Here’s another Titan Boost. This is a John Hollis project, you can read more about it here. In a nutshell, it’s a clean boost with an output signal up to 30v peak to peak! That’s a big boost! The circuit is simple, easy to build, and runs on 9 volts without a charge pump.
It works by stepping up the input voltage with a transformer. Just an op-amp and a transformer. Read my previous post for more information on how it works.
For this build, I milled a bare metal 125B enclosure with VOLUME. It seemed appropriate for some reason.
I had ordered 10 PCBs from PCBWay.com it was only $5 so left me with a few boards to spare. Most of the parts are easy to get. The tough one is the transformer. You can get these on eBay.com and Small Bear Electronics. See my previous post for more information.
For a clean build I used one of these 3PDT PCBs from LoveMySwitches.com. With the ribbon cable wiring is clean and efficient. Solder the ribbon cable and the PCB outside of the box!
Here is the final build. A giant knob seemed appropriate. A few years ago I ordered 30 of these giant knobs by mistake, I only needed 3 at the time. I’ve been looking for places to use them ever since.
These large knobs have the advantage that they are easy to adjust with your foot!
What’s sound like?
How does it sound? LOUD! I mean really loud. Crank the volume all and it feels like you’re going to break your amp. I like the tone of this circuit. It’s very “transparent” with a little warmth and roundness. It provides very little color and the subtle color it adds is welcome.
What’s it good for? Use it to buffer the input of your pedal chain. Use it to buffer the output of your pedal chain. Build two put one on either end of the chain! It makes a great “get louder” button for those moments when you need to be heard! Use it to over drive another pedal on your board that comes after.
Would I recommend building it?
Would I recommend building this? Yeah if you need a booster or buffer I think this is as good as other boosters out there. I’m a fan of the Zvex Super hard On. The Super Hard On has some distortion, nice distortion. as you crank it up. If you wanted something even louder that stayed clean this might be a good option. If you want something with the most massive boost possible build this!
If you’re not into booster, never use them or are happy with what you have, you might not get much from building this, and finding the transformer might be a hassle. In these cases you might not want to build this.
Schematic
| Part Number | Value |
| R1 | 10M |
| R2 | 10M |
| R3 | 10k |
| R4 | 22k |
| R5 | 10k |
| R6 | 10k |
| R7 | 10k |
| R8 | 10k |
| RLED 1 | 1k-10k |
| D1 | 1N5817 |
| D2 | LED |
| IC1 2 | TL072 |
| C1 | 1n |
| C2 | 1µ |
| C3 | 100µ |
| T1 3 | 42TM006 or LT44 (1k:20k) |
- [1] These transformers can be hard to find. I see them at Mouser.com and on Ebay.com. Other transformers should work. The 42TM006 is 1K:20K. If you can find small audio transformer with similar specs might work.
- [2] You could use any dual op-here. Use a socket. If something goes wrong you can easily replace this, and experiment with different op-amps.
- [3] The transformer is harder to find. You can get these at Mouser.com, they also appear on EBay.com. I used 42TM006 but the LT44 is an alternative. Any small audio transformer similar to 1K:20k windings might work.
Leave a Reply