#171867  by Cumtax
 
IRangASilentBell wrote: Fri Oct 22, 2021 8:26 am I'm not quite getting the difference between a buffer and a blaster but I thought it would be cool to have some gain / drive at the flip of a switch that was adjustable for situations when I'm not lugging around pedals

Long cables and pedals bleed treble\high frequencies. Buffers change the ohm of the signal and keep those high frequencies up. Nowadays lots of pedals have buffers inside for this reason but it was a serious concern back in the days, and I can see a special concern for a man that chased crispy clean tones. Buffers don't boost the signal, so they don't push the gain stage, you don't get overdriven, you don't get volume, while a stratoblaster would most definitely do all of that
 #171896  by IRangASilentBell
 
Let me know if I'm off on anything here but after digesting all of this info I think I want to go the blaster route with it built into the Strat with the on / off switch. It sounds like this will thicken the sound and give it some gain.

I think having the gain adjustable with a push / pull would be pretty cool but I guess it's not that useful or important because it won't be something you change once finding a setting that you like.

I have a friend that can help build this or help install it from a kit. I'm not sure where to buy the kit or parts yet as some of the links were to other items or to non-working pages.

Thanks for all of the info everyone
 #171920  by Chocol8
 
Jon S. wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 5:48 am
NeilG1 wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 5:31 am Sort of tangential, but Jerry did say in interview (albeit certainly post-alligator "blaster" days) that the "only reason" he had a buffer in his guitar was to maintain tone when rolling back his volume.
That surprises me as if his issue was just losing treble when rolling back his volume knob, a simple treble bleed mod would have sufficed. https://www.premierguitar.com/diy/mod-g ... -bleed-mod
Not the same results. The treble bleed works (well) over a limited range and then sounds way too bright or thin at low volumes, and it still won’t help with capacitive loss in long cable runs, other than to allow reducing the levels of mids and lows to maybe keep the signal relative levels unchanged, but then the overall signal is even weaker. This then causes issues driving pedals and amps. An active buffer is a far superior solution, except for the reliance on batteries.
 #171921  by Chocol8
 
IRangASilentBell wrote: Sat Oct 30, 2021 8:57 am Let me know if I'm off on anything here but after digesting all of this info I think I want to go the blaster route with it built into the Strat with the on / off switch. It sounds like this will thicken the sound and give it some gain.

I think having the gain adjustable with a push / pull would be pretty cool but I guess it's not that useful or important because it won't be something you change once finding a setting that you like.

I have a friend that can help build this or help install it from a kit. I'm not sure where to buy the kit or parts yet as some of the links were to other items or to non-working pages.

Thanks for all of the info everyone
My experience with StratoBlaster’s is their useful gain range is pretty limited. They are a decent buffer at or near unity gain, but at that range they will offer very little coloration to the tone. A slight boost with an A/B test will be perceived as thicker fuller tone, but if you level match the tones (assuming nothing else is over driven) there is little perceptible difference.

If you crank the SB to the point of getting JFET distortion, where it does add character, I find you end up with a Strat that is VERY susceptible to EMF noise, even with very good shielding. This really limits the usefulness of the SB other than as a buffer and that’s why an internal trim is fine.

What it really does best is to preserver the highs through your cable run, and also maybe add a slight boost to the output level of the a vintage style single coil guitar so that it can drive pedals and amps the same as a P90 or vintage output humbucker guitar. That to me was a big benefit. I could keep my twin reverb channel volume set a the same edge of breakup level for Strats and LP’s by level matching at the guitar output with the volume pots on 10.

Ultimately though, I have never fallen in love with the SB. I actually just removed my last one and replaced it with the standard Fender midboost circuit. The Fender boost offer a similar but less noisy clean boost right on the main volume pot. Set it around 7 and it sounds like a unity gain buffer, but you can still turn up to 8-10 for clean boost. It really is very clean too, no noticeable change to the tone of the guitar at all. You then have the mid boost control which allows you to fatten of up the tone. Not very 70’s-90’s Jerry at all, but it does let you get close to the 60’s Gibson tones from a Strat, plus the added versatility for non-Dead playing.

For the Jerry thing, keep in mind that he was using these things to preserve the tone out of the guitar and keep it consistent, NOT to color it or change it. Along those lines the later designs, like the ones Waldo builds, or some of the other active options, are just as good or better for the job than the original and primitive StratoBlaster design.
 #171922  by Jon S.
 
Chocol8 wrote: Wed Nov 03, 2021 5:21 pmNot the same results. The treble bleed works (well) over a limited range and then sounds way too bright or thin at low volumes, and it still won’t help with capacitive loss in long cable runs, other than to allow reducing the levels of mids and lows to maybe keep the signal relative levels unchanged, but then the overall signal is even weaker. This then causes issues driving pedals and amps. An active buffer is a far superior solution, except for the reliance on batteries.
If we're disagreeing here, pardon, but I'm not seeing it. I actually think I'm agreeing with you!

