deluxe pitch pirate with synth

[DieterLaser]

hello,

did anyone ever tried the pitch pirate with a synth? couldn't find any demos for that? is it more versatile then a lo-fi junky?

best

[Addy Bart]

I use the deluxe all the time with keyboard and organ. Great effect.

I suggest sticking a 100k pot (as a variable resistor) between the input and circuit. Line level signals will distort the PT2399, and that can be cool sometimes, but for pure tones (sine waves etc) it helps to attenuate the input level. Add a booster after as well. It really makes the pedal more versatile, and helps with the volume drop when the blend is at noon.

The Lofi Junky covers similar ground but as far as I know, there isn't a DIY option.

[DieterLaser]

hey thanks! do you know of anyone selling kits of these for beginners like me?

[Boba7]

There is a 100k trimpot at the input of the DLX Pitch Pirate.

I found that Jon Patton's limiter led worked perfectly well in my build. It basically prevents the chip from distorting, you should look it up (just a simple diffused green led going from one pin of the PT2399 to ground if I remember correctly)
And I also found that a simple buffer at the input was necessary with single coils (might not affect synths).

I don't think there's any DLX Pitch Pirate kit for sale. I wouldn't recommend it as a first build for a beginner.

[DieterLaser]

hey thanks! i have some experience with soldering, did some circuit bending, arduino-projects and build two very well documented pedal kits so far so i have a some experience with getting things together. still feel like a total beginner, though.

jambforthelamb suggested this PCB
http://www.pedalpcb.com/product/pitchwitch/

[Boba7]

Oh I didnt know Pedalpcb had one! Thats great!

[DieterLaser]

Ya! They also have a Clari(not) (...inspired) PCB

http://www.pedalpcb.com/product/chalumeau/

pretty cool

[Addy Bart]

If you go with the pcb option, use a pot in place of the trimmer. It saves opening up the pedal to adjust input levels. The LED trick Boba7 mentions is perfect for guitar but won't prevent distortion with a synth. (The distortion is nice though sometimes, hence sticking a pot in there).

If you use a 2k for the wave pot you can get a sort of PWM thing happening. Perfect with keyboards.

[DieterLaser]

Thank you! On the Chalumeau and Pitch Witch PCB I see an option to place a LDR. Did anyone do that and is it cool? I'm afraid it will make the effect less controllable and was thinking about just bridging it

[Addy Bart]

The LDR creates the modulation. I like a GL5506 paired with a white led but other LDRs will work too.

[DieterLaser]

Ok, now I'm confused. So on the PCBs there are places for a LED and LDR. The LED triggers the LDR but it happens inside the closed pedal, that's how I would make sense of it.

[Addy Bart]

This LED is not meant to be mounted outside the pedal. It should face the LDR. It's just like using a vactrol, only cheaper.

I thought you might already have some GL5506 light dependent resistors if you had dabbled with Arduino. I think Doug Tuttle uses the kind from RadioShack if you want to match the original.

[DieterLaser]

ok, i got it. learning step by step here i played with photoresists before, but the cheap-vactrol-principle is new to me

[somnif]

ok, i got it. learning step by step here i played with photoresists before, but the cheap-vactrol-principle is new to me

The LDR is a "light dependent resistor". The more light it sees, the lower its resistance.

So, in this system, your guitar attack causes the LED to light up. Really sharp, hard strumming makes it really bright, light soft playing makes it quite dim.

The LDR sees this light, and goes low resistance in response, which modulates the sound.

In the Clari-not (and similarly in the pitch pirate), this has the same effect of twisting the delay time knob around. The harder you play, the sharper the spikes in delay time shifting. (There are also two pots in parallel with the LDR that control how severe the warp is, and what the max/min delay time will be)

[Boba7]

ok, i got it. learning step by step here i played with photoresists before, but the cheap-vactrol-principle is new to me

So, in this system, your guitar attack causes the LED to light up. Really sharp, hard strumming makes it really bright, light soft playing makes it quite dim.

True for the Clarinot, not the Pitch Pirate, which has an lfo

I'd still advise you to put the limiter led I was talking about (diffused green led from pin7 of the chip to ground) to avoid distortion.

Addy Bart > I think with the limiter led, if you still hear distortion, it must come from the opamp, not the chip.