Monday, 4 September 2023

Thorpy FX The Dane

As requested on the forum, this is the original version of The Dane based on schematics found on one of the effect PCB sites.  A Drive only version was requested so I've done this on two separate boards for Drive and Boost, each with their own independant supply filtering and Vref components.  If you want to build the whole thing you can either do it on two boards as shown, or it should be easy to adapt to a single board, and you could even potentially make them a bit smaller by removing the duplicated filtering and Vref parts.

Info about the original:

Here's what Peter Honoré himself says about The Dane Overdrive and Boost pedal

"I love Thorpy pedals! They look awesome and they sound amazing. I wanted to create something that would cover all the gain that tones I use, from clean tones with massive headroom to awesome bluesy lead sounds. After playing the Gunshot and the Peacekeeper I asked Thorpy if he could come up with something that would be able to do what I wanted and he said yes.... Enter “The Dane” Drive and boost. It’s not high gain. It’s a clean, expressive and dynamic overdrive. The boost has got a “Low” knob which will make your singlecoils sound super fat which I love. We also made it smaller, so now it has the same footprint as most two button pedals. Easy to get on your pedalboard. Well, what are you waiting for?"

The Dane pedal is a brand new overdrive and boost from Thorpy FX designed specifically for Peter Honore from our Andertons TV Youtube channel.
From the ground up

This pedal was designed from the ground up by Thorpy FX after being approached by Pete. The Dane doesn't have quite as much gain as the Gunshot but has been made to allow the nuances of your guitar playing to come through the amp. It's incredibly expressive and importantly, easy-to-use.

It's one of those pedals that you can just plug in and easily get a great sound. The boost and the overdrive channel can both be used on their own to great effect, but the pedal really shines when you drive the Overdrive Channel with the Boost channel for bluesy tones with plenty of sustain.
Controls

    Boost - This controls the volume of the boost and how hard it will drive the Overdrive channel which is next in the signal chain.
    Lows - These will fatten up the low-end of your guitar. Particularly good for making Single Coils sound fatter than before.
    Tone - This controls the overall EQ output of the pedal.
    Volume - This controls the volume of the drive.
    Drive - This controls the gain you'll get from the pedal. If you keep the gain down and volume up, you'll have more headroom. If you keep the volume down and the gain up, you'll have more dirt! Set it to taste.

  

Currently unverified so step up you brave builders, especially as I haven't done one in a while :o)



Single board version:



40 comments:

  1. Very cool. I have noticed he has just brought out a version 2 which i believe has a switch for selecting clipping options (adding in GE diodes for the boost). Pedal PCB have also done a similar version (prior to his version 2 coming out) - so i wonder who copied who! .

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    1. Interesting, it does make you wonder. If anyone wants to make a MkII (assuming there are no other changes) then just omit D8 and D9 from the Boost board and solder them in series across terminals 1 and 4 of a DPDT switch with their anodes connected. Then link pin 6 and 7 of the IC on the board to terminals 2 and 5 of the switch, and use a new pair of your choice of diodes across pins 3 and 6 of the switch in series.

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    2. Thank you. thats great. I might wait in the hope someone does a single board version of this at some stage.... i feel like there is more chance of me making errors if i try and work that out myself haha. thanks for what you have done - i have been waiting for this build for a while!

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    3. Just put it on one big 19 x 24 hole board and daisy chain the 9V and ground connections. That's literally all you have to do to put this on a single board.

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    4. Single board version added

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    5. wow thanks Man, i appreciate this. In the middle of a few builds but this is now on the list. Thanks so much.

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    6. finally getting around to building this, I assume i can substitute OPA2134PA for OPA2134? Secondly in regards to running the DPDT diode switch - I assume this comes off pin 7 and 8 from the bottom opamp? e.g the same row as the Boost 2&3 and the one below?

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    7. No problem with the PA opamp, it’s the same thing. And yes it’ll come off pins 6 and 7. Personally I’d leave D8 and D9 off the board and put them on one side of the switch. Then put whatever alternative diode arrangement you want on the other side of the switch

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    8. Yep im going to follow your instructions regarding the DPDT - will just run the wires from column 18 and row 17/16 . Struggling to find a 1n747A so any 3.6v zener will do the job im guessing?

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    9. I don’t expect one to sound much different from any. It may be one of those builds that is worth adding a small diode daughter board to, maybe with dip switches to give you lots of different options

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    10. OK - finally i have started to build this! realised above i asked you some pretty ordinary questions.. so here is hoping this one isnt.... I noted the zener diodes have their anodes connected. If I am using Bat 41 or GE diodes on a switch, do their anodes also need to be connected on the same side of the switch?

