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Post by mulmany on Mar 1, 2016 14:21:56 GMT -6
The only issue I have had with the hairball is that the knobs are tight. My fat fingers get in the way. I prefer the Don u76 for this reason. That is my go to vocal comp while mixing right now. I not sure I would recommend it for a beginner though. The documents are good, but deffinately for a experienced builder. But hey you might do great with it your first time out.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Mar 1, 2016 14:29:15 GMT -6
As a beginner, I would go with the rack unit. I just finished a hairball 500 rev d and though it's not terribly complicated, the led meter adds some fun. Calibration is also a labor of patients! The La500a would also be a good starter. We have a decent exchange rate right now with Australia. Yeah I figure it's probably trickier in that tighter space. Thing is I'm thinking of getting another Harrison 32c and that will leave two slots in my 500 rack and I'd be using the pair of Harrisons and pair of Rev A together all the time so it just feels tidy! I'm also out of 19" rack space, though I could build another rack cab. I love the classic 19" 1176 form factor, but for space reasons it would be more practical for me to fill up those last 500 slots. Or not. Tough call. Killer price for these bastards at Sweetwater right now. A pair would fill those 2 slots nicely. www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TX5C |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2016 19:48:45 GMT -6
Since the 1081 as a "from scratch" project is mentioned, i want to add the Green Pre, first version, to this list. Etching the PCB, using what you have at hand or buying some pretty easily obtainable parts. Not expensive at all. Or should i say: Really cheap to build but not sounding cheap at all. So easy. Resembles the Amek Mozart pre.
Great first do-it-ALL-yourself project.
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Post by rocinante on Mar 3, 2016 23:22:05 GMT -6
Yeah t he 1081 is a little ambitious for even a first year diy'er. Gustav's pcb grinder has some cool stuff for affordable prices. A bit of a wait time but worth it imo.
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Post by rocinante on Mar 3, 2016 23:29:36 GMT -6
Ragan,
If you do take the plunge hit me up. If its not a kit I'll send you a little bag of diy starter essentials I.e. dpdt toggles, fuse holders, caps etc... kits usually come with everything you need.
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Post by ragan on Mar 4, 2016 2:32:24 GMT -6
Ragan, If you do take the plunge hit me up. If its not a kit I'll send you a little bag of diy starter essentials I.e. dpdt toggles, fuse holders, caps etc... kits usually come with everything you need. Thanks man!! I'm pretty sure I'll be doing a few kits before doing anything else. I was considering selling my Burl B2 ADC to fund a few kits but after a few days of careful AB'ing, I can't do it. The Burl brings something special to the table that I am just not able to replicate without it. So I think I'll just be starting with one thing. Probably the Hairball Rev A 500 series. It very well may be over my head but I don't mind going very slow and I can follow instructions. I've spent the last few days modding some mics and finishing up making the cables for my new patch bays and I'm ready to solder. We'll see! Maybe I'll ruin the damn Rev A and go down in flames but at least I'll have tried. |
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Post by unit7 on Mar 4, 2016 8:18:59 GMT -6
It very well may be over my head but I don't mind going very slow and I can follow instructions. We'll see! Maybe I'll ruin the damn Rev A and go down in flames but at least I'll have tried. You're far too humble  You're used to soldering, obviously handy and understand assembling/how things come together probably better than many of us. You're going to be fine! |
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Post by ragan on Mar 4, 2016 10:04:36 GMT -6
It very well may be over my head but I don't mind going very slow and I can follow instructions. We'll see! Maybe I'll ruin the damn Rev A and go down in flames but at least I'll have tried. You're far too humble You're used to soldering, obviously handy and understand assembling/how things come together probably better than many of us. You're going to be fine! Thanks! I'm gonna go for it. Been perusing that list of tools and I'm stocking up on a few things. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 4, 2016 10:53:28 GMT -6
You're far too humble You're used to soldering, obviously handy and understand assembling/how things come together probably better than many of us. You're going to be fine! Thanks! I'm gonna go for it. Been perusing that list of tools and I'm stocking up on a few things. a couple quick tips that took a bit for me to figure out, get a flux pen and use it, make your iron hotter than you'd think so you can hit quick and go, don't use a sharp point solder tip, use a flat tip for good heat transfer, get some alligator clips to attach to film caps(especially polystyrene) legs to soak up the heat, get those $3 dental tools from Harbor Freight, tweezers, and get a pair of duckbill hemostats, they are super useful, get some acetone and a toothbrush to keep things clean. good luck bud 8) embsupplies.com/mymagento/index.php/embroidery-supplies/tools/hemostats-5-curved.htmlwww.harborfreight.com/6-piece-pick-set-93514.html |
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Post by NoFilterChuck on Mar 4, 2016 11:28:44 GMT -6
750F or higher is what jsteiger told me when I started, and it has never failed me yet! |
