SamIAm

The end of chapter one. I printed the bottom cover for Trampa last night. The USB adaptor fits nicely this time 😭 The old hole (to the right) can stay ... I think at some point I will print the main enclosure again, but with 3mm walls instead of the current 2mm; this will depend on how Tramp holds up under use. 12mm M3 bolts seem to be the right size. Using a soldering iron set to 200c (The working temp of the plastic filament used in the enclosure is 220-230) I set the receiving mounts in the body. The holes printed are smaller than the mount diameter so that they will melt into place; the hole was designed to be deeper than required to take the M3 bolt, this was to allow space for any molten plastic to 'escape' ... otherwise it might ooze up through the mount and block the thread. Attach the cover Apply some magic Velcro And like magic ... ready for band practice this afternoon. I'm using an external USB battery for now, it's handy as it shows remaining charge ... and it fits nicely under the wireless guitar cable receiver. Now to try it out, see how it holds up, figure out the best configuration for gigs. At some point I will install the additional OLED displays and update the hardware/software to support them; for now ... time to practice some more chord tone patterns S'manth x

The ACGs are gorgeous ... as are those that @Andyjr1515 creates ... and the ones I've seen that @Jabba_the_gut made are fab! I like to think Flo will have some ... interesting features ... I'm trying to put together a visual design and for insights from those who done it before! S'manth x

I also signed up at the last minute ... I really like his teaching style and, whilst it is not cheap, with paypal "pay over 3 months" I can just about swing it.

+1 for iRealPro

Trampa.mp4 Working sufficiently well for band practice Wednesday, tho I still need to print a bottom cover for the enclosure before then and get it Velcroed to my pedalboard (That's why I had to hold it down for the video). The item in the top right is a USB battery bank that is powering the Trampa; I'd like to be able to drive the Ant, the Stomp and Trampa using one of these so I am not tied to mains power. Next At 21s in the video the name of the switch pressed shows up well. This is the type of label I want displayed adjacent to every switch in a scribble strip fashion (Like my mockup image) This will require a change to the wiring to add in the missing OLED panels as well as getting the software to support them. Add in a battery charging module as well as an internal battery. The LEDs work (as can be seen during startup) however I cannot see how to configure them in the way I want at present; software modification required. The Pedalino s/w that Trampa is currently running, whilst really rather cool, has some features I am unlikely to ever need and is lacking some features I do. As I mentioned before, I have a couple of other projects in mind that will allow tighter integration with the Stomp (Like HX Edit can); I'm playing with Patchbox with a view to building some sort of synth, recorder, looper, drum machine, sound F/X thing and it would be nice from a design perspective to have a uniform user interface across all of these modules. As such I am likely to develop new software to run Trampa and its siblings.

Controlboard wired in OLED display wired in USB connection to controlboard successful and firmware uploaded. Initial configuration to connect to WiFi SamFi. System powered on and ... VID_20220529_220630.mp4 The video shows Trampa successfully connecting to SamFi. Pointing a web browser at Trampa displays the basic system info Looking good so far! Now to hook up the footswitches and LEDs

The chip at the heart is the rather amazing ESP-32 which incorporates a number of elements that are useful in the IOT (Internet of Things) space; the ESP seems quite revolutionary in packaging all of these in a single chip. The Core contains a pair of microprocessors that can run freeRTOS (think a micro linux). The chip is widely available on boards like this that provide a USB interface (for programming/debugging) as well as access to many of the I/O pins on the chip. In small quantities they are about £10 each! Programming the system can be done using the Arduino toolkit and there are many libraries available to do things like read a switch with debounce, drive a LCD/OLED display chip, connect to WiFi, send data over bluetooth and so on. It is also possible to load a python system (micropython or circuitpython) on the chip; it then appears as a USB drive on your computer ... writing a python file (or set of them) to the USB drive and the chip will run them. As with the arduino toolkit, there are many libraries available. My preference is to use the development system offered by the chip manufacturer Espriff, called ESP-IDF. It is more technical in nature but provides better access to low level stuff in the chip and in a more effective fashion; this chip can do crazy things like face/voice detection, connect to AWS IoT Core, Azure IoT and Google IoT Core cloud, even DSP. Amazon Echo devices have something like this in them. Development can be done using Eclipse or VSCode and there are plugins available for these to make this easy. I started work in IT in the 80s; my first 'real' computer was a ZX-81; they were exciting times. I stumbled into the world of microcontrollers just a few weeks ago (I retrained as a nurse in 2015 so have not been as hands on with IT as I used to be) and the capabilities just blew my socks off!!! There are a vast number of resources on the web about working with these type of devices, RandomNerd is quite a good one. S'manth x

