DIY billy zoom mod for space echo HELP

[winterheadphone]

Hi there,

I've got a re-201, have the right JFET on the way, a soldering gun and am hoping you guys can help me understand how to perform this mod. http://m145.photobucket.com/albumvi...?src=www&action=view&current=SpaceEchoMod.jpg

I don't want to take a chance on messing it up.

Thanks

 

[Adman103]

That's all that came with it? Strange. A space echo has a lot going on inside... Maybe compare that to the schematic? What is this mod supposed to do anyways?

 

[BillyZoom]

That's a FET follower mod to convert the input to high impedance so it sounds good with electric guitar. It goes right on the input jack, before the volume pot. The units came with about a 10K input impedance, which loads guitar pickups and makes them sound dull and fuzzy. This changes the impedance to a regular 1 meg guitar input and puts the tone back. I think there are photos of the installation somewhere, probably on the Gretsch Pages.
This was a mod I did to my own SpaceEcho many years ago, and it gets passed around on the internet from time to time. If you don't have the photos that go with the schemo, let me know and I'll see if I can dig them up.
BZ

 

[SonicBoom]

Billy,

Welcome to the forum, and thanks for sharing this mod. I'm going to put it on my 301 and see how it sounds.

 

[winterheadphone]

Thanks Billy, is this the picture you mean? http://gallery.me.com/joshbradshaw/100155/SANY0056/web.jpg?ver=12447031470001

I haven't actually opened it up yet nor do I have the FET. It might make a lot more sense to me once those things have happened.

Is it dumb to consider doing the mod to a mic input too? sorry if that is an ignorant question, I'm not well versed in any of this electrical stuff. I saw someone who had defaced their unit(single tear) so the inputs were XLR's instead of 1/4 inch. Would that give a better signal than the standard xlr-1/4 converter? Is there any other suggestions to get the best possible mic signal?

 

[winterheadphone]

Bump

 

[winterheadphone]

I'd love if someone could help me out with this. I have the part now. The above picture is a tough shot to understand as well as the fact that it is of a 301 and a 201. Can anyone who has done this exact mod to a 201 help me out?