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Hi everyone

I've been using a Dirtbaby for years now, and Im wondering about something. The blend pot won't go to 100% dry or 100% wet, it's always a mix (with really low level of wet signal when fully CCW, but still you can hear it a bit, and same thing for full CW)

Would it help to add an output buffer to the dry path and the wet path?
Im thinking simple BJT buffers after C4 and C38, so right before the blend pot.

What to you guys think?

Hey,

So the 4:1 is by far my favorite compressor. I prefer it to the Diamond, especially for acoustic guitar.
But I remember enjoying the tilt EQ for electric guitars, and I got an idea: why not add the tilt EQ to the 4:1 ?

So here's my idea (sorry for the poorly photoshop schematic)
And for reference, the schematics for the 4:1 and the Rough Cut (Diamond compressor)

What do you guys think? That'd work right? Added bonus: no more phase reversal, since the tilt EQ reverses phase, as does the 4:1. Now maybe I could put the EQ on a switch, and when off, add an inverting buffer, so the signal is alway in phase whether the EQ is on or off. We'll see...

Hey guys,

So I was working on a generic schematic for a clean blend that I'd use with an effect that reverses the phase (overdrive, compressor, distortion).
I picked up some blocks in a few different schematics and came up with that (see below) and it works well, but there is some hissing going on, even with the clean pot at maximum (clean sound) compared to bypass. And I have no idea where the noise comes from!

So what am I doing wrong? I looked at the Florist schematic and it is pretty similar (but with a Jfet buffer) and I'm sure it isn't noisy!

If anyone had any idea, it'd be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Hey guys,

I'm working on a pcb that uses a charge pump.
Some of the circuits using a charge pump can induce noise in certain conditions (like a Klon with a Strymon Timeline), but in the past I've had good luck adding filtering before and after the charge pump. It seemed to reduce, or even cancel the noise.

But anyways my question is about Ohm's law, and more specifically R31 in the schematic. I'd probably use 47r or 100r instead of 22r. But a regular 1/4w will be fine right?
The circuit around is basically a Klon (so boring, I know), so there's not much current draw

But how do you guys do the maths? Even for R14, how do you guys figure that a 1/4w will be just fine? (and I know it is fine, I've used that value a lot)

Thanks!

Hey guys!

I'm going to build myself a clean Clari(not) and I'm wondering if it'd be possible to wire a tracking indicator led. I got an enclosure with an additional hole that I'd like to use

The led coming out of the tracking pot is used in conjunction with the ldr, so I don't want to weaken it. And surely adding a series or parallel led will weaken it right? I haven't been thinking of electronics much lately, haven't been building too much, so I feel a bit confused!

The schematic's below. Any help is more than welcome!

Thanks a lot!

Hey guys!

Haven't been building much, but I wanted to try the White Horse as a replacement for my modded 4:1, and I'm very frustrated, it doesn't work.
Well it kinda does work. All pots do what you'd expect them too, but there's some distortion happening pretty much all over the place when the compression pot is past 9. Like really nasty spitting decay distortion.

The circuit isn't very complex, and that's what surprises me. I've double checked my soldering and resistors, and my voltages are the same as the ones indicated in the build doc. I've put two different quad opamp (TL074, TLE2074), replaced all the transistors (thought it might be a bad BS170), and even tried another vactrol (NSL32), and then measured my NSL32-SR3, which is exactly as it's supposed to be (about 60r ON, more than 2M off)

I don't have much time to troubleshoot or post pics (I'll have more time in a few weeks) so I guess my question is: do your White horses work?

Cheers!

Hey guys!

Long time since I posted something, I haven't been very active on the forums though I keep reading quite a bit.

