the work you guys put into the website and even in the comments there's always more then enough information on here :)

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    5. You really should as about th pcb over there, since that's where it was designed. But, it looks to me that the green track is goes to the highs.

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  16. sorry about that and thanks again Zach

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  17. When clipping mosfet transistors, are the 2 outter pins (drain and source) and only 2 pins necessary, and does the middle pin (gate) not do anything? I take it they are like diodes in a symetrical position, whereas they need to be facing opposite directions as well?

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    Replies
    1. Connect drain and source to make it into one leg and the other one is the middle one (gate)

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  18. I need some help with this build guys is this the right rotary switch? The actual switch only has 6 positions as it should. https://imgur.com/a/ozo8V

    Secondly, is building it mirrored viable? https://imgur.com/a/n7HEB

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    1. hey man. that switch should be fine, as it looks like a 6 position 2 pole switch. as for building it mirrored i don't know what you mean. do you mean that everything on the left of the layout is actually on the right? if so as long as all the cuts are in the right places, but on the opposite side, and the same goes for the components it should work fine. i would not suggest building that way though.

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    2. Thanks for the reply. Yes the cuts are mirrored aswell. I didnt realise I was building it mirrored since I was used too doing this as I just moved to vero from diy pcbs.

      The rotary switch does not have any numbers on it. Is there a diagram somewhere that can help me with soldering the lugs?

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  19. Made the original BAT pharaoh. Changed the POT and used marks clipping diode board which has 12 different options. Some may be redundant but I had a 1 pole 12 pos switch. Anyways, everything worked out great. This is a great and versatile fuzz now!!!

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  20. First of all, thank you Zach for this layout!

    Two questions.
    - With jumper (clipping board) I get almost no volume, without jumper is the loudest of all 6 swith positions. what is going on? trapiak and omg_broccoli reported the same issue but I still have no clue about what the problem was.
    - With mosfets gate and drain legs connected I get very low volume (same as "with jumper" position), with gate and source legs connected I get normal volume. Is it normal? Isn't G+S-D working as a silicon diode where it should work like a mosfet (G+D-S)?

    One observation. Without jumper and using the G+S-D mosfet connection I get an increase in volume from position one (Ge clipping) to position 6 (no diode clipping).

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    1. I am having the same issue with the "no clipping" position. It is supposed to be the loudest position but I get almost no volume or distortion.

      Looking at the strip for the standard Pharaoh, I notice the clipping switch is a DPDT on / off / on. I guess it means there should not be a jumper.

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    2. I guess you are right NoisyBen. No jumper seems to be the way to go.

      One could connect the input to Pre-Gain lug 3 instead of lug 1 in order to make it closer to the original (CCW less pre, CW more pre).

      Also, line "O" could disappear from the main board as well as line B and row M from the clipping board.
      Having all in the same board helped me save some enclosure space.

      Nice fuzz nonetheless.

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  21. Built it, love it!

    I put the wire from the input to pre-gain lug 3 to have it like the original. Also there should be no jumper at SW6. Just leave SW6 unconnected so there's no signal shunt to ground and you have kind of a boost mode.

    I also added the input capacitor selector from the Mojo Hand Colossus to make it even more tweakable.

    Please note that the Highs pot has very little effect when the Tone pot is set in a noon to fully clockwise position. But as you turn Tone counter clockwise and boost the lows -> that's when Highs becomes very effective as you can regain your high end. In my opinion that's just genius und makes dialing in your tone with this pedal very satisfying.

    Thanks for the layout, great as always!

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  22. Excuse me guys, but where are the input and output on the main board? Can't find that on the picture.

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