DIY Effects

[Jonesy]

[quote name='ColinB' timestamp='1439565786' post='2844029']
Looks good - but it might be a bit too much for a novice builder. (I'm making a huge presumption here - so please forgive me if I'm wrong, Jonesy.)
[/quote]

You know me well sir!

I have trouble putting ikea furniture together and will most likely solder myself to any board I go near if left unattended. However, my bro is an electrical engineer and can solder in his sleep so my plan is to bribe him with rum so he teaches me what to do

[paul_5]

Ooh, that Stage Fright looks awesome! Just got to find 3 more lm13700 chips, I used my last one building a filter based on the FX25.

[ColinB]

[quote name='Jonesy' timestamp='1439576568' post='2844167']
You know me well sir!

I have trouble putting ikea furniture together and will most likely solder myself to any board I go near if left unattended. However, my bro is an electrical engineer and can solder in his sleep so my plan is to bribe him with rum so he teaches me what to do
[/quote]

Good plan! A soldering iron in novice hands can cause all sorts of problems..... most of which mean not being able to play for a few days, let alone trashing the device! (or setting the house on fire!!!)

[UglyDog]

Finished my parts-bin Mammoth clone build last night, and it works a treat -- my god, what a filthy sounding little box it is -- but the Output control leaves a lot to be desired. Pretty much all the action happens in the first few degrees of turn, it's like the taper is all wrong. Every single vero layout I've seen shows the pot as 10K linear, and the Fuzzdog kit uses it too -- are they all wrong? Should it be log? It's not a massive deal really, it's not like the unit doesn't work at all, but it'd be nice if the control was a bit more useable.
I'm going to add the Mastotron's Relax/Push control to the front end (didn't have the right pot to hand) and also seriously considering a blend control using the split'n'blend circuit. It'd be nice to have the option to add just a smidgen of grind rather than the full-fat filth.

[ahpook]

I took the plunge and bought some cheap breadboard and jumpers which has led to a lot of tinkering.

I built a FuzzDog Wooly Mammoth clone a while back and fitted an extra pot in it which I eventually removed. Not liking the spare orifice I put a LPB-1 circuit together (tiny bit of spare vero - I was chuffed at my neatness !) and put that in as a pre-gain boost. It sounds really nice.

I wonder if it sounds better because the output impedance of the LPB-1 is quite high, so when the fuzz is in a buffered chain it's more like it's being driven by a pickup than a buffer ?

Either way, thought I'd share.

[Higgie]

Would anyone here be up for building me an A/B box with a tuner mute? I have a specific orientation in mind that no one else seems to make, and I don't have the time or equipment for building pedals any more! Nothing special, just 2 switches, an LED for each channel and the tuner mute, doesn't need any fancy graphics or anything...PM me with a quote! Cheers

[danbowskill]

I'm going to try my first diy with a bad monkey bass mod.
I'm going with the 2x 1uf cap change......can anyone advise as to what voltage I need? And does it make a diffence in size as I bought 2 at 250 v (stab in the dark) and they were massive :-(

Cheers

[bobbass4k]

Cap voltages are the maximum voltage they can handle, so really it depends on where they're going to be in the circuit, but a good general rule is to use more than the supply voltage (unless you're using step up transformers or charge pumps, but that doesn't really apply to most pedals).

Most pedals (including the bad monkey) run on a 9v supply. You can always go up in voltage, but as you've discovered, electrolytic caps get physically bigger with higher voltage, so they will work fine, it will just be a ballache to get them on. You could use 10v but I tend to play it safe and go for 16v or 25v min, though a lot of mine are 100v because I stole them from work...

[danbowskill]

Cheers bob

[paul_5]

Finished a Phase 45 clone this week. It's nice and swooshy, but not overpowering (like most phasers and flangers that I've tried). I ended up having to build a JFET matcher to measure the Vgs with my multimeter, but it's been worth it.

I had to do a bit of bug-fixing on this one - turns out that the JFETs really do need to be matched...

[ColinB]

Just finished a Barbershop.... and very pleased with it, too. I use it as a low gain overdrive. I'd have another as an always on pedal if I didn't already have a ROG Ginger, which I use as an always on, barely detectable grit pedal. The Barbershop sounds good into the Ginger, and an LPB-1 works nicely to give it an extra push when needed.





The black control knob is just a 'dummy' to fill a hole. I'd drilled the box for an earlier project which I didn't like.