You're highlighting what a treble bleed cap doesn't do and explaining how a buffer does more. I agree completely. That's why I was surprised when Neil quoted Jerry as saying "only reason" he had a buffer in his guitar was to maintain tone when rolling back his volume.

It did not occur to me to intepret "maintain tone when rolling back the guitar's volume knob" as meaning "and also address capacitance loss in long cable runs." If that's your issue, for sure, you need a buffer.

As for a treble bleed cap working best over a specific volume range, maybe Jerry rolled his volume knob down to very low volumes - lower than I personally and as a practical matter use. I'll take your word for it if he did.

In my own personal experience, however, I don't experience problems with my treble bleed caps failing to deliver what I need from them in the volume ranges I use as a practical matter.

I hope I'm expressing myself clearly. Apologies if I'm not.
 #171935  by Chocol8
 
Not in much disagreement. The treble bleed helps with the loss of treble from the volume pot being turned down. If you also have a long cable run (especially with high capacitance cables of the period) you will get additional tone loss as you turn the volume down and the pot and cables create a low pass RC filter. The treble bleed can help with this to a point, but not as well as a buffer.

Jerry was probably not separating the two pieces when he gave that quote. He also had some smart guys who likely steered him straight to the buffer/blaster rather than even consider using treble bleeds. I don’t know, just speculation.
Jon S., milobender liked this
 #171940  by IRangASilentBell
 
I just watched a video of this GGG 'improved' blaster and it sounds pretty sweet. The sustain is awesome. I have put a link to the kit and to the video if anyone wants to check either of them out.

If I went this route and installed it in the guitar does anyone know how to source an on / off switch and a mounting plate? Is there anything else I would need?

I really appreciate all the input. Thanks Everyone!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqL7udiI_6Q

https://store.generalguitargadgets.com/ ... mplete-kit
 #171949  by Chocol8
 
I have built a couple of those kits into a Strat, and now that I have pulled them out, I may drop one into an enclosure or maybe an Altoids tin. They do the Blaster thing well enough, but don’t expect them to add much to the tone, and they are noisy if you crank it into JFET distortion.

For a switch, search for a “DPDT mini toggle” on any parts place or Amazon/eBay etc. The switch can be fit in a regular Strat jack plate if you are careful. You can bury the stock trim pot in the main cavity, or, if you want to put the entire SB in the output jack routing, get a smaller (blue plastic) 50k trim pot that uses a screwdriver to adjust.

If you want the trim pot externally accessible, plus a switch, you can fit both and a non angled input jack on a flat metal plate. I did this, but I had to cut and drill the jack plates myself as I didn’t find any commercially available. I originally did this out of “necessity” to try the pot+switch+jack Blaster install, but I ended up really liking the combination of a flat input jack plate plus a right angle cable, so I am in the process of converting a couple other Strats to this arrangement, along with moving the mid-boost control to the jack plate and going back to dual (but not standard) tone pots.

Good luck!
 #171952  by Searing75
 
Trim pot is much more useful than an on off switch in my opinion.
 #171980  by IRangASilentBell
 
Chocol8 wrote: Fri Nov 05, 2021 2:36 pm I have built a couple of those kits into a Strat, and now that I have pulled them out, I may drop one into an enclosure or maybe an Altoids tin. They do the Blaster thing well enough, but don’t expect them to add much to the tone, and they are noisy if you crank it into JFET distortion.

For a switch, search for a “DPDT mini toggle” on any parts place or Amazon/eBay etc. The switch can be fit in a regular Strat jack plate if you are careful. You can bury the stock trim pot in the main cavity, or, if you want to put the entire SB in the output jack routing, get a smaller (blue plastic) 50k trim pot that uses a screwdriver to adjust.

If you want the trim pot externally accessible, plus a switch, you can fit both and a non angled input jack on a flat metal plate. I did this, but I had to cut and drill the jack plates myself as I didn’t find any commercially available. I originally did this out of “necessity” to try the pot+switch+jack Blaster install, but I ended up really liking the combination of a flat input jack plate plus a right angle cable, so I am in the process of converting a couple other Strats to this arrangement, along with moving the mid-boost control to the jack plate and going back to dual (but not standard) tone pots.

Good luck!
Did you use ggg kit? They say they have improved on the original design
 #171990  by Chocol8
 
Yes, I have used two of the GGG kits. Their circuits are published and you can see what they did to improve things. They are definitely improvements, but nothing that would fundamentally change the utility of a Blaster.