Circuitbenders Forum

Circuitbenders Forum => Parts, Components, Unbent machines & Junk => Topic started by: peter on May 26, 2009, 11:21:13 PM

Title: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: peter on May 26, 2009, 11:21:13 PM
Hi there,

I'm looking for a dual gang 20K W pot for my project but just can't find one. Anybody knows if they actually exist?? I searched my ass off, but without any result.
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Gordonjcp on May 26, 2009, 11:47:34 PM
http://www.bargainshack.co.uk/product/Standard-Potentiometers-Pot-Lin-22k.html
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: peter on May 27, 2009, 12:01:19 AM
You're saying I could just use a lin dual gang pot? What about the W (curve, or what it means)?
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: peter on May 27, 2009, 12:32:57 AM
haha. I'm new to this and and still struggling with things. I'm trying to build me a stereo Tube Screamer and according to the schematic there's a 20K W pot in it.

Thanks for your reaction by the way!
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Circuitbenders on May 27, 2009, 01:25:48 AM
W doesn't mean anything in terms of any kind of curve i know of.

Wheres the schematic
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Gordonjcp on May 27, 2009, 11:06:21 AM
No, I've never come across a W curve either.  If you use the wrong taper, the control will be a bit "all up one end".  You may find that for the distortion control on an effect you need a reverse-log taper pot, which is pretty much impossible to get.  There are a couple of clever tricks you can do with resistors though...
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: peter on May 27, 2009, 11:57:34 AM
great that you're helping me out with this! I really don't know where th W stands for. The curve thing is what i found looking on the net.

Here's the schematic. I got it from NEWTONE (http://www.newtone-online.nl/downloads/NewtoneScreamer.pdf), it's a dutch website. But i put the schematic here:
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: peter on May 27, 2009, 11:58:48 AM
...it´s the TONE pot
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: peter on May 27, 2009, 12:01:38 PM
Here's the Tonepad Tube Screamer http://www.tonepad.com/getFile.asp?id=81. I noticed that this one is using a 20K lin pot indeed.
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Gordonjcp on May 27, 2009, 02:08:15 PM
Looks very much like the tone pot is supposed to be linear.  I don't see why you need a dual gang one though...
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: peter on May 27, 2009, 02:22:50 PM
I think I got the solution to my problem!!

I'm trying to make two Tube Screamers so i can run them in stereo to run my sampler through them. And in order to control both at the same time I'll need dual pots, else I'll be turning to many knobs..
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: LoFi-Ninja on May 27, 2009, 03:01:33 PM
If your doing this in sterio keep in mind that you should get the best quality parts you can afford !

This meaning 1% resistors and capacitors and perhaps pairing your transistors aswell as maybe heatsinking your IC's.. Heatsinking might be overkill thou..

What I'm trying to say is that if you don't do this one channel might sound way different from the other in you production..
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Gordonjcp on May 27, 2009, 04:45:15 PM
You shouldn't ever need to heatsink the opamps in a fuzzbox.  They're not developing any real power.

I'd be surprised if you could tell much difference between the left and right channels of a stereo fuzzbox, although it may be worth matching the four clipper diodes and the input transistors.  Most modern components are far more closely matched than the ones used to build these old stompboxes *anyway* though...
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Circuitbenders on May 27, 2009, 06:32:40 PM
I got some AC188 transistors i'm using in some fuzz face clones, some of which have built in heatsinks, and they do sound kind of 'tighter' than the ones without heatsinks.

Although that could just be down to the wild variations in tolerances between individual transistors.
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: LoFi-Ninja on May 27, 2009, 06:52:14 PM
You shouldn't ever need to heatsink the opamps in a fuzzbox.  They're not developing any real power.

That's why I said that would be overkill  :P

I'd be surprised if you could tell much difference between the left and right channels of a stereo fuzzbox

If your using germanium transistors you will sertanly hear it unless you match them..

Although that could just be down to the wild variations in tolerances between individual transistors.

Well they are germanium aren't they  ;D
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Gordonjcp on May 27, 2009, 07:08:22 PM
I got some AC188 transistors i'm using in some fuzz face clones, some of which have built in heatsinks, and they do sound kind of 'tighter' than the ones without heatsinks.

Although that could just be down to the wild variations in tolerances between individual transistors.

Well yeah.  AC188s are pretty old now ;-)
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: rbino on July 18, 2009, 09:23:47 PM
Maybe it's late, anyway this site sells W 20k Pots, but not dual gang.
http://www.musikding.de/product_info.php/info/p718_Alpha-Potentiometer-20k-W-taper.html (http://www.musikding.de/product_info.php/info/p718_Alpha-Potentiometer-20k-W-taper.html)
I found on the net that "The “W” taper attains 20% resistance value at 50% of
clockwise rotation (left-hand)" where Log is 10% resistance at 50& rotation, so it's like midway between Log and Linear
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Gordonjcp on July 18, 2009, 10:53:54 PM
Maybe it's late, anyway this site sells W 20k Pots, but not dual gang.
http://www.musikding.de/product_info.php/info/p718_Alpha-Potentiometer-20k-W-taper.html (http://www.musikding.de/product_info.php/info/p718_Alpha-Potentiometer-20k-W-taper.html)
I found on the net that "The “W” taper attains 20% resistance value at 50% of
clockwise rotation (left-hand)" where Log is 10% resistance at 50& rotation, so it's like midway between Log and Linear

That's interesting about the W-law pots - I'd never heard of that before.  As I think I mentioned earlier, 22k pots will be absolutely fine and will make no difference at all to the circuit.
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: rbino on July 19, 2009, 02:42:20 PM
I've found that info on a catalogue on http://www.potentiometers.com (http://www.potentiometers.com)
This is the graph with all the standard pot values and the special ones

(http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5101/potgraph.jpg)
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: LoFi-Ninja on July 25, 2009, 12:07:16 AM
When is someone going to rename this thread from "can't find dual gang 20K W pot" to fuzzbox or something in that area ???
Title: Re: can't find dual gang 20K W pot
Post by: Circuitbenders on July 27, 2009, 07:17:44 PM
When is someone going to rename this thread from "can't find dual gang 20K W pot" to fuzzbox or something in that area ???

its a mystery  ;)