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    11. Yes anodes will connect together, cathodes will connect to the switch lugs

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    12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    13. After 1000 questions - just letting you know, this is built and working perfectly :) i used the zener on a switch along side some germanium diodes. My wiring could have been a bit neater - 5 pots and a switch plus 2 x 3dpt is a killer but its a lovely pedal. Thanks for your patience & help

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  2. Can you use the offboard wiring from the blog for this or something different needed?

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    1. Yes, just use the dual effect version if you're building the full thing. Remember the output of the Drive section is Volume 2

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    2. Many thanks. I'm going to build this tomorrow.

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    3. Man, it's always one component that you just don't have hahaha :) Zener 3.3 I have, 4.7 I have, but 3.6... no :) I've ordered some but it'll be 14 days until those arrive. I'll try to update when I've completed it...

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    4. D8 and D9 can be anything you want really. Put them in a switch like the V2!

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  3. I have built the full pedal, both drive and boost channels, and they sound very good. The only problem I've noticed, is when you put both channels on, there's a high pitch squeal from the "lows" knob past 2 o'clock. (I've run it directly into my amp, so no buffers anywhere.) One small note: I've built it with 3.3v zener diodes (D8 & D9), because I didn't have 3.6v ones. I will eventually replace these because I like to stay true to the schematic :)

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    1. Great stuff, thanks for verifying. Do you have it boxed yet? I have in the past got noise and squeals when I've been testing effects that aren't there when they have the additional noise protection provided by the box.

      Just as a check, see what voltages you're getting on the right hand pins of the Boost IC.

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    2. I have indeed boxed it, I've had similar problems in the past. It kind of behaves like the proco rat this one... I'm getting 8.94v, 4.56v, 4.05v, 0v (pins up to down, same orientation as the schematic)

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    3. Ooh 0V on pin 5 isn’t right. Check what you’re getting from pin 1

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    4. Pin 1&2 measures 4.5v, Pin 3 4.1v, Pin 4 (=gnd), Pin 5 is now 9.1v, Pin6 is 4.5v, Pin 7 is 4.52v and pin 8 now measures 4.18v (Maybe my fault when measuring, bad gnd maybe.) But the squeal remains. I will report when the right diodes have arrived if the behaviour changes. The pedal does still sound nice when I play it.

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    5. I think you may have your numbering a bit wrong. The numbering should be

      1 — 8
      2 — 7
      3 — 6
      4 — 5

      If it’s actually 8 which is 9.1V and 5 is 4.18V then I’d say your voltages are looking pretty much what I would expect. Let me know if you manage to tame the squeals. Cheers

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    6. You are absolutely correct. And I had the pinout schematic in front of me and everything. I'll maybe try adding some buffered pedals to the chain and see what effect is has on the dane.

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  4. I built one for a friend this past weekend. Worked perfectly with no sqeals. This is an amazing pedal, I've already started on one for myself.

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  5. Hi, and tnx for everything, this site i wonderful!
    I just finished the 2 board version. I works but I get high pitch feedback sound when the tone and the boos or gain is of 75% att the same time... does anybody else get this or have an idea about the possible reason?

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  6. I revisited this, and built the one board version. This does not have the squealing problem I had with the two seperate boards. I can't explain why though... I used the same kind of components on both versions... Great pedal!

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  7. @lvlark, thnx for ten years of pleasure supplying these tagboard schematics. I want to add the diode switch but I was wondering, the diodes are both with their positive sides to row 14. For them to be in series isnt one of the two supposed to be the other way round?

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    1. No it has a back to back arrangement as in this circuit snippet

      https://ibb.co/tmwcBMg

      The diode numbering was 8 and 9 in my layout with anodes connected and cathodes going to pin 6 and 7 respectively.

      The other 4 diodes used are protection diodes and so you’ll leave them as per the layout

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    2. Ah Great, thnx for the explanation

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    3. Great, thnx for the quick response!

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  8. So this is basically a Greer Lightspeed with a Thorpy Heavy Water?

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    1. Not sure, I haven’t looked at the Lightspeed. I’ll have to get the schematic and have a look.

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  9. Allright this is one nice pedal. Does anyone know the diodes used for the HC setting on the mk2? Tried 1n34A and 1n60s germanium but doesn't really nail it.

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  10. Please explain what drive -volume 2 to output means .I know vol 2 goes to output but the drive -vol 2 to output i don't understand. Please help.

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    1. It’s just adding a bit of detail that the Volume is from the Drive circuit as opposed to the Boost

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