Turtlerock Forum

So i'm thinking of building a 1176 Clone,

i feel that i have the competence to do so, just wondering which clone is the best? I understand that they may not be as good as the original, but i've heard a few and honestly can't distinguish a significant difference.

So my first question is, which is the best clone? I've been looking at Hairball Audio, they seem pretty impresive! But there is a few different ones, they have the Rev A, Rev D, Rev F, Rev G.

And also is there any huge complications when putting these units together? And must i buy any extra parts for the unit? Or will be included?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The Hairball kit is great and simple. Mnats build instructions are fantastic, and you won't have a problem- and any problems you do have will teach you something!

You still need to order all of the parts for the PCB from mouser or equivalent, but otherwise all offboard parts are included in the kit from Hairball. A stack of people on the forum have built them, so I'm sure you'll get advice if you need it. Otherwise get very familiar with GroupDIY.

As far as which model- I've got a Rev D I like enough to be building a second one.

I've got 2x Rev D's

Helped a friend build one also.

From memory you also helped me source a few odd parts on mine!

I've checked out prices and info on the 1176 clone,

and its going to be about $470-$500

I'm more than happy with this price, my only concern is the man hours to do soo, i'm pretty capable of soldering it's just the amount of parts is a small worry.

Have at it.

Get the Bill of Materials that Ben completed (it's discussed in an 1176 thread somewhere, search for it).

You're young, you're a student, you'll find time. If you don't put the hours in now you'll regret it when you're older and the time pressures are much worse.

Having made one before, I reckon it would take me about 5 hours to make one. First time it took me about 15-20 hours I reckon, mostly due to troubleshooting and the like. I learnt a lot though, definitely not wasted time.

I have a Rev A and a Rev D that a mate built for me as I didn't have the time.
Love both of them, would like to build another one of each and a 2-1176 Rev D.

What I've learnt the last few years when building kits (also have Drip LA2A v4 & Igor 2254 2ch) is that I like building to vintage specs with 10-20% tolerance carbon comp resistors, ceramic caps, vintage transformers etc. I find it makes the sound a bit thicker & 'hairier', not clean & transparent, cos then what's the point of using nice outboard?! I want my gear to sound juicy!
Compared to the single channel units, when building the 2-1176 I'm planning to use some different resistors/caps etc to make them vary slightly, giving it more of a bite or more open in the top end. After all, all vintage 1176s sound different to each other and that is what gives them character!
Hey I'm still learning this all myself but I've had GREAT results when tracking through them and using them as hardware inserts for mixing.
Happy building!

Finished my 1176 Rev A Blue stripe the other day. This is the first 'real' thing I've built and it worked first go, so I couldn't be happier with how it has turned out. Sounds awesome too! The guys who designed the DIY version really know what's up.

Nice work Owen you must be stoked. How much did all the parts cost?

Owen

I've got a stereo kit built Rev D, and two Purple MC77s (allegedly also a Rev D). If you ever want to A/B them against your Rev A, I'd love to hear the results.

Total cost was $650. Massively stoked! It took me quite a while to build, so if you've got the time to get it done it is pretty worth it. I was learning pretty much from scratch, so I made sure I didn't rush and tested everything before stuffing it in the board. They tell you to do things in a certain order in the instructions for a reason! Wiring the damn thing was the part that took the longest.

Manning, your offer sounds tempting. Might need to drop by your place sometime and have a play!

I you have a 500 series frame handy, then the Sound Skulptor CP5176 is worth considering, they do great kits, everything included with excellent instructions, very low headache factor, no spending half your life trying to find parts from all over the globe.
http://www.soundskulptor.com/uk/proddetail.php?prod=CP5176
Cheers