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Post by ragan on Mar 4, 2016 11:39:58 GMT -6
Thanks! I'm gonna go for it. Been perusing that list of tools and I'm stocking up on a few things. a couple quick tips that took a bit for me to figure out, get a flux pen and use it, make your iron hotter than you'd think so you can hit quick and go, don't use a sharp point solder tip, use a flat tip for good heat transfer, get some alligator clips to attach to film caps(especially polystyrene) legs to soak up the heat, get those $3 dental tools from Harbor Freight, tweezers, and get a pair of duckbill hemostats, they are super useful, get some acetone and a toothbrush to keep things clean. good luck bud 8) embsupplies.com/mymagento/index.php/embroidery-supplies/tools/hemostats-5-curved.htmlwww.harborfreight.com/6-piece-pick-set-93514.htmlThanks. Very helpful. I will get that stuff for sure. I appreciate the insight you guys are providing. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 4, 2016 11:57:34 GMT -6
750F or higher is what jsteiger told me when I started, and it has never failed me yet! cool, thats where i got it too, JS rules! |
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Post by jayson on Mar 5, 2016 9:34:45 GMT -6
I think it's pretty important to select a first build that you can successfully complete fairly fast so you can keep your enthusiasm primed.
My first build was a CAPI VP28; a choice I definitely don't regret. I suppose if I could do it again I think I might have started wit a somewhat simpler project like a 312 though; just to get acquainted with the work flow and practice my soldering technique, but that's not any kind of a regret.
For me it was just the right amount of challenge-vs-simplicity. Jeff's docs are real concise; you can start out approaching it as a "paint-by-numbers" activity and with each build you learn more and more about WHY you're making the connections that you're making. With no calibration to deal with I was amazed I pulled it off when it worked on the first try!
It's fast, easy and and sounds great. It's the kind of project that, even if you go slowly and carefully, you can still complete in a weekend and start using right away. An excellent confidence builder.
After a couple of those it might more sense to ramp up to something more ambitious like a compressor or EQ that might require a bit more time on the workbench and calibration.
Best nuggets of advice I think I could offer anybody deciding on their first build is to check out the assembly documents first - if you can follow along with them just by reading the steps and studying the pics & illustrations, you should do OK. Keep the multi-tester handy as you build and actually test each component to confirm it's value before you commit the solder. Most important part of the process is to ENJOY it; any hint of frustration means it's break time.
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Post by ragan on Mar 5, 2016 12:05:40 GMT -6
I think it's pretty important to select a first build that you can successfully complete fairly fast so you can keep your enthusiasm primed. My first build was a CAPI VP28; a choice I definitely don't regret. I suppose if I could do it again I think I might have started wit a somewhat simpler project like a 312 though; just to get acquainted with the work flow and practice my soldering technique, but that's not any kind of a regret. For me it was just the right amount of challenge-vs-simplicity. Jeff's docs are real concise; you can start out approaching it as a "paint-by-numbers" activity and with each build you learn more and more about WHY you're making the connections that you're making. With no calibration to deal with I was amazed I pulled it off when it worked on the first try! It's fast, easy and and sounds great. It's the kind of project that, even if you go slowly and carefully, you can still complete in a weekend and start using right away. An excellent confidence builder. After a couple of those it might more sense to ramp up to something more ambitious like a compressor or EQ that might require a bit more time on the workbench and calibration. Best nuggets of advice I think I could offer anybody deciding on their first build is to check out the assembly documents first - if you can follow along with them just by reading the steps and studying the pics & illustrations, you should do OK. Keep the multi-tester handy as you build and actually test each component to confirm it's value before you commit the solder. Most important part of the process is to ENJOY it; any hint of frustration means it's break time. Great advice. Thank you. I'm hoping the fact that I REALLY want a Rev A (and have for years) will keep me motivated. I also have these chunks of time often where I have my napping 1 year old above me and I'm down in my studio with 2-3 free hours but can't make much noise. Soldering stuff (just been modding a couple mics and making up cables for my patchbay) is therapeutic in some way for me. And it's pretty dang quiet! I also remodel houses for a living. My last one took me a year. I'm pretty used to staying the course on long projects with ups and downs. I'm hoping that'll help. Great advice though, thanks. |
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Post by kcatthedog on Mar 5, 2016 14:46:18 GMT -6
Let me know ,if you want some 98 proof iso propyl, I know a guy,, who knows a guy  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2016 16:37:37 GMT -6
One of the best advices already given here:
Measure every single component before soldering. This will save you from countless hours of debugging...
