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Tuesday, 11 February 2014

Roger Mayer Octavia

Strange. I thought we had this already covered, but apparently not. The layout didn't turn out as compact as i hoped, but there's still some symmetry in there and at 21x15 it will with in 1590B with ease. So this is the original transformerless Octavia that comes in Rocket enclosure. Apparently the last version Mr. Hendrix ever used before he passed on to the greener meadows. Mr. Mayer has a chronological history of the Octavia/Octavio circuit posted on his site, so read more about it here.


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41 comments:

  1. Unknown11 February 2014 at 10:17

    YES! This needs to be done.

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  2. rudeez11 February 2014 at 10:42

    Only built the transformer version before from Sabro i think, soudwise, what's the difference?

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    Replies
    1. mirosol11 February 2014 at 10:53

      I haven't built neither, so i have no idea. My guess would be that the diode version could sound more vivid and mean.
      +m

      Delete
    2. JaSoN15 October 2014 at 14:38

      Hi,
      This has been done the "Roger Mayer Octavia, rev 1. layout by herald sabro,schem by Phillip Bryant! but it doesn't come up in search? maybe tags missing.

      Thanks again though!

      Delete
  3. johnk11 February 2014 at 16:12

    i haven't built Miro's layout but i did draw up my own vero of it about 6 months ago and it sounds great. mines a smaller vero but it uses the often dreaded stand up resistors which actually doesn't bother me. ;-) BTW, i like it better than the earlier transformer version.

    here's my verified vero layout:

    http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/Effects/Fuzz-ODs/RogerMayer/01-RM-Octavia.png

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    Replies
    1. Jedias26 May 2021 at 21:09

      I build it and has no sound comming out of the pedal. :(

      Delete
  4. Unknown12 February 2014 at 04:06

    I thought the octavia had a switch to turn the octave on and off. Does this earlier version not have the switch?

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    Replies
    1. mirosol12 February 2014 at 08:08

      Hmm... I've never seen any switches, other than bypass on RM Octavias...
      +m

      Delete
    2. dexxyy12 February 2014 at 14:22

      maybe your thinking of the diode lift switch, this turns the fuzz off and on, not the octave. this is a mod and not part of the original design.

      Delete
  5. mirosol12 February 2014 at 11:05

    Built it. Works. Sounds pretty damn good actually. Fuzzier than Green Ringer, but still pretty defined. Tight.
    +m

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  6. nikosrf12 February 2014 at 11:44

    is there any schematic of this?

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    Replies
    1. mirosol12 February 2014 at 13:05

      Have you tried a search engine like google.com?

      http://analogguru.an.ohost.de/193/schematics/RogerMayer_Octavia.gif
      +m

      Delete
  7. Alex S.8 April 2014 at 10:34

    Haven't posted here in ages despite constantly lurking, especially since I've sorted my cave out...

    Anyways, thought I'd chip in on this one as I've had and used one for over a year (mine was built to Harald Sabro's layout from the same schem) and it's a great sounding pedal, very much recommended to anyone who likes fuzz, octave and, er, octave fuzz. Up there with the Ampeg scrambler for me, though the fuzz is fuzzier on high settings here and the octave doesn't get as wild and glitchy, while still out there and pronounced.

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  8. Unknown4 May 2014 at 22:14

    Built this one and having some fun with it. I think now I am going to build the John Kallas layout as it will fit nicely into a 1590A. I really like it with a strat with the tone(s) rolled back.

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  9. Unknown16 August 2014 at 03:35

    +1 this is awesome! Thanks guys!

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  10. Unknown28 September 2014 at 22:37

    Is there any way to add an octave off switch? Like some of the Tycobrahe clones out there.

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  11. Unknown6 October 2014 at 11:22

    Anyone.......

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    Replies
    1. mirosol18 December 2014 at 18:00

      This, the transformerless version isn't anything like Tycobrahe of Voodoo Lab Octavias. For that function, check how it's done in fOXX Tonemachine.
      +m

      Delete
  12. lhc18 December 2014 at 17:09

    Excuse me, guys. I`ll ask three questions:
    1) I got low output. Is it expected?
    2) I got no octave. Lack of matching the trannies could be a possible cause?
    3) At some point something got wrong and it started to sound thin, weak and heavily gated. I replaced all the trannys with no effect. Since is the first time an effect stopped to work out of nowhere, I'm confused. I'm searching for poor solder joints but I'm thinking maybe you can give me tips on other things to take a good look.

    Thanks.

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    Replies
    1. mirosol18 December 2014 at 17:59

      1) No. It should not be low.
      2) No. I've built a few of these and never matched anything.
      3) Sounds like a possible bad cap or one of the electrolytics in reverse. Start by checking those and then the usual suspects, bad joints, solder bridges, misplaced component leads etc.
      +m

      Delete
  13. Unknown6 January 2015 at 23:07

    Finally got this one to work. It's a little noisy (picking up some serious radio and just overall noise when the volume on my guitar is up. Might be the pots. I had to resolder a few things. Might have done some damage).

    I used JohnK's layout. Couldn't get it to work all day and was frustrated since this is my third time trying to build this pedal. Then I realized I'm an idiot. I didn't read the part about grounding drive 1 and volume 3 *doh* Works like a charm now.

    Anyway, very happy with this one. I just love that crazy sound you get when you roll the guitar's volume back ala Band of Gypsys. Thanks guys!

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  14. Eric Evans31 January 2015 at 20:42

    Ok, I've got a little bit of an issue with this build. Not sure what is going on...

    I have guitar signal coming through just fine...it's pretty clean though. It's not very fuzzy at all. When I crank up the gain it gets fuzzier but when the pot is maxed there's no signal at all. I've checked for solder bridges and cold solder joints...I'm pretty sure they are all good (I'm not 100% but they all look pretty decent). Could it be a faulty component? Cold solder joints? Solder bridges?

