The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[OldShark]

Let's hear it some of us are more technically minded than others, me I'm just a middlin' old man.

Or more bored like me...

 

[Hasty]

I have NOS AT7s in both pedals. Depending on how hot the signal is from my new, yet to be installed Yamahiko pickup, I might even roll in an AU7.

Prepare yourself for an entirely new rabbit hole my friend. The Yamahiko is a complex mistress... so many unintentional options. I also notice my Yamahiko is much hotter than any other piezo I've used before. I will say the journey is worthwhile.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Let's hear it some of us are more technically minded than others, me I'm just a middlin' old man.

It's really not even that complex to be honest, but it's a similar concept to pickup winding. Every pickup has an "output rating", which we measure by the DCR or DC resistance between the two ends. Copper is a great conductor, but it's not a perfect conductor, especially when you're using really fine gauge like you do in pickups or transformers. So while a small piece of wire may have a DCR of 0.0001Ω, a wire long enough to make an overwound pickup can have a resistance of 15kΩ.

This carries over to transformers as well, where we also use DCR as one of the specs we look at. Some confuse DCR with impedance as they are similar and DCR is a part of impedance, but the tricky thing about inductors and transformers is that they may have a different impedance depending on the input frequency. Still, it's reasonable to assume that a transformer with a higher input impedance and a similar output impedance is going to have a higher DCR, which means more copper, and thus more weight. One of the specs I wanted with the Unagi transformers was a higher input impedance, which is why they ended up physically larger and heavier than other common D.I. transformers.

 

[SoulReflection]

It's really not even that complex to be honest, but it's a similar concept to pickup winding. Every pickup has an "output rating", which we measure by the DCR or DC resistance between the two ends. Copper is a great conductor, but it's not a perfect conductor, especially when you're using really fine gauge like you do in pickups or transformers. So while a small piece of wire may have a DCR of 0.0001Ω, a wire long enough to make an overwound pickup can have a resistance of 15kΩ.

This carries over to transformers as well, where we also use DCR as one of the specs we look at. Some confuse DCR with impedance as they are similar and DCR is a part of impedance, but the tricky thing about inductors and transformers is that they may have a different impedance depending on the input frequency. Still, it's reasonable to assume that a transformer with a higher input impedance and a similar output impedance is going to have a higher DCR, which means more copper, and thus more weight. One of the specs I wanted with the Unagi transformers was a higher input impedance, which is why they ended up physically larger and heavier than other common D.I. transformers.

Long story short...more weight = more copper + higher impedance. Now, that wasn't hard, was it? Even i could understand that.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

Anyone else got any feedback on the Finally V2? Maybe it’s been a minute, but to me, it seems the new transformer slams a little bit harder than the old one. Seems to have a bit more weight to it, but it might just be me. This is a positive in my eyes.

I did, then rolled off from the internal trim pots to correct.

 

[Hasty]

Long story short...more weight = more copper + higher impedance. Now, that wasn't hard, was it? Even i could understand that.

So basically you're gonna need to watch your finally as closely as you'd watch your A/C unit... otherwise someone's gonna strip all that copper off.

 

[OldShark]

Next threads on TB, inevitably:

• Best transformer for metal?
• Transformer: Weight?

 

[Hasty]

Next threads on TB, inevitably:

• Best transformer for metal?
• Transformer: Weight?

Until this moment I’ve never really given much thought to the actual weight part, but I’ve got several projects I’ve built with audio transformers and there are some remarkable differences between them all.

The best one for metal is probably the 42TM018 in my BazzFuss pedal. It’s really gnarly sounding and can
produce some heavy synth tones when pushed.

 

[ImTheOnlyOne]

Next threads on TB, inevitably:

• Best transformer for metal?
• Transformer: Weight?

And why has no one licensed the rights from Hasbro to build a limited-run, collectable Transformers line of effects? They virtually name themselves.

Best metal for transformers: Cu

 

[agedhorse]

Long story short...more weight = more copper + higher impedance. Now, that wasn't hard, was it? Even i could understand that.

Or not...

More copper can and often does mean a lower impedance because for a fixed AC component of the impedance, the DCR will be lower if the gauge of the wire is larger (also more copper). Then, there's the weight of the core. A larger core MAY increase the inductance if the material is the same, but a lower loss core material can also result in a higher inductance and impedance with less material, especially at lower frequencies.

This ignores the major definer of impedance which is the load impedance that's reflected across the transformer to help define the input impedance.

 

[JKos]

This ignores the major definer of impedance which is the load impedance that's reflected across the transformer to help define the input impedance.

Yep. Turns ratio squared ratio. So often ignored by the masses.

 

[Parzival]

For the record, in my original post I was referring to the pedal having more weight in reference to the sound. The sound seems like it has a bit more weight to it with the new transformer than what I remember from my original Finally.

I picked up the pedal, it didn't seem very heavy.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

For the record, in my original post I was referring to the pedal having more weight in reference to the sound. The sound seems like it has a bit more weight to it with the new transformer than what I remember from my original Finally.

I picked up the pedal, it didn't seem very heavy.

I can probably explain that with very few words but with pretty graphs. Unagi transformer has a flatter response at lower frequencies.

Unagi Transformer frequency response:

LBA Transformer frequency response:

 

[Parzival]

 

[4Mal]

I’m good. I wouldn’t get it. I’m just a simple caveman banker. Your world of high tech transformers, capacitors, and tubes frightens and confuses me.

Oh man..tubes, transformers and capacitors... somehow I don't see those as high tech Cool, yes...

 

[Parzival]

Oh man..tubes, transformers and capacitors... somehow I don't see those as high tech Cool, yes...

To you: not high tech

To a caveman: high tech

 

[4Mal]

@Parzival only pulling yer leg...

 

[Parzival]

@Parzival only pulling yer leg...

So was I, I’m not really a caveman.

 

[WRM]

This ignores the major definer of impedance which is the load impedance that's reflected across the transformer to help define the input impedance.

Exactly, and like everything else, is a compromise. I think a lot of folks forget/don't know that a "transformer" has two (2) independent/electrically isolated coils that create those "Input & Load" Impedances?...

 

[lomo]

Or not...

As one who knows nothing of electronics beyond a 101 university physics course taken many years ago, this sounds like par for the course. For the uninitiated, partial info is usually prone to be misleading. I see this in my field every day..........someone comes in with a Google diploma and is information rich, but knowledge poor. As usual, "it depends"