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[Change R3 to 100k and R4 to 4k7.]

While I was doing by final tweaking before boxing up, I realized that the straight through signal on the delay has too much of a boost to it. The input/output stages of the Micro are different than the other Zero Points (and most PT2399 delays). It's non-inverted, with an input buffer and an output mixer. I did it this way because it saved three parts on the PCB which was critical to fitting everything in.

It's not terribly noticeable at low volumes, but when you start cranking up your amp, there's too much of a jump...probably 5 or 6 db. So, these modified values will bring the input signal much closer to the bypass.

Change R3 to 100k and R4 to 4k7.

Two other notes: an external type DC jack will make this build much easier. I used one and fitting everything in was actually very easy. Remember to use enough length on your wired pots so that you can install them before fitting the PCB into the enclosure.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/servlet/Detail?no=666

Lastly, I set mine up with always on modulation and a Rate pot. I used 68k for R18 and 220k for R19. As I mention in the build doc, these two resistors should be experimented with and you will likely pick different values according to how you set up the modulation (fixed depth and/or rate, variable rate or depth, etc). Those are the values I though worked well when using a Rate pot.

Video coming soon.

This is what will be released in February. It will likely be toward the end of the month. The additional delay is due to the manufacturer being closed for a 2 week holiday for the Chinese New Year. But, the order has been submitted.

CaveDweller, Runt, SlowLoris, Bumblebee, Mangler, EgoDriver, and
Bloviator II - new 1590A version!
Egghead - same as the Holiday Giveaway
Hipster - revised to make it slightly smaller to fit in the 1590A better
Aquaboy Deluxe - you know what this is

I had hoped to get the Harbinger in there, too, but I opted for doing more Aquaboy Deluxes so they stay in stock for a while.

The next batch after this will come in March and will for sure include:
Harbinger
Stage Fright (it's finally done)
FatPants - a 2013 version

Anything else listed as "coming soon" on the Projects page may make its way into the March release, too. It depends on what goes out of stock between now and then. The Zero Point SDX is already getting pretty low, so it will likely be included.

It's way past time to have another build contest here. But, rather than doing a months long thing with a huge prize at the end, I think I would prefer a monthly one with a prize of store credit awarded to the winner.
There are so many amazing builders here now, I think this will be a very fun and rewarding way to keep folks coming here. I'm just constantly blown away by the quality of work being shown!

I can put the mechanics of this together pretty easily with a dedicated forum, rules, submission guidelines, etc. But, here's what I'm not sure of: should the winner be decided by vote or by a panel of judges? What do you think is the best approach?

NEVERMIND! GOOD NEWS!

International service on packages has changed, and so have prices. After investigating, I've found the difference between package and envelope prices are now HUGE, whereas they were pretty near the same last year for the type and contents I ship.

I have identified that pretty much ALL MBP packages will be able to ship without using the new, more expensive postage prices. In fact, I am LOWERING the prices for now. The key here is thickness for all you shippers. If it is under 3/4" you are good to go.

These are the rates for now:

Int'l:1 or 2 PCBs: $3.00
3 to 5 PCBs: $3.50
6 to 10 PCBs: $4.25
11 or more: $5.00

A couple people have asked me about leftover stock in the last couple of days.

Here is what I have

EgoDriver x 3
Sparkplug x 4
Slow Loris x 1
Cave Dweller x1
Mangler x 3

PM me if you need one of these and we will figure it out.

[While you are welcome to offer praise, too, I'm not seeking the "ego boost" here. I have a good sense of "what's right" but not necessarily the best sense of "needs improvement".]

In order to keep the communication lines open I'd like to take this opportunity to re-state my commitment to providing the best customer service possible to all members and customers here at the madbeanpedals wonderland of love. To me, this means providing "greater than expected" service and reasonable response times to questions and feedback provided. This extends not only to paying customers in the store but also regular forum members who just like to hang out here.

So, if you have any feedback to provide or suggestions on how I can improve the "customer service" experience, please feel free to respond here. Or, if you prefer to keep your feedback private, email me at brian AT madbeanpedals.com.

Keep in mind that this is a for-profit business, even though it very much rooted in a community framework. I am a professional and therefore I do not take feedback personally so long as it is thoughtful and fair. While you are welcome to offer praise, too, I'm not seeking the "ego boost" here. I have a good sense of "what's right" but not necessarily the best sense of "needs improvement".

Lastly, feedback can also concern other subjects such as project organization, documentation, website development, features, etc. It's really up to your imagination.

I'm really looking forward to this year and I hope to keep you guys excited about the goings-on and the overall community spirit!

Here's a tails mod that I've been playing with. It comes right from the Small Time delay posted on DIYSB, so credit goes to ValveWizard.