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  15. Unknown5 April 2015 at 23:21

    Just tried posting this but I don't see it so I'm reposting -- sorry if I've duplicated the original. I finished building this pedal earlier using Mirosol's layout and I was completely jazzed to hear the results -- pedal sounds amazing to my ears! One quick question I have though is in regard to the potentiometers - both the Kallas and Sabro layout talk about grounding Drive 1 and Vol 3, and soldering Drive 2-3 together into the same strip hole. Was I supposed to do something analogous with the Mirosol layout? To my ears, the pedal is functioning properly, but I just wanted to be sure. Only thing is that it's kind of quiet and I have to turn the amp up a bit, but I'm guessing that problem is normal and would disappear if i ran the Octavia into a TS or FF.

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  16. FkmBlogs18 May 2015 at 14:55

    Has anyone tried replacing mpsa13 with mpsa12 or mpsa14? How was the results? Local shop carries mpsa12/14 but no mpsa13 so thought I would give one of those a try.

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  17. Hozy316 June 2015 at 18:17

    Like this one a lot! Great allround fuzziness and loud. Still have a slight issue with my build with intermittent loss of signal but have only just finished so will debug in a sec. I know have 32 pedals needing boxed and not enough boxes..aaah. I like to do a complete build before i box making sure all the wires are the right length so i can just slot them in to my prepared box. This also means i can connect to a spare slot in my rig before boxed and swap with another when i fancy. My obsession is growing.

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  18. Dan10 August 2015 at 08:46

    Hi, Does somebody know how to add a tone control here, like in the newer version of roger mayer octavia?

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    Replies
    1. Zach10 August 2015 at 18:29

      well without having a schematic for the new one with a tone control what you can do is use the BMP Tonestack w/ LPB1 posted on the site,

      http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2013/08/bmp-tonestack-w-lpb1.html

      you'll place this at the end of the octavia, by running its output to the input of the tonestack, then the tonestacks output goes to the switch. the reason for the lpb-1 is that any passive tonestack you add will take away from the output of the effect, so you use the lpb as a gain recovery stage. so the trimmer on the board will be set to maintain the same level of output as you had without the tonestack.

      Delete
    2. Dan18 August 2015 at 17:27

      thanks )

      Delete
  19. Dan18 August 2015 at 17:30

    hey guys but wats about the octave on/of switch? I saw somebody did so, and it also sounds great as a simple fuzz. thanks for any idea.

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    Replies
    1. Unknown19 August 2015 at 04:18

      You can try just switching one of the diodes out with an SPDT witch which will cut the octave (I think).

      Delete
  20. Unknown29 September 2015 at 15:31

    I built this one and put in the same box as the ts808 from this site and they both work great and share a single power jack.
    But when i tried to build another one and share power with a 3rd circuit I got total silence.
    I checked it for solder bridges and eventually built a new board but I still get silence. The other two effects in the box (rc booster & sd-9) work great.
    Can anybody tell me what I have missed? I feel pretty stupid now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mirosol29 September 2015 at 15:56

      You should measure to see if the the supply voltage gets where it should. You most likely have a short in there somewhere, so measuring your power supply is strongly recommended too.
      +m

      Delete
    2. mirosol29 September 2015 at 16:00

      In other words.. DMM to DC voltage, black lead to common ground (the one that all of those circuits use) and the red lead to each circuit's +9V connection. If all those show 9V, then one of the circuits isn't working right after the polarity protection diode.

      Or. If the supply just died from too much current draw. I've seen that happen too. But only with wall warts that are already deemed as suspicious. I'm still recommending a battery for test purposes. Or a lab supply with quick reset fuse. You can guess which one is cheaper..
      +m

      Delete
  21. 0friendsrecordings5 February 2017 at 14:49

    Lovely pedal.

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  22. jlo3 February 2019 at 03:27

    First build not going well. No signal going direct to amp. When going into a fuzz face there is a weak signal.

    Battery 8.5V
    Circuit board +lead 8.5V

    Q1 E=7.5V B=7.0V C=3.0v

    *Q2 E=0V B=0V C=8.1*

    Q3 E=2.5V B=3.5V C=6.0V

    Q4 E=3.4V B=4.0V C=8.4

    D1 A=1V K=0.7V

    D2 A=1V K=0.7V

    D3 A=8.6V K=8.5V

    ReplyDelete
  23. IvM19 May 2021 at 00:52

    Any voltage readings for transistors?
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  24. the_codus31 October 2021 at 23:38

    Has anyone got a schematic for this circuit?

    ReplyDelete
  25. pakkee6613 June 2024 at 10:08

    On interested to build the octave mode switch, then based on Mr.Miro's layout to made a mod version to build and Verified, here the Mod version layout: https://photos.app.goo.gl/njhC1rgGv7ehRXzC6
    Now the Octavia turn into 3 voice: Octave fuzz/Grainy fuzz/Overdrive. Finally, after combine with FY-2/ Univibe, Psychedelic Machine+ 2022 done~ Check Demo & Pics here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/E37vTnsLkQME35kWA

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  26. Gepetto2234 September 2024 at 22:22

    I'm building mirosol's version but i don't know what to do with drive 1. on schematic there's nothing that says about that, i chceck coments and maybye i'm blind but i don't see anything about drive 1. Can someone help me?

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    Replies
    1. IvIark4 September 2024 at 22:42

      In any of these layouts, if the 1 or 3 pin is missing from the layout and there is nothing in the notes to explain it, then the pot is being used as a simple variable resistor and only two pins are required

      Delete