Just to let you guys know things are moving along. I expect to have the first two or three projects released within weeks (I'll announce which ones soon). Here is a list of the all the projects you will have to choose from. Of these, only the Bumblebee is a limited supply. Everything else will be in stock for quite a long time.
Alpha Dog
Blueprint
Blues King
Bumblebee
Choral Reef
Darkhorse
Distortion 3
Enterprise
Fiery Red Horse
Focus
Merman
Mobius Strip
Old School
Pale Horse
Scream
Springboard
Triplet
Triumvirate
White Horse
Excellent good stuff I can't wait for these.
Awesome Brian! I'm going to build them all, but am excited for the Merman, Choral Reef and Mobius Strip.
I had a choral reed a while ago that was absolutely fantastic. The Pale Horse I built on vero is awesome. And I just cannot wait to build a bumblebee!! Ive wanted one for so long!
Thanks Brian, thanks a lot!
(And thanks for tha Aquaboy pcbs, they're just so perfect)
Ummm, this is shaping up to be a very expensive summer :D
Organized and inventoried!
Sweet! What the heck is a D taper pot?
Quote from: Aristatertotle on March 19, 2017, 09:48:38 AM
Sweet! What the heck is a D taper pot?
A more dramatic A taper pot I believe
It's like a C taper but one more.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
This is going to be fun. At least 4-5 of these I'm really excited to build.
I have no idea what any of these are...I'M SO EXCITED !!!!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: flanagan0718 on March 19, 2017, 05:38:31 PM
I have no idea what any of these are...I'M SO EXCITED !!!!!
Me neither! :D
Had some time at work to check these out on VFE discontinued pedals site. Looks like there's some fun to be had!
vfepedals.com/discontinued.html (http://vfepedals.com/discontinued.html)
Alpha Dog - Vintage Distortion
Blueprint – ANALOG-VOICED DELAY w/ modulation
Blues King - Low gain OD
Bumblebee – SWELL + COMPRESSOR
Choral Reef MN3008-based chorus
Darkhorse - Hard Distortion w/baxandall
Distortion 3 - Distortion/OD hard and soft clipping
Enterprise - Phaser with var stages, other features
Fiery Red Horse - Fuzz
Focus - Clean mid boost
Merman - klon derivative
Mobius Strip - dual delay
Old School - Trem w/starve function
Pale Horse - Dynamic OD
Scream - TS with user built variations
Springboard - Echo-verb
Triplet - Copm/oct up/distortion
Triumvirate - Multiband distortion
White Horse - Opto compressor
So am I correct in thinking the Bumblebee is basically a Slow Gear chugged into an optical compressor? Or would it be an opto-comp shoved into a slow gear.
What an odd combination of circuits to mix. Sounds interesting though.
Quote from: somnif on March 23, 2017, 01:05:43 PM
So am I correct in thinking the Bumblebee is basically a Slow Gear chugged into an optical compressor? Or would it be an opto-comp shoved into a slow gear.
What an odd combination of circuits to mix. Sounds interesting though.
I actually do not yet have the schematic for the VFE Bumblebee so I can't say for sure. But it appears to be compression with the option of blending in volume swells in parallel. If you click on the circuit block diagram on the VFE site it gives you a more detailed explanation.
http://vfepedals.com/bumblebee.html (http://vfepedals.com/bumblebee.html)
I'm guessing it's a comp into a slow gear. Wouldn't make sense to compress the signal after the slow gear. Using a comp before my rustbucket makes everything work much better. I'd assume that's true of the slow gear as welll.
Quote from: madbean on March 23, 2017, 02:06:59 PM
Quote from: somnif on March 23, 2017, 01:05:43 PM
So am I correct in thinking the Bumblebee is basically a Slow Gear chugged into an optical compressor? Or would it be an opto-comp shoved into a slow gear.
What an odd combination of circuits to mix. Sounds interesting though.
I actually do not yet have the schematic for the VFE Bumblebee so I can't say for sure. But it appears to be compression with the option of blending in volume swells in parallel. If you click on the circuit block diagram on the VFE site it gives you a more detailed explanation.
http://vfepedals.com/bumblebee.html (http://vfepedals.com/bumblebee.html)
Just saw this. Cool idea
Quote from: Matmosphere on March 23, 2017, 02:07:04 PM
I'm guessing it's a comp into a slow gear. Wouldn't make sense to compress the signal after the slow gear. Using a comp before my rustbucket makes everything work much better. I'd assume that's true of the slow gear as welll.
