Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Why not find a dead danelectro pedal with good jacks in it?

Based on the reports from yourself and others in the thread, the Danelectro's jacks are their Achilles heel. I would probably only be prolonging the inevitable.

It's also unlikely I'll find a dead one that happens to have good jacks.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Are you talking about the little pedals that cost $18.00?

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Nope. He's talking the big metal jobbies.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Are you talking about the little pedals that cost $18.00?

...

ANOTHER DISCLAIMER: This is one of the big Danelectro pedals with metal enclosures, not the puny widdle mini pedals you often see.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

You wouldn't be the first one rehousing a Danelectro pedal. Yes, the pots and jacks are pure crap, as you know. I see no problem with rehousing the thing as long as you know what you're doing, and you say you do and I believe you. So, have at it and share some pics when it's done.

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

It's a shame they're so unreliable, considering how decent the effects sound.

I paid $3 shipped for a Dano Milkshake Chorus (one of the small cheap ones zzmoore alluded to) and I'll be darned if that wasn't one of the coolest little pedals I've ever screwed with.

 

[ParameterMan]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

...coolest little pedals I've ever screwed with.

Man, that took some determination.... I guess it's time to believe the rumors about your size....

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Rehouse the sucker....or get someone to do it....they sound good enough to use some time on them!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

The more I think about it, the more this seems like a cool project. I metered the pots with my multimeter last night, and also measured the PCB's dimensions. Based on that, I came up with a parts list:

- Jack, 1/4" mono, case-mounted (1)
- Jack, 1/4" stereo, case-mounted (1)
- Jack, 2.1 mm DC power, case-mounted (1)
- Alpha linear taper pot, solid shaft, 18mm, 100k Ohm (3)
- Alpha linear taper pot, solid shaft, 18mm, 5k Ohm (1)
- Knobs for the above (4)
- Foot switch, DPDT (1)
- LED (1)
- Stand-offs, type TBD (4)
- Aluminum enclosure, minimum 5.5" x 3.5" x 1.5" (1)

That ought to do it. I have a couple of BYOC kits to build this week, and I'll give this project some more thought while I do that.

btw, if any of you have a good source for parts like this, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Rehouse the sucker....or get someone to do it....they sound good enough to use some time on them!

That's the only encouragement I need. If the pedal guru thinks it's a good idea, then I'd best get to work on it!

This will be cool, especially since the thing has so much history on/from this forum.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Small Bear Electronics has everything on that list. Steve is a good guy and is geared towards us stompbox nuts.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/

If you can, paint the new enclosure like the old one.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

I have heard bad things about Small Bear's customer service (missing orders, orders taking weeks to fill, slow communication). How have your experiences been?

 

[ErikH]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

I haven't had any problems. Steve is a one man shop, though he does have an assistant. He does almost everything himself. He's been going through growing pains but the fact that he goes out of his way to get stuff that people need and want speaks volumes. IMO, he's worth supporting.

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

I too have had good luck working with Small Bear overall and I've had several transactions with him.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Okay, Small Bear it is. I don't want to waste time hunting all over the Internet for each part.

I also noticed he does local pickup from Mazzotti Music in Brooklyn, so maybe I'll just pop down there next time I'm in CT, which will probably be soon.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Parts list from Small Bear:

- Enclosure, Sovtek 1790NS: $10.25 x 1
- Switch, Carling 110-PM-OFF momentary off-on: $8.35 x 1
- Pot, Alpha linear taper, 16mm, 100K Ohm: $1.25 x 3 = $3.75
- Pot, Alpha linear taper, 16mm, 5K Ohm: $1.25 x 1
- Knob, cream w. black index: $0.80 x 4 = $3.20
- Jack, 1/4" mono, Switchcraft: $1.75 x 1
- Jack, 1/4" stereo, Switchcraft: $1.75 x 1
- Jack, DC power, 2.1 mm plastic round external nut: $1.25 x 1
- Stand-offs, aluminum, 3/8", pack of four: $1.25 x 1
- LED, T-1 3/4 5 mm water-clear high brightness, violet: $0.50 x 1
- Switch, SPDT on-on toggle: $1.80 x 2
- Battery clip, 9V: $0.40 x 1

TOTAL: $37.20

I think that's everything except wire, which I have tons of.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

That is not a bad deal for all that. Def worth it in my book. Now, if you can find a schematic of that thing, it'll make wiring it up to a reliable switch a lot easier.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

That is not a bad deal for all that. Def worth it in my book. Now, if you can find a schematic of that thing, it'll make wiring it up to a reliable switch a lot easier.

Yeah, the switch is the tricky part I think. They use a strange switch that seems to be stateless (i.e. it doesn't "remember" the position it was in after you power the pedal down).

I'm probably not going to bother with true mechanical bypass on this - I just want something I can wire up to get it working.

The rest of the wiring is going to be pretty straightforward - just replacing components.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Interesting ... while searching for schematics, I came across a mod to make the Dan-Echo self-oscillate. It's actually very simple - replace one resistor with a jumper. Linkage:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-242839.html

 

[ErikH]

Re: Dan-Echo crapped out on me in rehearsal ... possibly fixable

Interesting ... while searching for schematics, I came across a mod to make the Dan-Echo self-oscillate. It's actually very simple - replace one resistor with a jumper. Linkage:

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/archive/index.php/t-242839.html

That's cool. Put a DPDT switch in there to go between the jumper and the resistor and you can make it do that anytime you want. Better yet, make the switch a stomp switch so you can do it on the fly.