Topics

Morning all, first post after a long hiatus! Hope everyone is well!

After much procrastination (2 years!) getting a new printer I'm finally back in the saddle and first on my list was the Lectric-FX Bloodstone. Had a couple of blips on the way including destroying a solder pad for one of the pots and having to solder a wire to the resistor before it in the circuit but hey ho, it works! More importantly it swishes and swooshes just the way I was hoping it would so very pleased!

Reverse etched with NaOH, then paint and clear coat, I was going for a sort of Alex Grey artwork vibe if anyone is familiar with his work.

Just read about the data loss so thought I would follow suit with you guys and post my builds that are now lost in the ethereal mists of the interwebnet! Quite nice looking back on them all actually! 

Ezekiel:





Klon:





Buzzaround:





SFT:





Q-Zone:





Pharaoh:





Musket:





Cheers!

Graham

Double post

Hullo!

First completed build in a while and also a first in the sense that it's my first non-etched pedal!

It's the classic 1776 Multiplex Echo, graphics were designed in Illustrator, printed to laserjet clear decal and then clear coated on top of a yellow powder coated box, pretty striking but I'm really pleased with it and so is my mate who it's for!

Had a little slip up with an incorrect component value (thanks Banzai!) but luckily Josh and Matt (mgwhit) were on hand and helped me zone in on the offending article, cheers dudes!

Pics:

Arrgh! Ok I give up! I've tried everything I can think of! Really hoping someone here can help!

My 2nd Multiplex build is not working as it should, the delay section is working perfectly but the overall sound is dark and muffled and slightly distorted, including the dry signal.

I've triple checked my values on resistors and caps, IC orientation, cap orientation. I've measured the voltage throughout the circuit and checked against my working Multiplex and all reads the same or very similar.

It seems like the answer is staring me in the face but I despite coming back to it several times I just can't see what I've done wrong!

I cracked out the audio probe but it didn't make things any clearer, I got as far as IC1 and the signal was already showing the fault which seemed to only indicate a handful of components, all of which are the correct value.

Just at my wits end now, does anyone have any suggestions I can try?

Some readings:
IC1
1 - 4.08
2 - 4.08
3 - 4.06
4 - 0
5 - 4.06
6 - 4.08
7 - 4.08
8 - 8.17

IC2
1 - 5.01    9 - 2.5
2 - 2.3     10 - 2.5
3 - 0        11 - 2.5
4 - 0        12 - 2.5
5 - 2.78   13 - 2.5
6 - 2.3     14 - 2.5
7 - 0.1      15 - 2.5
8 - 0.93   16 - 2.5

IC3
1 - 5.01    9 - 2.5
2 - 2.5     10 - 2.5
3 - 0        11 - 2.5
4 - 0        12 - 2.5
5 - 2.72   13 - 2.5
6 - 2.3     14 - 2.5
7 - 0.09   15 - 2.5
8 - 0.64   16 - 2.5

Reg
1 - 8.17
2 - 0
3 - 5

H11F1
1 - 0
2 - 0.01
3 - 0
4 - 0
5 - 1.70
6 - 2.25

+9v - 9.35

Hey all,

Just put together a Phase 90 on Pickdropper's 1590A board and having a major issue with it, the only sound I can get is a sort of crackly distortion that degrades quickly and only if I strike the strings hard.

So far I've tried the following;

- Thought it was a toasted IC issue but replaced them all and then used sockets so as to make sure I didn't fry them. At the moment using an audio probe the signal going into IC1 is fine but where it comes out at pins 2 & 6 the signal is degraded and distorted. I get bits and bobs of brief signal further down the audio chain up to a point but only intermittently.

- Tried a variety of wiring set ups, initially the board was just wired to input, output and DC jacks with all grounds soldered together, I then also tried wiring it into a box but just without a 3PDT but no difference so from that it doesn't appear I have any grounding issues.

- No soldering mishaps that I can see on the board under a magnifying glass.

I've never really had an issue like this before so was hoping someone with more experience might be able to tell me how I can diagnose the problem, perhaps I could measure the current until I find an error?

Really struggling with this and feeling very deflated so any help would really go a long way!

Have attached some photos in case anyone can spot something obvious.

Cheers,
Graham

Hey all,

Just wanted to ask for some assistance troubleshooting a new build/layout I've done in Eagle. It's a silicon Tonebender / DH Hot Silicon (etc etc) that I swapped the standard tone stack out for a James one to have a bit more flexibility in controlling the tone. The good news is it fires up and works but the tone controls are way off, namely;

1) The Treble pot works in reverse and the range of the pot is all at one end as well as it being far too tinny and harsh for 75% of the travel. From looking at my schematic I think I've got the pot the wrong way round so that at least solves one problem but as for the second, everything I've read says to use Log pots in the James tone stack but my problem would seem to insinuate that I should have used Linear, would anyone agree?

2) The Bass pot works as intended just about, it's effect isn't all that noticeable to be honest as to me it only sounds good when fully clockwise, going back the other way just yields hollow emptiness! I've noticed that there is a significant increase in level/gain when the pot is turned fully clockwise, is this normal for a James tone stack or I have I done something wrong?

3) I changed the fat switch that swaps between input caps on the original for a pot with the same values as the Blackout Musket 'Focus' pot that does the same job but the effect isn't anywhere near as noticeable, what could be the reason for this?