Amp Tweaker recently released a compressor that has an extremely fast attack and an extremely slow release, but with a dry blend. If you mix the dry and wet signal just right, it sounds like super sustain. If you cut the dry signal entirely, it sounds like a volume swell (which is essentially what it is) because it completely squashes the attack. My guess would be the bumblebee has a similar operating principal, but maybe more control over the release time.
The first two projects will be the Alpha Dog and Pale Horse. I expect these to release by the end of next week! Typing up documentation and getting things ready.
Here is my Pale Horse build. You can see I did a couple of kludges for parts I did not have. Amazing how you can have 2000 different components but still not have that one thing you need... :)
Cool, I am interested in the Alpha Dog for sure.
Are there any custom type parts you will need to supply/sell with the VFE pedals?
Thanks
Quote from: Jules on March 27, 2017, 05:12:38 PM
Cool, I am interested in the Alpha Dog for sure.
Are there any custom type parts you will need to supply/sell with the VFE pedals?
Thanks
The custom parts will be included. Also, the switching board PCB and micro-controller are included with every project.
Ha, answered the question before I got to ask it. I was curious about the breakout board for their relay switching. That is pretty awesome.
Looks great Brian! I am either going to have to suck it up and use side mounted jacks or do a work-around for top mounted :)
Well there goes the idea of limiting my projects lol. I like the switching board with the mounted jacks. That's really neat. And of course the build looks awesome. Any idea on how much the boards are going to run?
Quote from: madbean on March 27, 2017, 05:40:52 PM
Quote from: Jules on March 27, 2017, 05:12:38 PM
Cool, I am interested in the Alpha Dog for sure.
Are there any custom type parts you will need to supply/sell with the VFE pedals?
Thanks
that is very cool, my only concern is how much International shipping will go up from the price of just Pcbs?
The custom parts will be included. Also, the switching board PCB and micro-controller are included with every project.
Quote from: dan.schumaker on March 27, 2017, 05:45:01 PM
Looks great Brian! I am either going to have to suck it up and use side mounted jacks or do a work-around for top mounted :)
Ah ah I was just thinking the exact same thing.
Hope shipping won't be too expensive to Europe, but I'm pretty sure I'll want at least a Bumblebee!! Their compressor looks quite amazing too.
Quote from: Jules on March 27, 2017, 10:53:30 PM
that is very cool, my only concern is how much International shipping will go up from the price of just Pcbs?
They will require regular 1st Class shipping international. There is no way to offer the cheapest shipping option because of the pots, unfortunately. If this is a big problem for people, I suppose I could offer the cheaper option without the pots but I'm not quite sure how that would work. What do you guys think?
I'm just excited about it. Recently i've built Brian's Runt - and it just sounds awesome. Seems like i'm all in for alpha dog and a horsie one :D
How much is that shipping option? I can imagine people having no problem paying that once or twice, but people who will build all of them would maybe have to pay the higher amount every few weeks, I don't know.
For me there are about 3 projects I would like to build and they likely won't be released at the same time. If the shipping is around 20 US and I have to pay it 3 times it would not be worth the shipping cost to me.
Do you expect to have stock of them all in the end or do you expect to them to sell out as released? If I could pay for them as they are released but have them all ship together when ready in some sort of hold system would be OK.
Does every single project have a custom part that cannot be bought elsewhere?
Quote from: Jules on March 28, 2017, 06:23:05 AM
Do you expect to have stock of them all in the end or do you expect to them to sell out as released? If I could pay for them as they are released but have them all ship together when ready in some sort of hold system would be OK.
Does every single project have a custom part that cannot be bought elsewhere?
It's going to be a bit of "play by ear" because I only have a few hundred switching boards and micro-controllers right now (obviously I will get more down the road). So, I will likely release the projects in batches of 50 to ensure I can provide everything at the same time.
Not all the projects will require custom pots, but no they are not available elsewhere. These were specifically made for VFE. It's not like other pots can't be subbed, though. Not all projects require custom parts, either. For instance, the second batch is likely to be the Blues King and White Horse. BK has two pots included, WH does not require custom pots.
For international shipping, I might just hard-cap it at $13 1st Class and eat any overages. We'll see. I haven't figured out all the fine details yet but I am willing to listen to suggestions.
Hope that helps!
Thanks a lot for the answers Brian.
I could live with 13 dollars, give me a reason to order some other boards also.
$13 sounds fine Brian, thanks!
Quote from: Jules on March 28, 2017, 06:23:05 AM
If I could pay for them as they are released but have them all ship together when ready in some sort of hold system would be OK.
That would not only be OK... That would be AMAZING!
Pay to reserve and shipped when you have all the ones you want.
More trouble for Brian I guess, but just wonderful for international buyers.