[Smellynerfherder]

Just finished my Snow White Auto Wah Clone. I've named it the 'Boite de Funk'! I got the Kit from Puzzlesounds. Has anyone else used them? I found the service really good, and their schematics relatively stress-free to follow.

Here's a pic of the pedal:
https://www.instagram.com/p/9yrbdKA7tz/

[nick]

Built this Mutron II clone for a friend. It's a six stage optical phaser and it sounds fantastic. I'm going to build myself another, but with variable phasing stage options & maybe 'univibe' mod too. Was quite an intensive build, with a home made vactrol... but worked like a charm on first power up

[URL=http://s1087.photobucket.com/user/nickonbass69/media/2015-11-21%2016.44.05_zpsqggeb7cz.png.html][IMG]http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j476/nickonbass69/2015-11-21%2016.44.05_zpsqggeb7cz.png[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s1087.photobucket.com/user/nickonbass69/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-11/2015-11-22%2010.19.04_zpsiqsqoqli.png.html][IMG]http://i1087.photobucket.com/albums/j476/nickonbass69/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-11/2015-11-22%2010.19.04_zpsiqsqoqli.png[/IMG][/URL]

[KingBollock]

Things got a bit complicated this year and I didn't do half the stuff I wanted to. After Christmas I intend on having a reboot and getting going again. I still have a few projects that I need to finish, but they're just utility pedals, loops and boosters and stuff, as opposed to fun stuff like effects, and I am having all sorts of ideas...

I am going to make yet another Big Muff, with lots and lots of mods. I am also going to have a crack at a Tubescreamer (mainly because Jo Bench uses one and I already have the same amp that she uses, there really is no other reason than that...), again, modded as much as I can.

Now, the reasons for this post... I want to build a couple of Zvex pedals, a Wooly Mammoth and a Box of Rock, but I know the Mammoth struggles with active basses (my two main basses are active), and I gather it is to do with impedance. Am. I right in thinking that it needs a higher impedance? Is there a circuit that I can put in the box, on a switch (so I can still use my passive basses and guitars) that will fix this?

Also, while I am thinking about it... I quite like the idea of using a sliding pot for a blend control, for no other reason than I think it would look cool. I've got a metal cutting disc that will be ideal for cutting the required slot in the enclosure. The problem is that I have never seen a sliding pot that would be suitable and I am not sure where to start looking. Anyone got any ideas?

Edited December 16, 2015 by KingBollock

[Dood]

Rich reminded me to come here after I asked this question:

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/276919-electronic-schematic-design-software-ios-too/page__pid__2954299#entry2954299

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I've always enjoyed tinkering with electronics but I've not used computer applications for a very long while![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'm looking to find a great solution for creating schematics, testing them virtually and then going on to creating printed circuit boards. I use a Mac, though if necessary then I'll run software via VMWare if only a Windows version fits the bill. Better still, I love the idea of running an app on my iPad mini![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This will mainly be for small pedal sized projects and I'm not expecting to go down to SMT components yet. That said, I have a mad fixation on micro/mini sized effects that fit in a Hammond 1590(???) box, so I might need to look in to that too ha ha!![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Look forward to hearing your thoughts as well as finding out who would be up for making one off pedals from scratch. [/font][/color]

[Sibob]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1452894676' post='2954622']
Rich reminded me to come here after I asked this question:

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/276919-electronic-schematic-design-software-ios-too/page__pid__2954299#entry2954299

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I've always enjoyed tinkering with electronics but I've not used computer applications for a very long while![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I'm looking to find a great solution for creating schematics, testing them virtually and then going on to creating printed circuit boards. I use a Mac, though if necessary then I'll run software via VMWare if only a Windows version fits the bill. Better still, I love the idea of running an app on my iPad mini![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This will mainly be for small pedal sized projects and I'm not expecting to go down to SMT components yet. That said, I have a mad fixation on micro/mini sized effects that fit in a Hammond 1590(???) box, so I might need to look in to that too ha ha!![/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Look forward to hearing your thoughts as well as finding out who would be up for making one off pedals from scratch. [/font][/color]
[/quote]

Eagle is free, assuming you stick to smallish projects, i.e. Not bigger than a PCB that fits in a 1590BB (unlikely)

Si

[Dood]

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1452943821' post='2954894']
Eagle is free, assuming you stick to smallish projects, i.e. Not bigger than a PCB that fits in a 1590BB (unlikely)

Si
[/quote]

I will seek it out, thank you.

