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So.... not good, then?
Got it!
Lovepedal ‘Sale’
- Thread starter DrewJD82
- Start date
Spaced Out Ace
Shredder
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Is the Kalamazoo GOD different from the Black Caucus Kalamazoo? I am tempted to grab that and another Amp Eleven Big Box for my other pedalboard.
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This week got way busier than I expected, I had a small window to play yesterday and just wanted to play that new Dover to see how it sounds without really comparing it to the others-
Man, those EJ pickups, I’m more excited about getting that neck pickup functioning than I am trying out the Dover. You can almost catch their appeal when I’m playing clean in the beginning, when I hit that low E it’s like what I’m hearing/feeling from the acoustic sound of the guitar itself is what comes out of the amp. That’s the most ‘natural/transparent’ pickup experience I’ve ever heard. I really need to re-fret that guitar, there’s nothing left of the ends on the high side and attempting any kind of EJ licks is asking for failure.
Pretty sure I still put the GE Dover on the top of the Dover list, but this BC558 would be right behind it. There’s a lot more presence in the BC558 that removes some of the EJ-ness but makes it a bit more versatile and certainly more usable in lower Drive settings, making it the closest one to a Tube Driver out of the 4 I have. You can’t do that low dirt/Gilmour Tube Driver thing with the other Dovers, but this one can get there.
Man, those EJ pickups, I’m more excited about getting that neck pickup functioning than I am trying out the Dover. You can almost catch their appeal when I’m playing clean in the beginning, when I hit that low E it’s like what I’m hearing/feeling from the acoustic sound of the guitar itself is what comes out of the amp. That’s the most ‘natural/transparent’ pickup experience I’ve ever heard. I really need to re-fret that guitar, there’s nothing left of the ends on the high side and attempting any kind of EJ licks is asking for failure.
Pretty sure I still put the GE Dover on the top of the Dover list, but this BC558 would be right behind it. There’s a lot more presence in the BC558 that removes some of the EJ-ness but makes it a bit more versatile and certainly more usable in lower Drive settings, making it the closest one to a Tube Driver out of the 4 I have. You can’t do that low dirt/Gilmour Tube Driver thing with the other Dovers, but this one can get there.
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Put in an order for the ZenDrive Squared as well (the "Vanilla Mojo" Zendrive and the Zendrive II (FET version, not tube) in one box, that can be stacked or used independently).
Should probably stop visiting that site for a while now...
Man, that’s REALLY tempting, those don’t pop up often at all.
Sean’s on a crazy roll with these.
EOengineer
Rock Star
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Seemed like these sales stopped for a long while and then he came back with a vengeance. I went new guitar crazy around the new year and regret not having more expendable cash right now. His dirt/drive pedals are always neat.
SillyOctpuss
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I've got an original Hermida Zendrive and a Lovepedal Eternity that looks like this,
Is there any difference between these and the new ones?
There's so many different versions of the eternity with slightly different specs it could be quite different to the current ones but, I think the Zendrive should be the same spec as the current models though.
The main difference I think is the old versions used through hole components and the new ones are surface mount. Wouldn't think they sound any different though.
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I can hear that the tone is there for sure. Looking forward to getting mine.
It sounds like a good Tube driver to me in your clip.But even Tube drivers vary somewhat. My 2, 4 knob BKs sound different from each other and they're only a few years apart. Changing tubes makes them even more different. The general character is still there but the sustain, gain and compression vary.
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I can hear that the tone is there for sure. Looking forward to getting mine.
But even Tube drivers vary somewhat. My 2, 4 knob BKs sound different from each other and they're only a few years apart. Changing tubes makes them even more different. The general character is still there but the sustain, gain and compression vary.
Yeah, I think this is the only Dover Drive that’ll actually get close to a Tube Driver. There’s too much saturation in the other ones that even dialing them back doesn’t open up quite enough. I tried using the OG Dover on that “Poles Apart” solo cover and couldn’t even get in the ballpark, where the TD7 was there just turning it on.
It’s definitely my 2nd favorite Dover behind the GE. And I’m convinced there’s actual magic in the GE.
Richard_G
Roadie
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What do you think about the touch sensitivity and how rolling back the volume works on the BC558, @DrewJD82, compared with your other Dover Drives?
