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Messages - dawson

#16
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Touch Stone
February 13, 2023, 05:55:52 PM
Quote from: Thewintersoldier on February 13, 2023, 01:29:48 AM
We all know I love me some EHX and the small clone is the shit, and this build is no exception, it fucks😤🥵🤘

Thanks, Chris!
Small Clone is indeed the shit!

Quote from: gordo on February 13, 2023, 04:52:05 AM
Damn that's clean.  I'd do etches if I could get it that clean.  I agree too, that the Florist and the PT based stuff is good.  But at the end of the day it sounds very "effecty" where as the SC and the Boss CE's tend to nail the subtle end of the chorus spectrum.  That cross shot with the switch in the foreground is pure pedal porno.  It looks fake it's so perfect.

That's what she said, never...

Hey thanks, Gordo!
Building on the faceplate allows me to get right in there for close-ups of them nethers.
;D
#17
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Touch Stone
February 13, 2023, 01:11:55 AM
Quote from: jessenator on February 12, 2023, 11:38:13 PM
I finally went to go check out your ply board contraption of amazement, and this is all killer!

I love all of the mod work (e.g. making pot stems) and doing it all so cleanly. Nice work!

Hey, thanks for looking-
Glad you found the bottom half of my builds!

Quote from: jimilee on February 13, 2023, 12:11:57 AM
Soldering with no pants on... good luck sir. Pedals are stellar as always:


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks!
The high-risk situation keeps me on my toes.
#18
Build Reports / MadBean Touch Stone
February 12, 2023, 10:52:33 PM
My first chorus pedal was a big box EHX Small Clone that I was deep in love with until it had an unspeakably unfortunate incident with a station wagon (R.I.P.)

I've always missed the Small Clone but I've filled the chorus void with other placeholders over the years, most-recently I've been using my SCHMORG-ready MBP Florist which is about as good as I've ever heard a '2399 sound, but I kept finding myself yearning more and more for some good ol' high head-room, low knob-count chorus goodness, which the Touch Stone delivers big-time.

Here it is:




I designed the pattern in Photoshop after briefly researching how Dolly the sheep was cloned, then etched the aluminum plate with ferric chloride.

Because there are only 2 potentiometers to support the PCB, I doubled up the wires by twisting with my electric screwdriver:



It's a tight layout designed to fit in a 1590B enclosure and there are a couple less-than-common capacitor values in the circuit so I employed the ol' upside-down trick to make everything fit:



In conclusion- the Touch Stone does a fantastic job at the Small Stone sound. Brian's improvements are solid: I enjoy the 'DEPTH' controlled by a knob rather than a switch and am glad to be rid of that cursed power adapter the EHX model needed.

If you're wondering WTF is wrong with this guy who thinks it's okay to build upside-down pedals with no pants on, this thread may answer a question or two:
https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=32053.0

Really happy to get this circuit back in the chain.
Thanks for reading!
#19
Build Reports / Re: DeadRinger 2022
January 22, 2023, 12:01:58 AM
#20
Bummer indeed..

Great work saving it though- this rules!
#21
Build Reports / Re: EgoDeath build
January 16, 2023, 02:09:45 AM
Quote from: gordo on January 16, 2023, 01:39:12 AM
You know, one of those things that has always alluded me is the "indicator around the knob" of any sort.  I always manage to screw that up and this time because the laser was being centered around divots I'd created from the drill guide (I spent time landing the laser locator on each of the drill points) it gave me a fighting chance.  I did the burn and realized that a couple of the pots were a bit off so it gave me a chance to redo the pilot holes (typically 1/16 inch) and then manipulate the pots to fit the holes.  Nothing drastic that required any resoldering but just moving them enough that the knobs lined up.  This is a bit of an epiphany.

When I do water-slide decals I ultimately throw in the towel and go "eh...close enough" but then it always bugs me.  Both the fact that I've given up so easily and the fact that I have to look at it.  This process really holds my feet to the fire and I'm happy with the result.

Looks good to me!
The trick I learned is adding center-marks for holes in my designs and applying graphics before drilling- that way my knobs always line-up with the graphics, even if the graphics are slightly skewed.
*not sure if that's possible in the waterslide workflow but works great for acid etching.
#22
Build Reports / Re: EgoDeath build
January 15, 2023, 09:47:38 PM
Yeah, Gordo!
Laser etch looks awesome and happy to read that you found a sweet new drive for your rig!

*Bonus points in my book for adding the Fulltone "arrows" around the knobs!
#23
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Polytrog
January 15, 2023, 09:40:17 PM
Quote from: madbean on January 14, 2023, 12:04:55 AM
Really solid work here! Also, pretty clever how you fit those vactrols in there.

Thanks, Brian-
The PCB was a pleasure to work with, as always!

Quote from: jjjimi84 on January 14, 2023, 04:13:56 PM
Want to just mimic what everyone is saying, damn it looks great!

Thank you!
Any chance we'll be seeing a hand-painted Polytrog in the future??
Based on your DEMO's, I think you'd really enjoy this circuit.

Quote from: gordo on January 14, 2023, 09:04:16 PM
Crazy nice.  And I had to go back and have a second look at the "envelope" graphic.  Very clever.

"ENVELOPES IN SPACE"

*It doesn't quite jive with the outer-space theme but it's a heck-of lot better than all the other ideas I tried!
Thanks, Gordo!