Quote from: madbean on March 19, 2017, 08:31:57 AM
Organized and inventoried!
It may sound weird, but lucky you!
Organizing and inventorying is one of my favorite part of this hobby. ;D
Quote from: alparent on March 29, 2017, 04:03:57 PM
Quote from: madbean on March 19, 2017, 08:31:57 AM
Organized and inventoried!
It may sound weird, but lucky you!
Organizing and inventorying is one of my favorite part of this hobby. ;D
Not weird at all. It's one of my favorite parts too!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Exciting news
What does a 3008 chorus sound like compared to a 3007?
I'm not gonna fact check this but I think a 3007 chorus = CE2 and a 3008 chorus = CE3.
Duh I was wrong, CE3s use 3207s (I think, schematics are hazy and all this rain is making me woozy)
Quote from: flanagan0718 on March 29, 2017, 04:09:01 PM
Quote from: alparent on March 29, 2017, 04:03:57 PM
Quote from: madbean on March 19, 2017, 08:31:57 AM
Organized and inventoried!
It may sound weird, but lucky you!
Organizing and inventorying is one of my favorite part of this hobby. ;D
Not weird at all. It's one of my favorite parts too!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Or maybe it is weird and your just as weird as me? ???
Do we have an OCD "This is how I organize, inventory my stuff" thread?
The VFE section of the forum is now available: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?board=91.0
Nothing there yet but feel free to start posting questions there, too. My answers may be somewhat limited since I have not yet build all these projects, but I'll do the best I can.
Ready when you are Madbean..
First time in a while making faceplates. For the AlphaDog, I decided to change up the position of the footswtich since I don't use batteries.
They look great. I've never made a faceplate is that etched on copper?
Quote from: Adam_MD on April 27, 2017, 08:54:49 AM
They look great. I've never made a faceplate is that etched on copper?
Yup, etched on black copper clad. After I took this pic I hit them with one coat of clear gloss. That prevents oxidation on the copper and also helps deepen the black some.
I predict a sudden increase in black copper clad sales.
Looks great.
Will the VFE build docs go up when the Pcbs go on sale?
Thanks
Quote from: madbean on April 27, 2017, 05:39:49 PM
Quote from: Adam_MD on April 27, 2017, 08:54:49 AM
They look great. I've never made a faceplate is that etched on copper?
Yup, etched on black copper clad. After I took this pic I hit them with one coat of clear gloss. That prevents oxidation on the copper and also helps deepen the black some.
Excellent I really must try that at some point.
Those face plates got me searching.
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=20380.msg198891#msg198891 (http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=20380.msg198891#msg198891)
WOW
Pale Horse completed. I kludged one component on there (10uF NP).
Is... is that an axial inductor on the switch board?
Correct. There's quite a bit going on in the switching board.
Looks really interesting. Can't wait for these to go live.
Quote from: BrianS on April 28, 2017, 07:09:33 PM
Looks really interesting. Can't wait for these to go live.
Shouldn't be long now...
Here's the Alpha Dog. For this one I moved the footswitch lower and did a wired DC Jack instead of PCB mounted. This is the method I prefer so I will probably do the rest of my builds this way.
Looks great! Do these boards fit in a B box? Looks like 125B but not positive...
When are these going to go on sale? It says April 29th and I've been waiting all day and they are not up yet? I even checked at midnight last night; because I was so excited. Not complaining, I just have an itch for some new awesome builds.
-Sarde
I'm still working on the documentation but I'm more than half-way done. I'll do my best to get everything up by tonight but it may end up being tomorrow.
That ground pour is very distinctive :)
Although the faceplate is slightly mis-aligned, Brian :(
Quote from: alanp on April 29, 2017, 03:09:28 PM
Although the faceplate is slightly mis-aligned, Brian :(
These are details I don't concern my self with :)
OK, this ~April 29th bit has got me tied in knots now that the anticipation of these boards is at fever pitch. I flash back to when I missed out on the Laserwolf boards on their initial run and think how cool it was to get in on the second round.
I'll probably screw this one up too.
Anyway, the take away from all this is that I'm sitting on a turd load of pcb stock specifically to emulate the MB etched PCB faceplates and I realize that I haven't done squat to get up to speed on it. Damn how time flies.
Nice job on that plate and I have a few boxes that I totally buggered up drilling that will be great donors for this approach.
Except I sit here hitting the refresh button :-)
I accidentally ordered 14 pieces of the .012 black fr4 clad sheets from abc fab and they are worthless for what I wanted them for so this has sparked an incredible idea. Thanks madbean, I always find useful info every time I go thru this forum.