Julius Squeezer

Still waiting for clear coat to cure on my TL1-TH, and too tired tonight to start on the frets, so I unpacked the Julius kit from Pedal Parts Australia. It's a bare-bones PCB kit of an Orange Squeezer compressor. It comes with a PCB and all components, but no enclosure, jacks, footswitch, or hookup wire. Well, OK, it does have a DC jack.

Plain sailing until I realised the supplied 47u cap is too wide to fit:
Attachment 34707
Fortunately I had a taller one.

Then I realised the supplied trimpot (to bias the JFET) was also too large:
Attachment 34708

I also happened to have a replacement that fits, so I was able to keep building:
Attachment 34709

But if I was building this from a kit without a good component stash this could have been more frustrating.

Got the board fully populated in a fraction of the time an equivalent stripboard build would take. Very relaxing :)
Attachment 34710

Also, I just discovered that Alice Cooper once had a python called Julius Squeezer. I like where this is headed for the enclosure finish.

You'll need to spend a lot more on the enclosure to make it your billion dollar baby.

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Originally Posted by Simon Barden

You'll need to spend a lot more on the enclosure to make it your billion dollar baby.

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Yeah, welcome to my nightmare.

Cool build. I'd like to try building a different compressor than the 4:1 one day. :cool:

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But if I was building this from a kit without a good component stash this could have been more frustrating.

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Even though you got it sorted, it might be worth letting them know about the issue.
A new mob took over the business a couple of years ago, so maybe there's still teething problems (?).
I've only ever purchased knobs and switches from them with both previous and present owners. My first order after the change was very slow getting sent. Second order was much better.

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Even though you got it sorted, it might be worth letting them know about the issue.
A new mob took over the business a couple of years ago, so maybe there's still teething problems (?).
I've only ever purchased knobs and switches from them with both previous and present owners. My first order after the change was very slow getting sent. Second order was much better.

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Good idea. I will send them an email.

I also hope the extra height of my 47u cap won't be an issue if I decide to box into a 1590a. Haven't made that call yet though, I want to finish the build and then try an idea I have to test drilling templates and enclosure layouts using some thin ply with lots of holes drilled in it.

Spent a bit of time wiring up the 3PDT PCB. It didn't really feel faster than the point to point wiring I use on stripboard builds, but it is neater:
Attachment 34756

Just need to connect the jacks and the two boards together then it's testing time. And enclosure prep which I haven't started. Waiting to complete the board before deciding what size enclosure.

I now use PCB for my 3PDT's too

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Originally Posted by Andy40

I now use PCB for my 3PDT's too

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Do you make your own, or buy in bulk?

Testing sans enclosure (cause I haven't drilled one yet):
Attachment 34780

The looper is so I had both hands free to adjust the JFET bias trimpot, turn the circuit on and off, and adjust the level to unity. I have read of this pedal being subtle, but this is so subtle I can't tell if it's doing anything at all. I am used to the compression built in to my THR (which I turned off for this test), so hopefully I know a little of what to listen for. Hear it I can't. Just a level boost as I adjust the level pot. The JFETs are doing something, cause the signal cuts out when I adjust the bias trimpot to one end of the range, but after 1/3 the signal returns and pretty much stays the same over the rest of the range. None of the distortion that others report at the other end of the bias adjustment.

Fortunately I socketed the 2N5457 JFETS so I can experiment with different ones. Some claim that J201s give more compression. I will try a few things that I have lying around to see what happens.

On the up side, it is quiet.

OK, this thread on DIY Stompboxes might help. Will try some of the tips later.

Edit: this blog has even more biasing tips. And a beautiful polished metal enclosure.

Enclosure drilled. Some holes slightly wonky but should be OK. Unlike the Barber there is lots of room here (1 pot vs 3 pots and 2 switches).
Attachment 34804Attachment 34805

After a bit more reading, I learnt that the voltage on the gate of Q2 (source of Q1) should be somewhere in the 1.3 to 1.5 volt range, and that as you go above that you lose compression and the circuit becomes a boost only. When I measured the voltage I had dialed in last night, it was over 3v. I carefully hooked my multimeter to the gate (lead 3) of Q2 as it was the most accessible and started exploring the voltage range between 1.0 and 1.5v. Below ~1.2 the signal started cutting out, and between 1.2 and 1.3v I still had some crackling. At just over 1.3 v it sounded clean and subtly compressed so I stopped there.
Attachment 34810

I decided the Alice Cooper theme was too hard for my current level of motivation so decided to go with something much less original, and, more importantly, easier: the "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy". What I didn't count on was the cold front that moved in turning the clear coat into a patchy matt finish with large cloudy sections.
Attachment 34839Attachment 34840

To get a decent finish I probably need to strip back to metal and start again, either when the weather warms up again or by turning on the heating in the shed.

For now I am just turning on the heating and will put one more clear over the front since it doesn't have any cloudiness and I might get a good enough improvement on the current mess. That will probably be good enough for a few years based on how long I lived with the first version of my OD-2 enclosure.

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I have read of this pedal being subtle, but this is so subtle I can't tell if it's doing anything at all. I am used to the compression built in to my THR (which I turned off for this test), so hopefully I know a little of what to listen for.

