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JackLondon

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Final custom delay pedal build for our guitarist, he wanted a jagermeister-themed enclosure. This is the rebote 2.5 tonepad pcb circuit, no mods.

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/alheeley/7170322343/][/url]

Here with perspex glowplate being positioned, you can see the single LED in the centre poking thru with its domed top sanded flat.
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/alheeley/7355535312/][/url]

Enclosure graphics
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/alheeley/7355536196/][/url]
You can get a near-endless delay repeat on max setting, with some analog tail-off of the high freqs as delay time increases. PT2399 chip gives max delay time of about 550ms.
A good project build and the tonepad pcb's are great quality.

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Few more builds finished for me. Used the labels Al suggested to varying degrees of success. Electronix Submarine, Bazz Fuss with clean blend and Devi Ever Karaoke Party. Pics incoming for soon.

The Submarine is a brilliant preamp circuit and really makes my scavenged p-bass come alive. A really easy build too.

Don't like the buff and blend circuit I used in the fuzz...probably going to replace that section with a Big Muff tone stack as I know that works well on a Bazz. The actual fuzz circuit sounds great though, I love the Bazz Fuss... Monster 10uF and 4.7uF with an MPSA13, 10k resistor, dirt pot mod and a 1N4001 in the clipping section. Going to try a few different diodes but really happy with the amount of bass this fuzz kicks out. An absolute monster.

The Karaoke Party is a nice surprise on bass...much lower gain than Devi's other designs and only a few parts as well. Does a more over-driven sound and a clean distortion/fuzz on full gain with no additional noises going on either. Bit more transparent than the Dark Boost as well because it doesn't add the truckload of low end bass into the signal.

Gristleizer and Phase 90 clones next up.

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[quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1338140333' post='1670043']
not finished yet, waiting on TL071 chip to replace the LM741, then will shove in the dc socket and trim all to fit :)
[/quote]

Good choice of opamp - I'm still using an ancient mixer that is literally falling apart. Sounds incredible though - over the last week I took a peek inside to see if I could resurrect parts of it, and guess which opamps I found? Exclusively TL072s - lovely, lovely sound.

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The TL071's have much bigger headroom before starting to clip / distort compared to the 741's. However, some distortion circuits require a bit of extra noise from the 741 topping out to give their characteristic tones. If you want clean, stick with the 071's.
After soldering a few of my own home-etched pcb's, the Tonepad ones are a delight, the solder just drops off onto the holes. I'd also really recommend the Madbean pedals pcb's as well - also rear-coated, a breeze to solder and very intelligently laid out. Big +1 for Brian.
Thanks for your comments MancFox, I have got thru a shedload of Doctor Tweeks plastic-jacketed pots now, really good quality feel to them, not scratchy at all, they eliminate shorting issues as does the addition of the plastic glowplate on the back when space is short.
Now I've made all the pedals I've hankered for, I'm resting up my soldering iron for a few months to focus more on becoming a better bass player.

Edited by Al Heeley
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  • 2 weeks later...

[url="http://postimage.org/image/l22nc2fep/"]http://postimage.org/image/l22nc2fep/[/url]
[url="http://postimage.org/image/7kk3i9lfn/"]http://postimage.org/image/7kk3i9lfn/[/url]
[url="http://postimage.org/image/u0sxyk5in/"]http://postimage.org/image/u0sxyk5in/[/url]

Links to mancunianfox's pics; I couldn't see them in his post.
They look quite good, did you use Inkscape?

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ok, wondered if someone would be able to help me make sense of a few pictures (cant upload them now as im at work but will do in the PM)

i have a mission engineering expression pedal, with one output for line6 pedals (mono jack)
now i cant use this to control anything else as most things use TRS for expression right?

someone over on talkbass has the same exp pedal as me but with an extra TRS output as well, he's sent me some iphone pics of the insides and i just wondered if this would be as easy a mod as it sounds.

ive no real experience of modding pedals but i feel like giving this a go so i can do more with my pedalboard.

would i just need an extra jack and some bits of wire? or am i totally underestimating this??


edit: if anyone wants the pics whilst im at work i can email them over

Edited by Ant
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[quote name='Pollinator95' timestamp='1340365465' post='1703346']
They look quite good, did you use Inkscape?
[/quote]

I used Microsoft Publisher. Hopefully I can get a bit better. Going to try waterslide decals next as I wasn't happy with the way the clear parts of the labels looked.

