Naga Viper Mod

[HayekFan]

Just a heads up that I've found a simple mod that Naga Viper owners might find useful. Removing C4 will give it a little more sparkle on the top end.

It's a cool pedal but one of the first things I noticed is that in addition to rolling off lots of bass -- which helps tighten up OD tones as it was designed to do -- it rolls off some treble too. I had a feeling this was part of the circuit design, so I opened it up and sure enough, there's a little cap in there, C4, that does just that. Removing it makes it so the treble frequencies are unaffected.

If you look at the schematic for the original Dallas Rangemaster, you'll see no treble rolloff cap. However, the Rangemaster had a germanium transistor which is reported to "warm up" the tone some. So maybe the Catalinbread guys added C4 to simulate that warmth. It would be interesting to A/B a Naga Viper against a Rangemaster to see how their high end compares.

Anyway, simple mod that might be of interest to some.

 

[HayekFan]

Bump to see if anyone else has noticed the slight high end rolloff in their Naga Viper...

 

[chrismellotron]

I don't own one, but that's an interesting discovery for future reference.

 

[PerFusionist]

Thanks for posting this. One thing I personally like about the Naga is the ability to dial OUT some treble with that "range" control. I guess the original RM circuit would be a bit much for me. Good find though - I always appreciate tinkering!

 

[70's Hard Rock]

any pics of the mod?

 

[FAC]

When run in what I would consider "treble booster" mode (all knobs cranked) into a cooking amp or drive pedal, Naga first in the chain (no buffer) I don't really notice the high end rolloff versus a typical rangemaster type pedal. However...some things I have noticed:

1. backed off, with the knobs around noon or less for more of a full range clean boost, there is some high end roll off...if the pedal is not seen a buffer in front of it.

2. put a buffer in front of it, and the high end sparkle comes back. Of course, a buffer sort of ruins it in the aforementioned all knobs cranked mode...but with a buffer in front and the knobs backed off, it makes for a great, presence-adding boost.

I have to say...I really like this pedal! I love being able to dial in the range and heat vs. a traditional treble booster/modded treble booster with fixed range switches.