Hoping you guys might be able to help, this is the first time I've tried to monkey around with a circuit and the result has left me a bit deflated!  I'm going to remove all the relevant parts and stick sockets in and see what does what but was wondering if someone would be able to shed a bit of light on where I've gone wrong!

Here's a link to the schematic;

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/42206482/Talisman%20v1.0.pdf

Cheers!
Graham

Hi guys,

Just a request for help, I've just bought an Egnater Rebel 30 but it has no footswitch, seems like it would be simple to make one but I can't find a wiring diagram, can anyone help me out?

Ideally I'd be looking for a switch to change between amp channels with bi-colour LED and another that selects reverb on or off.

From looking at the original Egnater one it seems to be a simple TRS jack switch so same as the simple Marshall or Fender footswitches.

Any tips greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Graham

Hey all,

My latest is a Tonebender MKIII, loving the sound this kicks out!

Cans are 2N404, Fuzz Dog board with onboard inverter. Box etched with NaOH and some groovy retro themed art!









I also gave my Micro POG a new coat!



Cheers!
Graham

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone could clarify, I built a Pharaoh on the King Tut PCB and I have to admit it didn't quite have as much, well balls, as I was expecting! Just came across another thread which mentions that the coupling caps are 470n, on the King Tut build doc they are stated as 47n (C4, C6, C7, C9 & C12), it looks as though the King Tut values are from the Kit Rae schem whereas every other version I've found has them as 470n, can anyone shed any light on this? And I suppose most of all, would this account for the slightly less beefy sound I'm getting when compared to vids of the real thing?

Cheers!
Graham

Hello!

Another day another build! Couple of firsts for me with this one, this is the first time I've used Eagle and had a PCB fabbed (OSH Park), I've since revised this board by removing the two vias I had, increasing the pad sizes and fattening up the traces. This one still works absolutely perfectly though!

Also after seeing Cody's (selfdestroyer) fantastic results with the paint and reverse etch I had to give it a try and very pleased I did! Thanks for the guide Cody, helped me get it right first time!

So it's a BE Musket fuzz and I have to say out of all the Muffs I've built this is probably my favourite thus far, I just like the tweakable nature of it I suppose and it sounds great to my doom hungry ears!

Anyway enough babble, some pics;







Pants down;



Cheers!

Hey all,

Customer request for an OCD (v3) so I was happy to oblige! This one was a milestone of sorts for me as I did all the artwork in Illustrator from scratch as opposed to my usual method of er, 're-purposing' bits and bobs found on the Googleweb!

Fuzz Dog board and box etched with NaOH as per norm, the detailing was a bit fiddly but I got there, customer is very pleased so it's a win!

Pics..

A concoction of my own, I call it the Doom Face!

It's a COT50 (acting as a sort of pre gain/boost) going into a silicon Fuzz Face (Q1 - MPSA13 Darlington / Q2 - BC108) that then goes into a Stratoblaster to push the amp input stage harder.

Also put a rotary input tone cap switch on the FF to dial in extra low end (goes up to 10u) and also more gain. Big caps all round for max low end. The result is a massive saturated wall of fuzz, perfect for dooming up!

Heavily inspired by Nick @Dunwich Amps who also gave me some tips on how to doom out a Fuzz Face, nice one!

All Fuzz Dog boards, box etched with Caustic as per norm. I also used the font from the game Doom for extra doom. Doom.

Hi all,

Just looking for some general advice/experience with a Fuzz Face build I'm planning. Basically the remit is a doom fuzz pedal (guitar is tuned to drop G#) so maximum low end and sustain for days at a time!

My plan thus far is the following;
- Stick a COT50 on a pot before the FF to act as an extra gain stage of sorts, the COT50 seems a good bet rather than just a straight boost (LPB-01 or similar) as I can fiddle around with the clipping stage a bit.
- Just for fun I'm sticking a rotary switch in place of the FF input cap that will go up to 10uf for maximum ooof!
- I think I might permanently jumper the FF output pot to max and then to control level add a Stratoblaster after the FF which will have the dual bonus of pushing the amp's input stage harder.

It's all relatively theoretical at the moment but makes sense to me, can anyone see any potential pitfalls that I may be overlooking?

Cheers!
Graham

Hey chaps,

Not had much time to build recently but stayed up late and soldered long into the night to get this one finished!

It's a Pharaoh Fuzz (Rullywow King Tut board - nice one!), can't wait to get to the studio and stick this in front of my amp!

Etched with NaOH as per norm, really happy with how the design on this one came out

In a massive enclosure because more doom.

OCD v3 on Poodle Parts PCB.

Artwork was at request of my mate who it's for, its Nemesis The Warlock from 2000AD for any who haven't a clue what it is, I didn't to begin with!

Super Duper 2 in 1 on Poodle Parts PCBs. Slightly increased caps (180nf) to allow more bass in as I tune low.

Box etched with Caustic Soda.

Super Duper 2 in 1 on Poodle Parts PCBs. Slightly increased caps (180nf) to allow more bass in as I tune low.

Box etched with Caustic Soda.

Ross Compressor on Poodle Parts PCB with attack mod.

Build was for a friend, I've never really felt the need for a compressor myself but he seemed pleased with it so job done!

Artwork is from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World which he requested, I didn't realise until I gave him the pedal that he also has a tattoo of the same pic on his arm so that all tied together nicely!

PCB from Haberdasher (thanks dude!)

The empty socket is because I didn't have a 4n7 cap so tried some other values I had on hand, it ended up sounding better without!

Went for a different style with the etching artwork, pretty happy with the result