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Topic: Lil Izzy |
Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2021 5:20 am |
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| The late Craig Baker made a product called Lil Izzy. It cleans up the sound very good. I have a friend who has one and it sounds fuzzy. He has installed a new 9 volt battery to no avail. Since Craig has passed we are wondering if anyone knows what is inside the Lil Izzy or if anyone knows how to repair one. They have a tar or some product like that to keep an individual from seeing what Mr. Baker used. Any info would certainly be appreciated. |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 20 Sep 2021 5:49 am
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All the Lil Izzy device is an Impedance converter. It converts the guitar pickup output to low Impedance. This from the original demonstration clinic held at the St Louis ISGC when the device first came out.
Its "potted" and almost impossible to repair. Its got an op-amp IC in it. I had one of the original models and it too failed. Being an amp tech I tried to fix it but couldn't.
There are many devices that will do the same thing. The Goodrich "matchbox" is one. If you have a Hilton or Telonics volume pedal the output is low Impedance. Many effect units are low impedance output. |
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Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2021 10:04 am
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| Thanks Jack for the info. I bought one in 1981 at the ISGC. After Mr. Baker started making them again I bought another one. I certainly am no electronics man but I can tell a difference when it is not being used. I use a Telonics pedal which really helped on a clean sound. I just thought maybe the parts inside could be replaced but then I am not the one to ask advice on electronics. I appreciate you help. |
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Jerry Jones
From:
Franklin, Tenn.
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Mike Auman
From:
North Texas, USA
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Posted 20 Sep 2021 5:23 pm
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Based on the published specifications, the Lil Izzy is a unity gain buffer. Similar devices are available, but not many that are battery-powered, most of the ones marketed to guitar players assume a pedalboard power supply providing 9V DC. Some battery-powered options include the Goodrich Matchbox and the Sarno Freeloader, both have adjustable input impedance. You can also use an active volume pedal, or many guitar effects pedals as a buffer, as Jack mentioned. Analogman sells a buffer with an internal battery option.
The maximum impedance on the Matchbox and Freeloader is lower than the Lil Izzy, so they will roll off a bit more of the highs, but you may not notice. For comparison, the published input impedance of the Lil Izzy (and most buffers) is 1 Meg (1 million ohms), the published Freeloader is 750k (750,000) max, and the Matchbox is about 350k (350,000) max based on one I owned. Higher impedance = brighter sound since less of the highs are rolled off. That's how the Matchbox and Freeloader tame down your treble, by reducing the input impedance. The input impedance of different guitar effects pedals varies a lot, but is typically somewhere between 100k and 1 Meg.
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Long-time guitar player, now wrestling with lap steel. |
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Tony Tipton
From:
Wagoner,Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2021 5:23 am Lil Izzy
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Thanks for posting this,Paul. Normally, if my battery gets low, it causes it to have a distorted sound. Tried a couple of new batteries, but made no difference this time. . Still has a bad distortion sound. Very erratic. Just got back from a camping trip with it (had it in the fifth wheel Lol ) , so going to set it up and try it again.
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Emmons Legrande II D-10 ,Nashville 112, Goodrich L 120, Lil' Izzy, a homemade seat, delay pedal, BJS bar, Dunlop .013, and a red thumb pick |
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Nathan Guilford
From:
Oklahoma City
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Posted 21 Sep 2021 5:55 am
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I had that problem once and contacted Mr. Baker while he was still alive. He said that if I'd already tried new batteries, I should check the output jack and make sure I'm getting solid connection. I bent the little retainer to make it tight and roughed it up with some steel wool and presto!
Worked like new again. Might try that. Might work, might not. Dunno.
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'02 Carter S-12 uni
‘76 MSA D-12
www.toothbrushers.com |
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Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2021 11:44 am
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| Tony, Are you saying it could have been the high altitude? Seriously, I hope you get it working. |
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Tony Tipton
From:
Wagoner,Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2021 5:20 pm
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Nathan, after seeing your post , I bent the tab on the Jack a little tighter and cleaned it up , to no avail. Thought maybe I’d bumped it and loosened it up a little. Seems to work ok at low volume, but distorts when cranked up a little.
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Emmons Legrande II D-10 ,Nashville 112, Goodrich L 120, Lil' Izzy, a homemade seat, delay pedal, BJS bar, Dunlop .013, and a red thumb pick |
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Tony Tipton
From:
Wagoner,Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 21 Sep 2021 5:25 pm
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Yes, Paul, that crossed my mind. Willing to try anything ! Lol !
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Emmons Legrande II D-10 ,Nashville 112, Goodrich L 120, Lil' Izzy, a homemade seat, delay pedal, BJS bar, Dunlop .013, and a red thumb pick |
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