[Sibob]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1452952953' post='2955007']


I will seek it out, thank you.
[/quote]

The learning curve is steep (same as any CAD I expect), but there's some good pedal-specific tutorial videos on the 'Eagle' sub-forum over on the MadBean forum

Si

[Dood]

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1452961153' post='2955126']
The learning curve is steep (same as any CAD I expect), but there's some good pedal-specific tutorial videos on the 'Eagle' sub-forum over on the MadBean forum

Si
[/quote]

That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for actually! - I learn stuff fairly quickly when working examples are available, so that's perfect. I've installed the app and will have a play later. MadBean here I go!

[Bigwan]

Has anyone tried building a combined hpf/lpf pedal? Azure Skies over on TB seems to be making a bit of a splash with his. Some folk using the hpf like the thumpinator, others using the combination of both filters to replicate speaker cab frequency response before a DI. Looks like it would be a cool addition to a lot of boards!

[ahpook]

I built a clone of a clone last nigt - I used Fuzz Dog's schematic to build an Empathy/EM Drive. I used a couple of LEDs (I have hundreds of coloured LEDs left over from my wedding) for clipping.

Not bad, deffo a boost-light drive for guitar, but could do with some more umph, so I ran an LPB-1 in front of it, which messed it up nicely, but quite muffled. I then tried my home-built Alembic Stratoblaster clone and whoo - lots more top end, niiiice.

So I think a Stratoblaster -> EM Drive build coming up. I think a tone control might be useful.

One thought - how does one increase the gain of a JFET boost like the Stratoblaster ?

[Dood]

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1453824295' post='2963155']
Has anyone tried building a combined hpf/lpf pedal? Azure Skies over on TB seems to be making a bit of a splash with his. Some folk using the hpf like the thumpinator, others using the combination of both filters to replicate speaker cab frequency response before a DI. Looks like it would be a cool addition to a lot of boards!
[/quote]

Funnily, I'd spotted his posts too whilst looking for an HPF. I've a schematic for the Rolls SX21(I think) Crossover that Billy Sheehan uses. Could possibly doctor one of those, or even the Fdeck HPF also discussed on TB. The other option is something like the Focus pedal from VFE.

[Bigwan]

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1453829015' post='2963218']


Funnily, I'd spotted his posts too whilst looking for an HPF. I've a schematic for the Rolls SX21(I think) Crossover that Billy Sheehan uses. Could possibly doctor one of those, or even the Fdeck HPF also discussed on TB. The other option is something like the Focus pedal from VFE.
[/quote]

Spent a wee while looking at the Boughton L+HPF and think I have the circuit figured out if you're interested dood. Could draw it up for you. Will be adding one to my own "to do" list!

Speaking of my "to do" list, it doesn't seem to be getting any shorter... And just to add to it I've ordered a Mad Professor Blueberry clone kit from Pedalparts. No intention of building the Mad Professor version but it's a good starting point for the bearfoot or bjfe version. A few part omissions and a bit of inventive wiring will do the business!

[danbowskill]

ahhh I thought that was what their "juicy blue" overdrive was based on .
Iv'e just started my first build (ROG ginger)....soldering the board was not as hard as i thought ,quite therapeutic ....i can understand getting the bug :-).
different story with wiring the footswitch ,jacks, power and led :-D , There was no diagrams for that part so i winged it a little (n balls'd it up) i didn't put a resistor to the LED.
gave up and ordered an easy connector board for the footswitch.

pics soon.

[Bigwan]

[quote name='danbowskill' timestamp='1455740435' post='2982051']
ahhh I thought that was what their "juicy blue" overdrive was based on .
Iv'e just started my first build (ROG ginger)....soldering the board was not as hard as i thought ,quite therapeutic ....i can understand getting the bug :-).
different story with wiring the footswitch ,jacks, power and led :-D , There was no diagrams for that part so i winged it a little (n balls'd it up) i didn't put a resistor to the LED.
gave up and ordered an easy connector board for the footswitch.

pics soon.
[/quote]

The Ginger is also on "ze list"... As is the Fairfield Barbershop (should have most of the bits for it lying around!).

Looking forward to your Ginger pics. Did you use the board from Musikding?

Edited February 17, 2016 by Bigwan