Thursday 20 March 2014

Nobels ODR-1

One of my favourite overdrives, and a nice alternative to the usual TS derivatives, I'm surprised more builders haven't jumped on this design.

Info about the original:

ODR-1 Classic Overdrive with flexible Spectrum control

Perfect for crunchy Best Rock and Blues sounds and extra boost. The natural character of your guitar comes through!

    Controls:
    Drive, Spectrum, Level
    Features:
    Input for remote switch, heavy metalhousing, low batteryconsumption, easy/fast battery exchange









And version using SK30A-Y (DGS layout) JFETs



25 comments:

  1. This is an awesome pedal , it's now my main drive . I built the sk30 version . If anyone is interested I posted a gain switch mod in john's original post in the requests section

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    1. with the drive set fully CCW mine's basically clean so I didn't mod mine with a switch, but thanks for the tip. ;-)

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  2. The cheap red plastic Danelectro Fab Distortion is supposed to be a clone. It's the best ultra-cheap dirt I've owned, and on a different level from all the other Fab series dirts. Good overdrive and good moderate distortion.

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    1. I've got one of those somewhere, I'll have to open it up and have a look.

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    2. Even though i do like Dano boxes a lot, i stopped with the FAB series after Metal and Echo... Those are not good pedals.
      +m

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    3. I've got the Metal, Distortion and Overdrive. Really liked the Overdrive which I think is a Tube Screamer (surprise surprise) and thought the Distortion was nice but didn't quite have enough gain for a distortion pedal for me. It's not an ODR1 though, only one IC.

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  3. Hi
    I can see you have marked 0 for the transistor sockets...whats the 0 under the top ic....multi links in single holes ??. Also notice an extra 9v and a 4.5v ??...sorry if its a dumb question ...any help please ??

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  4. yes. multiple links in the same hole.
    the 9v and 4.5v are just indicators of what voltage is on that rail.

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  5. Are the current pedals released the same circuit?

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    1. they are, but they're not true bypass. I've also heard the the pots feel kinda flimsy, but IMO, they're still a great bargain. I built mine just cuz I wanted true bypass and better pots.

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  6. Another nice sounding circuit and layout. Have to thank you and pay homage for the use of your M1 Audio Tube Zone layout. This one looks to be the next on my list after just finishing the Shin Dumbo and a series of Barber boards.
    I notice a lot of not-so-common resistor values. How critical are they as opposed to a bit of trade-off, say 1k=1k2/1k5, or 2k=1k8
    Thanks

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  7. it'll probably sound close, but i'm not sure since I used all of the original values in mine.

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  8. What are the two transistors for this build? Thanks

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  9. they're printed right below each one on the vero layout.

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  10. SO I finaly got around to putting this together and noticed an error that does not corrispond to the schematic for the ODR-1 ODRS or ODR bass. There is are dual RC gain networks on the clipping op-amp stage, one is the 82n/820r network in the top left and the other should be a 2.2u/1.5k network, although here it is a 470n/470r, and as the 470r is lower than the 820r the 82n/820r network is redundant. I am building mine with a 680n/1.5k network to get closer to the original with a bit less bass.

    Just thought this might interest some people.

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    1. just an FYI, that was already mentioned earlier in this thread. I tried mine both ways and prefer the dual filter in the drive circuit, which was taken from the Toneclone 'Nobelman' which this vero is based on, so it's not an error.

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    2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. I built the version with the 2n5457 jfet and i'm getting bad oscillation when I turn the gain control up above 3:00. It even rings some when the pedal is true bypassed. Any idea whats wrong? Thanks.

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  12. Built the 2n5457 version, but the gain was almost unresponsive.. could only get a clean boost sound rather than a distorted sound compared to the demo videos. Now I'm switching to the SK30a-Y version.. any suggestions for a sk30a-y replacement? Thank you...

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    1. Hi Britton, I experienced bad oscillation with mine (2n5457 version). I couldn't find any mistake on the stripboard. I then switched into a couple of TL072s instead of the prescribed RC4558s and my problem vanished. What else? I could advise you to replace the 2SK30 by the very cheap BS170 which offers the same pinout. Good luck!

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    2. Good day Frederic, thank you for the advise. I already used up my stash of BS170 but i my order of sk30 is on the way.. does your gain pot work as it should with the 2n5457 version?

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  13. What about the bass cut ? Or even better : the bass pot of the 30th anniversary version..

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  14. Built the 2N5457 version, works but I get a really loud squeal when the tone control is turned all the way up. I've swapped in tons of chips and transistors and nothing changes it. I tested all the wires for interference and nothing changes it. Has anyone had this issue?

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  15. Just built the 2N5457 version and I get a loud squeal when the tone control is turned all the way up. I have swapped multiple chips and transistors in and no change. Tested all wire routing for interference and nothing changes. Anyone had this issue?

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