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That sounds excellent! Good recording quality, too.

Finish looks really cool! Glad you got it sorted.

You did not need to include that red LED on the board...it's only meant as an external indicator. But, there's no harm leaving it as is.

Anyway, looking forward to your future builds.

Welcome! BTW: we don't berate. We just make fun when you aren't around!


(j/k...we do it to your face)


(j/j/k...we practice positive reinforcement here. Everyone has something to learn and everyone has something to offer. A little joking around just makes more fun.)

Perhaps this is just not the tremolo for you (hey, it happens). I do suggest checking out a demo or two on youTube for comparison to make sure you are getting the similar results on the speed and depth controls. And, also double check to make sure you've used all the right values on the LFO section just in case.

As far as a custom pot, no. AFAIK the only custom 1MA pots he used on any VFE builds were 10% tolerance instead of the normal 20% on generic Alphas. The tighter tolerance would not change the overall range of the depth control in this case.

You could change the response by switching to either a 1MB or 1MC. With a 1M B or C the depth change will onset earlier. The trade-off is that there will be less depth change in the second half of the pot rotation. It's really a matter of taste. You could also change it to a 500kB but that might decrease the maximum depth available somewhat.

You via diameters should be at least as large as your trace width. I set all my vias to a drill size of 27.x mil and that covers the two trace widths I use: 10 mil audio and 24 mil power.

That is cool! I wonder - have you tried using your 3d printer to make stencils for the same kind of thing? Or are they prints too rough for that?

I mean, you could, but the real deal are like 50 cents a piece, the printer media would cost more than a trip to a fabric store.

I don't mean copies of the one he used - stencils based on artwork. Like a full sheet covering the enclosure with cutouts for the lettering, etc. Might not be practical...the pic just made me think of it.

That is cool! I wonder - have you tried using your 3d printer to make stencils for the same kind of thing? Or are they prints too rough for that?

Yes a 1M pot with a resistor in series should do the trick. The DB uses 22k but it also runs the LFO at a different voltage, so you might need to experiment with the value.

As for why not include it in the Total Recall: no way to fit it on that layout!

Output and input are in phase.

This kind of setup would work better because it operates by sending either the dry signal or wet signal to (virtual) ground and doesn't require changing anything in the output stage.

When the Blend pot is in the middle you have equal amounts of dry/wet
Turning it clockwise grounds the dry path so you get vibrato
Turning it counter clockwise grounds the wet so you get straight dry signal

You will need to use those 47k resistors rather than omit them otherwise the output will distort badly as you turn it to the highest and lowest settings on the pot. Instead, attach wires to the blue and red spots, a 47k on the other end of each wire and then the other end of the 47k to lugs 1 and 3 resp. And, still attach the wiper to green.

Blue -----wire-----47k-----lug3
lug2-----wire----- Green
Red -----wire----47k-----lug1

Not sure if 100k pot is enough - might have to use 250k.

So we need the resistors to avoid clipping the IC input. Makes sense. Thanks!

Would you expect the additional resistance from the pot to reduce the overall output? Can we gain up the IC with a value change somewhere?

Well that's a good point. Yeah, overall the output is going to be reduced depending on where the blend knob is set. You can offset that by changing values with R11, R10, C5 and C6. What exact values would be best I don't know - but you would want to scale them up equally otherwise you are going to change the overall frequency response. Another thing I though of - R26 is DC coupled by C17 but R9 is not DC coupled. So, you'd also probably have to a 100n cap before R9 to avoid scratchiness on the pot.

Whether or not all this is worth the effort is up to you. It's possible to do a better blend knob but it requires more parts and a ton of off-board wiring to do it. An alternative to all this would be to simply leave R9 in place and put a 100k or 250k pot in series with R26. This would allow you to reduce the chorus level. But, it won't let you change the dry level for vibrato type effect. To do that you would have to lift R9 with a switch. In fact, the very early versions of the Pork Barrel had both of these mods but I ditched them when I went down to a 1590B layout.

You will need to use those 47k resistors rather than omit them otherwise the output will distort badly as you turn it to the highest and lowest settings on the pot. Instead, attach wires to the blue and red spots, a 47k on the other end of each wire and then the other end of the 47k to lugs 1 and 3 resp. And, still attach the wiper to green.

Blue -----wire-----47k-----lug3
lug2-----wire----- Green
Red -----wire----47k-----lug1

Not sure if 100k pot is enough - might have to use 250k.

It will put out some heat, but probably not enough to damage the cap next to it.  Most of the heat will get absorbed and emitted by the heat sink which is on the other side. Your pin orientation is correct.

I say don't wait too long to get another dog. Having other pets around when you lose one helps tremendously. Plus, you can pay back some of that love you got from the last one by rescuing one in need.