This is a library of perfboard and single-sided PCB effect layouts for guitar and bass. I'm not an electrical engineer by any stretch of the imagination, just a DIY'er who likes drawing layouts. It is meant for the hobbyist (so commercial use of any of these layout is not allowed without permission) and as a way to give back to the online DIY community.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Dr. Boogie Distortion

100 layouts! Thanks to everyone who visits the blog and a special thanks to those of you who have built and verified some of these layouts.

The Dr. Boogie is a JFET-based amp emulator of the Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Solo head, designed by ElectraTabs over on the  DIYStompboxes forum. It creates a unique high-gain distortion effect. 

Most layouts and builds of this effect I've seen are in 1590BB enclosures. This one should fit in a 1590B, but would probably be more comfortable in a 125B. Use right angle PCB mount pots and mount them to the board from the solder-side. Mind the EQ row of pots are oriented 180º differently from the top row of pots.



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38 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 15, 2015 at 4:35 AM

    you can mark this as verified,but my tonestack isnt working at his best, didnt have the 220n so i used some 270n and some resistors i had to substitute, plus the gain pot where i used a 500k as im out of 1m, but i tried with amp pots(too big for the enclosure and with caps from my amp part bin its way better but wont fit in the 125a...)

    so component seem pretty critical here. but nice crunchy, distortion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dtgehringMarch 15, 2015 at 9:36 PM

      Thanks for verifying! Yeah, I think having the right components really helps nail the sound. It's not like a BMP where just about anything in the ballpark will probably work.

      Delete
  2. UnknownAugust 23, 2015 at 11:02 PM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efl_F6scmCk

    ReplyDelete
  3. p0mp0August 30, 2015 at 11:31 PM

    Following Gaussmarkov schematic, the 220pf cap on Q4 (the bottom right one on this layout) should go from S to G of the same Fet, not to Q5 G. Easy fix if you turn the 1uf cap down and put the 220pf ricgt next to it, Congrats on the Layout!

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    Replies
    1. dtgehringAugust 31, 2015 at 9:46 AM

      Thanks for catching that. Layout has been updated

      Delete
  4. UnknownSeptember 20, 2015 at 10:21 PM

    what is the use of the trimpot ? if you say bias, what is a bias used for ?
    do we need to turn it to middle for default ?
    max or min ?

    :) thank you mate.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. dtgehringSeptember 21, 2015 at 9:34 AM

      The trimmers are there to allow adjustment to the amount of voltage going to the JFETs (aka biasing). They're used in a lot of circuits with J201s, especially in amp emulating circuits. Typically you want to adjust them so that the drain pin of the JFET is getting 4.5 volts, then plug it up to an amp and adjust the trimmers further by ear to get the best sound.

      Delete
  5. wainer.said@gmail.comFebruary 1, 2016 at 2:09 PM

    Hello capacitor 1uf not be without polarity ?

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  6. ξεναγός νεκρόποληςSeptember 9, 2016 at 5:00 PM

    Build this one today!great effect. Great design! I've milled my board with a cnc machine.my first thought was to use a 1590b but no...it's a boggie!!!it needs a big enclosure!! Anyway...fired up right away.it's a bit treblier than i personaly like, but other than that i believe it's a must! I dislike distortion boxes, but this one is a keeper!thanks mate!
    Savvas

    ReplyDelete
  7. Angel ArredondoSeptember 17, 2016 at 6:46 PM

    hello good afternoon, and made the circuit, but when I move the pot to gain this makes a bad distortion, and tried calibrating the trim but still the same as the signal is cut, and replaced the J201 but the sound quality is the same, somebody could help me? and when I touch the tip of the knob pot interference is heard, as if making gnd. and I chcado welds and my views are right.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Angel ArredondoSeptember 17, 2016 at 6:47 PM

    hello good afternoon, and made the circuit, but when I move the pot to gain this makes a bad distortion, and tried calibrating the trim but still the same as the signal is cut, and replaced the J201 but the sound quality is the same, somebody could help me? and when I touch the tip of the knob pot interference is heard, as if making gnd. and I chcado welds and my views are right.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ElRuso82July 18, 2019 at 1:48 PM

      Hello! IT HAPPENS EXACTLY THE SAME. IF I TOUCH THE GUITAR, THE EFFECT SOUNDS INCREDIBLE, BUT WHEN I LEAVE TOUCH OR UNDER THE VOLUME OF THE GUITAR, THE PEDAL MAKES A TERRIBLE AND VERY ACUTE NOISE. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT IS DEACTIVATING IT

      Delete
  9. deigooDecember 6, 2016 at 11:57 PM

    The led is indicator on/off? Can I use the led on the 3pdt ?