The reason I’m asking is the “subbed in some weirdo FETS and BC558s” note in the marketing of this version. One thing is swapping out the stock transistors with BC558s, but I’m wondering how those FETs are used – especially considering the Fuzz Face link.
The reason I’m asking is the “subbed in some weirdo FETS and BC558s” note in the marketing of this version. One thing is swapping out the stock transistors with BC558s, but I’m wondering how those FETs are used – especially considering the Fuzz Face link.
SillyOctpuss
Rock Star
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How many Dover Drives do you still have? Have you ever measured the bias of the transistors?
SillyOctpuss
Rock Star
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The fets are being used as clipping diodes. They have 2n7000 fets in the original, it's in the Zendrive part of the circuit after the FF. Sean uses fets as clipping diodes in the OCD too.
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Definitely works better on the 558 than any other Dover. The other Dovers are not what I’d consider ‘roll back your knob’ pedals, they’re too saturated and don’t clean up well. I’ll focus on that when I demo all 4 of them.
4, all but the OC42!
I have not measured that, I do however, have some kind of meter for measuring transistors I believe. I think I got it at your recommendation a couple months back but it’s still sitting in the box!
SillyOctpuss
Rock Star
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Do you have a multimeter? It's dead easy to measure the bias. Set your meter to voltage, touch the black probe to ground and touch the red probe to the collector of each transistor. Seeing how they're biased might explain some of the differences you're seeing between them.
Here's the pinpout for bc558
Richard_G
Roadie
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- 900
Thanks!
That’s what I thought; that the BC558s replace the fuzz stage transistors, while the “weirdo FETs” are used for clipping in the ZenDrive part.
I just wanted to make sure he didn’t put in a JFET input buffer or anything that messes up the interaction between the guitar pickups and the Fuzz Face front end.
Appreciate your insights, @SillyOctpuss!
EOengineer
Rock Star
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I need to chase down one of those ge models.
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Yep, I’ve got multimeters all over the place. That little meter I was talking about yesterday is for measuring various components, it’s got a little lever to hold the legs in place and whatnot. Already forgot the name of it.
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Got the EJ pickups straightened out last night! The leg between the neck and middle pickups, I’m assuming is for the 2/4 positions, has a jumper wire that extended too far through the leg and was pushing on the contact point of the neck pickup inside the selector switch. I had to de-solder, trim then put it back into place. That’s absolutely the last time I’ll order anything from https://tonemanguitar.com/ They also did not respond to my email when I shot them a message letting them know of the issues I was having. They’re clearly making the harnesses on a jig and tossing tossing them in a box without checking if they actually work once fully installed.
That was around 9pm and before I could even plug in a Dover I was lost in noodle land. Those pickups are fantastic in the most unforgiving way imaginable; they’re not giving you anything more that doesn’t exist in your fingers, guitar or amp already. It’ll change the EQ curve of that, but that’s about it. I’ve got a vid uploading now of when I first got them functioning and towards the end I’m bombing every note gloriously.All of a sudden EJ’s methodical finger placement directly between two frets with the perfect amount of finger pressure made a lot more sense.
There’s no additional sustain from a hot output or any kind of compression occurring, if you’re not prepared to fret a note properly for it to get that singing sustain, it simply won’t sustain. Dimed Marshall or not!
Funnily, when trying to find more solder last night I found my ticket stub from the last time I saw EJ. I gathered up all the Dovers to put in my studio so I can just jump in and get to playing later today.
That was around 9pm and before I could even plug in a Dover I was lost in noodle land. Those pickups are fantastic in the most unforgiving way imaginable; they’re not giving you anything more that doesn’t exist in your fingers, guitar or amp already. It’ll change the EQ curve of that, but that’s about it. I’ve got a vid uploading now of when I first got them functioning and towards the end I’m bombing every note gloriously.
All of a sudden EJ’s methodical finger placement directly between two frets with the perfect amount of finger pressure made a lot more sense.There’s no additional sustain from a hot output or any kind of compression occurring, if you’re not prepared to fret a note properly for it to get that singing sustain, it simply won’t sustain. Dimed Marshall or not!
Funnily, when trying to find more solder last night I found my ticket stub from the last time I saw EJ. I gathered up all the Dovers to put in my studio so I can just jump in and get to playing later today.