Not only you can have wrong values in your plastic bags sometimes from packaging errors at the supplier, you can have faulty parts, even series of faulty parts. (I had sometimes up to 50% off spec parts, especially NOS parts.)
And this is not all. I also had parts with wrong color code, wrong prints on it and - not even too rarely - faked parts. And this can happen even at the biggest and best parts suppliers, when they have been cheated from their suppliers at the big south asian parts market - false Wima caps, cheap chip opamps with new prints to sell as high performance pricier parts...
You never find the faulty parts in such cases, before you desolder and measure......
Crazy stuff, that you can avoid just with measuring directly before soldering...
It will save you time and nerves doing this - that's for sure IME.
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Post by ragan on Mar 8, 2016 22:02:43 GMT -6
tonycamphd unit7 You guys have a link to what specific solder tips you like? Many of the links in that DIY master tools list thread are busted. I'm about to order some things. Cheers.
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 8, 2016 22:38:08 GMT -6
tonycamphd unit7 You guys have a link to what specific solder tips you like? Many of the links in that DIY master tools list thread are busted. I'm about to order some things. Cheers. what kind of soldering iron do you have? 1,2,3 chisel is what i use on my cruddy weller. |
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Post by ragan on Mar 8, 2016 22:59:27 GMT -6
tonycamphd unit7 You guys have a link to what specific solder tips you like? Many of the links in that DIY master tools list thread are busted. I'm about to order some things. Cheers. what kind of soldering iron do you have? 1,2,3 chisel is what i use on my cruddy weller. I have a (possibly cruddy?) Weller too. Attachment Deleted |
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 8, 2016 23:15:05 GMT -6
what kind of soldering iron do you have? 1,2,3 chisel is what i use on my cruddy weller. I have a (possibly cruddy?) Weller too. LMAO! that is my exact station, i'm on my third iron, i will buy the Hakko when this one kicks off 8) |
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Post by ragan on Mar 8, 2016 23:29:17 GMT -6
I have a (possibly cruddy?) Weller too. LMAO! that is my exact station, i'm on my third iron, i will buy the Hakko when this one kicks off 8) Well at least it's gotten you through some builds. So chisel tips. What do "1,2,3" mean exactly, size wise? When I search for tips I'm seeing exact sizes rather than a "#1...#2..." type of classification. I've only ever had a couple tips and neither are chisel but I want to order some. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 9, 2016 7:55:49 GMT -6
LMAO! that is my exact station, i'm on my third iron, i will buy the Hakko when this one kicks off 8) Well at least it's gotten you through some builds. So chisel tips. What do "1,2,3" mean exactly, size wise? When I search for tips I'm seeing exact sizes rather than a "#1...#2..." type of classification. I've only ever had a couple tips and neither are chisel but I want to order some. I picked mine up at Frys Eleftronics, u could probably Google the model of the iron and find them? I'll look a little later as well... |
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Post by ragan on Mar 9, 2016 9:55:28 GMT -6
Well at least it's gotten you through some builds. So chisel tips. What do "1,2,3" mean exactly, size wise? When I search for tips I'm seeing exact sizes rather than a "#1...#2..." type of classification. I've only ever had a couple tips and neither are chisel but I want to order some. I picked mine up at Frys Eleftronics, u could probably Google the model of the iron and find them? I'll look a little later as well... Will do. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't some Super Badass Extra Awesome ones I was missing. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 9, 2016 10:06:01 GMT -6
I picked mine up at Frys Eleftronics, u could probably Google the model of the iron and find them? I'll look a little later as well... Will do. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't some Super Badass Extra Awesome ones I was missing. not really, I think a good habit is to leave the tip dirty after setting a component, then clean right before use, leaving it "dirty" or cleaning it, and then tinning it with some fresh solder, then leaving it at rest, will extend the tips life, maybe svart has some good tips on preserving tip life as he's soldered more than anyone on earth possibly? I find that a cleaned tip sitting there baking kills the tip much faster. |
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Post by unit7 on Mar 9, 2016 10:13:08 GMT -6
I have a (possibly cruddy?) Weller too. LMAO! that is my exact station, i'm on my third iron, i will buy the Hakko when this one kicks off 8) And the Weller WHS40 you mentioned earlier was what I had for like 8-9 yrs before it left the building and I upgraded to an 80W Weller last summer. The former worked fine, but the new one is just great. Tip is fastened in a sturdy way instead of the flimsy screw on the WHS40, and the heat seems to reach the pointy tip I'm using much better. |
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You're used to soldering, obviously handy and understand assembling/how things come together probably better than many of us. You're going to be fine!
