Anyone had their DMM modded by Analogman?

[Jack Clayton]

I just snagged a Deluxe Memory Man XO for a good price (by today's standards.) And I may likely send it to analogman for modification.

His site offers a to swap out the stock chips for a set of NOS japanese MN3008s chips. Has anyone had this mod done, and can you tell me what the results are in your opinion?

Like most, i want to get as close as I can to the sound of the vintage big box units without selling a kidney. I've owned a Behringer Vintage Time Machine, an Xvive delay, a Way Huge Echopuss, and others. They're all great, but there's a hi fi clarity in the repeats of the old units that none of these ones have. Is it the modern chips?

Please weigh in if you know anything. Thanks.

 

[uriah1]

I had a ts9 and ts808 modded from him. Great work.

 

[Jack Clayton]

I had a ts9 and ts808 modded from him. Great work.

Mike is a legend, no doubt. I'm sure I'll like whatever I get from him. I'm just wondering how big the improvement is on this specific mod. It's not a cheap one, so i wanna get any feedback I can find before pulling the trigger.

 

[Jack Clayton]

Nobody? I figured this would be a more popular mod.

 

[PCollen]

I had a ts9 and ts808 modded from him. Great work.

What mod did he do ? Chip change ? Diodes ? Output buffer component values ?

 

[uriah1]

What mod did he do ? Chip change ? Diodes ? Output buffer component values ?

Ts9 I had original so did not need chip. Did a brown mod. On 808 chip and something else. Forgot. Sounds awesome.

 

[J-Flanders]

His site offers a to swap out the stock chips for a set of NOS japanese MN3008s chips.

Have you checked what chips are in your XO?
Depending on how recent it is, there could already be those chips in there.
My XO has the Panasonic/Matsushita chips.
The more recent ones have the Xvive chips.

 

[Jack Clayton]

Have you checked what chips are in your XO?
Depending on how recent it is, there could already be those chips in there.
My XO has the Panasonic/Matsushita chips.
The more recent ones have the Xvive chips.

Wow... I definitely didn't know that! Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look.

I've also emailed Mike, so hopefully he'll be able to give me some guidance.

 

[J-Flanders]

Here's a picture showing the 3 different logo's. (I couldn't find a picture with mn3008. These are mn3205 and mn3005)
From top to bottom:
-Panasonic/Matsushita (new logo)
-Panasonic/Matsushita (old logo)
-Xvive

 

[artdecade]

You are chasing unicorns. The MN3005 is popular because they are discontinued and people built a mythology around them. I don't think it is worth the time or money to get the mod done. You have have some high-end attenuation in the repeats. That's really about it. Even full digital units can get close with just a little treble bleed to cop the sound.

 

[J-Flanders]

You are chasing unicorns. The MN3005 is popular because they are discontinued and people built a mythology around them.

DMM XO is using MN3008, not MN3005.
He's asking about Panasonic vs Xvive. Not MN3005 vs MN3008.
MN3005 is not entirely discontinued. Xvive still makes them.

 

[artdecade]

DMM XO is using MN3008, not MN3005.
He's asking about Panasonic vs Xvive. Not MN3005 vs MN3008.
MN3005 is not entirely discontinued. Xvive still makes them.

Typo - meants the 8s

 

[Jack Clayton]

You are chasing unicorns. The MN3005 is popular because they are discontinued and people built a mythology around them. I don't think it is worth the time or money to get the mod done. You have have some high-end attenuation in the repeats. That's really about it. Even full digital units can get close with just a little treble bleed to cop the sound.

The possibility has certainly occurred to me, but my question is this: if that's not the difference, what is? My xvive sounds close, but definitely not as clear and defined as an old DMM. I'm as confident as I can be that that isn't my imagination.

I'd add that my impression of Analogman Mike is that he wouldn't sell this mod if it was pure smoke and mirrors.

 

[J-Flanders]

The possibility has certainly occurred to me, but my question My xvive sounds close, but definitely not as clear and defined as an old DMM.

Which one? W3 Memory Analog Delay? Or the V21 Echoman Analog Delay? Or an actual DMM with Xvive chips?
The Xvive pedals are a different circuit than the DMM. You can't judge the chips when comparing two different circuits.

I have a big box DMM with 2 x MN3005 and an XO with 4 x MN3008.
Apart from that the circuits are identical.
Even through headphones, I cannot tell them apart.

 

[Greenmachine]

I think I scooped up the last four MN3005s for five bucks apiece back in 2008 from a shop in Vancouver BC.

I was a real pedal maniac at the time. I built a clone of the way huge Aquapuss. Two of them in one enclosure with double delay time and modulation.

I looooove analog delay so much.

 

[Jack Clayton]

I think I scooped up the last four MN3005s for five bucks apiece back in 2008 from a shop in Vancouver BC.

I was a real pedal maniac at the time. I built a clone of the way huge Aquapuss. Two of them in one enclosure with double delay time and modulation.

I looooove analog delay so much.

I've got a way huge echopuss, and it's definitely one of my favorite delays. Hard to beat when you want those bright, clean repeats, but less noise.

 

[Jack Clayton]

The pedal finally arrived, and I have not been disappointed. I popped it opened and found that it is, indeed, one of the recent models containing the Chinese xvive chips. However, as predicted by some here, the sound of this unit is still notably cleaner and clearer, with better top end than my xvive W3.

No word yet from Analogman Mike. I think regardless, I will be sending it to him for mods. He has several that sound great, including an impedance adjustment, and an effects loop. Mine also seems to have a switch that's beginning to short out.

One small note: where stacked delays are concerned, daisy chaining a DMM to a Way Huge Echopuss is absolutely a spectacular combo. The DMM provides the chorusing that only it can, and the echopuss retains the clarity the whole way through the chain. It's a beautiful thing. Highly recommended to anyone interested.

 

[JuneauMike]

The pedal finally arrived, and I have not been disappointed. I popped it opened and found that it is, indeed, one of the recent models containing the Chinese xvive chips. However, as predicted by some here, the sound of this unit is still notably cleaner and clearer, with better top end than my xvive W3.

No word yet from Analogman Mike. I think regardless, I will be sending it to him for mods. He has several that sound great, including an impedance adjustment, and an effects loop. Mine also seems to have a switch that's beginning to short out.

One small note: where stacked delays are concerned, daisy chaining a DMM to a Way Huge Echopuss is absolutely a spectacular combo. The DMM provides the chorusing that only it can, and the echopuss retains the clarity the whole way through the chain. It's a beautiful thing. Highly recommended to anyone interested.

What does the guts of your Memory Man look like? If the IC is installed with a socket then its a simple matter of pulling out the old and putting in a new. FYI.

I'd cast a vote for "play it for a while and then decide if you need a mod to it." Beats the possibility that the USPS loses your pedal in transit.

 

[J-Flanders]

Mine also seems to have a switch that's beginning to short out.

Though it's an older XO than yours, I had to replace the switch on mine as well.

 

[beninma]

I vote for "you probably can't hear the difference between Panasonic and XVive".

I think most people are hearing differences in calibration & tolerances in other parts of the circuit.

The BBD IC chips are semiconductors made in a completely automated fashion and should be far more consistent than the rest of the circuit.

DMMs have a pile of trim pots inside them and get calibrated by a tech on an oscilloscope before going out. That alone can account for a ton of variation.