The pdf contains all the info you need to implement it on just about any PT2399 delay (you can use it on analog delays, too).

I'm still working on this but will have something up by tonight. I made a couple last minute changes on the BOM to improve the input/output sections, so that took a bit of time today in the workshop. The delays are sounding great! I know people are going to dig them.

I will update here once I start posting the docs.

I also plan on doing a full pictorial type tutorial on building the ZPSDX. Considering the complexity I think it would be helpful. That will happen as the week goes on. Lastly, I will get demos done for the guys and up on youTube.

[So, I would like to extend this to all the current PCBs offered for sale in the store. What does this mean?]

I would like to take a more permissive attitude toward the use of madbeanpedals PCBs and projects. Most of you already know that in the first couple years of operation, I took a fairly strict "DIY USE ONLY" approach to licensing. With the more recent project releases the license agreement has been stated as the following:

[xxx] PCBs purchased from madbeanpedals may be used for small quantities of commercial pedal building (keep in mind that bulk discounting on PCBs is not offered). You may not, however, offer [these] PCBs for commercial resale (re-distribution) or as part of a "kit".

So, I would like to extend this to all the current PCBs offered for sale in the store. What does this mean?

Any PCB that is currently listed on the projects page can be used for your own commercial endeavors. This means PCBs purchased from the store, AND/OR made from the etching artwork in the documents (if available) can be used in your own pedals you make specifically for the purpose of selling. So, if you want to build some Big Muffs for sale and use the Mudbunny PCB (whether you buy them from me or etch your own from the artwork) that is totally okay. You do not need to credit me, or offer any compensation for this....EVEN WHEN USING THE ETCHABLE ARTWORK. Same with the Zero Points, Low Riders, fuzzes, etc. You know what I mean 

Again, this has already been the case for the more recent projects, but I never "officially" extended it to all the current PCBs.

Two caveats: the "redistribution/kit" contingency is still in effect, so please do not make a ton of etched Mudbunnies and sell the PCBs on your own, or sell them as part of a kit. This is the only way madbeanpedals could be seriously damaged. And, this does not extend to the discontinued projects i.e., the "boutique" clones I no longer offer like the zVex clones, Klon, etc, blah blah. If you have any questions on particulars, just email or PM me.

Beyond that, it's up to you guys how you want to use them. Start a little pedal company, use some of these designs to get you going, and then hopefully branch out into your own designs/layouts, etc. Whatever you want to do!

Lastly, if you are using the MBP PCB's to sell your own pedals, it is a good idea (and my preference) that you do not use the same project name. For example, if you want to sell some Kingslayer builds, use a different name. The only reason for this is brand distinction....so that your customers don't think it is something I built (probably more applicable on re-sale or used, but you get the idea).

Beyond that it is only up to your imagination. I realize I'm a bit behind in terms of "licensing" compared to other people doing this kind of thing, so now it is time for an evolution. I want to continue to encourage and help you guys in whatever way I can in making your own path...whether that is a hobbyist, pedal maker, or whatever. Because that is what you have helped me do as well!

Feel free to ask particulars in this thread too, if you have questions.

So, we had an extremely productive recording session. We went in the studio for three days hoping to finish a 6 song EP, and we ended up with an 11 song album. Far more than we could have imagined. We ended up tracking some alternate demos and wrote a couple of new songs while we were there. Plus, we got some incredible sounds happening, esp. on the drums and guitars.

I learned a really important lesson here in that I don't need as much gear as I think I do. Through the whole session I used mostly a mix of the Timeline and Echo Base (both have tap tempo). I took other delays but those covered all the ground I needed. A couple of tunes I used the FatPants and on one I used the Low Rider which sounded so, so fat. I did not use any overdrive or distortion. Between that and four guitars and a baritone I managed to get a great range of tones. It's really got me thinking about how to maximize flexibility and minimize my rig at the same time. I would have used the Sub Mini Rump Roast or Kingslayer but both acted up at the studio and could not be used.

All in all, it was a great time. Very relaxed atmosphere with my best friends and a chance to get away for a few days. Kinda like the fishing trip you would take with your buddies except you make a record instead. It helps that the studio is owned by the other guitar player's parents so there is no pressure. I'm a lucky dude!

Really pushing my time-frame on getting things done before I leave tomorrow.

A Nautilus for our bass player. A Rump Roast Sub-Mini for me.

Technically, it's a new 'body' day. The story of this guitar:

I got my second guitar in 1989. It was a Fender Deluxe (Am.) Strat with Lace Sensors. Great guitar! But, being the dumbass teenager I was, I decided I wanted to mod it...a lot. Around this time I was really into Metallica, and the "..and Justice for All" record had just come out. I saw this picture of Kirk Hammet with a tricked out Strat that I really loved. It was black like mine, but he had put EMGs, a Floyd Rose and black tuners on it. I thought it looked freakin awesome so I decided I would trick out my Strat like his.