So I designed an Echoplex preamp pcb, that's basically a Fat pants followed by a slightly tweaked BJT buffer. The Fatpants I build a while ago didn't do well with certain pedals after it, I guess its impedance was too high.
The toggle switch goes from dark (late models, no cap from source to ground) to bright (early models, 22nf), to a position that's in between (12nf). And with an internal dip switch you can bring a boost position that replaces the in between position (10uf cap)
You can also choose if you want it buffered or unbuffered with another set of dipswitches

Next are 2 Honey Bees thanks to JMK pcbs (my BOTY prize, thanks a lot Jacob)

- 1st is a regular BJFE Honey Bee with a bright switch (I sold it to a friend who wanted it for cheap)

- 2nd is a special pedal I made for my acoustic rig, that includes a clean blend (that reverses the phase of the send/return path)
I really wanted to keep my acoustic sound, but blend in some overdrive. It works amazingly well.
I initially put a 3pdt, but it kept popping a lot (I tried eveythin), so I had to rewire everything and salvage a relay board from an old build, hence the very poor wiring result (sorry guys)

Also, I used an OP134 I had and actually preferred it to the CA3130

I just tried the Honey bee + blend on electric, and it is STUNNING. That is, if you like low gain, the subtle sounds between clean and crunchy. It really makes me wonder why there's not more overdrives with blend. I mean, on a Timmy it'd be crazy good too!!

Hi guys!

So today I upgraded an old Korg DT10 tuner I got for cheap a few weeks ago. I changed the footswitch for a better one (hate those spring actuator footswitches) and made a couple mods to improve the buffer sound. I was very surprised by the difference in sound before and after.

Schematic is below

So I changed all the caps in the signal path to mlcc or film 1uf instead of cheap 10uf electros, and before that I had changed R19 to 3k3, which seems to be a more conventional value (the one I use in my buffers)
I did notice a little change after the resistor swap, but I swear that changing the caps really affected the sound. To me with the electros in the signal path, there was almost a sort of high pass filter going on.

What do you guys think? Are my ears playing tricks on me?

Hey guys

So recently I started designing pcbs, and my first was a Green Ringer clone (with good power filtering and the "null mod" on a trimpot) followed by an optical comp that's based on the 4:1 with a compression indicator led and an inverting buffer on the output to get the signal back in phase. There's also a trimpot for Midwayfair's sensitivity mod (to adjust the overall level of compression, depending on the type of guitars/bass you use)

I've sold a few Green ringers, and have no plan to sell the compressor, so I hope it's alright. I do have some pcbs left for both, if anyone's interested let me know, if you can pay for shipping I'd be happy to send a couple away.

Anyways, those are my first attempts at designing pcbs, so not the best looking ones (the Green Ringer ain't bad), but they work perfectly well! What a great feeling!

P.S : I added a 47pf to ground at the input of the comp to limit radio noise, but I don't think it's necessary (bottom right of the pcb)

Hey guys

Im thinking of building another 4:1 that I'd use in my acoustic rig. But because Im splitting the signal in various ways, I'd be happier if the 4:1 output was in phase with the input signal.

My 2 questions:

- the output of the 4:1 is out of phase right?

- if I put an inverter buffer (last one here: http://www.muzique.com/lab/buffers.htm) to get my signal back in phase, it'd be better to place it at the output of the 4:1 right? Im thinking it'd be good to keep the 4:1 high impedance.
So just a simple inverter opamp buffer should make it? Anything I have forgotten or Im missing?

Thanks a lot guys!

So I just made myself a couple pedals for my acoustic/electric rig that I've been using for recent gigs (acoustic signal split between PA and amps)

First is a modded Lavache. Mods include a 10n to ground at the output (parallel to the diodes), a 100pf cap between collector and base, a bigger input cap (100n), no boost switch but a reduced R4 to get a bit more gain. Gain pot is C500k and I used a 2N3904. It's my favorite Lavache. Such a simple and good sounding circuit.

Then there's a Lectric Zirconia (Diamond comp) running on 18v (the charge pump is right below the DC jack). A stunning compressor, I love it. And the board is just perfect!
Having an EQ bypass switch is great as I find the EQ even neutral affects the sound a bit. Actually with an electric guitar I can't hear much difference, but with an acoustic plugged in I can definitely hear it.
I may try to solder a pulldown resistor so engaging/bypassing the EQ doesn't "pop".
It's my favorite optical comp, (I prefer it to the Afterlife and Mictester Really cheap compressor). I really like the tilt EQ too.

