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boss freak
Gold Member
USA
663 Posts |
 Posted - 01/04/2006 : 22:53:22
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Does anyone know the approximate year of manufacture that the CH1 circuit was changed from analog to digital?
I finally broke down and bought one, because it was a package deal, and by using the serial number decoder, I've found that it was made in 1996.
Pink label.
PCB legend: CH-1 ET BOARD 7524451000
ICs: MN3101 MN3007 |
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phostenix
Gold Member
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 01/04/2006 : 23:12:14
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I can give you the exact S/N's when I get home.
Grace and peace,
Steve
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boss freak
Gold Member
USA
663 Posts |
Posted - 01/04/2006 : 23:24:14
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| Thanks very much. |
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phostenix
Gold Member
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 06:41:08
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I decided to take the night off and watch the Rose Bowl. Wow, what a game!
The CE-5 changed to digital at S/N KP16600.
The CH-1 changed at S/N AP11700.
Notice that both changed in the month P1 - October of 2001.
The CH-1 had already exhausted its total unit number available with a letter (A-Z) and 4 numbers and had rolled over to a new sequence by this time. The CE-5 was up to unit number 116,600 (K=11 combined with 6600).
If you want a full explanation of the S/N decoding, check out http://members.cox.net/praisetek
Grace and peace,
Steve
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boss freak
Gold Member
USA
663 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 06:54:25
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Thanks for that bit of information. Much appreciated. |
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visserman
Platinum Member
1072 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 12:31:14
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| Steve thanks again for the serial decoder. Great explantion on how it works as well, great stuff man!! Thanks |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
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visserman
Platinum Member
1072 Posts |
Posted - 01/05/2006 : 13:30:15
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Great Bossarea,
On the Dark Grey Labels of the CH-1 there is a mention of the word digital. Only noticed this after the discussions we have had so far, but yep, it is there. Not sure if the word is mentioned on the other coloured labels of the CH-1, perhaps some of you could check this. |
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phostenix
Gold Member
USA
754 Posts |
Posted - 01/06/2006 : 08:19:19
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Here are the 3 labels of the CH-1. The labels are the same for the CE-5. The gray label pre-dates the switch to analog.
These reflective labels are the hardest thing I've ever tried to photograph. 
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boss freak
Gold Member
USA
663 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2006 : 03:29:05
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Thanks for posting the pics. That's a big help for future reference.  |
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telemike
Copper Member
47 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2006 : 20:17:07
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| i got a blue label CH-1. JE serial number. Analog or digital? |
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boss freak
Gold Member
USA
663 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2006 : 20:42:23
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| I think it's safe to assume, by looking at the evolution of the labels that phostenix has posted above, that any CH1 with blue or pink label is analog. They grey area (no pun intended) concerns the grey labeled CH1s. |
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bossarea
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
3652 Posts |
Posted - 01/07/2006 : 20:42:24
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| Analog, your pedal was made between July 92 and April 93 which is a long time before October 2001 which is when the the digital change took place. |
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telemike
Copper Member
47 Posts |
Posted - 01/08/2006 : 14:18:31
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Sweet!!!!!!!!!!!
Paid $47 shipped for it off ebay. It sounds great!. Much better than the Visual Sound H20 I sold last year. |
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visserman
Platinum Member
1072 Posts |
Posted - 01/08/2006 : 17:28:37
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And here it is guys!!
Had a change to do an A/B test between a May 2000 analogue CH-1 and a June 2002 digital CH-1.
This is how I carried out my tests [for the scientists among us]:
Used a testtone from a digital metronome [Korg MA-20], connected this to an Y-box, from there signal went to the two CH-1's from there it went to A-B box [Boss A-B2], from there signal went to amp. Both CH-1's were connected to an individual PSA powersupply.
Why did I use a testtone instead of a guitar? Because the signal is very clean, no issues regarding what kind of pick-ups [single coil, humbuck or P-90s or............]
People will hear different things when they use different pick-ups, but what I heard here will translate to any guitar, some pick-ups may respond a little better though, so that is why I chose for the dry test-tone test.
I did use different tones on the metronome, on lower tones [such as A 440 the differences were more noticeable].
I tried to set up each CH-1 to create a similar sound, very often this meant that the controls were not set in a similar way.
Both pedals had a different wave, sometimes I could hear on the analogue one 3 tones, whereas the digital one would only give me 2. I guess you will not hear these things when you play guitar, but you do notice this when you use a similar set-up as I did, and sit closely around you amp and just listen to the details of the wave each pedal produces.
The digital CH-1 was able to create some sort of white noise [again you will not hear this when you use a guitar]this noise is similar to what digital delays can produce at times when you change the time. Not all that strange when we consider a chorus just being a specific delay. I could not hear this sound on the analogue CH-1. Perhaps this noise is similar to the noise Steve referred to in an earlier post.
The different colour of each pedal was most noticeable when I put the controls in this way:
Effect: Max, EQ: Max, Rate: zero, Depth: zero
With this setting the analogue one produced a darker sound, the digital one sounded more midrange, glassier, just as what one would expect from what we know about digital gear.
Overal the digital CH-1 had a more pronounced wave, almost like you hear the sound of the wave....go up, hit the ceiling and then fall down again. The analogue one sounded much rounder, with no edges at the corners of the wave.
I guess one could see this difference in sound when you put the pedal through a silicope. I cannot do that myself, but I can hear it, do have good ears!!
So overal the analogue CH-1 sounds fuller, but the digital one sounds more pronounced.
Of course, each pedal will respond different to these tests, so one could take two digital ones and come up with different outcomes.
Perhaps Phostenix could do this for us since he has a few CH-1's.
Both pedals could produce similar speeds, but because the difference in colour one perceives this as one pedal going faster than the other one. In my case the analogue one "sounded" as if it went faster, but I know it was only because its difference in colour.
Now the smell test The analogue one smelled like an older Japanese pedal. I have some Ibanez pedals as well, and they all have that smell.
I think the smell is related to the kind of PCB board and the kind of solder which is being used. I know that Phostenix mentioned something in the DS-1 thread about this issue, now I think that is where the difference in smell comes from. Most of the newer pedals [2001 and up] have a different smell than the older pedals, but they do smell similar to each ohther [similar pcb boards and other components, and a different kind of solder??]
Opened up both pedals to see if they use different PCB boards, and yes they do:
The analogue one had a board with a lot of solder points. Reading on board was: CH-1 ET Board 2292755600 1/2
Digital board did not have many solder points, but had a lot of white neat dots [prepared solderpoints????], reading on this board was:
CH-1A PWB G2927201 00 1/2
So would I now say any of those two pedals are better? No!! But they do sound different, and that was the point I was looking for in the tests, so people interested in the different variations of one and the same pedal can now be assured that the digital and analogue version of the CH-1 do sound different. Pitty that both cases look exactely the same, so you need to know the changeoverdate, and the date of the pedal you are buying, but with a little research and the boss date decoder this should not be too hard. |
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boss freak
Gold Member
USA
663 Posts |
Posted - 01/08/2006 : 17:45:09
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Thanks for the detailed A/B results! Good work!  |
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CH1 Analog/Digital
