Meathead Sweet Spot

Hemisaurus · September 13, 2011, 10:46:43 AM

So I built a Meathead at the weekend, sort of, being for me I overgained it a little and made it a lot more bassy, but I've noticed something interesting that it does, that none of my prior boxes does.

The dirt pot which is actually just a level on the output interacts with different amps inputs differently. One one amp, dirt all the way up is the way to go, on another, as you back it away from the top, it actually gets louder and crunchier.

So do normal Meathead's do this, or is it a one-off? I've built so many similar pedals and never seen this behaviour, like it's tuned to the input impedance of the amp. I've also achieved my second Swervedriver Blowin' Cool bass sound generator, backing the volume on the bass off a bit

Instant Dan · September 13, 2011, 10:57:51 AM

With the Meathead clone I had, it sounded the best between 10 and noon. After that, it got way too thin. I noticed with my Marshall, on the low input it sounded huge, not so much on the hi-input.

Hemisaurus · September 13, 2011, 01:21:41 PM

What kind of Marshall? I'm checking schematics of the amps I'm playing it through, trying to find some common factor.

SpaceTrucker · September 13, 2011, 01:28:50 PM

It might be the cap(I guess) in the hi input of an amp that affects the meatheads circuit.

Instant Dan · September 13, 2011, 01:41:15 PM

Quote from: Hemisaurus on September 13, 2011, 01:21:41 PM
What kind of Marshall? I'm checking schematics of the amps I'm playing it through, trying to find some common factor.

JCM800 2204 (50 wayy)

Hemisaurus · September 13, 2011, 01:44:30 PM

Hence me asking, there's no cap on the input of an early Marshall, the later ones have it for brightness the Stealth I was using doesn't have one either, only resistors.

core9 · September 13, 2011, 07:21:38 PM

I don't know man, I have had 4 Meatheads over the past 4 years... I always run it between 3:00 and full on.
From zero to 12:00 is supposed to be where the tonal changes happen, but after 12 it's all volume.

I used mine into Laney AOR's, Matamps, Orange and while it had slightly different characteristics, it still had the same killer tone.

Not sure if I helped at all....enjoy your new toy!

Hemisaurus · September 13, 2011, 09:40:06 PM

I watched the review on bassfuzz.com

and concur with his finding that really the DIRT control is really just a volume knob, look at the schematic. Using the volume control on your bass really does have more of an effect than the control on the box, I wonder though if it would be better with a logarithmic or audio taper pot, rather than the linear pot which it uses, I'm thinking of putting two 1M logarithmic pots and making it a dual output.

eyeprod · September 15, 2011, 01:57:48 PM

^^ I'm with you on that. My meathead clone is pretty much just one volume knob. I can tell very little difference in tonal quality, but a little variance from 10-12 oclock sounds about the way mine responds. Mine also gets thin if you crank it up, and mine also reacts differently with different gear. Sometimes it flat out rules, and other times it isn't quite what I'm after. I'm under the assumption that the originals are going to sound better than a clone, mainly because I believe that the builder spends time matching components such as transistors. When I build a clone, I just use whatever I can scrounge or easily buy for cheap just to try and get it finished.

Hemisaurus · September 15, 2011, 03:45:10 PM

I doubt it, and aren't the originals built on perfboard too?

What made me laugh was people getting pissy when the builder made some extras of his limited edition ones, and auctioned them off on eBay for $800-1000, the thinking seemed to be it's OK if somebody else had done it, but not the original builder

Hey if you're dumb enough to spend $800 on something with $20 worth of parts, I think the builder is entitled to make that from his creation.

Lumpy · September 15, 2011, 06:35:05 PM

Meathead original on left, and clone on right:

They don't appear to be identical, but I don't know what I'm looking at. Could be.

Low-volume, quick sound test at home seemed to indicate they sound the same. However, the only way to tell for sure is to let 'em rip through a cranked amp.

I can do a sound test w/ direct computer input, which wouldn't be a good way to judge the Meathead overall sound, but maybe an okay way to pick apart any differences.

According to Dave Main (D*A*M) the Meathead sounds best between noon and 3 oclock. That was my experience too. It's a 'pro' pedal, and if you are just jamming in your bedroom you might not think it's that great. It (the real Meathead) sounds amazing when it's cranked, going into a cranked tubed amp. Vicious!

Lumpy · September 15, 2011, 06:42:33 PM

BTW, I paid 180 dollars for the Meathead from a store in Seattle via mail order, about 6 years ago (?) price including shipping, when a few US stores still had D*A*M pedals. They have always been hard to find.

Clone was 50 dollars purchased in the forum here. I was amazed that nobody else snapped it up, seemed like it was here for weeks with no takers.

Instant Dan · September 15, 2011, 06:45:27 PM

You mean mine?

I sold it for $45.00. It was a great pedal but like someone mentioned, it was probably not of the highest quality but it reacted differently with different amps. With my JCM800, it was amazing. With my valve junior combo, it was a noisy guy.

Lumpy · September 15, 2011, 06:52:03 PM

The Meathead is a screamer, you def. want to turn it off in between songs.

Also, unity gain (when volume is same/same) is like zero/pedal turned all the way down. It's a fucking loud pedal. So, turning the pedal most of the way up is going to strike some people as a bad idea. But that's where the goodness lies.