New (broken) pedal day!

[bigtone23]

Interesting! That should result in some sort of cocked-wah sound.

Use that EQ setting right after a MIAB type distortion, and you just entered the first step to copping the Boston/Rockman tone!

[laurie]

I like the sound of that - I'll try it on the weekend.

[Pepe]

I rescued the MXR six band graphic equalizer!

Just as expected it was a tough job getting rid of all the residues of the deteriorated foam. I almost ran out of isopropyl alcohol, which is the best thing to remove this nasty stuff.

This is the completely disassembled unit after the cleaning. Removing the old foam had to be carefully done with the alcohol to avoid the slightest discolouration of the blue enclosure.



The slide potentiometers! Man, I was happy when the stuff was removed out of the gaps! Then I treated them with tons of isopropyl spray and with vaseline spray afterwards to ensure smooth operation.



I replaced the old foam with thin layers of foam rubber. I didn't use glue, because this isn't necessary.



This is it! Almost looking like a new unit, only with a few tiny scratches and a blemish in the lower left that it must already have had when it left the factory. And it works like a charm now. The jacks were very noisy at first, although I gave them a proper cleaning. I had to clean them for three or four more times and I suppose that the bad contacts were caused by the foam. But now it works completely crackle-free!

The sound is good! I tested that Tom Scholz setting after my recently acquired vintage MXR distortion + (that pedal still sounds sweet!) and I can hear what you like about that setting. Not really a cocked-wah sound as I supposed. The six eq bands are very effective and they are very well-tailored. It is really easy to shape the sound to your taste. This is a really good sounding unit. I do now clearly see why there is a demand for it.

[laurie]

Spectacular save pepe! Looks NOS!

[Pepe]

Yes, it does! Now it is almost on par with the condition of the NOS DS-1 from 1980 that I received a few weeks ago. Both pedals were made in the same year. What are the chances to find 44 year-old pedals in almost unused condition? The German VARTA Super Dry battery was also a good choice of the previous owner. This battery type is leak proof and the battery snap is tidy as on the first day.

If The_Doc decides to buy it off from me, he's going to be very happy with it, I'm sure!

[Pepe]

Today I opened the Ibanez CS9. I told a friend that I think that the waveform is a bit odd, almost a square wave and he suggested that I might want to try my luck with the trimpots inside.

However, I looked out for tantal capacitors and I only spotted this one. Was it soldered in correctly? Are the marks "+++++++" or "-------" with a stroke through them? I'm a bit confused.

[laurie]

It is reversed. And leaking.

[Pepe]

Thanks for the confirmation, Laurie! So it is a fault done by factory? You don't see that too often! Could it be a cause for the irregular sounding LFO?

[Pepe]

And what does the "R" mean in the labelling "R10/35"?

[laurie]

Yep, sometimes it happens! I'm in the process of fixing for a friend a Voodoo Labs amp switcher. The factory put a 2N3906 transistor in the place where an LM317L voltage regulator should have gone (they look the same physically, and the every other 3-pin semiconductor in the pedal is a 2N3906). They just picked the wrong part when it was manufactured.

It must have sat in a cupboard for nearly 20 years. Took a bit of detective work to figure that one out - there is no schematic available.