The LED wiring seems sound (No circuit shorts or breaks) tho I won't really know until I've hooked it all up. Foot-switches mounted. The pins soldered on the switches are to allow me to use solderless connections (A bit like EMG do) to interconnect everything. As this is the first prototype build it gives me more flexibility to modify the circuit; this will be very handy when I come to the modification for the multiple OLED displays. I've only installed one OLED at present as the current software does not support more; I will either need to modify it (It is open source) or more likely write my own to replace it. A rewrite is a bigger job but I have dreams of a sound chain management eco-system (You can tell I was once an IT Consultant!) that incorporates midi control (wired and BLE), a synth/looper box (Occasionally some backing drums would add to our songs and I really fancy trying to get a midi signal out of my axe to drive a synth) and a HX Edit type editor. All talking to each other and to my Stomp. All available to view and configure from a web based interface (Tablet mounted on my mic/music stand) 🤔 but just for now ... With all the switches in, trampa has a lovely heft to it. Next will be final wiring, testing, flashing the firmware, testing, initial configuration, testing and then trying it for real (Well, with my gear in the living room) ... I am determined that I'll have it operational before band practice on Wednesday S'manth x By the way, the squares on the green cutting board are 10mm x 10mm.

Is one of those to throw to the adoring fans? S'manth x

Not as much progress made as I'd hoped .... I hate soldering so it tends to go slow and I've a few other projects on the boil that I spent some time on (One is Flo). But I have got the perspex OLED display protectors mounted and the LEDs are mounted and soldered up (Just need to test all the hookups are sound ... tedious but not onerous). The footswitches are half soldered (Yech more soldering!) and once I'm sure the LEDs are hooked up correctly I can mount the switches. S'manth x

Introduction I've been playing at playing bass for a few years, but recently kicked it up a notch and moved from UBASS to my current MCR-1 Short Scale. I really like it ... but ... there are some things I would like to be different ... none of them can be achieved by modding Ponty so I started looking for a bass that ticked my boxes; which are: Short overall length (33 inches or less). I play in a ukulele band and I do not want my bass to appear out of place (Does my bass look big in this band?) Plus a smaller bass is lighter (I've a bad back), easier to handle/transport and probably less dangerous to my band mates ... 5 Strings - Specifically a BEADG tuning. Hmmm ... to avoid the low B feeling/sounding like a piece of wet spaghetti it seems that a scale scale length of 31 inches or more is needed (Looking at various high quality short scale bass makers e.g. Birdsong) ... but how to fit that in a 33 inch bass? Headless 0 fret Having searched a lot I could not find anyone brilliant (insane!?) enough to be making this kind of thing and so the EBB5 Eclectic - design draws on ideas from all over Bespoke - custom build B - bass guitar 5 - 5 strings She shall be called Flo (It's a tide thing). And this will be her story ... S'manth edit: Building Flo turned into a building protoype build of Twiggy (5 string, fretless made from a 2x4 I happened to have lying around). After a delightful outcome I'm about to embark on Flo, learning from my mistakes and some successes with Twiggy ... new build diary here Flo - A second generation EBB5 bass

Thank you So long as you don't call anyone from Lilliput or Blefuscu ...

Initial assembly First I cut out the perspex screen protectors for the OLEDs. Not the tidiest of cuts! (I think a "table saw" mount for my Dremel is needed ... a 3D printable one of course!) They fit in nicely. A couple of drops of superglue will hold them in place. Buttons, OLED module and LEDs fit in also. The inserts for mounting the base are a tad loose, a drop of superglue will sort this. The ESP32 controller uses Micro USB (yuck!) for power and programming, so I'm mounting a USB Micro to USB-C panel mounted adapter. First blooper! I goofed in positioning it, even with the buttons mounted at their extreme position (Which I do not like) it still does not fit correctly. I'm sure that at some point I'll need to reprint the enclosure so will correct it then. Next stage is to mount all the hardware (with glue as needed) and start with the wiring. I'd love to be able to get it up and running by the end of the day. I've spent many hours thinking/designing/testing small prototype prints over the past couple of weeks based on the following (apocryphal I believe) quotation S'manth x

Nice price! Getting OLEDs in from an electronics perspective might be tricky, physically it looks like there is no space tho.

