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Goran
Double Platinum Member
Sweden
2203 Posts |
 Posted - 03/16/2006 : 07:37:43
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As some of us know two pedals of the same model never sound exactly the same even if they are close to each other by manufacturing date. You have to listen carefully for this in most cases. I�m not talking MIT vs MIJ here.
The same goes for amps and of course guitars (but here are also woods, paints etc to include).
Why is it so?
My theory is that the tolerances of the components are rather wide in Boss pedals, but is there anything more to it?
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Edited by - Goran on 03/16/2006 07:40:22 |
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Sunburst
Silver Member
427 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2006 : 10:09:07
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Perhaps aging of components also is a factor when comparing older pedals.
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stinkfoot
Silver Member
Sweden
181 Posts |
Posted - 03/16/2006 : 10:37:00
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The theory about tolerances is probably largely correct, although it should be said that component tolerances are not wider in Boss pedals than in other mass-produced items.
Most components used by Boss, Ibanez etc are rated at 5%, which means that their value can drift +/- 5%. In the worst case scenario, any given component can therefore differ as much 10% compared to another. In the "right" place in the circuit, a 10% drift can make a definite difference in the sound. Also, if the components in a certain pedal are consistently low, it may end up sounding different than another pedal where the components are consistently high.
Large corporations like Boss, Ibanez etc will also source their components from the cheapest supplier at the time, which means that different batches of pedals can end up sounding slightly different. The various op-amps (all of the 4558 type, but still different from each other) used in the Ibanez TS-9 is a great example of this.
But the short answer to your question is that it's all about the bottom line... 
/Andreas |
Edited by - stinkfoot on 03/16/2006 10:37:42 |
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VH100R
Copper Member
Portugal
37 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2006 : 02:09:50
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| yes the tolerance factor... no doubt about it. |
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diggum12
Silver Member
USA
282 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2006 : 17:08:49
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| More specifically, electrolytic caps can have a huge tolerance swing of up to 20%! And that can make a noticiceable difference. (That doesn't mean 20% overall, that's too big. But 20% on one cap can be a lot. Boss doesn't seem to use a whole lot of Elec caps in their actual tone path of the pedal, but they are used in output & gain stages, which can play funny tricks and create phenomenon.) |
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Topic |
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Why does "Identical" pedals sound different