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    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsDecember 8, 2016 at 10:21 AM

      Yeah, connect that pad to the anode of the on/off LED, and connect the cathode to the 3PDT. If you like to wire the LED differently, just ignore that pad and omit the 2.2k resistor that connects to it.

      Delete
  10. AcikaJuly 11, 2017 at 2:42 PM

    My dr Boogie's bass control does very little, almost nothing. Is this normal?
    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  11. gonsalomonAugust 28, 2017 at 7:55 AM

    Great work! A small detail: mirror the perfboard underside traces. The way they're put, it looks like a top view. Checked the pinout of the j201 and the need for flipping the underside traces makes sense. Anyways, guess whoever faces this project will notice it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. UnknownFebruary 28, 2018 at 6:27 AM

    How print it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsFebruary 28, 2018 at 9:32 AM

      Top of the page is a Transfer Image Library. Everything is in scaled PDFs there.

      Delete
  13. MetalheadApril 15, 2018 at 6:04 AM

    Can you share the schematic?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsApril 15, 2018 at 2:52 PM

      Google it

      Delete
    2. MetalheadApril 16, 2018 at 1:28 AM

      Did you use the schematic from gaussmarkov?

      Delete
    3. Effects LayoutsApril 16, 2018 at 9:19 AM

      Probably? I laid this out 3 years ago. My memory's good, but not that good lol

      Delete
  14. RodrigoMay 15, 2018 at 5:46 PM

    con que transistor puedo reemplazar el j 201?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JL P-0'sMay 23, 2018 at 8:19 PM

      Escuché que suena muy bien con los 5457, supongo que los k30 también le pueden ir. Fíjate con el Piout

      Delete
  15. UnknownOctober 4, 2018 at 12:23 PM

    en que carpeta de dropbox se encuentra el esquematico?

    ReplyDelete
  16. UnknownJanuary 2, 2019 at 5:09 PM

    Cannot find any layout in a Dropbox

    ReplyDelete
  17. AndyAugust 15, 2019 at 3:51 PM

    Hello, how are you? Thanks for your page and projects.
    Any prediction of setting up the boogie mark IV Led channel? Thanks
    .

    Schematic
    https://www.sabrotone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/mark-iv-emulator-lead.png

    ReplyDelete
  18. Ricco SeixasNovember 5, 2019 at 9:59 PM

    Another successful project, great effect, here in Brazil I did not find original j201, I chose the 2n5457, I changed the potentiometer of A1M for 500k and had more drive, congratulations for the great site, I follow all projects here and on facebook.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ricco SeixasNovember 6, 2019 at 9:21 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  20. ThrasherMarch 29, 2020 at 8:30 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  21. ThrasherMarch 29, 2020 at 8:37 AM

    Hello guys
    I built it according to the design above. I can say one thing - it's Hellfire. The amount of gain it generates is amazing. Unfortunately, I did not have a few small components and I replaced the first 2M resistor with 2.2M, 30nF capacitor to 33nF, 20pF capacitor to 22pF and diode 4001 to 4007 (range up to 1000V). Therefore, I have a few questions. After setting the voltage on transistors Q1 to 7V and Q3-Q4 to 5.60V, the GAIN potentiometer works first like VOLUME - twisted to 1 (minimum) mutes the guitar signal to zero (nothing is heard). After a slight spin, the light CRUNCH begins and then at 2-2.5 GAIN is already saturated (like MAX in my Marshall Shred Master) and turning the knob to the end increases GAIN even more. The reduction of Q1-Q4 voltages to 4.75V caused that CRUNCH on level 2 disappeared completely (nothing can be heard), and GAIN starts from 2-2.5 already saturated. Additionally, turning the GAIN knob from 1-MAX raises the volume so that VOLUME is twisted on 2-3 ... Has anyone tamed this beast so that turning GAIN on Lev 1 gave almost pure sound but without muting the signal? Any item needs to be replaced? Maybe the 3.9k resistor next to the Q3 transistor should be replaced with a larger one (18k would be OK?)? Do you have any ideas?

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  22. 永远的黑梦July 14, 2021 at 3:59 AM

    太棒了

    ReplyDelete
  23. MMGJuly 27, 2021 at 1:31 AM

    please tell me about
    Q1-Q5 Ajust how many volt?

    ReplyDelete
  24. JOÃOSeptember 18, 2021 at 10:21 AM

    BOM DIA. COMO PODE SE OBTER MAIS GRAVES?.

    ReplyDelete
  25. UnknownJanuary 29, 2022 at 9:02 AM

    Hola buenas, en otros foros leí que prueban con bs10 reemplazando j201... Alguien me dice si podría ser efectivo?

    ReplyDelete

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