Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer? EDIT: OBTAINED

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by somanytoys » Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:51 am

That makes sense. Good that you were able to get one when you needed/wanted it.

There’s always going to be some other thing that needs to be gotten on the horizon...
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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Feb 22, 2020 11:57 am

Don’t want to get my hopes up too high before it arrives in good condition! Would hate to have my hopes dashed by postal destruction

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by somanytoys » Sat Feb 22, 2020 2:08 pm

Very understandable. I’ve had the same worry about having tube amps and older rack equipment shipped to me.

I don’t know how delicate the internal parts are on that, but they’re obviously somewhat, if it requires some periodic calibration (?).

Hopefully it’s packaged well, wasn’t used to kick any field goals and arrives in very good condition. Hoping that’s the case...
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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sat Feb 22, 2020 3:25 pm

I don't have firsthand knowledge, but I think I count 9 trimmers on the schematic (notoriously interrelated and hard to calibrate... one thing I saw said to set aside an entire day with a meter and scope to get it dialed in).

And of course there are literally well over a hundred individual wire connections inside (this unit dates from before widespread use of integrated circuits, so all of its functions are made fully with discrete transistors. This means multiple circuit boards with connections to and from, not to mention pots, pedal, switches...)

Hopefully none of those little wires decides to break off when Canada Post hands it off to US Customs, when US Customs inevitably inspects it, and when it boards a transcontinental flight to NYC, and then when has to get tossed around by NYC postal workers before ultimately arriving at my doorstep.

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by somanytoys » Sat Feb 22, 2020 9:33 pm

That’s really oldschool. But it does make you appreciate the workmanship that there used to be with things like that. Especially if you have to go in and try to diagnose, fix or recalibrate things that they originally created and built.

But at least you seem to have the skills to do it. That’s a plus. I still need to try to get back into finishing trying to build a tube reverb tank. A little heady of a project for my no experience self, which is probably why it’s only half finished.
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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by øøøøøøø » Sun Feb 23, 2020 6:09 am

I'd feel better about it if there were any kind of original service documentation out there. But I can't find any, and nobody seems to know of its existence.

At least the unit I've bought was advertised to be working perfectly and well-calibrated. Let's hope it remains that way by the time it makes its way to me!

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by somanytoys » Sun Feb 23, 2020 10:28 am

I know what you mean, I’ve scoured the net a lot to find manuals for some older equipment that I’ve bought, and not always successfully. Schematics seemed to be easier, or the only thing to be found in some cases. Sucks that this one seems to be so obscure.

You may be pleasantly surprised when it arrives, I’ve been impressed with the packaging and final condition of some more delicate items. Hopefully it was properly insured at the very least.

Honestly, I’ve found that the roughest treatment of the packages that I’ve received is by FedEx. I’m actually shocked that they were in as good a condition as they were, as trashed as the boxes were.
-David

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by øøøøøøø » Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:20 pm

This thing is awesome.

It arrived and only the fuzz side worked, not the clean side.

After ordering transistors, tracing the schematic, etc... I found a loose quick connect wire connector on the footboard circuit board. Re-crimped that, and fully good to go.

Pretty unusual... lots of crazy sounds to find in this thing.

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:04 pm

That's awesome Brad! Glad it arrived safely. You should record a little video so we can see what you can do with it ;)
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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by Logrinn » Tue Mar 03, 2020 3:24 am

What Shadoweclipse13 said

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by somanytoys » Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:57 am

Cool - after all of the delicate sounding circuitry & wiring that you described, it’s really cool that the only thing wrong was one easily fixed loose wire.

Congratulations! I hope you find a lot of uses for it, or that it serves your purpose and you do well flipping it, if that’s your preference.

Seems like those are only going to get harder to find in decent shape.
-David

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by øøøøøøø » Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:04 am

Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:04 pm
That's awesome Brad! Glad it arrived safely. You should record a little video so we can see what you can do with it ;)
As you wish:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9ZA_mPAE28

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by somanytoys » Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:11 am

Wow, that thing looks cool as shit! Minty fresh.

Almost like what Spock looked into on the bridge of the Enterprise, from a certain angle.

Interesting sound, are there some good variables, or does it have only 1 or 2 acceptable/useable sounds?

Cool vid, thanks.
-David

It's a boost booster, to boost your boost - it makes your tone much muchier.

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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by Larry Mal » Fri Mar 06, 2020 11:31 am

øøøøøøø wrote:
Fri Mar 06, 2020 8:04 am
Shadoweclipse13 wrote:
Mon Mar 02, 2020 8:04 pm
That's awesome Brad! Glad it arrived safely. You should record a little video so we can see what you can do with it ;)
As you wish:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B9ZA_mPAE28
I thought I was hearing some of that old Frank Zappa sound there... did he use one of these?
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Re: Does anyone here have a Ludwig Phase II Guitar Synthesizer?

Post by øøøøøøø » Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:53 pm

Don't know about FZ. But these have always been pretty rare, so the odds are probably against!

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