Reticon SAD1024

 When I think of a great BBD IC, I instantly think about the Reticon SAD1024.

It can be found in a number of old pedals that used a delay-line. It was quite common for it to be used in old flangers, chorus pedals and even in delay pedals. It was a lot more bandwith friendly compared to the Panasonic counterparts.

Yet it was replaced by these Panasonics as the common go-to BBD IC in pedals. 

The Reticons had a higher failure rate; some were rebranded to Reticons SAD512 (which is the same IC but only with one BBD stage). A replacement for the SAD1024 is the Panasonic MN3001 which has the same topology but only a different pinout. They do sound different though.

Link to the datasheet of the Reticon SAD1024

The SAD1024 is a dual BBD IC. It has two identical BBD IC's in it that can be used simultaneously or apart from eacht other. Both sides give 512 stages. Common practises are:

• For flangers the dual BBD's are placed in parrallel giving it 512 stages in total
• For chorus' the sides are placed in series giving it a total of 1024 stages
• For a stereo effect the sides can be used as a single BBD stage for two audio sources.

The advantage of the SAD1024 above their Panasonic counter parts are the bandwidth. The Reticon has a bigger bandwidth and keeps more of the original signal intact. I don't think this is quite apparant in the final result, as due to filtering much of the original signal is filtered out.

Yet, the Reticon SAD1024 has a certain 'touch' that can't be found in any other BBD IC's

Links

A good site with information on BBD IC's and their working