2 x 1084 EQ clones - Bluzzi EZ1084 EQs

[che_guitarra]

Phew - it took me all of Sunday to solder in the 250-odd resistors used in the EQ pair. But progress stops there for a while as I have a week long refresher course in the city to deal with. Nevertheless, one by one the parts are rolling in - today the mini chicken-head knobs turned up on my doorstep. Not sold on the blue ones - luckily I ordered a few spares.

[stgaudio]

I'll look forward to seeing the progress. Are you aware that Chuck D has blue/red winged alloy neve style knobs and the small grey trimmer alloy in the white market:

M7 capsules (USA made) / U47 Shock Mounts / Neve Knobs

[che_guitarra]

Nah I missed them... but no matter, I think I prefer the chicken-head knobs - even though the blue ones are darker than i'd hoped. At the end of the day if they look out too kitsch I can always swap them out.

I guess that's the beauty of DIY - anything goes

[che_guitarra]

Great success! I got a package from Dan @ Collective Cases today. 2 x 1084 enclosures and an LA-2A.


Should end up looking something like this:




Every Gearslutz dream - 100% genuine Rupert Neze 1084 EQs





I'll plough through my training/assessment then I can have another crack at building these boxes

[che_guitarra]

Another delivery today - a cap kit from TAW Electronics... I think it's just the power supply kit to go now.

Gotta give a pat on the back to TAW Electronics here. Super impressed with the received goods, everything is clearly labelled in a pair of plastic compartment boxes (which I can use again). Always nice to find operators like this, guaranteed i'll be back for more with the next DIY project.

[Bluzzi]

Originally Posted by che_guitarra

Another delivery today - a cap kit from TAW Electronics... I think it's just the power supply kit to go now.

Gotta give a pat on the back to TAW Electronics here. Super impressed with the received goods, everything is clearly labelled in a pair of plastic compartment boxes (which I can use again). Always nice to find operators like this, guaranteed i'll be back for more with the next DIY project.

Hi Tim,

Nice work on the build thread. That is first time I see the TAW kit. I worked with them to do this and mine was just in plastic bags when they came in. They really bent over backwards to do this for the DIY community. So glad to see the results.

At first I wasn't crazy about the chicken knobs but I have to say when I saw them on the panel they came to life! Nice.

You will love these EQs!

Happy DIY

Cheers

Jim

[che_guitarra]

Running costs as per request - I haven't bothered to keep a tab so far, but i'll update as I check the receipts again. Prices are in $AU, which is close enough to parity with $US. Remember - this costing is for a pair. I've also omitted postage costs, as I live in a far flung corner of the world where it's always incredibly expensive.

$220 - Bluzzi PCBs
$100 - TAW capacitor kit
$280 - Collective Case enclosures
$330 - Mouser bits and pieces (i'll double check - this may include parts for my LA-2A build)
$500 - AML UK (transformers and pots)
$20 - Chickenhead knobs
$75 - Five Fish Audio PSU
-------------------------------------
$1525 TOTAL

[RudeMuse]

Also excited to see your progress on this project. I've just recently received a stereo pair of these pcbs and am in the process of sourcing all components. Those chicken knobs look pretty cool. Good luck with the DIY!

[che_guitarra]

Update time. Still got a course assignment eating most of my free time, but I had a day off from this to pick up the soldering iron. Both boards are mostly populated now, but i've since discovered i've been sent something random rather than the 2N3055 transistors I had ordered, and a line of capacitors are off the mark too (i'll have to investigate that as the values may be in range)... but heck - that's DIY - there's always some hurdle to overcome.

Also finished my LA-2A board which is in the pic too:

[doulos30]

where did you get the 1084 pcbs? I'm very interested in getting a couple.

[che_guitarra]

Originally Posted by doulos30

where did you get the 1084 pcbs? I'm very interested in getting a couple.

Try here @ GroupDIY: NEVE 1084 EQ EZ1084EQ boards (taking pre-orders) All the information you need will be found in the OP. I think Bluzzi has currently out of boards, but i'm sure he'll soon have more on the way.


I had another day on the soldering iron today - I managed to load up the power supply PCB's from Five Fish Studios. They've sent me enough for two loaded boards, i'm not sure if that's a boo-boo on their behalf, or if you need a PCB for each 1084 EQ unit... hmmm. I'll have to do my homework on that.




Almost done, but I gotta do a second Mouser order for a few loose parts, and get a housing for this power supply. I'm going to verge from the stock build too and install an on/off/on switch and LED, rather than an on/off switch and a bypass on/off switch - i'll try to integrate it all into the one switch.


Anyway, work will see me gone for a few weeks. Gives me time to order parts and I should be able to finish this off when I get back. So far it's ben a super easy project - let's hope it continues this way.

[Bluzzi]

No, you only need one board. One powers 2 1084 easily.

Cheers

Jim

[Bluzzi]

Wondering how you are doing on the build. Having problems obtaining 2N3055 transistors? Let me know. By photo it looks like you are almost done with build.

Cheers

Jim

[che_guitarra]

Hi Jim, unfortunately work has seen me floating around in the middle of the ocean for the last five weeks, and the EQ's will stay on ice until the middle of May when this project i'm working on comes to an end. I'm just waiting on a handful of capacitors I believe - a pair on each board, and a pair of female 4-pin xlr type plugs.

[Bluzzi]

Hang in there sailor.

Cheers

Jim

[JayPee]

flag!

[che_guitarra]

Back in town. I've spent the day fixing odds and ends - mounting the transformers in the case, dremelling the heat sink for the 3055 transistors, and installing the range pins into the pots (awful job!). Still waiting on a couple of capacitors - i've been sent 56uF/25V rather than 68uF/35V @ C53 & C54 - I want to correct this value. I've also ordered some 390uF caps for C83, even though I have some 460uF's that'll be OK for the position. I'll A/B for difference.

Right now i'm trying to get my head around the power supply - i'm a monkey see, monkey do kind of builder, but I can't find any photos of a completed and enclosed power supply. Maybe a good sleep and it'll all become clear.

Anyway some pics:


Coming together nicely.




I want to try and source some smaller nuts for aesthetic reasons - the ones supplied with the pots are some big boppers. If I can track down some more streamlined nuts it'll look better with the chickenhead knobs.




A few mods needed with a dremel to get the heat sink fitting nice and flush on the PCB.




Trafos mounted to the case. I never received a mini PCB to run with the 10-pin trafo so i'll have to work out a solution. Maybe some 1mm ferrules will do the trick.




Anyway, that's progress so far. Now... time to nut out how I run two 4-pin XLRs from this bunch of options.

[Bluzzi]

Looking good!

In my BOM C53 & C54 are correct at 56uF/25V. Also C83 is at 390uf or 470uf (original was 400uf).

Are you following my BOM and my Build Guide? The heatsink for the 2N3055 in the BOM fits perfectly.

Not sure if its only in photo but the input XFR should be left of the output XFR when looking from front to back of enclosure. You can solder wires to the pins if you don't have the pcb. Some prefer that anyway. Pay attention to the pin numbers if you do solder wires to pins.

I'm guessing you meant range pins on the rotary Grayhill switches not the pots. Inserting the pins is described in detail in the Build Guide. If you make a mistake they can be a bitch to remove.

If you somehow did not get the BOM and Build Guide let me know.

The power supply is often a pain for most DIYers including me. But once you build a few it gets easy.

Please feel free to ask me any questions if you get stuck but you seem to be doing fine though.

Cheers

Jim