I didn't spend much time on the enclosures, I like a simple look, and I needed to play them quickly so... A bit frustrated I screw up the "CPR" stamps but oh well...

Hi everyone!

So I bought a Keeley 30ms and I love it, especially in stereo, where the magic really happens.

But the shock was when I opened it and saw the switch is a 3pdt. I was sure it was either a momentary or a dpdt.
It's EXTREMELY quiet compared to all the 3pdts I have ever seen in, in commercial pedals or in DIY projects. It's quieter than the various dpdt's I use for optical bypass. It's almost as silent as a soft switch!
I asked Keeley by email what brand they're using, but they didn't want to tell me, just said it took them some time to find the right ones. They are very friendly and answer quickly.

Do you guys have any idea what's the most quiet 3pdt on the market? I'm really blown away by the one Keeley use. Wonder if they put it in all their pedals.

Anyways, I thought you might find that interesting

Hey,

I need your help, cause I can't seem to find any idea on how to mod my Jamman vocal. I'm using it slaved to another Jamman (Solo XT) and really like this function.

But the only thing I really regret is to not have a separate footswitch to stop the loop. To stop it you need to stomp twice, which is not practical at all, especially when you're playing and singing at the same time. On my Solo XT I have a DIY separate footswitch which allows me to stop/erase/go up easily. But there's no footswitch jack on the Vocal XT.

So I'm looking for a way to have another footswitch that would switch TWICE with a single stomp. Something relay based possibly,  but I just can't think of anything...

If anyone has any idea, they're more than welcome!!

Hey! So here are two recent builds!

First is a Moodring that I modded quite a bit. I completely changed the tone section (used the Tenebrion tone section), made the predelay brighter and removed some bass before the PT2399 and in the feedback loop. That makes the range of the tone knob really nice, and it is less noisy than a standard Moodring (if anyone wants details, I'll post them of course)

Then I decided to open the BTDR2 and I removed the resistor going from pin6 of the last PT2399 in it to the lfo. So now I have a NON MODULATED BTDR2!! I also jumped the first resistor at the input that's part of a lowpass filter, to get a slightly brighter sound out of it.

And of course I added a modulation section (from the Deluxe Pitch Pirate) so I can now modulate it as I want, and because it's the last PT2399 in the brick that's modulated, it sounds really really nice. In a previous build I modulated the predelay, but I wasn't entirely satisfied.

I didn't have any purple pedal, so... (and yeah the led is purple too)
Crappy demo here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze0KcDpPnHA&t=41s



Next is a Really cheap compressor by Mictester. Just a beautiful optical comp, that's slightly gritty with the compression maxed, and very easy to build. I love it.
I had a drilled enclosure laying around so I added a bright switch and a compression indicator led (with a small vero daughterboard)
I think I changed a couple things but I can't remember...
Not proud of the wiring, it was a quick build.

Hey, just a quick question for you guys

If i want to add an expression jack to control the depth (Ring) of my Moodring, would the pot value of the expression pedal matter much?

The Ring pot is 100k, and is wired as a voltage divider. Most expression pedals are 10k I believe.

I've never experimented with expression pedals but I understand that in the case of a variable resistor you want the exact same value, and in the case of a voltage divider it doesnt matter. But a 10k for a 100k?

I guess I can just try but right now Im on holidays, so Im just planning my next builds in my head... cant stop, cant stop haha

Hi everyone!

So I made myself an Echoplex preamp in a 1590lb (always on), following Aion's schematics. For the switch I used 22n-off-10n instead of 22n-off-47u, cause I don't need that much boost, and 10n is a really nice in between (my favorite position)




Now the Eterna story... if you wanna skip it, pics are at the end!

A few months ago I bought a Mr Black Eterna Gold, and I loved it so much I decided to void the warranty and mod it.
I wanted to:
- get rid of the 3pdt! I HATE their loud clicks during acoutic gigs
- have a shimmer on/off footswitch
- not spend too much (the pedal wasn't cheap to begin with)

The shimmer on/off  seemed easy : disconnect lug2 from the pcb, put a switch to connect them back or short the pad on the pcb to ground. (can't just shunt lug2 to ground, cause when the pot is maxed you'd shunt the power supply to ground...)

