Any The Elements circuit change since the beginning?

[gtrbarbarian]

I just came by a The Elements pedal, supposedly it is serial number 2. I don't have it yet (in da mail!) , but I was wondering if there have been any circuit changes since the early pedals that I should know about. I ran across a thread on TGP that was talking about noise with low sn units when on high gain, that were solved in later units. Any info is appreciated!

[sylnau]

Yes, the new version is cleaner... but don't worry about that.
I have one from the first batch... and I tried one from the new batch too.
The mod is very subtle.

There is so much gain available... you probably won't crank it up.

Congratulation... nice purchase.

[Ryan]

Welcome to ILF!

The first 50 Elements run a little hotter than the current ones and they have more noise in the higher gain settings... holler at me if you find it off-putting and I'll mod it for you. I kinda liked that original style though.. little wilder and unrulier than today's Elements in high gain mode.

[gtrbarbarian]

Hey thanks a bunch for the welcome and the offer to mod my pedal...you don't see customer service like that anymore! I researched the heck out of dirt pedals because I've been through a bunch and wanted something very versatile that sounds great at all gain levels....from all of the reviews your pedal is IT :-) Can't wait to rock, let me know if you want sn#2 back for sentimental reasons! :-D

[sylnau]

it's cool to have low serial number stuff.
i have the fairfield circuitry unpleasant surprise no. 2.
my elements is no. 12.

[VBD]

I have the black...
I'm very happy with this one
Changes I think the one change is the grounding wire on the switch

[Ryan]

Excellent point! It was really naive/ignorant of me to not be grounding the enclosures on the Trems and the Elements. *smacks forehead*

For awhile I was using copper tape on the inside of the enclosure with a ground wire soldered to it but now what I do is use a ring terminal with a wire crimped in it, I put the ring over a toggle switch so it sits between the inside of the box and the switch body, and then ground the wire at the stomp switch to the pcb. Big solid metal connection to ground that I can feel good about.

[Bartimaeus]

I currently own two Dr Scientist The Elements pedals. One is an original black unit, #231, and the second is a more recent white one, #645.

I had purchased owned the black one for a year, then decided to get another. I had gotten the black unit used, and it was my first Dr Scientist pedal.

Strangely, I found the newer white unit to be noticeably louder, and perhaps slightly brighter(and clearer?) too.

is that actually possible? I hope that the original was not damaged or modified by the original owner.

[Ryan]

2 Elements, cool! Thank you!

I betcha what you're noticing is just the human error of putting knobs on... even a small difference in a knob position can make an audible change with the Elements and it's hard to always put knobs on exactly the same every time. I betcha if you turn your gain, level, and treble knobs on both pedals all the way down and compare them you'll see that they don't all point in exactly the same direction, they'll be slightly off, and therefore sound slightly different.

The other place where differences can come in are the potentiometers.. a 100k pot can actually be 80k to 120k, although anytime I measure pots they're always much closer, but a difference of a few thousand Ohms can make for slightly different sounds at the same settings.

[Holy Schnikes]

#645, WOW, you've been busy making Elements Ryan!

What number are you up to now days?

[Holy Schnikes]

#645, WOW, you've been busy making Elements Ryan!

What number are you up to now days?

[Bartimaeus]

Thanks for the answer Ryan! I'll try fiddling and see exactly where they line up!

I also hope that I'm not just seeing the white finish and thinking "brighter."

[Ryan]

#645, WOW, you've been busy making Elements Ryan!

What number are you up to now days?

I just boxed up #702 this weekend... not too shabby hey! The Elements is a great pedal to build, takes a bit of time but it's super consistent and reliable, never any surprises.

Thanks for the answer Ryan! I'll try fiddling and see exactly where they line up!

I also hope that I'm not just seeing the white finish and thinking "brighter."

I love that kind of psycho-acoustic phenomena... that's why I needed Tanya's help so badly, because great looking pedals sound great!

[goroth]

The Elements is a great pedal to build, takes a bit of time but it's super consistent and reliable, never any surprises.

This goes for the sound as well. Played on a horrid supplied back line (MG 100 Marshall - really???) on friday night and I still sounded brutal, articulate and tight.

[Ryan]

Awesome Greigy!