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Subtle is key to a good compressor IMO.
I've had the same comp pedal on my board for the past 8 years. It's a Mooer Yellow Comp. A clone of the Diamond Compressor (hence the yellow). The Yellow Comp is perfect for me. It just adds a little lift to the tone that you almost don't hear, until you turn it off!
Then it's like WOW! It really is doing something!

Before the Mooer, I tried two different MXR comps that are supposed to be the shizzle, and I disliked both. They were either too squishy or sounded great with dirt and crap clean, or great clean and crap with dirt. No way could I set and forget and impossible if switching back & forth clean/dirty.

I bought the Mooer for half the price of the MXR's and haven't looked for another compressor since.

I also found a demo of another Orange Squeezer Clone by the same dude in Greece that built my SOB Dual OD.
It is also subtle, sounds great to me. Has the just the right amount of "secret sauce".
If you check out his other videos, there's one there of the SOB too. Since you're an OD junkie, you should like it!

Adam A - Orange Squeezer

Ok, here's the SOB too!

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Subtle is key to a good compressor IMO.
I've had the same comp pedal on my board for the past 8 years. It's a Mooer Yellow Comp. A clone of the Diamond Compressor (hence the yellow). The Yellow Comp is perfect for me. It just adds a little lift to the tone that you almost don't hear, until you turn it off!
Then it's like WOW! It really is doing something!

Before the Mooer, I tried two different MXR comps that are supposed to be the shizzle, and I disliked both. They were either too squishy or sounded great with dirt and crap clean, or great clean and crap with dirt. No way could I set and forget and impossible if switching back & forth clean/dirty.

I bought the Mooer for half the price of the MXR's and haven't looked for another compressor since.

I also found a demo of another Orange Squeezer Clone by the same dude in Greece that built my SOB Dual OD.
It is also subtle, sounds great to me. Has the just the right amount of "secret sauce".
If you check out his other videos, there's one there of the SOB too. Since you're an OD junkie, you should like it!

Adam A - Orange Squeezer

Ok, here's the SOB too!

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I have heard that Mooer make some of the better clones. I don't have any Mooer pedals but I do have Nux (tuner), Joyo (sweet honey clone), Caline (Timmy clone), and Ammoon (EHX 360 looper clone). They are all good pedals (but the Joyo might not make it back onto my board, evicted by a recent build).

Also thanks for the links. As a great side bonus, the comments contain a note from the builder of the trimmer voltage he uses. This is the value I have been struggling with, and his setting is something else to try :)

I need to rebuild my pedal board STAT!

Cool artwork, did you hand draw it?

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Originally Posted by Andy40

Cool artwork, did you hand draw it?

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Sadly, no. I found it on a free vector art site. Font from 1001 Fonts (also free) for personal use.

I mostly salvaged the finish with a very light sand (careful of the decals) and a respray of clear after warming up the shed. The chalky matte finish has completely disappeared (before|after):
Attachment 34844

Makes me think the chalkiness must have been all in the surface and that the new layer has flowed into all the pores. Or something. Regardless, I should be able to box this box of juicy goodness up tomorrow night and finish rebuilding the pedal board.

Very cool man.

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Originally Posted by Andy40

Very cool man.

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Thanks. I am really excited to get it boxed and onto the board.

I still have some tweaking to do with different FETs and the trimmer voltage, but that will wait until after boxing.

And it's done. I normally run compression after drives, partly on the idea that it preserves the pick sensitivity of the overdrive, but also because I have been using the digital compression built into the THR. Putting the Lemon Squeezy at the front, just after the buffer and tuner. I can use it as a compressor-boost thingy into the overdrives. Or at least that's the plan for now.
Attachment 34854

And on the board (which still has room for the Red Llama and Phase 45 that I will be building once parts arrive). Once they get built I will probably evict the Pure Sky (Sweet Baby has already left the building):
Attachment 34855

I like the idea of running a board only with pedals I built myself, but I won't ever build a tuner or looper, and the Xtomp is too much fun (right now it's at the end of the signal chain just before the looper - that way I can use it for distortion, phaser, chorus, delay etc).

Let me know if you need a Red Llama PCB. I've got a spare:D

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Originally Posted by Andy40

Let me know if you need a Red Llama PCB. I've got a spare:D

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Thanks Andy, but I have already started on the stripboard. Once I make the cuts it's hard to use the board for anything else. I won't get it finished for a while though since the IC chip is likely months away.

No worries mate, its a pretty simple circuit

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Originally Posted by Andy40

No worries mate, its a pretty simple circuit

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So @Andy40, the Red Llama, would you say it is an overdrive, a distortion, or a fuzz? In the clips I have heard it sounds like a medium gain soft-clipped overdrive at low gain settings, but then moves well into crunchy fuzz territory at higher settings.

Sorry just saw this. The thing about the Red Llama is that it sounds different depending on the amp used. Based on that, I'd say its a very powerful overdrive which is capable of what you have described. Obviously you can use it as a clean boost with fairly minimal colour to the tone. When you start playing with the gain you can start at crunch, which increases to a driven marshally type sound. I've not spent a lot of time in the really high register of the gain so i'll check later today.