Lets talk contact cleaner!!

TheSeeker · May 08, 2013, 06:15:57 PM

So I recently got 3 Ross' and a microverb for a rediculously low price b/c they were "broken". Went to radioshack, got some Deoxit, sprayed the pots and the little CA3080 chip, and to my delight.....they all work clear as day!!! Great googly moogly it's a miracle spray!!

Heady Jam Fan · May 08, 2013, 08:00:57 PM

Thats awesome - which Ross?

TheSeeker · May 08, 2013, 08:12:52 PM

Yeah man, I'm pretty pumped!!! I got 2 blacks and a gray!! I figure I'll keep the gray, and probably trade or sell the black comps.

Heady Jam Fan · May 08, 2013, 08:47:24 PM

Not a bad call - I'd try all three and see which sounds best - tough choice between making a few hundred extra selling the Grey and keeping the Grey for the 'novelty.'

Is the Microverb working? If so, what do you think?

TheSeeker · May 08, 2013, 09:29:14 PM

Yeah it's gonna be a tough decision. To me the differences in sound are very minimal. I might post a youtube video of both of them and get some other opinions. I have a Keeley as well, but it's just not a Ross..lol. I'll keep that as a back-up though. I really like the microverb. I keep the mix at about 9:30 with the reverse setting, and I only use it when I'm jamming in minor keys. It kinda gives it that dark, sci-fi feel....it's fun!!

TheSeeker · May 09, 2013, 01:47:13 PM

Heady, do you use a true bypass switch in front of your microverb? I'm thinkin of getting one, it really sucks my tone when it's not being used.

Heady Jam Fan · May 11, 2013, 09:06:41 AM

I have one, but I've gone back and forth between using it and using a Boss FS5L as a defeat switch.

I have two FS5L's next to each other - one for the Micro, one for my Mesas' GEQ so I can stomp both to jump right into leads (midrange boost on the GEQ and reverse reverb on the micro). Its really convenient, especially considering the last band I played in, we had a 40 song set list about 6 weeks before gigging so I didn't have the arrangements memorized - with about half a bar notice till I soloed, I realized how helpful it was to keep it down to one stomp.

I've been curious whether the Micro passes dry signal analog (rather than converting to digital). The most common failure for the Microverb seems to be that it simply stops producing reverb (or Cactus tries to mod them), yet continues to pass dry signal, which suggests to me that it keeps the dry analog, but that is just a guess and would be kind of surprising on such an old piece of equipment.

I am still playing around with it, but a possible cause for tonal changes (or tone sucking) could be changes in impedance - either cuz of the buffer in the Micro or added cable (particularly if using it in an effect loop). I also find that if the volume is a lot lower than unity, it sounds a bit darker and if it is a lot higher than unity, it sounds harsher, so its worth double checking with your TB loop to make sure your at unity, or adjusting volume to see if that simply fixes your tonal issue. Also, I have a pedal that adds some treble right before it on my board right now and I've actually intentionally dropped the volume on the Micro to attenuate the treble and smooth out my tone - I know thats a round-about fix and a bandaide, but hey, I don't have a Carini or Brown helping out!

When I start thinking about this stuff too much, I tear my rig down to one TS9 and my Compressor, lol. Sounds better, looks silly on my PT2, and occasionally I miss the crunchier TS9 (and my Rat).