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DIY Effects


JackLondon

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[quote name='Al Heeley' post='782444' date='Mar 22 2010, 11:25 AM']excellent job! Thats quite an ambitious project there, hats off to you for getting it solved![/quote]

thanks! I'm not sure how i feel now! Part of me is fed up of electronics and wish i had just gone and bought the real things!


EDIT: although I will add i couldn't have afforded them! the SFT is worth making though! I cant wait to use it on through a crap amp. My H&K head here already has a lot of the tones it can make, the crap heads i use at church should enjoy the SFT :)

Edited by LukeFRC
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[quote name='Protium' post='782572' date='Mar 22 2010, 04:54 PM']I can't use lead solder the smell makes me feel very sick, modding american pedals is horrible :)
I thought the sale of it was banned in the EU?[/quote]

the local place i was getting stuff from probably had half the same stock for the last 30 years. No doubt if you could go through his stuff you could find some really interesting old parts

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[quote name='Protium' post='782572' date='Mar 22 2010, 04:54 PM']I can't use lead solder the smell makes me feel very sick, modding american pedals is horrible :)
I thought the sale of it was banned in the EU?[/quote]

Really? I have loads of it. I made a loom in the living room the other night and my girlfriend said the smell made her feel sick. Is she just being a pussy? You can't really get ill from it can you?

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[quote name='cheddatom' post='783178' date='Mar 23 2010, 11:05 AM']Really? I have loads of it. I made a loom in the living room the other night and my girlfriend said the smell made her feel sick. Is she just being a pussy? You can't really get ill from it can you?[/quote]

Inhaling the fumes for a long time can cause headaches, fainting, upset stomach and prolonged inhaling can damage your lungs! F*ck it I say, I prefer proper solder joints :)

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I was working infront of an open window most the time and got into the habit of holdinhg my breath when the fumes come. (sprint training years back does have a use!)

Tried out the pedal just now, its awesome. chorus volume drop not noticable if the sft is on, the wiring inside possibly causing that! The muff sounds good, have to play a fair bit to get a goo sound.
To be honest that SFT is amazing, it would be worth having two of them in a box for two different channels!
I am happy

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[quote name='JackLondon' post='783198' date='Mar 23 2010, 11:19 AM']Inhaling the fumes for a long time can cause headaches, fainting, upset stomach and prolonged inhaling can damage your lungs! F*ck it I say, I prefer proper solder joints :)[/quote]
This is true of all solder though, not just leaded stuff. The smoke and fumes are caused by the flux, not the solder itself.


[quote name='LukeFRC' post='783316' date='Mar 23 2010, 12:42 PM']To be honest that SFT is amazing, it would be worth having two of them in a box for two different channels![/quote]
Where did you get the SFT circuit diagram from? I would be interested in it.

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[quote name='escholl' post='783334' date='Mar 23 2010, 12:49 PM']This is true of all solder though, not just leaded stuff. The smoke and fumes are caused by the flux, not the solder itself.[/quote]

You're not wrong there. The lead stuff is more harmfull, few years ago I've worked in a steel factory that was dealing with loads of lead stuff and after about 2 hours of being close to the fumes it gets a bit funny :)

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[quote name='JackLondon' post='783357' date='Mar 23 2010, 01:01 PM']You're not wrong there. The lead stuff is more harmfull, few years ago I've worked in a steel factory that was dealing with loads of lead stuff and after about 2 hours of being close to the fumes it gets a bit funny :)[/quote]
If you were in a steel factory, were you not using acid flux then?


As far a I know, for electronics, leaded and non-leaded solder use the same rosin based flux. Acid flux, thankfully, is never used.

Have used aluminium solder a few times, don't know what the flux is but it's got to be pretty potent to cut through the aluminium oxide -- ughh, one of the worst things I've ever smelled.

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[quote name='cheddatom' post='783398' date='Mar 23 2010, 01:31 PM']Random idea:

High gain distortion reduces all dynamics from the input signal. What if a pedal "read" the dynamics of the clean signal, then obliterated it, then used the "reading" to vary the volume of the output?[/quote]

so something on the input to read the level which then changes a resistance to the output?

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[quote name='LukeFRC' post='783405' date='Mar 23 2010, 01:38 PM']so something on the input to read the level which then changes a resistance to the output?[/quote]

yeh, so your bass sounds horribly distorted but the original dynamics are there.

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[quote name='cheddatom' post='783398' date='Mar 23 2010, 01:31 PM']Random idea:

High gain distortion reduces all dynamics from the input signal. What if a pedal "read" the dynamics of the clean signal, then obliterated it, then used the "reading" to vary the volume of the output?[/quote]

Interesting idea. What if something like the envelope follower of an SPL Transient Designer was used to control the envelope of the distorted signal, thus allowing you to adjust the attack and sustain of the distorted signal as well, similar to the way that unit works?

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[quote name='escholl' post='783416' date='Mar 23 2010, 01:43 PM']Interesting idea. What if something like the envelope follower of an SPL Transient Designer was used to control the envelope of the distorted signal, thus allowing you to adjust the attack and sustain of the distorted signal as well, similar to the way that unit works?[/quote]

Good idea!

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[quote name='cheddatom' post='783451' date='Mar 23 2010, 02:08 PM']Good idea![/quote]

I can't find the SPL circuit in the usual places, but if anyone manages to find it let me know, I will add this to my short list of concepts I'd like to play with and will some day -- honestly -- get round to.

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So this SFT, how is it, i listened to some clips on Youtube and does your DIY one(luke) sound like those clips at all. Damn but it was nice, i may make one this easter if its all good.

Currently im making a fuzz faze, enclosure, knobs etc all being handmade aswell, so im hoping it all works out good. Pity i dont have a TIG welder, any one know of any alternatives for welding aluminium.

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Right, I finished putting the small clone together but there seems to be 2 problems! Number one there's a small volume drop when the effect is on which isn't that big of an issue to be honest. The second problem is there's not enough chorus in it, it doesn't affect the sound that much, I fiddled with the trim pot and it does almost f*ck all as well as the pots don't change the sound at all! Any ideas where to start?

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[quote name='JackLondon' post='784545' date='Mar 24 2010, 11:40 AM']Right, I finished putting the small clone together but there seems to be 2 problems! Number one there's a small volume drop when the effect is on which isn't that big of an issue to be honest. The second problem is there's not enough chorus in it, it doesn't affect the sound that much, I fiddled with the trim pot and it does almost f*ck all as well as the pots don't change the sound at all! Any ideas where to start?[/quote]

The volume drop is normal, there is a way around it though. As for the chorus part not being loud enough, the first thing I would would be to double and then triple check all solder connections, and the same with component orientation and values.

By the way, did you ever decide on a power supply design?

Edited by escholl
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