Messages

I've done a bit bit of SMD soldering (FV-1 chip, the dual sided fuzz from the Function(FX) pack), but am interested in others, as I am tempted to get into DIY eurorack, but figured I'd go with a few more SMD pedal builds first.

Any suggestions on PCBs/projects I can order beyond just the FV-1 chip?

You're telling me they missed calling their taller 1590a the "Tall Bear" enclosure? It was right there!

Pretty sure that same chair floated through my memories at one point. Looks very familiar.

That is awesome.

Nice! I've been curious about the clock board add-on, as I've built a few PedalPCB FV-1 projects now. Might have to try it on the next one.

I would definately recommend the clock board! It adds more versatility to an already very versatile build.

Added a clock board to my recent order, as I've got an Arachnid that's not boxed up yet anyway. Thanks for the demo.

Nice! I've been curious about the clock board add-on, as I've built a few PedalPCB FV-1 projects now. Might have to try it on the next one.

Woah. Very cool.

That's very cool! Thanks for sharing.

(This was original posted on the PedalPCB forum, but folks around here have been helpful in my quest to learn how to work with FV-1 pedals, so figured it would be good to post here too.)

"I'll just build you a double pedal", he said. "It will be easy", he said.

Last year I built an older PedalPCB Arachnid pedal with a custom EEPROM for my wife/band mate to use with her Nord Electro keyboard. She has really enjoyed it, but two things always stuck out to me:

• The non-rotary mode knob of the older board resulted in her having issues finding the right patch between songs
• 90% of the time she's got a delay running after her Arachnid no matter the patch

The first point is easy, as I can just build a new board with the 2019 revisions. While I'm at it, why not just build a second one with a delay, but maybe some other things too for extra fun? Thus, this beast was born:



I haven't finalized the patch selection yet. Right now it's a mix of an EEPROM from PedalPCB and another filled with random patches from SpinASM forums (there are some fun, weird ones out there).

Some hopefully useful additions include:

• Toggle switch to select the order of the 2 PCBs
• Send/return jacks for an effects loop (inserted after the 1st PCB, so less useful when the order is flipped)
• Master bypass stomp (middle switch) that bypasses the entire thing (including effects loop)

Many mistakes were made along the way, like:

• Not checking the build doc and assuming all pot values were the same as the old board---it was a real pain to realize I'd used B100K for the mix pots on both well after I'd gotten to the boxing up stage.
• Assuming the effects loop would be easy to insert, but forgetting that I'd also decided on the order switching toggle. This resulting in a lot of trial and error
• Would probably prefer LEDs on the order switch toggle, but couldn't be bothered with the extra wiring

In any case, I tried it on guitar last night with my original PedalPCB Octagon in the effects loop and it sounded great:



Now to spend some time choosing patches!

Awesome!

Loving the aesthetics of these! Great job!

Thanks! I'm loving those slightly smaller knobs on the delay from Tayda.

That early 90's aesthetic is totally radical!

Ha. Thanks! I hadn't even thought of that when I was painting these (for some reason I have a pile of yellow and orange enclosures in my stash that lend themselves to these top colours).

This! Love the style... nice work

Thanks!

Woah. This looks amazing.

I built one of the infamous "effectblade" loopers a few years ago and it works, but I'm still very tempted by this.

I love everything about this. Inspiring stuff

[Echo Base -]

These are all boards I've had populated for a very long time (years) and finally made the effort to box up. These aren't intended for anyone else, so the guts aren't exactly wonderful.



Echo Base - Very old board (pre-musicPCB), so it's quirky and the circuit has been improved since, but I love the weirdness this has on tap. It's also gone through a lot of hacking on my part to make the newer mods work, so these guts are only for me to see. 

Added the following:

• Option to switch between two delay times with a footswitch
• Dry kill toggle
• Square wave toggle for the modulation
• Extra jack on the front for an optional footswitch to engage a version of the "dub madness" runaway repeats mod

Maestro FSH-1 - This one almost went in the trash several times. I originally built it years ago, but harvested it for parts in a fit of desperation and left it in a ziplock bag for later. Later is now.

• Added a blend pot, as per some old threads, but didn't like how it seemed to let through some ticking, so I ended up tacking on a buffered blend circuit instead.
• I also disconnected the S/H section when not in use (though in a different spot than the Sharkfin docs suggested, as I hadn't read them until after)
• Added the "droop" toggle based on some old threads, as it adds some fun weirdness

Lots of trouble getting this going in a state that I was happy enough with and it still seems temperamental, but I'm over it. The blend knob means I can dial in the weirdest filter settings and have them sit behind my clean signal, which is fun.



Tap Tempo Tremolo - Pretty painless build. I just have other trems I like, so I took a while to get around to it. The tap function is fun to use with synths etc. though.



This almost takes care of my list of half-finished builds, now I just need to do something with the drawers full of PCBs I've collected over the years. 

In the end I found an extra B2M and just used that. I also changed the mode switch to a 3PDT, so I could disconnect the noise transistor when in filter mode, removing any whine that was bleeding through.

For what it's worth, the often suggested blend pot mod was not useful for me, as it let through ticking when in use. I used a buffered blend circuit instead and it's great. Very useful to mix the S/H section with the dry signal.