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[quote name='Ant' timestamp='1340365762' post='1703361']
ok, wondered if someone would be able to help me make sense of a few pictures (cant upload them now as im at work but will do in the PM)

i have a mission engineering expression pedal, with one output for line6 pedals (mono jack)
now i cant use this to control anything else as most things use TRS for expression right?

someone over on talkbass has the same exp pedal as me but with an extra TRS output as well, he's sent me some iphone pics of the insides and i just wondered if this would be as easy a mod as it sounds.

ive no real experience of modding pedals but i feel like giving this a go so i can do more with my pedalboard.

would i just need an extra jack and some bits of wire? or am i totally underestimating this??


edit: if anyone wants the pics whilst im at work i can email them over
[/quote]
send me a pic, or link via a pm, I'll have a look for you.

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  • 2 weeks later...

so far I've always used etched circuit boards but lately I tried to have some experimental fun with a stripboard.
And I failed. Horribly. I always thought I wasn't too bad at soldering but somehow I have huge issues with soldering to a stripboard? Weird.

Do any of you guys have a similar problem or will I just have to feel dumb?

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I love working on veroboard but you do have to be careful with your cuts, avoid solder bridges and make sure you place the components are in the right place (believe me, this happens all too often).

A great website for vero layouts is [url="http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/"]http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/[/url]

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[quote name='Al Heeley' timestamp='1341496866' post='1720056']
^+1 this is where I get my Zvex clone circuits from ;)
[/quote]

He does requests too, did me a blueberry layout last week which I hope to finish soon. Top man.

I have only built one Zvex circuit, the Wooly Mammoth but I can't decide whether to box it or not. I was quite disappointed by it actually.

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[quote name='mancunianfox' timestamp='1341488840' post='1719873']
I love working on veroboard but you do have to be careful with your cuts, avoid solder bridges and make sure you place the components are in the right place (believe me, this happens all too often).

A great website for vero layouts is [url="http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/"]http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.co.uk/[/url]
[/quote]

Bookmarked!

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[quote name='mancunianfox' timestamp='1342524819' post='1736479']
Just out of interest, which knob did you drop and why? Just finished a Mammoth myself.
[/quote]

The EQ because I'm not keen on it and also coz I can fit three knobs in a row across a hammond box :)

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[quote name='Protium' timestamp='1342646733' post='1738794']
The EQ because I'm not keen on it and also coz I can fit three knobs in a row across a hammond box :)
[/quote]

Fair enough, to be honest I have it set in the middle anyway. I did four knobs on mine but in a standard four knob portrait layout. Hate those Zvex landscape cases.

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ELECCY TECHIES! I WANT YOU! :)


http://www.hobby-hour.com/electronics/s/schematics/boss-mt2-metal-zone-schematic.gif


Hey guys! I've just taken delivery of a Boss Metal Zone pedal from that rather fine chap Mr Foxen. I really like it as I can dial in some really smooth middley distortion that I will mix with a clean signal - a bit like an MXR M80, but..well.. actually better due to the semi-parametric EQ.

Now whilst I have been playing today I have started pondering! I *could* use an fx/looper pedal to mix in my clean signal with the output of the pedal OR I could see if there is an easy mod to do this in the pedal internally. I don't wanna wreck the pedal - it's a peach, but maybe an SPST switch and a couple of cables that could feed the clean signal to the output all the time.

I've found a schematic and have been able to figure out the following:

1) Q003, top right of the diagram is essentially a mute switch that engages when you turn the pedal on.
2) Q009 (LHS) and Q002 (RHS) is also a mute switch that engages when you turn the pedal off.

Thus in a flip flop kinda action you have state 2) when the pedal is in 'bypass' and state 1) when the pedal is on and you hear distortion.

So here's my logic - there must be an easy way to ensure that no matter what state the pedal is in, you can bypass the action of Q003 so that with the pedal in bypass or activiated, the clean signal (bypass) is always present at the output.

Now at the moment my feelings is that around Q003 there is signal with DC and thus bridging the FET is a bad idea.

An easy way to do this?

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Unless I were to decouple with a capacitor?

My other thought was to break the circuit at R009 (1M) and use a switch to feed a +ve dc to keep the fet engaged all the time using a simple toggle switch. Would this work?

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[quote name='Protium' timestamp='1342466438' post='1735720']
Some new fuzzes coming up soon - a 3-knobbed mammoth (oo err) plus a few circuits I've been tweaking
[/quote]

As promised:

[IMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j89/rh15951/Pedals/ee6c76cf.jpg[/IMG]
Pair of fuzzes. Same circuit apart from one has an LED indicator, the other has a shape switch (splatter-tastic)

[IMG]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j89/rh15951/Pedals/74523d76.jpg[/IMG]
3-knob Mammoth fuzz (obviously :P), super ultra megabright blue LED

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