Ampeg Fliptop in a stompbox......The Flipster.

Vin_MM_Sabre_79 · #1 07-21-2007, 08:36 PM

I recently bought a new head and agonized over whether to go the Ampeg route. I decided on the AG500SC for its warm solid state tone-clean, practical and powerful (I found the saturation on the dual channel version a bit lacking hence the SC) but I've been thinking how good it would be to have Ampeg toney goodness at the flick of a switch.

Enter.... the Flipster. This little gem on the Runoffgroove.com http://runoffgroove.com/flipster.html
is essentially the preamp section of ye olde Ampeg SB-12 with the 12ax7s replaced with with jfets.

sound clip

I just finished a breadboard build and it's really sweet. My version is probably a bit softer that the sample. Each of the jfets has a trimpot (adjustable resister) to in a sense you can tune it to get the sound you like.

I'm in the process of etching a board and building a case - so will post progress updates.

If anyone's built one of these I'd like to hear. It'd be good to swap notes.

Many thanks to ROG for this awesome adaptation.

syciprider · #2 07-21-2007, 08:41 PM

You've got some GREAT grind going on there! I use my Sansamp GT2 for the same feel but yours sounds better IMO.

Sir Edward V · #3 07-21-2007, 08:47 PM

sounds like a fun/interesting build

enjoy

James Hart · #4 07-21-2007, 09:05 PM

I've got a Thor! from ROG as built by Mark @ www.Olcircuits.com
http://www.olcircuits.com/olc_thor.html
That image is the first one and the one I own

Bass sound clips coming in a few days
here is the guitar one from the ROG team

My next is going to be another ROG collaboration not listed on the ROG site... the Orange Peel
http://www.olcircuits.com/olc_orangepeel.html
here's Mark's guitar clip

I've got a Flipster planned as well.

The Whisker Biscuit is extremely cool and I recorded some clips Mark is going to put up on the site soon.

Stumpy · #5 07-21-2007, 09:06 PM

very cool sound.

Jim Carr · #6 07-21-2007, 09:19 PM

Really impressive. I'm tempted to try a build. Wow, a fliptop that you can hear live in a context louder than a Jazz trio. Whoda thunk it?

Vin_MM_Sabre_79 · #7 07-21-2007, 09:29 PM

Quote:

You've got some GREAT grind going on there! I use my Sansamp GT2 for the same feel but yours sounds better IMO.

enjoy

Thats not mine- thats the ROG sample file... but yeah its good.

lowstar · #8 07-22-2007, 01:27 AM

i´ve built one a long time ago, don´t like the distorted sound too much, though. it does a good job at giving you a "hot" sound, meaning a little tubey-distortey-compressed. finicky on the power supply, though, needs some well filtered supply, otherwise you get some hum. it´s fun to play around with the different transistors, i used a combo of 3 j201´s and one 2n5457 (more clean headroom).

cheers,
lowstar

Vin_MM_Sabre_79 · #9 07-23-2007, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowstar

..it does a good job at giving you a "hot" sound, meaning a little tubey-distortey-compressed. finicky on the power supply, though, needs some well filtered supply, otherwise you get some hum. ..

Yeah - Hot-n-tubey is my holy grail on this. Not distorted - i just wanna get some Jamieson motown *foomf* thru the SS amp. Ultimately I'd like to put the 12ax7s back into the circuit a'la EHX Hot Tubes or modding the Real McTube power section.

I had the same issue with the power supply. Used up an afternoon before deciding to try it with the battery. Can be fixed with a bit of circuit reworking.

TaySte_2000 · #10 07-23-2007, 05:34 AM

It looks like the person that provided the PCB design or whatever Pablo De Luca (aka Gringo) could be GringoLoco who use to have his own line of effects called Dragonfly and now designs some of the Tone Factor pedals such as the Fuzz Saw, Cream Pie, Copperhead and 71 Special.

But it could always be another builder who goes by the name Gringo

James Hart · #11 07-23-2007, 05:36 AM

I believe it's the same guy

olcircuits · #12 07-23-2007, 07:23 AM

Hi James. I finally joined up. Thanks for the invite.

Gringo and Gringo_Loco are two different guys. Pablo de Luca has always used the Gringo moniker, but Gringo_Loco is a relatively new moniker for Dragonfly.

Gringo makes all of the new layouts for runoffgroove.com, and did about 90% of the older ones as well. He also makes all of my layouts.

I offer the Flipster as an unlisted pedal/kit. Perhaps I can help you with any problems you have. Are you using power supplies designed for stompboxes?

I can show you how to use a 100uF-470uF capacitor and a 220 ohm resistor to filter the ripple out of your supply. You can solder it right to the back of the DC jack in your pedal. Lemme know.

Mark

SuperDuck · #13 07-23-2007, 07:31 AM

That sounds awesome!

I don't have much experience doing layout transfers - do you have PCB's available?

olcircuits · #14 07-23-2007, 08:58 AM

Superduck,

Sure thing.

I have a self-imposed no spamming policy... and I realize this forum is no-nonsense about it as well. I don't know where "the line" is on that, though.

Perhaps you could email me about the PCB and the policy?

tommy.genes · #15 07-23-2007, 09:04 AM

@ James Hart or olcircuits:

I have a Thor on the breadboard right now. I tried to modify it to be more like the Super Bass i/s/o the Super Lead upon which it is based. So far I like the Super Lead sound better although it does lose low end. I'm thinking of adding a Flipster in parallel to emulate Chris Squire's SVT & Super Bass setup.

Anyway, my question to you two: were any changes made to James' Thor to make it more suitable for bass, or was it built exactly to the ROG schematic?

Thanks,
-- T. G. --

SuperDuck · #16 07-23-2007, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by olcircuits

Superduck,

Sure thing.

I have a self-imposed no spamming policy... and I realize this forum is no-nonsense about it as well. I don't know where "the line" is on that, though.

Perhaps you could email me about the PCB and the policy?

I believe the CUP allows you to answer questions like that if they are directly asked... I will email you anyway, though!

bongomania · #17 07-23-2007, 09:32 AM

Right, if another TB'er directly asks you for info (even pricing and such) you are allowed to answer. Welcome to TB, olcircuits! I've been thinking about building one of these units myself.

olcircuits · #18 07-23-2007, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommy.genes

@ James Hart or olcircuits:
Anyway, my question to you two: were any changes made to James' Thor to make it more suitable for bass, or was it built exactly to the ROG schematic?

Thanks,
-- T. G. --

T.G.,

James' Thor was built exactly to the runoffgroove schematic.

I'll admit that I'm just now getting into the bass market and I'm pretty ignorant about it so far. I have a lot to learn about bass players' needs. I've had a recent surge of emails from bass players and I often don't know what to tell them. I don't market to bass players, though, so I have an excuse for not knowing the ins and outs of it thus far. It's going to be a bumpy ride for me, I'm sure.

About the best I can do right now is provide clips on my site. That's taking a bit of time, though.

The best way I can contribute to the members of this forum is to answer technical questions like the power supply hum and perhaps ways to mod circuits to be more bass-friendly. This will be a valuable learning experience for me.

olcircuits · #19 07-23-2007, 09:54 AM

Super Duck and bongomania,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I believe I have a good reputation in the various forums and I aim to keep it that way.

tommy.genes · #20 07-23-2007, 11:43 AM

OLC:

Thanks for the reply.

I've been playing bass a long time, but I've only recently scratched the surface of building effects. Still, if you have any bass-specific questions, need some clips or a beta tester etc., feel free to send me a PM. I've recognized a few other bass-playing DIYStompboxers here, and I'm sure they'd be interested in helping as well.

-- T. G. --