Home Forums Vintage EHX Vintage Soul Preacher: Why No Love?

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  • #79681
    ranjam
    Member

    I do apologize for seeming whiny on my very first post, but my search brought me here, so where better to ask? I acquired a vintage Soul Preacher (not the Nano version), and finding out anything about it is frustrating. No reviews (all for the Nano), no mods (not that I want any, but the omission seems strange), and it’s not even listed in the otherwise stellar Dave Hunter book Guitar Effects Pedals. Other than the Discofreq site, I wouldn’t even know this Soul Preacher existed. I think it sounds fine, it works as well as any Dyna Comp, and I got it really cheap. What more could I ask for? Some information! Is this a Howard Davis design? Is there an ‘attack’ mod? Can I do better than the stock 4558?
    Again, I do apologize for this being my very first post. But I really want to know more than what I do now about this compressor. Thanks for any tips, advice, and being a shoulder to cry on.

    #106364
    The EH Man
    Moderator

    It’s not a Howard Davis design. As far as mods, I don’t know of any. I wouldn’t change any parts if it’s working fine for you now.

    #106367
    ranjam
    Member

    Well, you’re the guy who would know. And it’s not even mentioned on your site, other than it being tossed in for free with a Deluxe Big Muff. I’m not interested in screwing with it, unless someone like you says anything is better than the 4558 in there now. You know how it is; we’re all Burr-Brown crazy. But an attack mod might still be cool. Even in a basic Dyna Comp the trim pot inside adjusts the attack, and the Nano version has it as well. The more I think about it, the more I realize I should relax and just enjoy it. It is pretty cool; not really noisy, the treble boost switch reminds me of a Boss CS-1, and it really works.
    I don’t know what I wanted with any mod advice. Maybe being told an upgraded IC would make it a little quieter? I guess I just got excited and wanted to know everything possible in one shot.
    I’ll apologize again for being too nosy and whiny. But man, I still want to know why this compressor isn’t poping up on many sites. Tone Frenzy has a really good sound clip. Between that and Discogreq, it seems we’re the only people who know about it. And I know nothing. But not for long, if I have my way. Thanks for the slap in the head. I’m back to Earth now. Time to grab a Strat, my ‘new’ Soul Preacher, and get my Nile Rogers on.

    #106792
    Fender&EHX4ever
    Moderator

    I have a vintage Soul Preacher, and I’ve definitely found that it works best with a good 9v battery, as opposed to using an AC PS. It’s not my favorite EHX compressor (that would be the RI BlackFinger), but I do like the treble boost feature – quite handy.

    #106822
    ranjam
    Member

    I also have an old Boss CS-1, and it has the treble boost switch as well. I don’t really use that part, unless the whole signal just sounds like it lost some top end.
    I never really thought about the adaptor issue, either. I guess if the adaptor isn’t well filtered or regulated, it can be a problem. But you could add a simple filter. I suppose it would be something like a 100-ohm resistor from the AC jack to the circuit board, and a 220uF or a 470uF capacitor mounted from that B+ point to ground.
    You know, I just looked at the one schematic I can find, and there already is a filter; a 220-ohm resistor and a 100uF capacitor. Maybe you could bump up that capacitor. It would be a cheap and easy experiment. But if you have a costly power supply, it should be filtered and regulated to start with. I guess a plain adaptor that was sold with a calculator would be a problem, as you don’t have to listen to a calculator. That’s one reason I stopped buying the $2.95 adaptors from my local computer surplus store.

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