Messages

Copper anything! I love the look. That's what I used for my Meatsphere.

Any schematic drawing or PCB layout artwork you produce is yours via copyright. Circuit "ownership" is a very nebulous term. If you use a circuit portion that is patented without authorization, that could cause potential problems. There are very few instances of circuit patents in the stompbox world most likely...perhaps nearly zero. Maybe of few of the classic designs were patented at one time but have expired. Most of what's out there now does not have patent protection.

So, if you are publishing anything in the public domain such as schematic drawings or PCB artwork, make sure they are your own creation. Don't publish factory schematics and don't copy someone's PCB layout exactly. You can use a factory schematic drawing as a guide, but you should change it around a little bit so it is clear it is your own drawing. Same with a PCB layout: you might use an existing one as a guide, but do not copy it exactly.

And really, you should not do these things anyway, because the real way to learn is to do that type of stuff on your own. It increases your versatility and capabilities exponentially.

Also, you want to steer clear of trademarks, too. Cloning a circuit is a lot different than cloning an actual pedal down to the look, name and overall style. That's another potential area of legal issue if your product intentionally "creates confusion" with the consumer. However, drawing a comparison between someone elses product and your own is a common practice and not at all illegal.

Culturejam might weigh in here---he has a LOT of knowledge in this area.

Bandmate sabotage? 

I would start with taking voltage readings on the IC to make sure it is getting power.

Random crackle sounds like a spotty transistor to me. Really, you would need an audio probe to track down the source of noise, but a tweaking of the bias pots internally might help.

What type of transistors and did you match them yourself?

WTF? Did you move yourself or have a company helping you out?

Too much this


Not enough this

Definitely do the Silverfox...not trying to talk you out of it just to sell another PCB The Sparkplug should be here in a couple of weeks, but it is not the LTD at all. Rather, just sayin those controls are quite helpful, IMO.

$75 for a friggin' mono jack? Can this be for real? I mean....c'mon....

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=1122772

The bass and mid pots are great external on the 'Fox. The presence not so much. The upcoming Sparkplug project is sort of a generic Barber type overdrive and has external Bass and Mid, but no presence control.

5089 may be a little less noise and is very on par with the BC549C. There should be little if any difference tonewise---I just kinda like the BC and I have a bunch of them

Speaking of which, I just worked out an idea for the QuadrovibeII this morning by coincidence. Think more vibrato and LFO options.

The videos are great and the build report is outstanding! Thank you for taking the time to do that and post it here. I'm very pleased to see so much effort put into your project

Awesomesauce!

It depends on the size of the board. For small PCBs, it should be fine. But, as the size increases (and the weight of the components) it may start to flex more than you want. Once, I did a sizable PCB on some real thin material and it ended up flexing and retaining that shape. This was probably because I had it in a vise when soldering and as the PCB heated up it warped.

I think .8mm is still pretty sizable so it may not be an issue at all.