Anyway, I had the EMGs put in, bought some black Sperzel tuners. Eventually I bought a Floyd Rose and took it to my local shop to see if they could put it in. I had been taking lessons there for a couple of years and had them do some work before, so I was not worried. So, the owner says "sure, no problem" and off it went to a local luthier to route out the body and install the tremolo.

Well, it turns out this "luthier" specialized in stringed instruments, but violins or some shit. What I got back was a mess. The body had been incorrectly routed, the clamping nut was installed behind the original nut rather than replacing it and the damn thing would not hold tune at all. I was pretty crushed. I found out later the owner of the shop was a coke addict or something, so maybe he traded the money for drugs, ha ha.

Years went by and I kept playing the guitar even though I grew out of the metal phase. I eventually started undoing some of the mods, going back to the Laces, etc. Since the body was pretty well destroyed, I painted the back of it with "This Machine Kills Capitalists". I dunno why I did that. But, I just kept playing with it and put up with the bad setup, frequent detunes, etc. Through this process I completely wore in the neck, which was still in good shape. The thing about playing a neck over a lot of years is that both your hand and the wood eventually mold themselves to one another. I love the neck and the fact that the original nut was left in turned out to be a blessing.

So, finally, here is the re-done Deluxe more than 20 years later. The new body is Warmoth, Black Korina. I love it! It's got the original 2-point tremolo and neck. The pickups are supposedly Fenders, but there are no markings to indicate. They are fairly weak---5.65k on the bridge. But, I like weakish single coils. The chickenhead knob is actually a fake pot---it has an SPST switch on it, so when I turn it all the way back, the switch engages and adds in the neck pickup so I can get the neck/bridge combo I like so much. The pickguard is Walnut which I bought off eBay a while ago. I wish I had taken a picture of the wiring I did inside...one of my best wiring jobs. Also, I put in wicked paper in oil 22n cap in for the master tone.

Now I gotta plug it in!

Anybody here that has one: have you successfully updated the firmware via MIDI on yours? I cannot make it happen on mine.

[Egghead]

The Store re-opened yesterday. I have also updated the Projects Page with the projected release dates on re-stocks and new projects. Since so many PCBs went out of stock, I am splitting up things into two groups to be released mid January and the first week of February. This will let me spread out the financial pain a bit.

General info:

• The Egghead will be a regular project PCB available for order soon.
  
  The Bloviator has been discontinued in lieu of re-releasing it as a baby board. This project is finished and ready.
  
  The FatPants may get a slight update for 2013. Plus, I will release a "JR" baby board version which is closer to the original FatPants with one extra mod.
  
  The Aquaboy Deluxe is still under-going final tweaking. It's just about perfect, but I need some more bench time with it.
  
  The Boneyard II I'm still undecided on. I have a +/-9v and a +/-12v version...not sure if one is better than the other. Just need a bit more bench time with it.
  
  The Sharkfin is essentially finished. There is a little bit of LFO ticking I discovered which I need to work on.
  
  The Stage Fright is being re-made into a 5/6 stage OTA phaser. I will be releasing an 8 stage phaser, too, but it will be optical. The 4th prototype for this damn Stage Fright is currently at OSH Park.
  
  The Harbinger One is almost finished. I have some noise in it that I need to investigate. All the elements are there and it works great otherwise.
  
  The Rump Roast Sub-mini is about ready to build and test. I have a single sided version of it.
  
  There are two other filter projects which are finished and ready. The Junk Trunk and Junk Trunk Jr. The Junk Trunk is a 1590B Mutron Micro V and the JR is a Seamoon Funk Machine for 1590A.

Any other project not mentioned in this list is still in the works, but won't see any further work until the beginning of February.

Why of why did I start playing you??

The store will close on 12.23 (Sunday) for the remainder of the holiday. I will re-open it in the beginning of January. If the new projects/re-stocks gets here in the meantime I will re-open earlier.

Happy Holidays to all!

Following this thread: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=7478.0

Replacing D1 and D2 with 1n34a seems to bring out the upper octave more in the Low Rider. Give it a try!

I'm considering re-releasing the Bloviator as a 1590A build rather than re-stocking the most current version. The reason for this is due to the nature of the effect. I think it lends itself quite well to a small form factor. It's the kind of thing you either just leave on or not...not really a toggler like a dirt or delay.

Anyway, I've already completed the design and verified the prototype. The only compromise is I eliminated the VB regulator from the previous design to save space, but that is not a big deal. It sounds exactly like the previous one as far as I can tell.

Anyway, any interest in this?

Anyone else having trouble getting into Gmail today?