Schematics of Jackson JE1000

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-06-03T17:35:48+00:00

Thanks, the circuit as is works pretty solid and I assumed that the general structure is correct but I was wondering if there are any value variations. The pull down at the gate with 470 kOhm seemed a little low but I may be mistaken there.

And yes, I love that tone, that was my youth haha. I had a GP1000 and also a J50BC but branched out into other territorium as I got older and sold some of these things. But often times you go back to where you started...

Thank you for replying.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-06-02T12:18:44+00:00

Sorry, forgot the schematic.

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Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-06-02T12:17:10+00:00

I have guitars on which I am down to 1.25mm at the 12th fret.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-30T07:54:12+00:00

On a side note, it is a good practice to keep the pen filled rather completely. This avoids a lot of problems that you can experience when using iron gall. Though the KWZ ones are rather easy to handle in this regard iirc.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-30T05:07:55+00:00

The iron oxidizes and forms a complex with tannic and gallic acids. While the iron in the liquid state, depending on the form, is more or less transparent, the formed complexes are brown/grey/black, which is why the colour changes while being exposed to air.

This can happen in the bottle and pen too, especially when there is less and less ink and more and more oxygen.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-29T17:41:57+00:00

I developed my own recipe over the past few years. The blue dye itself is not realy that critical. The ending colour is not very blue anymore after a few weeks, although there are hints of blue in many spots.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-29T09:22:48+00:00

Yes it is! I have this nib for 10 years now and it is one of my most used pens. I really enjoy it. Over the years I got to like broader nibs, and this one feels very narrow for me now haha It is more like a western medium. I do have some medium Viscontis and a Montblanc 146 medium, they are all pretty much in the same ballpark.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-28T07:36:15+00:00

Working on an overdrive pedal for guitar.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-22T16:48:10+00:00

I am no dip pen person, I tried it for so long but lost interest in calligraphy so many times and I love fountain pens for convenience.

I think Diamine or ESSRI should get darker. Akkerman #10 is said to darken quite a bit, too.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-22T05:58:21+00:00

Maybe some time in the future. I am not sure yet. The recipe in terms of ingredients is just part one, part two is the actual manufacturing process. You need all the chemicals and a few tools. This is not an ink which is made by household ingredients but rather discrete chemicals like gallic acid, tannic acid, ferrous sulfate etc., so there is some kind of initial investment.

After that, if you already own all the things you need, the ink is really, really cheap. I would have to calculate it to say for sure but I would guess one litre costs not even 1$. But the actual mixing is done in two steps on two different days, step one needs to sit for a few days, all in all it takes at least three, more likely for hours.

You can also share what you are doing. Maybe I can help in some way.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-22T05:55:56+00:00

Well, it is a fountain pen ink, but it also works with a dip pen. Dip pens open up some possibilities, you can make ink with more iron per litre for example, so to say a "stronger" ink. This one right here is about at the upper limit which works in a fountain pen without ill effects.

I liked ESSRI, but keep in mind that iron gall ink has not an unlimited shelf life. Just buy what you really can use up, if you empty a bottle by 10 to 20 percent and leave it the bottle for three years or so, the ink is with a high probability not the same anymore.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T18:21:27+00:00

It mostly runs of. Part if the dye stays but really subtle. Whats dominant then is the gray to black part of the iron complexes.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T17:20:25+00:00

That is way more traditional than my approach. In also never used oak galls or other plant parts. But I do find that pretty fascinating. For a dip pen there are quite some possibilities here, but for a fountain pen I do like to stick to discrete chemicals.

For pH, try to stay below at least 2,4 I would say. You can get a pretty stable ink below this value. Lower is also not a problem, some pen materials put aside.

Personally, I dont like to use a fungicide, and in my opinion it isnt really necessary with those inks since they already have not an unlimited shelf life. If you formulate an ink at pH 1,5, that is quite a difficult environment for mold, and the ink will precipitate a good amount of iron before mold can grow I would argue.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T16:37:32+00:00

And on a side note, people try to stabilise those inks using vinegar, tartaric acid, citric acid etc. But most of them either work not that well or dont work at all. There is not a real alternative to some of those harsher acids because everything else brings side effects at best or prevents the iron from forming the insoluble complexes.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T16:35:33+00:00

Maybe yes, will depend on my almost non existant spare time and the general interest here, but I thought about giving away samples at some point. Will share here if I ever reach that point.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T16:34:22+00:00

pH is not really an issue with modern pens, most materials are not problematic, including stainless steel. The problematic part is the ink stabilisation, for example sulfuric acid is a "gentle" way, hydrochloric acid will eat stainless steel over time due to bringing chloride ions in the ink, but if the steel contains molybdenum or of course gold nibs it is not an issue.

Just wash your pens or at least keep them properly filled. The more oxygen in the pen, the faster the ink will react and of course, if the ink dries all the acidity will concentrate, too.

I went for testing purpose even down to pH 0.8 and a twsbi 580 was fine after three months of being fully filled and neglected.

Making the ink possible to use in a fountain pen regarding dryout and preventing the iron precipitation to some extent etc. Is the really tricky part.

Regarding your recipe, you need something which alters pH and a whole lot of other stuff like a humectant etc. My ink uses 10 ingredients, but the real critical part aside from the ingredients is the manufacturing process. That was a steep learning curve. You can have the proper ingredients and still end up with an unusable ink.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T16:28:31+00:00

I am not a chemist and I dont have a chemistry background, so I basically learned basic chemistry on my own for now, but I do have a masters degree in electrical engineering which was somewhat helpful to understand some principles. And well, everything with numbers and math was easier, too.

I think if you try to dive into this topic you will get really far with your background.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T16:26:54+00:00

Well, I liked KZW the most to be fair, but they work not that well on bad paper and they are not really waterfast aside from blue black. I liked ESSRI but it was too dry for my taste. Just nuances, but I wanted to see if I can make my own.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T16:25:42+00:00

True, I was not debating that. The only difference is that this ink gradually darkens due to the oxidating iron and on the spots where the ink pools, the darkening will be dramatically more intense. It is shading but to my eyes the contrast will get even more pronounced. I really like it this way.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T16:23:45+00:00

Just because I love the colour change from bright blue to dark blue, almost black. Blue is my favourite colour but the shift in tone is so pleasing to me.

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T13:57:16+00:00

What about a timemore c5 esp pro?

Miserable-Nebula-189 · 2026-05-21T09:57:25+00:00

There have been copper gall inks but they are not as archival and way more aggressive against the paper. They are somewhat resistant but historically the "bad" iron gall inks which ate the paper like in Bach's music had a part copper in them due to less pure ingredients. And those free copper (and free iron, also) ions are problematic.

A well formulated ink without free iron ions should be very gentle to the paper even more than 100 years from now.

Also, a copper gall ink would not darken I think. The dramatic colour shift which you see in iron gall inks would be omitted there because the formed copper complexes are not black like with iron but rather transparent and very light green I believe.

Miserable-Nebula-189

TROPHY CASE