Thanks a lot, everyone, I really appreciate all the kind words and support!
#24
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Polytrog
January 11, 2023, 10:18:24 PM
Quote from: harryklippton on January 11, 2023, 09:17:02 PM
I for one would love to see a tutorial on how you do the etching, not that you need another thing to do

A long-time goal of mine has been to start making videos.
If I can ever actually get myself started on that, etching would be a cool video to make.

This is the video that got me going a few years ago:


*There IS already a great etching tutorial on this very forum written by a builder much smarter with chemicals than me.  I'll link it here if I can find it.

Quote from: Bio77 on January 11, 2023, 09:23:01 PM
Looks awesome!  8)  Some more Schmorg, please!

Thanks, John-
I'll try to keep them coming!
#25
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Polytrog
January 11, 2023, 08:26:35 PM
Quote from: zombie_rock123 on January 11, 2023, 07:40:09 PM
Man that's pretty! Inside and put. Love the etch, so crisp! What do you use as the .. etchant..  blocker?

Thanks!
To be honest, I feel like my etching results have been on the decline for over a year and I haven't been able to isolate which variable is screwing me..
Based on past work, I'd grade this etch a 'C.'



My etching kit consists of:

Brother monochromatic laser printer HL-L2350DW.

PCB transfer paper:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GLGL2CX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Those nice blue shop towels.

Hand-me-down clothing iron that was about to be thrown away.

The cheapest nail polish available- I prefer bright colors for contrast.

Tiny little paintbrushes for touching-up the mask with nail polish.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083QB8YPK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Electrical tape for masking sides of enclosures.

Disposable gloves.

Ferric chloride for etching.

Acetone for cleanup.

Baking soda for disposal.
*I actually have all of my used etchant stored, but I think it can be neutralized by baking soda.

Olive oil.
*May not do anything, but I've convinced myself it adds a layer of protection.  First-pressed adds mojo.
#26
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Polytrog
January 11, 2023, 06:34:31 PM
Quote from: blackhatboojum on January 11, 2023, 03:49:55 AM
All hail the schmorg!  I'm in awe every time you add something to that innovative monster.

Thanks, Clinton-
Won't be long until you see some familiar 2399 chips show up!

Quote from: Thewintersoldier on January 11, 2023, 12:22:26 PM
Dude, while we all know the etch and visual representation is always bangin when we see Dawson, the build quality, cleanliness and execution of the board truly fucks. Really stepped it up here, really strong work. Color me impressed!

Aw, shucks, Chris, thanks-

*Most of the credit goes to EHX and Brian with his super sexy build doc's- I'm just happy to be here assembling!

Quote from: jimilee on January 11, 2023, 04:57:31 PM
Daaaammmn that's killer. I really need to build mine.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You haven't built yours yet??
As our resident phasor phanatic you must correct that ASAP!
#27
Build Reports / MadBean Polytrog
January 11, 2023, 03:40:02 AM
You guys, I just finished testing/calibrating this build and I'm seriously impressed by the envelope function.  Obviously anything EHX + MBP is bound to be good, but this circuit is so much more than I was expecting.

It's been described as a phaser sweep controlled by an envelope.  That's exactly what it is and the demos sound great, but until I got in there touching and feeling around myself I couldn't really imagine what the interaction would feel like.  You've just got to get in there.  Don't take anybody's word for it, you've got to get in there yourself and let it swallow you up.  I think that's the only way to know why we're all at a loss for proper explanation.

The LFO sounds pretty good too.

Here's my build- all values stock with the voltage tuned to 6.7V.  I gave some lower values 6.3V-6.5V which were quite whacky and fun but in the end I came back to the original sound.
The faceplate was drawn up in Adobe Photoshop and etched into the panel with ferric chloride.




*I need a bit more practice with those skinny-legged 1/8 watt resistors- I didn't realize my fillets were blobbing out until far far too late.
*I also could've used some smaller electrolytics in there next to the vactrols but I was able to make everything fit.
*Knobs look rad, but will be replaced eventually by a set that I can actually decipher from where I stand.




As stated in Brian's build doc's, a whole lot went into getting this circuit modernized and shrunken down for our DIY pleasures, and I want to join with everyone else who's built this circuit to thank MadBean for the loads of effort, expertise and talent that went into this PCB.  It's truly a work of art.

If you're wondering WTF is wrong with this guy who thinks it's okay to build upside-down pedals with no pants on, this thread may answer a question or two:
https://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=32053.0
#28
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Wavelord (extra-wide)
January 10, 2023, 02:43:20 AM
Quote from: Bio77 on January 10, 2023, 02:15:25 AM
Congrats, Dawson! I LOL-ed at your IRL thumbs up ;D

Thanks, John!
I wish I could say this is the first time I've been laughed at for exposing myself, but..  :)
#29
Build Reports / Re: MadBean Wavelord (extra-wide)
January 09, 2023, 10:19:35 PM
So, for months I'd been plotting and planning an overcomplicated way to control the tempo of my WaveLord with my Eurorack set-up..
Until yesterday I decided to read the data sheet for the Electric Druid Tap LFO chip and realized there's an incredibly simple way to do it!



The chip can be clocked with any pulse 0-5v, which matches the output of my Eurorack clock, so all I had to do was check out the schematic and tie a mono jack into the circuit to receive CV (control voltage.)

Three-cheers for reading!

The red wire is the new addition.  It connects to a jack mounted in a small utility module.





Super simple.
Eurorack and guitar effects all synced up- it's a happy day in SCHMORG land!
#30
Global Annoucements / Re: Should we do a BOTY contest?
December 07, 2022, 03:21:21 AM
If there's a BOTY, I'll sure be here to watch!
I really enjoy scrolling through everyone's submissions.