Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on November 27, 2019 at 8:17pm

I prefer the bigger speakers myself, don't want anything under 8" diameter although some of the 6" ones sound decent. Really like the 10 and 12 inch for guitar and 10 or 15 inch for bass.

Sometimes I put my Ruby through a Realistic 20watt PA amp a buddy gave me and play it with a old Fisher 20watt 10" speaker I found at a Goodwill store.

I do think these Ruby amps sound better than the Lil Gem and Smokey types. When I get a chance, I'll try that JFET on the output side.

Permalink Reply by Southern Ray on April 30, 2020 at 5:25pm

 OK, I give up. First of all, I really appreciate the time and effort you take to draw up these circuits, Brian. I have spent a lot of time trying to find something that explains the different colors and shapes of the components in these drawings, a legend, if you will. I get some of the simple stuff - C=Cap and R=Resistor, the colors mean something, obviously, the type of component, such as "film cap" "Electrolytic" etc.? Is there a legend around that can help and if so, where can find it? How do you determine what type of cap to use?

 Thanks to anyone that can help with this,

Ray

Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on April 30, 2020 at 6:47pm

You just answered your own question :D Yes, green ones are Film caps & round ones are Electrolytic, the colors are really to identify the different types of parts in the layout? Anything 1 uF & larger will be an electrolytic, there’s only a few types- axial, radial, one stands up on end & the other lays down on its side?Anything smaller than 1 uF will be a film capacitor, these are usually called ”greenies”, they are polyester mylar type, metallized polypropylene (orange drop) & polyester box type can also be used, greenies are most common & easily obtainable? See how the parts look just like the ones in the layout? 

Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on April 30, 2020 at 7:16pm

Forgot to add, the resistors are blue because they are metal film instead of carbon film,? you can use either, but metal film adds minimal background noise to the circuit? Like a military grade part?

Permalink Reply by Kigar on May 1, 2020 at 12:56am

Ray you might want to try a kit first, seeing it in person helps a lot. While not a Ruby or any other name, these work ok and having a marked board makes it a lot easier. Just a couple bucks on eBay, I have seen them other places too. I switched the headphone jack to a instrument jack. Also I have another one that I want to swap some components to be closer to the guitar amps, hopefully get to it someday.

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on May 15, 2020 at 8:11pm

It might be easier to buy and put together for a beginner, but they aren't a Ruby Amp. It's not just a difference of name, it's a difference of components, component values and schematic/layout. Those shown only have a volume pot instead of a Volume and gain pot like the Ruby has. They will not sound the same.

I think the layouts that BrianQ has provided are simple enough for most people to follow and the exact parts are easy to find at several websites for little enough money.

Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on May 15, 2020 at 8:17pm

To add to that Paul, I'll be putting up a stripboard layout in the near future, which is a lot easier than the perfboard layout?

Permalink Reply by Southern Ray on May 1, 2020 at 10:56am

Thank you, thank you gentlemen! This is getting very exciting for me. Kinda like when I started building CBGs. Things are really beginning to "click".

Thank each and every one of you!

Ray

Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on May 13, 2020 at 3:30pm

Another update I’ll do down the line is, adding  “External power” to it? 

Permalink Reply by Southern Ray on May 13, 2020 at 4:46pm

Sounds great to me. I spent three hours yesterday alone trying to figure out how many milliamps a LM386 wall wart should provide. I would appreciate it greatly!

Permalink Reply by BrianQ. on May 13, 2020 at 6:00pm

Wall warts for stompboxes/mini amps are between 200ma-500ma. Why, because 9V batteries are around the same specs?  Look for Roland,Boss, DOD,Danelectro,Dunlop 9v power adapters, there’s a lot of info about them out there. those I mentioned above have been workhorses of the industry for decades? Look at sweetwater or musicians friend 

Permalink Reply by Paul Craig on May 16, 2020 at 8:15am

I'll add that those cheap brand walwarts can add a lot of noise and sometimes oscillation sounds to your amp or pedal. So sometimes that old saying that you get what you pay for can be very true. I guess those cheaper brands are skipping the filters that keep those issues at bay. So be careful when shopping for those walwarts.

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