I do like the MOD-UI interface, I gather that if you have a WiFi dongle plugged into your Mod it can be used wirelessly from, say, a tablet. I have plugged a CME Widi Master (MIDI over Bluetooth) into my Stomp. The Widi Master has a quoted 3ms latency, it's amazingly responsive. I've got Midi Designer on my iPad and can control the stomp from it (and it gets updated if I tweak the knobs on the Stomp) ... with my iPad in a mic/music stand mounted clamp. But it is not hands free, so not good for mid song changes! Also, whilst Line 6 have a rather good editor (HX Edit) it only runs on Windows/Mac OS ... from what I've seen with MOD-UI it is superior in this respect (And also it's open source!) The Morningstar units caught my eye too, they seem nice ... but without integrated Bluetooth Midi they did not tick my boxes. (Dare I suggest they are trumped by trampa lol) On a separate note I'd love to hear what you think of your Mod, how you selected it, how you use it, etc. Perhaps PM or a different thread? S'manth x

The strength of 3D printed parts depends on a number of factors. The design itself; thickness of elements; supporting struts; fillets at corners to reduce stress fractures, size of faces, etc. The type of print material used (Some are flexible, others rigid, some come with embedded carbon fibre) The number of perimeters printed (and to a lesser extent the infill density and pattern) It's based on "try it and see". Thicker walls with more perimeters and a higher infill density with a greater number of support struts etc will result in greater strength; this however comes at the cost of increased (sometimes significantly) print times; weight will also increase but for this project it's not a big consideration. So based on my previous experience I chose a set of these factors. Once assembled, if it is not strong enough then I can tweak the design, alter the print settings and try again. S'manth x

I find this sort of project a wonderfully satisfying fusion of design thinking (and rethinking), attention to detail, working with (and often around) software features. Turning a concept into a visual representation and then a physical one ... and then applying it to my music ... great fun! Enclosure So after about 9 hours of whizzing and whirring IMG_20220526_233902_MP.mp4 the enclosure has finished printing. Now to tidy it up. 3D printing (certainly at my price point) does not produce perfect results, there are small bits and bobs that need to be cleaned up. It is also possible to smooth surfaces using solvents or to sand, prime, paint ... I've yet to try these but the results I've seen have been amazing! I "might" try and see what happens if I apply Hammerite to this enclosure ... The mechanics of 3D printing (Well using this sort of 3D printing known as FDM) are such that certain artefacts are intentionally added to the print; support material (SM) is an example of this, SM provides a scaffolding for sections printed above empty space. Without SM the first few layers printed above an empty space would droop down before they cooled/solidified resulting in a very untidy finish. SM can be auto added in auto-magically in 3D printing software and it is printed at a lower density to make it easier to remove. Without support material With support material So time to grab some tools and do some tidying up. Next step is to assemble the various components to check (fingers crossed) that they fit!

The heart of my pedalboard is an HX Stomp, I am far from utilising anywhere near its full capabilities yet but still find its 3 foot-switches ... limiting. (I always have one setup for tuning/mute) ... time for an extension foot-switch. Having a rather demanding feature list and limited bank balance (I've spent too much already on my new gear) I found that then available off the shelf control units were out of reach price-wise. I'm a "maker" and love to fiddle with electronics, 3D design/printing and software development and so was born the idea of Trampa (Swedish for tread). Feature Set Compact so as to fit on my wee pedal board. 8 switch controller with digital scribble strips. Configurable via web interface (Acting as a WiFi hotspot running a web server). Support for BLE midi. Built in rechargeable battery. Not out of my price range (The bits used come in well under £100) During my research I found a really cool project (PedalinoMini) that almost met my requirements and so Trampa v1 is using it. I'm incorporating 4 OLED displays to support scribble strips for each pair of switches and want to be able to assign actions for when I depress two switches (For instance activating the tuner) so will need to modify the software; more likely I will do a clean room build as I also have plans to integrate it with a pedalboard based synth/looper/recorder (Think zynthian with a totally web based user interface). Mock-up I wanted something like this Design Housing design done in Fusion 360 Prototyping You can see a few of the prototype prints in the next photo as I dialed in the size/layout/fitting of the front panel Elements At it's beating heart is an ESP32 microcontroller (I'm using a WROOM-32 kit board), this is an amazing powerhouse with a dual core 32-bit cpu running at 240 MHz, with onboard WiFi & Bluetooth, it has 4Mb of flash/ 520Kb SRAM and can be programmed in python or C/C++. Every switch will have its own multicoloured LED (To tie in with the Stomp) and each pair will share a 0.96 inch OLED display (Crisp, clear and low power) scribble strip. the "final" enclosure is printing at present (About 6 hours left to go) and on the morrow ... assembly.

I did some research into this (for use with my HX Stomp). I found some nice ones and some really nice ones (All via google) , but none of them ticked my "must-have" boxes (The box usually unticked was needing to be reasonably priced!). So in the end I decided to build one myself ... details to go up soon in the build diaries. S'manth x

My MCR-1 upgraded with Hipshot Ultralites

Just completed a purchase of a small bass cab from Lee. Great packaging and a cracking cab ... any thing is that several of my fillings have started to shake loose lol Thanks Lee! S'manth x

Back again, this time for a pair of EMG MCCS pickups. Definitely one of the good-uns here on BC!

Bought a Pedaltrain Metro 16 from Martin to hold my toys. Great communications, rapid arrival, well packed, exactly as described. A throughly lovely chap!