But then I thought it'd be even better if I could also switch the settings of the 2 other pots on the shimmer channel...

Since the pots are 50ks, I put 2x 100k in parallel for each function, and then just needed to switch the wipers. I added resistors from the wipers to lug1 or lug3 to perfect the taper, and now it's better than stock, in my opinion.

For all this and an led I needed to switch 4 poles and of course did not want to use a 4pdt. A bit of searching, and I came accross Mictester's relay schematics which uses a latching switch, has an led and is cheap. So I was able to use a dpdt footswitch to switch the shimmer and the relay circuit with the led!

And now I have my dual channel Eterna Gold!

It was stressful, quite a bit of work, and definitely not fun as building a new pedal! The wiring is terrible and I had to hide my lousy job at desoldering the 3pdt with some tape. Also the black mix pot is too low and the right led too high... oh well...

But it works flawlessly, and I couldn't be happier!

Forgot to add that the pcb layout (not shown in the pics) is absolutely beautiful!

Hey

So with my little family away for the weekend, I got time to do a couple projects!

First is a Demo Tape Fuzz with two modifications:

- A simple opamp clean boost hardwired in front of it (I made it so when its fully ccw it's unity gain and I can have a stock Demo Tape Fuzz )
I found the schematic here: http://www.jer00n.nl/2010/07/28/clean-boost-for-guitar-or-bass/ and made a simple vero layout for it. It's a good buffer too, which is quite needed in my opinion with this circuit.

- A switch to add diodes in the feedback loop of the Demo Tape Fuzz: either 2x Red leds or 4x 1N4148. Center is off to keep a stock Demo Tape Fuzz.

Otherwise the circuit is stock except for a 22pf in the feedback loop. I used a ne5532 which sounded best to my ears, and an opa134 for boost cause I have some laying around.
It's a fantastic circuit, and with the added boost it can have A LOT more gain, and the decay at higher gain setting is less farty. Also the optional diodes really smooth out the sound.

I had a really beaten up white enclosure in my drawer that I had used for a couple projects, so I decided to use it. It already had 6 holes, that's why I had to think of some mods! I used a Stazon ink pad to "paint" it. The switching board comes from diy.thcustom.com.

Next is a simple Korg Pitch Black tuner with an optional Klon Buffer. I just put it on a switch on the output jack. Very practical, really happy it went so smoothly. The layout comes from effectslayouts.blogspot.com (thanks a lot). Can't use the battery anymore, that's fine with me.

Hi!

So I'm probably gonna build a Demo Tape Fuzz and try various mods (hard and soft clipping diodes, maybe a boost in front) and I'm wondering about its input impedance. According to the schematics it should be fairly low right? If I raise R2 and R3 to something like 1M, or even 2.2M, the impedance will rise right? Or am I missing something?

Nothing fancy, just a stock FatPants Jr I made very quickly as a gift for a musician friend, who's an amazing guitar player.

Last time I saw him he told me he wanted an Echoplex preamp, and later he gave me an EP of his project, so I thought I'd give him an EP too...

Hey

So I've built a couple Foxx Tone Machines on Wolfshirt pcbs, one  for a musician friend (who already has a couple pedals I built for him) and one for me.
Built it stock except I added a momentary octave footswitch, and a fat dip switch inspired by the Fulltone Ultimate Octave (that adds a capacitor in parallel with C10 for more mids)

Also I built a Deluxe Pitch Pirate on vero. That one is for me. I had this pedal (from Midfi) a couple years ago and loved it and always regretted parting with it.
Only mods here are a volume pot on the side (initially it was a trimpot accessible from a hole on the side, but I soon realized I prefered a pot), Midwayfair's limiter led, and the rate led is always on (it's the one on the side, and it's red while the bypass led is yellow)

I had received a bad green enclosure from Tayda (lots of bubbles and marks) and didn't know what to do with it, so I simply used a Stazon ink pad to try and "decorate" it. Not unhappy with the results, not too excited either, but I like the result and it didn't cost anything.
The wiring could have been cleaner but oh well, that's 7 pots and veroboard

Anyways, pics: