/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Useful resources here!

http://electro-music.com/wiki/

Electro Music: An online community devoted to electrical schematics and audio science.
You can find information, schematics, and lots of helpful explanations here.
Be sure to use the search bar in the upper right, the Schematics Vault is rather large.

>pic is Scratcher V4, schem availabe to the curious

>>695274
Here's another few links:

http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/tom/schematics.htm

MASSIVE SCHEMATICS VAULT:
Tons of schematics for MANY name brand / weird slavic amplifiers and stompboxes alike.
Most schematics here come in the form of technical maintenance manuals. Don't expect any translations here, just pure schems.

http://home-wrecker.com/articles.html
Home wrecker, a few schems here, useful explanations, good resource for the curious.

http://www.runoffgroove.com/articles.html
Run off groove, great schematics, excellent explanations, Home-wreckers bigger, better, brother. Be sure to check out the "May Queen" pedal, I think it's pretty cool.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/schematics.html
Another schematics vault, except I think these ones are all DIY jobs, no clones, no replicas.

>>695278
Built a Valvecaster pedal off diystompboxes.com. Got me hooked on the art.

Now I am currently designing a pedal, that combines a Ge fuzz, Si fuzz, LED fuzz and Valve diode/triode.

Thinking I should have all the stages run parallel and mix at the final, but am open to other options

>>695278
Have some more resources!
Everybody should learn!

Capacitors are essential in pedal construction, for many reasons. This Beavis audio explains why, good for beginners!
>http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/Caps/index.htm

>http://sparkbangbuzz.com/
Not 100% related to pedal building, but the DIYer here has done a lot of cool things that are up the same alley.

>http://www.geofex.com/
GEOFEX! A great website to rival Jack Orman's AMZFX website. Maintained by the genius R.G. Keen, you can learn A LOT about audio waveform manipulation here, be sure to check it out if you want to learn a few tricks.
Keen goes over a lot of stuff, like
Schematics
Explanations of technical concepts
Offboard wiring
Pedal painting
Circuit debugging

>http://www.muzique.com/lab/main.htm
AMZ FX, aka Muziqeq, run by another electrical audio genius named Jack Orman. Jack has many pages on this website containing incredibly helpful stuff.
He explains a lot of concepts seen in amps and pedals like:
Diode Clipping
Tone Control
Amplification
PNP vs NPN
Transistor Gain

More to come!

>pic is of a Boss DS-1 Schematic, I have made some notes on it to help explain what specific circuit functions do.

noice!
I will monitor this thread an check out some of your links.
I tried to built fdesk's HPF Pre filter earlier this year. Put the shit together like I was told, but unfortunately it didn't work. Maybe it was a little to big for the beginning.

>>695256
And did you put the switch and the knobs in the bottom plate?

>>695281
That's REALLY cool anon!
Valvecaster is a really cool pedal, got any pics? If you do, you should post them!

As for your design, personally I think you should try using a 6-pole switch, so that you can decide whether you want the signal to flow through one, two, three, all, or a combination of different diode sets.
Although I like your idea of several potentiometers at the end of the diode stage to blend each different set and I think would work just as well.

You know what to do, breadboard it, try out some options! Keep the one you like the most!

Thanks for the mention of diystompboxes, I almost forgot to mention them:
>http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/
and
>freestompboxes.org

Two GREAT webforums for DIY pedalbuilders and pedal fans alike. They have tutorials and helpful members who will teach you the art of pedal building and answer all of your questions!

>pic related, a design I modded and built a pedal from, found at http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/tom/schematics.htm

>>695284
Glad you're interested.
Sorry about your design, that's a pretty frequent problem that occurs with pedal building. It takes patience and practice to really get good at the art.

Don't worry about your failures, just use them to push yourself to find creative new ways to achieve success. I have screwed up the past five builds of my Scratcher V5. Only after the fifth circuit I etched, drilled, and soldered did I realize the schematic I was basing all of my circuits from was fucked up! How's that for bad luck?
If you need help with your first pedal, I would highly recommend you go here:
http://www.freestompboxes.org/viewforum.php?f=22
And try to build this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Overdrive-Pedal/

Randofo is a featured member of the instructables community, he helped me get started with pedal building about two years ago. This design is very easy to build and I think it would help teach you the basics!

Yes, I did put the knobs and switches in the bottom plate. When I first started using 2590BBs I didn't know what the plate was for, so I started putting my wiring in it, I liked the way it worked and never went back!

I hope it's legible, it's the schematic for my Scratcher Jr, the pedal featured in the OP.

technically not a pedal.. but if you have a tube amp you should totally give this a try.. put together an attenuator for about 40$~ total.. which is practically free compared to buying one... although I had a spare fan, so that was free..
basically used the schematic here
http://guitarprojects.weebly.com/diy-attenuator.html

but added a fan and a switch for it, then mounted it in a 4 inch pvc Y using drain grates... all in all works pretty well, didn't cost a bunch.

>>695295

>>695296
pretty much all you need is the L-pad... and you just have to match it to the impedence on your speakers and amp. in my case that was 4 ohm so I used a stereo 8ohm L-pad with the pads wired in parallel. the L-pad with shipping was about 25$. also the pads are rated for a given max wattage and you want that to be at least double what your amps rated for..

>>695289
I'll try to dig up the rest of the photos. It was my first build, not at all neat, but I liked the results enough that I wanted to do more of this.

I was also working on a twin valvecaster, but seem to be hitting a DC bias or resonance issue on stage 2.

>>695295
>http://guitarprojects.weebly.com/diy-attenuator.html

Whoa that's really cool!
I think it's close enough to call it a pedal.
I think I'll build one, so that I can play my 100watt amp at night without bothering the neighbors!

I gotta say, I really like your enclosure design.
especially the heat-dissipating design! 16ohm 100Watt L-Pads seem to run for about ~20USD on ebay, not so bad considering what it does.

>pic related LFO designs, helpful if you're into that.

>>695298
>>695296
>match speakers' impedance
>double what your amp is rated for.
I did not know that, I guess that changes a few things. Hmmm...
Still sounds pretty damn simple. Good build, congrats!
Have you thought about building anything else since then?

>>695299
Wow! Great paintjob, did you do that yourself?
I dig the knobs too.

Hmmm, DC Bias / Resonance can be a really big issue especially if the wave is out of phase.
It could be something as small as a bad cap, or something as large as a poor IC.

If the coupling capacitor isn't working then you might be try using an OP AMP as a buffer to isolate the wave, but that might mess up some things.

>pic for cap filtering, reminder that this is just a ballpark chart.

Pic 2/2 of >>695299

Oh hell yeah, I need to build an attenuator like that for my buddy. He needs something to tame his Wizard Rock Standard X (this thing is a fucking 150W beast)

>>695305
That's some great wiring there anon!
No circuitboard, no problem!
I like the insulation stuff you're using, I alos recognize the radioshack wire colors, haha.

Great stuff anon, keep up the awesome work.

>>695302
>>695300
thanks, the pipe worked great to hold it all, and was reasonably cheap, the fan mounts in the back section and the grates give good airflow.

just remember that the watt rating on an amp is average output.. so if you crank it you will exceed that by a good bit. .... does your amp output at 16 ohm? ... if your lucky and its a 4 ohm output you might be able to do it with a stereo 8ohm... since the stereo 8ohm is just 2 8 ohm lpads that are both rated to 100w when you wire them in parallel to get to a 4 ohm rating I believe that they can handle up to 200w ... but I'm not completely sure... other than that I think theirs a way to wire an Lpad with a resister to up the overall wattage it can take.. but damned if I can find a good schematic for it...

what kind of amp do you have? I'm using mine with an epiphone valve jr into the 2x12 cabinet on my twin..

also planning on making a matsumin valvecastor, but currently waiting on a tube and base.

>mfw I go to guitar center.. ask for 12au7 preamp tube... get blank stares followed by well you'll need 2 and we only have 12ax7's but those should work fine....

this is my first pedal, technically not a pedal at all, its a prototype of a voltage control for a big muff pi fuzz pedal that one of my friends has, it simulates a dying battery and seriously changes the tone and versatility of the pedal. we liked the sound so im going to make one with multiple channels to sag different pedals. its totally rigged but it works great for a prototype

>>695342
Where are you sourcing the tube and base from?
If I can't find the part locally, I use these sites since they are more specialized, but their prices do seem a bit higher:
Http://www.tubesandmore.com
Http://wwe.tubedepot.com

>>695375
thetubestore.com

less waiting on stuff to ship in and more waiting to finish a few other projects before I start a new one...

will check those other sites out though

>>695380
>Tube
>Store
Why do americans make me so angry!?
I just want to enjoy life!
ITS A VALVE SHOP YOU FAGGOTS!
A VALVE SHOP!

>>695408
get on with life....

>>695408
suck my dick second world scum

>>695369
Voltage starving has been around for a long time, but it's definitely a cool sound! Good work anon, has a nice "made at home" appearance to it!
What value potentiometer did you put on it?

>>695342
Okay, that's important info. When I go home I'll take a look at my amp and see what kind of Lpad I'm going to need.
I usually play through a 100Watt Peavey. I don't know the exact model to be honest.
Also, Guitar Center is a pretty cool place if you don't mind the (loveable) ignoramuses that run the place.

>>695408
To each their own comrade.

>Pic related is an EZ tremolo. Easy for beginners and experienced builers alike.

NEW SCHEMATIC TO SHARE:

Just finished this puppy yesterday, she's still in breadboard phase, but if anyone here wants to try an interesting effect that I am currently building for Noise Musicians in St. Pete Florida, I would recommend you try this build! It's really easy, so easy you can build it on a radioshack (or equally crummy brandname) predrilled circuit board.
(Just be careful with the IC pins)

It's a high gain, heavy OP AMP clipping distortion. It's incredibly sensitive and will begin oscillating when if you turn both the volume, or the gain pot up to max.
This is by design, because the musicians whom I make these for specifically like "glitchy" effects!

Without further ado, and with honorable mention to a friend whom wishes to be known as the French Light Tank AMX 13 90: The Scratcher V6 Rev 1 schematic.

>>696310
AMX 13 90 is the honorable SAMCYANIDE.
A true and dear friend.

>>696311
hello friend :^)

>>696322
Dear friend has made an appearance.

AT ANY RATE. I will be constructing the >>696310
tonight. I will take pictures and post them as the creation is in progress.
I WILL NOT be etching a PCB for this design THIS TIME. I will do so in the next buildlog, where I can do some Q/A on etching techniques and such.

I will:
1. Plan the build and gather parts.
2. Populate a pre-drilled board and solder to it.
3. Solder together the offboard wiring.
4. Drill holes in the enclosure.
5. Mount PCB + Offboard wiring to enclosure.
6. Plug and play. I'll record a sound clip too!

OKAY FRIENDS, HAVE A GOOD AFTERNOON, I WILL RETURN TONIGHT.

where are you friend

>>696310

why is there an OP-amp with a floating input?

also C5 is drawn backwards. I realize it makes no difference, as the cap is not really polarized, but little mistakes like that raise doubts about the competence of designer. like, if an architect drew a toilet fixture that was facing the wall instead of facing away.

>>696490
Sorry, I have encountered some distractions in life. Yet, here I am, with pictures ready for submittal!

>>696544
Floating pin is completely intentional, it's an experimental design I came up with to force the OP AMP to deliver wild gain and clipping.

I am also sorry about the capacitor facing backwards, I use a software called EAGLE, which I am still learning, and I cannot find any image for nonpolarized capacitor. It's very irritating to myself as well, because I draw the schematics by hand onto paper before transferring them to computer, and the translation phase from paper to screen can be annoying when there are small inconsistencies such as that.

If anyone knows a good part library for EAGLE I'd love to know about it.

Anyways, without further ado, construction photos.

STEP 1:
This is the first time I have done this, I have written a small report on the project I am going to build and the parts I am using. This way I can record specific information about a build, and how it affected the outcome of the project.

>>696544
Because of the comment you raised, I found an new part library for EAGLE CAD, created by a group called Adafruit. Hope it's good!

STEP 2:
Solder the board together.
Nothing much special here.

>>697122
STEP 3:
Get an enclosure.
I'm using a cheap Chinese brand 1590BB size aluminum die-cast enclosure. They're pretty nifty, they cost roughly $5 a piece.

I usually try to give them an artistic touch, on the last build I posted (SEE OP) and this enclosure, I soaked the aluminum in some really old PCB etchant I had lying around just to see what would happen. It began to smoke, bubble and sizzle a lot, so I just agitated the mixture and let it do it's work. It came out looking pretty cool. So I grabbed a mason jar of six month old coffee from my garage (don't ask) and threw that into the disgusting vat and I got a few colored stains (visible in the OP pedal).

Then, because this project is currently dubbed "Scratcher" I scratched the 'top' plate with steel wool.

I'm content with it as a prototype, but when I begin building more of these, I intend to give them more than one acid soak.

>>697124
I use a stereo jack for the input side, so that I can (theoretically) wire the offboard wiring to the 9V connector, so that the pedal can only turn on when a plug is in the input jack.

If you're not familiar with this process, it's fairly simple. You wire the ground plug to the circuit ground, and the stereo connection to the -9V wire. I mixed them up, for reasons you'll understand in the next two pics, and now my pedal will turn on even if no plug is inserted. Fixing asap.

>>697126
This is one of the easiest ways to bunch your wires together in my opinion.

Also, Blue isn't a bad beer, I'm not crazy about it either, but it's definitely palatable.

>>697127
This is one of the easiest ways to lose track of which wire was connected to which pin in my opinion.

But I was too lazy to unwind, mark the wire, and rewind. So I figured it was a 50/50 guess to match the right wire to the right location.
(Stereo to -9V, GND to GND)
I was wrong.

>>697128
This stomp switch is a piece of shit.
I bought three of these cheap "Taiwanese blue" 3PDTs from Tayda Electronics, and I can see why they were so cheap now. They don't have any holes drilled into the pins, and they're not gold plated!

So, to solder your wires to these, you must first lay the wire parallel to the pin...

>>697129
... And then solder the rest of the fucking switch...

Not as bad as it looks, takes a little extra time and heat, but in the end, it works alright.

So this picture shows the completed offboard wiring, minus the LED. I did that at the very end.

>>697131
Closed her up, gave the project a quick test through the old 100Watt Peavey, sounded great, but I substituted a 47pF Capacitor for C2 (>>696310) instead of the 1000pF I had written on the schem for curiosity purposes.
I regretted that decision, but I will swap it tonight.

Sorry I didn't take any drilling pictures, that was fairly straightforward. I traced the potentiometers, jacks, switches, and LED onto a piece of paper I measured to the size of the faceplate, taped the paper to the faceplate, and then drilled holes in it.

Nothing special to report.

>>697132
LED wiring.
I use RGB LEDs for most of my pieces, I like using them, they're fun to work with and allow for a lot of creativity. I wired two 1k ohm resistors to the Red + Green pins, and a 470 ohm resistor the the Vcc pin. I realized I could probably have just wired one 1k resistor to both pins, but I figured it would cause less problems this way. Resistors are concealed beneath tape.

>>697133
Next, insulation. I usually cover the bottom side of the circuit board with electrical tape, and then line the bottom of the enclosure with leather scraps (gifts from a supportive relative), but I've run out of leather scraps, and I drink a LOT of coffee, specifically Cafe Bustelo brand. Well, I tested it for conductivity (just to be safe) and it turns out it will make a perfectly fine insulation for the circuit!

Perfect! Now I have another reasons to buy coffee.

>>697134
With that done, I needed only to seal it up and put on the knobs. Unfortunately, I only had one leftover yellow knob, I have another on a different pedal of mine, but I'll need to stick a different knob on that pedal if I'm to steal the yellow knob from it.

All in all, project finished! This was a LOT of fun to build, and I think the customer will be very satisfied!

Questions? Comments?

>>697135
By the way, the LED may look green from this angle, but it's actually yellow if viewed from farther away, and red if viewed from a different angle.

Silly RGB LEDs.

Also, these gold mesh things are the bees knees, I've been using a sponge for TOO LONG. I popped into the RadioShark and picked one up the other day, $10 is definitely more than I'd like to pay, but I'm admittedly a cheapass about buying parts, so disregard my frugality.

>>696544
I promise I'm not fully incompetent.

>>697129
I spent a bit and bought a few Carling 3PDT footswitches from StewMac. Didn't want to take a chance at cheap parts where the foot meets the pedal. They cost a premium at $12/ea, but StewMac seems like an easy source for them.

>>697150
I've only heard good things about StewMac, they also supply a lot of helpful charts and information about guitar construction.

$12/ea is a premium to pay, but it sure is nice to build projects with good quality parts.

I usually use some more expensive $3/$4 3PDT stomps from Tayda or Mammoth, but since I have these leftover stomps lying around, I figured that I might as well use them.

>>697139
tip cleaners and flux if you got it I find essential to soldering, it's so satisfying to clean off that tip lmao

>>697238
I used to have tip cleaner lying around, I filled that little tin with so many holes that it began to look like the surface of the moon. I completely agree, it IS very satisfying, the sizzle, the shiny tip, the whole experience is rewarding.

I used to use flux, but I find it's not so important anymore, I use Rosin-Core Solder, which has flux built into it, so I find it very easy to solder without additional flux.

So, build finally finished. My "artistry" work on this pedal is greatly inferior to my last attempt, seen >>695256.

I also did not like this style of 1590BB very much either. It was cheaper than my usual stuff, and now I can see that I should've sprung for the good stuff.

All in all, this project was very rewarding, and I think that I will begin working on a new design entirely! Oh boy! I love designing new things!

>>697265
AUDIO TEST OUT NOW!

You can hear the sounds of my latest build, build pictured here if any of you are interested in building one yourself, you'll probably get sounds like you'll hear here.

https://soundcloud.com/eenc/lcratcher-v6-audio-telt-1

I'll upload another test soon, with guitar strumming and piano scratching.

>???
>???

>>697279
out of curiosity have you by chance come across the circuit for an orange squeezer? I'd love to make one... since they're about 200$ to buy...

>>697534
Yeah, I have come across that schem before, I couldn't honestly say where. I sift through a lot of them.

I found a bunch of compressor schematics here:
http://www.mif.pg.gda.pl/homepages/tom/schematics.htm

Just Ctrl+F compressor.
No Orange Squeezer, but still plenty to choose from.

>>697780
On second thought that schem is a tad odd. Considering I'm not sure what pin is connecting the 3080 OP AMP to the center post of the Sensitivity potentiometer.

Is there a way to take a schematic and work it into an PCB etching design?

I think I was told about a program called EAGLE or something that you could do that with. Would something like that take a lot of EE knowledge?

>>698265
Yes.
I do this rather often, I use EAGLE to create the schematics, and then use it's build in PCB creator to make PCBs for etching.

It does not take a lot of EE knowledge, it's more of like a puzzle you create and assemble yourself.
It does have a learning curve, but once you get the hang of it it becomes a cinch.

I know it sounds intimidating, but give it a shot! It's not as hard as it sounds!

Here's a circuitboard I made on my own, it's NOT perfect, especially because I forgot to connect those two resistors at the top to the +V source. But it wasn't all that hard. The program helps you assemble it with the "autorouter" tool and the "ratsnest" tool.

>>698315
That's awesome as hell, I'm definitely going to look into it.

A friend and I are looking to put together a few pedals named after local urban legends, and possibly sell them through a local shop. I figure if I get into etching my own PCB for it, larger scale production will be easier.

>>698331
>>698315
Okay, so, holy shit, is there a way to sort through these components better?

I'm so lost in these endless libraries.

I think I should try replicating schems for a bit to get the hang of it.

>>698315
EAGLE is the way to do it.

BUT, for those of us who care about GNU/Freedom, I've had success with the GNU gEDA suite. It lakes a decent way to manage your component library, but otherwise it's actually a decent suite of tools.

>>698331
Thanks a lot, ShameOnA!
If you're serious, I would read up on it.
I watched a few videos on Youtube and got the basics of PCB making down after that.
As for making some local-legend themed pedals, I think that's really cool! Nothing like instilling culture in your projects!
Also, if you're interested in PCB etching, I would highly recommend buying Press-n-peel PCB transfer paper. I used to be a cheap shit and use high-gloss photocopy paper and magazine paper, and that was seriously frustrating. Once I started using the good (but somewhat pricey) stuff, I found it to be a lot easier.
Just a heads-up, if you've never assembled a pedal from scratch before, I would suggest reading some guides. A drill press is extremely helpful for drilling holes in your PCB boards. Just make sure you wear a mask!

>>698338
Get the "Adafruit" library. It's the best library I've found so far, there's only one problem with it. As seen >>697780, there aren't any schematic pics for non-polarized capacitors. So you just have to disregard that.
>Here's the link:
https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-Eagle-Library


>>698351
I've never heard of GNU/Freedom, but I'm sure it's just as good as any other program, whatever you're most competent with is probably the safest bet.

>>698750
How do you represent a line going to ground in EAGLE?

Is there something in the Adafruit library?

>>699039
Okay, so, having worked a bit, I have a couple more questions.

Would it be possible to work a spring recoil and say, a lo-fi circuit into the same pedal? How would one go about doing that?

I'm planning on going to a local college's library tomorrow to research schematics design and the basics behind this sort of electrical engineering, so hopefully I won't have as many stupid questions.

>>699039
You'll have to search "GND" or "Ground" in the "add a part" section.
I know Adafruit library has such a thing.
Don't forget to import the adafruit library into EAGLE.

>>699080
No worries mate, ask all the dumb questions you like, I'll humor them, after all, I went through most of the same things when I was learning.

A good tip is to check out instructables.com.
I learned how to make my DIY spring reverb from another person's design there.
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Spring-Reverb/

Definitely doable to mount the two pieces together, but you'll need to look into how you will enclose the sonnofagun because the spring takes up a healthy amount of room, and so does the speaker you'll want to stick on the other end of it. The maker of this piece used rather small pieces, and it looks quite nice, but I used a larger spring, and a larger speaker, it ended up looking... odd.

As seen here. The base is a coffee can full of sandbags with the speaker inserted, the spring is visible.
I'd work on experimenting with the idea a lot. You'll learn so much more by trial and error than by computing gain of transistors from books. That does not mean you should disregard basic electronic principles.

Remember, you need to build this with your ears, because when you play it, that's how you'll appreciate it.


GOOD LUCK!
If it takes too long to reply to me here, you can always email me at
emclosuit@gmail.com
>please don't sign me up for spam.

>>699475
For some reason I had to get the GND from one of the default libraries.

Just one more dumb question for now: I have a schematic and the "OUTPUT" is on the arrow on a pot, so, instead of running that pot's output to a mono jack, could I continue the output to an entirely separate schematic? Like, can you just string effects like that?

>>699634
Correction: 2 questions.

What audio jacks are used for this? I don't really know how I'd wire in a stereo jack, nor do I know if what adafruit has (5 pins) is what I need.

>>699634
Ah, well the libraries can be really tricky sometimes.

A lot of pedals end with the middle lug of an pot, that's just your typical "LEVEL" / "VOLUME" rig, to wire that up in EAGLE, you'll need to work on the "board" side, not the "schematic" side. On the board side you can place vias, and run traces anywhere you'd like, so you just need to run a trace somewhere you're comfortable with drilling a hole to wire to the output jack.

Something you should know,
OFFBOARD wiring is everything that isn't on the board, switches, pots, jacks. That's stuff that shouldn't be bothered to be shown on the schem, (except pots) because it will often be the same no matter what pedal you design.

You can definitely string effects though, some very popular pieces are effect pedals that stick more than one effect in the same enclosure.
So yeah, you can just start another schematic, (preferably on another board, for reliability reasons) and wire the output of one to the input of the other, or to a EFFECT/BYPASS switch.

>>699638
Okay, so let's talk about offboard wiring.
You're going to want to use a stereo jack for the input, and a mono jack for the output.

You really don't want to wire the output of the circuit directly to the output jack, that means that you'd have some issues with bypassing the effect in case you want to turn it on or off while playing.

I've made three pictures to explain offboard wiring, i'll talk you through it too to help.

First: The offboard wiring is shown here.
Using a 3PDT, you wire everything to the switch.The switch controls everything.

The positive voltage goes through the switch, to be connected to the circuit.
The input and output jacks are also connected to the switch to be connected to either the circuit, or each other.

I wire my LEDs so that they're connected to the circuit, this lets me know without a shadow of a doubt that the circuit is powered.

>>699638
>>699634
I'm not sure what this 5pin thing you speak of is, you don't mean a DIP IC with 5 pins, do you?

Anyways, offboard wiring pt 2.

When the circuit is powered!

First things first, once a switch is inserted, the ground section of the mono plug will touch the stereo connector, which will connect the battery connector to ground, completing the circuit, allowing the effect to be turned on. There are really two failsafes here if you count the switch.

Anyways, when the switch is thrown upwards, you can see the electrical pathways that flow through the switch, connecting the battery to the effect, as well as the jacks.

Pretty self explanatory.
Feel free to ask questions if you have any, all the same.

FYI, I have never wired an external DC jack, BUT I know you can learn how to wire that, albeit in a different fashion than I am explaining to you, here:
Tonepad.com is an excellent resource! As luck would have it, they even have an Orange Squeezer Schematic!
>http://tonepad.com/getFileInfo.asp?id=76

>>699638
>>699634
Last picture, when the bypass is enabled:

The voltage supply is disconnected from the circuit, so you're not consuming juice when the circuit isn't being powered, good stuff.
As you can see, the electrical pathways skip the circuit completely, and jump straight to the output jack, skipping everything.
Not much complicated there, just a little wire loop soldered between two pins. However, the ground is still connected from the mono plug to the ground, even though the circuit isn't powered, not that it matters much in bypass mode.

Questions, comments?

>>695256
I'm wiring up a footswitch for my amp today, I'll post pics when do it. I also got the parts for an Octavia I'm trying to build this weekend, and I'm considering doing a true bypass/range/led mod on my wah. will post pics if I get to them

>>699746
Oooohhhh, damn, that really cleared a lot up for me.

So, just to make sure, the offboard wiring with the switch (I'm assuming the bit with 6 leads) pretty much connects everything and has a passive through path so that when no power is reaching the circuit the signal will still travel through to the output? However, you prefer to wire the LED onto the actual circuit so there's no chance that a power issue between a switch lead and the board will provide false LED info.

>>699748
This is the 5-pin thing I mentioned.

The external DC power is actually really simple as long as you have a 9v wall wart/cable. The only issue there is that if you plug it into a crappy socket, the current may not be as steady as one would hope. I read on the Beavis Audio Site that simply adding a capacitor to ground along the +9v line right after the jack helps smooth out the delivery.

>>699749
I saved all of those pictures, they're probably going to save my ass when I get down to the first pedal.

>>699753
So, how many leads will a stereo and mono jack have that I'll have to worry about?

If it's only 2 or so, would it be worth putting 2-pin molex connector systems in place?

>>699752
did one, real basic trs jack to 2 spst switches. saved me $60 and i can replace the cord without soldering in a new one

>>699874
like magic

>>695278

Do you have a resource for where to buy clam-shell style pedals (like the kind in your photo) because everyone seems to do the EH style pedal cases, but true pedal cases seem impossible to find

So, how does one add the soldering points for everything not included in a schematic onto the board in EAGLE?

>>697129
You bought the pcb-mount switches instead of the solder lug ones, dumbass.. Tayda sells both kinds. Never blame the seller if you ask for the wrong item.

>>697781
The 3080 is an OTA, not an opamp. Read a datasheet.

>>699880
>Resource to buy clam-shell style pedals.
You know, I actually don't. I simply rebuilt an old Boss CS-3 to do that. I know they exist, I've seen them before, but I cant recall where.

>>700610
Haha, yeah I know. Pretty dumb of me honestly, but hey, live and learn. Just a warning to others who aren't aware of the follies of cheap 3PDTs.

>>700612
That would explain a lot. I've looked up OTAs before for some unique pedal builds. I shelved the idea when I saw the availability of the OTAs I was looking for. As for datasheets, I've got so many that part numbers sometimes bleed together.

>>699753
Glad I could help.
That's exactly right, wiring the LED to the board will ensure you have a positive identifier that the board is either powered or not powered.
This is incredibly helpful the first time you put your circuit into the enclosure, once everything is inside of the box, and you test the effect on/bypass, if you notice that you're not getting any sound from the circuit when you toggle the switch, you can safely assume that the problem doesn't stem from an unpowered circuit if the LED is lit.

Which means you probably have a bad component or a broken trace somewhere. Not the most relieving sense of relief in the world, but at least it narrows the issues down.

Also, I did not know that existed in EAGLE, live and learn. It is way too complicated looking for what it is though, I've just gotten used to pretending the offboard wiring doesn't exist on the schematic view of EAGLE.

I'm sure they will, I keep reference drawings of mine all over because of how useful a visual reference can be.

HAPPY BUILDING!

Pics: a visual guide on how to add offboard wiring connections to your EAGLE builds

>>700076
See >>700636
and this post.

>>699762
Stereo Jack - Three leads.
1: Ground, connect this to your common ground.
2: Stereo pin, the shorter of two tips, connect this to the (-)Negative terminal of the 9V snap.
3: Tip, signal carrying pin, connect this directly to your common throw of one of your three poles on your footswitch. (The middle lug)

Mono:
1: Ground, connect this to you know where.
2: Tip: Same as input stereo. Connect to a different, and preferably adjacent pole.

I wouldn't go so far as to suggest a molex connector system, unless modularity be a fish in the sea ye be seekin'.

>>699752
Make mods, post pics, share stories!
The more content that shows up here the better!


>>699874
>>699875
Nice nice! So basically 2 switches to one stereo jack to toggle a setting on the amp? Neat stuff anon. Congrats on your build!

>>700636
Don't take my approach of keeping offboard wiring off of the schematic view to heart.
As we have now seen from >>699753's post, you could actually include all of the offboard wiring on your schematic view.

I find it easier to pretend it doesn't exist when I'm drawing a schematic, because it's always the same for every pedal build. But if you want to draw it up on your schematics, you're perfectly capable of doing so.


>Pic is of a "windmachine" oscillator.

Downloaded EAGLE and am looking to try it out tonight

This is totally relevant to my interests.

I've been trying to get into basic pedal building but not having much luck due to my lack of electronic knowledge...I was hoping to be able to learn some basics through simple pedal building and although I've not managed to build anything that works yet I think I've learnt a lot this last week. Beanies audio has been a great help too, lots of good info there.
What in your opinions would be the simplistic pedal to build using a battery for power, incorporating a led light and maybe a switch with obviously an input and output jack?

>>702016
>>702016
>>702016
I've been looking at building a big muff pi tone pedal from here:
http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/BigMuffToneControl/
Could I add a battery to this or would that make it too complicated for a first build? Think I might try it as it is as it will teach me how to wire the 2 input and output plugs plus the pot.
I have a dam meathead kit and a deep blue delay kit ready to build too. I've put all the components onto the stripboard from the meathead kit and hopefully the soldering is all ok and not bridged onto the other tracks.
Also does anyone know if you can buy oversized stripboard from anywhere in the U.K as that would be a great help until I'm a bit more confident in my soldering skills?
Pic related it's the meathead board

Hey guys, is this schematic rite? what would be a good addition/mod to it?
I can only find 2pdt switches so i'll maybe use that millenium BYPass, is it worth it?
Also, any cheap ways to make enclosures?

>>702016
1. Schematic, yep looks like a basic fuzz face to me. It's about as right as it's going to get.
2. DPDT will work fine for your first build, you won't need to build any sort of millenium bypass for this, just a standard bypass as shown >>699749 will work.

All you need to do is ignore the poles that connect the battery to the circuit. Because if you build it just like it's shown in your schem, the circuit will come alive the moment a plug is inserted.

3. Cheap enclosures? Yeah, go thrift shopping, I've used random metal boxes from thrift stores as enclosures before. They're definitely not the best enclosures in the world, but you can pay in cash and get the enclosure asap.
Or you can try radioshack, they sell an enclosure identical to >>699874's pic.
OR you can buy them online. Tayda, Mouser, MammothElectronics, Ebay, any of those places sell them for roughly $3-6. I buy 1590BB sized boxes for most of my enclosures. I like that size the best, but feel free to experiment and try new things.

>>702016
>>702031
I would suggest that you try >>702033's circuit for your first build.

>>702031
There isn't any reason that circuit would need to be powered except to ignite an LED, while that's not necessarily a problem, it just isn't a required factor for the circuit to function.

Building kits sounds like a blast, I've always wanted to buy one, but every time I look at them I think to myself "I could just buy the parts and build it myself for less." So I never buy them, and never find the time to build them either. Hah.

I did just finish a new build last night. Here are the pics!

>>702118
I bought this enclosure for about $10 from Mammoth Electronics. They run a diy guitarists internet shop. Their prices are high, but they sell good quality products.

All in all, I think it was a good enclosure, the powdercoating really justified the price, although I went and scratched off most of it anyways so that I could stain the aluminum.
Which is a really cool way to color your pedals if you don't mind playing with hazardous chemicals.
A little gold paint afterwards for touch up sealed the deal.

>>702123
To stain the aluminum enclosure, just soak the enclosure in a bath of PCB etchant for a while, be sure to "agitate" the mixture too. After 5-15 minutes, you'll get some cool "punk/industrial" stains that look "rusty".
Edgy enough for you?

>>702125
4/5

I also sanded down the top of the RGB LED I stuck inside of it, I had heard from several other places it makes the LED appear slightly dimmer or something. I tried it to see what the fuss was about, I could take it or leave it.

>>702126
Last picture.

This is the Scratcher V6 by the way, a great little design that I am very proud of creating myself.
The schematic is here. >>696310
Feel free to experiment with different values, the value of C2 for example can yield very different results when changed.

It was a great project, and I hope that all of you other pedal builders out there can be in my shoes someday.

>>702130
It looks interesting, any sound clip for it?

i built a Trotsky drive yesterday.
very simple, but i like it.

however, i found the germaniums to cut too much, making the gain almost arbitrary and the output very low.

solution; double the diodes(in series) to double the headroom before clipping.

i used aa132 germaniums with a switch to have aaz17(slightly lower voltage) on one phase for asyncronus distortion.

i got the kt132, but i also tried with a regular 2n2222. not a very big differance. bit it is noticable.

still a prototype obviously.

>>702609
schematic

>>702609
That's a modded electra OD right? i was planing on doing one, but it's a bit too simple i think, maybe a mxr+ would do the trick.
Also I saw some "bgi llama whatever" fx that used a 4049 inverter, it seemed very easy, anyone thinks it would be a good build?

>>702476
Yeah, I've got two, but I'm dicking around with soundcloud, it's acting funny, not letting me log in or search, It'll be a minute.

>>702609
Looks cool anon. Personally I am enamored with clipping as a soundeffect, especially when coupled with distortion. Nothing makes me happier than a fuzzy tone.
Keep playing around with it! Maybe you can find some other mods to perform with it, like using it as a gain stage for a larger pedal. You can always make the schematic larger!

I'm honestly curious, which did you prefer, the KT132 or the 2N2222?

Still, great build. Have you thought about putting it in a box?

>>702842
Modded? No way, that's the real deal. That's the very first overdrive design, created by a Russian man named Trotsky. If you're a real purist you use the KT132 transistor that he used back in Russia to make the design himself. But you can always experiment and try different transistors with different characteristics. It's hallmarked as one of the first guitar pedals to exist, audio FX have come a long way since then.

As far as the 4049 inverter build, I would say go for it! I looked up a pedal that used a 4049 inverter once, and ordered the parts, but then when they finally came, I had forgotten all about the pedal I was going to build, so I still have the inverter and other parts lying around.

BGI Llama? I'll look into it.
But seriously, give it a try if you think you can handle it!

>>702476
Sorry for the inconvenience, but the best I can do is a download link, Soundcloud is acting all sorts of fucked up right now.
>Sound test 1, just guitar and scratcher. No screaming.
http://share.myflare.com/dnCpCf

>Sound test 2, bass guitar, scratcher v6, Deep Blue Digital Delay, Eleca Wah pedal.
http://share.myflare.com/FkWbXN

ENJOY!

Honorary mention to the brand of insulation I use.

>>702861

I should probably mention that I use the plastic foil wrappers from Cafe Bustelo Coffee bricks (not tin cans) to insulate my pedals. The stuff works great because it's non-conductive, and I drink plenty of coffee anyways. So this way I get to recycle the container instead of throwing it away.

>>702856
>I'm honestly curious, which did you prefer, the KT132 or the 2N2222?
>Still, great build. Have you thought about putting it in a box?

i havent played with it enough to make a decision, i might use a switch to be able to toggle both
i got aluminium boxes laying around. when i'm happy with it i'll box it.

the clipping is fine with the double diodes, but i dont get much of a difference with the asynchronous clipping switch.
maybe just 1 diode on one phase at the flip of the switch?

>Modded? No way, that's the real deal. That's the very first overdrive design, created by a Russian man named Trotsky.
LEL

>>702966
Oh man, did I say Trotsky? I totally meant Tolstoy.
:^)
>I am now aware what a huge idiot I am.

Anyways, I know what you mean, it's important to like a design before you box it, boxing a pedal is the point of no return.
As for asymmetrical clipping, I'm not the best at noticing it either, unless you start mixing in different types of diodes to do the work for you.
It's much easier to notice on a scope than with your ears anyways.

>>702966
I should probably mention that Jack Orman has some really cool articles about exactly this.
I'd check out:
This:
>http://www.muzique.com/lab/zenmos.htm
and this:
>http://www.muzique.com/lab/tclip.htm

i sold my fuzzfactory today, no real profit but its fun to help guitarists with no clue how shit works.
i'll just build another.

his brother has recruited me to build some clones for him. a rangemaster and some sort of zvex boost(hard on or something).
both are simple, single transistor designs.
he is also begging me to box up my tubeamp project (thread recently 404'd) so he can use it when his band records in two weeks time.

damn, its fun to get some recognition from musicians. maybe i can exchange gear and repairs for guitar lessons^^

Hey guys, I have some old computer parts laying around, could I scavenge some parts and make a guitar pedal?

>>703716
Yes, no, maybe so.
To build the most basic pedal, a standard fuzzface, you need:
Transistors, (for simplicity's sake we'll call them high gain NPNs.)
Resistors
Capacitors (Comp parts probably have electrolytics only)
And 1 or 2 potentiometers.

If you've got all that sitting around on some computer parts, sure you can build a pedal, second hand components tend to be flaky, be careful with the desoldering (if you have to do that.)

>>703599
Congratulations Anon, that's some really great shit. Profit isn't always necessary if you're happy with doing business. Zvex has gotten a lot of rep for his business, not sure how he started it but I respect the man for his work. I read in a WIRED magazine that he has a team of artists who handpaint his pedals. I wish I had his resources.

Also, I know that feel, talking to musicians about what you can build for them is pretty damn fun, in my experience they get really excited thinking about the new noises I offer them.

Good luck with you sidehobby anon! I hope you get some bombastic lessons!

>>695472
building this right now, first own Electric project, but have some experience soldering etc. from my job. I don't have a soldering station myself yet, so I use the one at uni. Just noticed I soldered the LED in with wrong polarity. fml
I will take pictures if I can, but I don't own a camera...
I must say though, I am a little confused by the bottom left corner, Why is it driven with 18V? And why is it noted as +9/-9V although the -9V goes directly to ground? Also, wouldn't the LM386 just clip the negative parts of the signal like this, since it doesn't have a negative voltage supply relative to ground?
Oh! And why is there a 1mF cap between the switch and the amp? I'd guess to protect from voltageripple caused by the switch? just a guess tho, I'm confused...
>mfw

>>705022
>Why is it driven with 18V?

it isnt. the guy who drew that is a dumb-ass who needed to remind himself that ground was the negative of the 9V battery, so he called it 9V- which is not the same as -9V. so, it uses a single 9V battery.

>wouldn't the LM386 just clip the negative parts of the signal

nope, the LM386 is designed specifically for single-ended applications, so it magically biases pin 3 to half supply voltage, so no signals are gonna get clipped.

>why is there a 1mF cap between the switch and the amp
that's 1000uF to you, mister. nobody uses the mF notation coz it's gay.
that's a standard thing you put on all audio circuits, coz big caps are filled with goodness. they filter any transients on the power supply, and create a low-impedance path for AC signals to ground. (which is a good thing, even though it would require a long explanation as to why)

>>705119
>dumb-ass who needed to remind himself that ground was the negative of the 9V battery
that shit rustles my jimmies bad.
almost as much as the retarded practice of refering to transistors and transformers as 'trannies'

icrieevrytiem.jpeg

>>705022
you can prolly skimp on the 1000µf if your power isnt retardedly bad.
this wont be sourcing shit as long as you don't drive a speaker with the lm386..so a 1000µf seems overkill to me.
if you are using a battery you can safely ignore it.

BROTIP: ALR.GR + M = µ
ufor micro is so last year

>>705241
>almost as much as the retarded practice of refering to transistors and transformers as 'trannies'

>>705119
>dumb-ass who needed to remind himself that ground was the negative of the 9V battery
well that takes a load of my mind!
>nope, the LM386 is designed specifically for single-ended applications
oh lawdy! I thought to myself that an OPamp circuit would generate less noise, but with the circuitry I'd need for the negative voltage (it will be driven by 9V supply). I will remember this!
>that's 1000uF to you, mister.
sorry, I'm a physics student so I'm used to that. I will stop posthaste!
> they filter any transients on the power supply, and create a low-impedance path for AC signals to ground.
Got it, that's very practical and good to know! I remember having read something about using a lot of different capacitances across a circuit, when using a cap to isolate or stabilize, to get a low impedance over a higher bandwidth...
>>705241
> practice of refering to transistors and transformers as 'trannies'
people actually do that? This makes me sad...
>you can prolly skimp on the 1000µf if your power isnt retardedly bad.
Ah, it's fine, I got three of them for 900000µ€ in a sale at a local store. Also, power will prolly be retardedly bad, since it'll be a birthdaypresent for a pal of mine who plays guitar and his supply is cheapo crap, so yeah...

Anyways, thanks a lot for the help, fellow /diy/nosaurs! I appreciate it! As a thanks, here are dancing birds!

>>705310
>900000µ€
touché

revisited my first pedal today, a fuzz factory.
i rebuilt it to be negative ground, not positive.

>>705642
cramped and awful, i know. bit aslong as it works i dont care since it was my first box to begin with.

i never use batteries so i have no reason to open it save for modding.

added a propper dc plug also.

i almost forgot.
i've also made a super hard on(retarded name) prototype
for the guy who wants to use my amp, mentioned earlier.

haven't tested it yet.

>>705649

>>705646
>>705642
Congrats anon! Good build!
No worries about a cramped box as long as everything fits and works!
Also, nice transistor sockets, I recognize that cost cutting measure you've implemented.
No worries about a cramped box, especially if you're only using a DC jack.
Still, cool build, looks pretty good, no knobs though eh?

Here's the big question though, how does it sound? Have a clip?

>>705649
Cool looking prototype here too, I wonder where the name came from too. You've got great board placement, especially with the caps lying down.
Say, those are some cool boards, I usually buy copper blanks, but I've been fond of predrilled and tinned boards lately. I recognize the number, nein spracken ze Deutsch!
Else I would try to buy some, hah!

Keep on building, your stuff looks neat!

>>697279
that 'test' seriously has the makings of a beautiful ambient track.

>>705723
>how does it sound
it seems i fucked it up somehow and its acting weirdly. i need to look into it. been sick lately so i didnt feel like faultseeking.
honestly, I'm a terrible guitar player and i need to stop making amps and pedals and get my shit together and learn how to play.

i have made 2 fuzzfactorys both positive and neg gnd,
and they sound identical.
its a self oscillating mess with so much fuzz i don't really know what to do with it. if i turn the volume all the way down on my guitar the pedal picks up radio and i can hear muffled talkshow voices from the amp.


the hard-on is a bit strange, but i honestly don't know what to expect from it.. it does boost so i guess its working..
the circuit is so simple that i cant have fucked that up.

the boards i use are like 3£ for 10 on e bay or there abouts.
i used them for alot of stuff. even at work.
you can get a lot of different protoboards for this purpose but these are of decent quality.

as you probably can see i never bother with battery terminals.
i have a power with a stompswitch i made myself rated for 2 amps so i can fuel my vavlecaster.
batteries are expencive and i always forget to pull the cables out. besides, opening the boxes everytime you change a battery is a bit of a bitch.

>>706854
Thank you very much Anon, to be honest, I'm in the same boat as >>707230, I'm not all that talented with guitars. I try to design my effects to let them do the largest portion of the work.

In that test, I ran my guitar through my Scratcher, a Digital Delay, and lastly my Wah pedal. With the Wah and my Guitar's volume control, I can force the scratcher into oscillating, creating those high pitched screams you hear.

I would like to create ambient music, but I haven't yet sat down with the intent of creating it.
Thank you for the compliment however.

>>707230
>i turn the volume all the way down on my guitar the pedal picks up radio
Jeez I hate that shit, I've torn my hair out trying to debug that issue, it could be anything from a bad joint on the input/output jacks to a shitty soldering joint to ground.
I honestly don't have much advice to offer in regards to repairing a shitty ground, I got so frustrated whenever that would happen that I would scrap the whole board and build another.
Good luck with that.

>as you probably can see i never bother with battery terminals.

I find that rather odd, although it is a bitch to open an enclosure just to change the battery, I always find myself designing battery powered pieces, I honestly need to start putting DC jacks on my pedals, I've been getting better at offboard wiring, so I think the next one I build will include a DC jack.

>the boards i use are like 3£ for 10 on e bay or there abouts.
That's a really good price, I should look into buying boards from ebay.

>the hard-on is a bit strange ... the circuit is so simple that i cant have fucked that up.

That's probably a good thing, strange is good. Circuits too simple to fuck up are also good. Gratz on the builds anon.

Take some time to learn to play, I know that I should.

>>707413
On that note, I'm going to try to build a Fuzz Factory today, found a schem online and it looks pretty easymode. I'm going to use 2N5088s instead of the germanium transistors though, so it will definitely sound different.
I might use transistor sockets to make it swappable...

Hoping for the best, I also have a question, in hopes someone here can explain this to me.
On the attached pic, the designer has elected to tie the LED directly to the effect/bypass switch.

Why would they do that? The pedal turns on immediately when an jack is inserted into the input, and the bypass signal path is labelled as "ground" when it's not actually tied to ground.

I know that BOSS pedals do this, and I always figured it was to diminish the 'pop' of toggling the switch, or to keep the effect always ready to play from the moment it's hooked into the pedal chain, but it seems rather trivial to me.

I always wire my offboard wiring so that the circuit's power is toggled by the switch, and the LED is on whenever the circuit is powered.
Is there something I am missing here, or is this just a case of "six of one, half dozen of the other?"

>>707413
Update:
I just breadboarded the Zvex Fuzz Factory, with a few adjustments, only 10k pots, and I used a pair of 2N5088s and MPSA13s instead of the usual AC128s. I don't have any germs lying around so I tried something new.
I was largely unimpressed, it just didn't give me any fuzz. I think this is simply because I lack the magic of the germanium transistors.

Not really all that surprising, like trying to bake a cake without eggs and acting surprised when it's flat.

Oh well, I'm still looking to create a simple fuzz style effect, if anyone has any suggestions they should drop a tip or two.

got some ac126's today. i tried one on this thing >>702609
very muffled and not bright at all. i could wail on the guitar without it being over the top. limited use but fun, i think i'll add a switch to swap between transistors.

>>707413
>>i turn the volume all the way down on my guitar the pedal picks up radio
>Jeez I hate that shit, I've torn my hair out trying to debug that issue, it could be anything from a bad joint on the input/output jacks to a shitty soldering joint to ground.
>I honestly don't have much advice to offer in regards to repairing a shitty ground, I got so frustrated whenever that would happen that I would scrap the whole board and build another.
>Good luck with that.
ah, you misunderstand.. i like that feature^^

>>707415
posted the wrong schem?

>>707476
are you sure you got it right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kfk4to2G8Y0
this dude used 2n5087s

>>707476
afaik Si fuzzes "harder" or "harsher" than Ge's smoothed clips. weather it is diode or transistor clipping

>>707477
Yeah, I did. The fuzz factory schem was posted here >>707413.

>ah, you misunderstand.. i like that feature^^
You may not know it, but you're ripe for the noise music scene. They adore that kind of stuff. Kudos to liking your unexpected outcomes!

>>707479
>>707480
Wow, I really need to take a second look at my work. Mine doesn't sound like that at all.
I do suspect it may also have something to do with using 10uF electrolytic caps instead of nonpolarized ones like the schematic suggests.

Also, hot damn that's a sick fucking paintjob.
Color me impressed.

>>707484
i don't think that is the problem. it's standard in kits for these, and it worked fine for me.

check for proper grounding, signal path. and that the transistors are set properly.

i have experienced a clean signal leaking through the pedal somehow after putting transistors in the wrong way.
making it seem like its working, just not fuzzing or whatever.

its most likely a silly fault you didn't expect. it happens to me all the fucking time^^
you'll figure it out.

>You may not know it, but you're ripe for the noise music scene.
i'm kinda into drone metal so i guess i should try my hand at that.. good job for a fuzz factory too.

>>707488
You were right, I actually had put the transistors in facing backwards. I did not expect that at all. Accidents get the best of us all.

I also figured out the other reason why my pedal sounds so bland is because I'm using NPN gain transistors when I need to be using PNP gain transistors! Very silly fault, got me good.

I don't think I have any PNP transistors, I consider a positive ground to be the work of the devil himself.

Jokes aside, I better go get some.

Drone metal is pretty cool I hear, I have a friend into that stuff, it's really the sort of thing you like if you like that sort of thing.

>>707495
>>707488
Okay, I just got back from the local Radioshack, grabbed some PN2907s, and HOLY SHIT. This circuit is awesome. I regret everything I ever said poorly of PNP transistors.
I am going to box the fuck out of this once I make a pleasureable modification of the base circuit.

Radioshack, as expensive as it is, sometimes comes through, I picked up this hobby by working there. I think their cellphone game is a losing war, but at least there's still respect left in this country for the DIY electronics scene.

>>707495
>>707508
grats on getting it working!

H-hey guys, i had an idea, as its not possible for me to get 3pdt switchs (well, it is, but they are fucking expensive and i have to pay transportation, live far from the sea.) I thought that maybe i could make a relay switching fx?
factors to think about would be:
Space
Price
Quality.
Pic related is my idea, i would need a relay ( or some separate relays) with 2 NO and 1 NC (are there relays like this for this scale?)
In my drawing, things inside red circles are the relay's switchs.
My question is, are there mechanical relays suited for this? electtronic relays? (or maybe a transistor (JFET? MOSFET?) equivalent for this?
tl;dr is this viable? halp!

>>708198
china's free postage doesn't cover where you live?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hot-sale-Black-Durable-3PDT-9-Pin-Effects-Stomp-Foot-Switch-True-Bypass-CIMY-/151306457126?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item233a915026

boss uses fets for bypassing, well documented around the net.

using a relay is very doable but i don't see it saving you any money or hassle

>>708198
Hey there anon!
I understand that 3PDTs can be expensive sometimes, have you checked out taydaelectronics.com? I buy my 3PDTs from there, they usually run for around 3-5USD apiece. But if that's still not an option, I would say that's perfectly possible, mechanical relays are suited for that, they will work just fine. I've seen that design used before:
>http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Fuzz-of-1000-Faces/
A popular DIY effect pedal builder Randofo uses a push SPST to drive a DPDT relay to control the effect/bypass switch in his circuit.
Unfortunately he provides no explanation as how to wire the relay, so I guess that's less helpful than it sounds. Sorry mate.
As for your criteria, I would say relays for switches are efficient in space, tolerable in price, and reliable in quality. I wouldn't worry about a relay's lifespan when used to toggle a stompswitch.

I know that transistors are also viable in some desgins, but I'm not experienced in using transistors for effect switching, but I do know that the RAT uses a DPDT for LED indication and bypass switching.
>http://www.muzique.com/lab/true_bypass.htm

Good luck anon!

>>708237
pedal building is somewhat addictive,
so i suggest buying a pack of ten or so stompswitches.
cheaper that way.

>>708241
It is definitely addictive, I use just about all of the proceeds I make from my sales to buy more parts to build more pedals to sell.
It's a vicious cycle.

Also,>>708198, poster >>708237 shows a really good price for a 3PDT, I know it's an investment, but In my opinion, I would strongly suggest using a 3PDT over an SPST driving a DPDT relay.
But if that's still not an option, it's definitely possible.

>pic unrelated crybaby wah schem

>>708244
Just going to dump a few schematics, maybe someone will find them interesting.

Russian treble booster that I dug up

>>708244
>crybaby wah schem
i wanted to make a crybaby from scratch as i had a shitty plastic pedal housing laying around.
I quickly found that buying a done pcb was cheaper than buying the inductor.
i also found out that my plastic housing sucked balls and my regular old pot was boring.
so i found an empty housing on ebay, sold with a bunch of parts.

so now i had all the makings for a regular crybaby.

i thought i needed som mods at the very least. so i added a 2p6t rotary switch to swap sweep capacitors. very nice to have as it can shifts the range up and down as needed.

i also had two inductors (dimstack and red fazel)
i added a 3p4t rotary to swap between dimestack, red fazel, both in parallel, and both in series.
there is a faint differance between the two's tonality. in perallel it shifts the sweeprange up, in series it shifts it down.

i also added a switch for the 'vocal mod' not that big of a differance, really.

>>697534

http://www.tonepad.com/project.asp?id=5

Tonepad is great, check it out.

i would like to ask your opinion on something:
germanium diodes in series to lower to volume loss compared to Silicon diodes.

4148 and such are usually 4.5v or there abouts, germaniums are 2-3 as far as iv'e seen.
effectively halving your max peak to peak relative to Si.
the trotskydrive i built, further up the thread, had lower than unity output with singe Ge clipping diodes. yet that's what the schematic calls for.

Its the clipping curve characteristic that give them their "tone" not its lower forward voltage, as far as i know.
for a more consistent level in pedals with switchable diodes and such, i've messed with 2 germaniums in series to make them close to the same level as silicons.
and it seems to work well.
An obvious solution, but i have never seen this anywhere before. is there a reason for this?

looks good on a scope and sounds good to me, am i missing something?

>>708558
That's very observant of you, you're correct, clipping characteristics create the tone that shapes the sound. Less than unity gain is odd, perhaps it could be chocked up to less than perfect parts, or some unexpected resistivity?

Perhaps the circuit simply yields less than unity gain when properly built, sometimes there just aren't any adequate explanations to the situations you find yourself in.

I honestly don't know why that trend is so popular, I too wondered this when I discovered such unique gain and clipping from my scratcher schematic when I left an open pin on an OP AMP. I don't know why it's not more popular to do things one way or the other, maybe some one else does, but not I.

But I don't think that's all that important to follow exact operating procedures here. I think that this is a hobby where you get to express yourself a bit, let loose and have fun tinkering and trying new designs. Of course it's very important to follow proper schematic design, and not simply plug pins into breadboards without order, but that aside, it's a fun hobby where you're free to experiment.

I like your curiosity, but I don't think it's that important to wonder why other designers haven't followed your trend, if you like plugging germanium diodes in series, I say stick it in your designs, perhaps I'll give it a whirl sometime and report back to you about how it went for me.

>pic unrelated, simple preamp schem

>>708257
I'd be interested in putting one of those together for a personal project to recreate a Crybaby Wah.

How much would you estimate the parts cost, enclosure, inductor, pcb? Just a ballpark figure would suffice.

>Pic unrelated
Etching an aluminum enclosure with PCB etchant and black coffee. More volatile than painting, but also fun.

>>710544
After the etchant+coffee bath, the aluminum enclosure comes out looking like this.

I think it's pretty cool. Fun stuff, super nasty process, but the results are one of a kind.

>>710545
Close up picture of the "grain" of sorts.
The etchant forms a big puce-yellow bubble, which engulfs the aluminum, I suppose it's a chemical reaction. It produces some really nasty gas, don't breathe it. But it also soaks on the aluminum for a some time, depositing the copper that I have etched away with it previously back onto the aluminum, most noticeable on the screws.

>>710547
If anyone has any question about how to etch their aluminum enclosures like I've done, I'm more than happy to share my methods.

Just ask away!

Hello there folks
I've got some a questions, i'm planning on making a TS-based pedal, but I don't care about buffers and shit, and i plan on doing it with a 3PDT, so no FET gates, and buffers, silly buffers, are those buffers really necessary for the circuit to work decently?
I mean the input buffer and output buffer. i want muh pedal to be TROO BYESPAZ, and i want to simplify the circuit a little.
Also,apart from 1N4148, what are some good diodes for clipping? I guess i should just test as much as i can, but recommendations are never bad.
Also, post if you wish schematics/variations/mods of TS/4558 based pedals.

>>711102
The input and output buffers can be taken out. I would probably replace the 10k at the positive input on A1 to vref with something in the range of 500k to 1M though. The 10k, without a buffer, will present an unnecessarily low impedance to whatever comes before the pedal. Additionally, without the output buffer, the volume control may interact with whatever comes after the pedal in that it would vary the output impedance. Try it without the buffers, if there is no problem, you can omit them.

Also, the pedal can be true bypass and have the buffers at the same time. Just get rid of the jfet switching stuff.

Is there anybody that sells "empty" FX pedal boxes with a potentiometer wired up to the foot pedal (sewing-machine style) for an affordable price?

>>711229
you could feasibly make one quite easily. all you'd need would be a sliding pot and spring and then just mount a pedal

>>711102
You can definitely cut out the buffers, and wire that sucker up to a 3PDT.
As for diodes, try some 1N5817s, and maybe some 1N34As, those are Schottky and Germanium diodes.
You'll find there are differences between the two. I'd definitely breadboard this before you build it, just to see what part values you'll want t
o play with.

I've never built a Tube Screamer but seeing how simple it all is I think it wouldn't be too hard. I'd probably cut out the buffers like you've done, and just replace them with some input/output resistors to make sure the impedance is right.
Which again explains the necessity of a proper breadboarding.

>>711229
Not as far as I know:
Mammoth Electronics sells fully equipped wah/expression pedal enclosures, but that's as far as I know anon.

http://www.mammothelectronics.com/4SWah-Enclosure-p/500-1008.htm

This is /diy/ after all, maybe you can build one like >>711266 suggests.

>>711229
buy a volume pedal and gut it.

for the wah poster earlier i got a good deal on ebay.
mostly the empty crybaby enclosures cost asmuch as a full crybaby, as far as i've seen.

>>695369
>>695472
hey, sorry about the answer that's a month late, i used a 10k pot, and i got the idea of a site called beavis audio research. i rebuilt that abomination and made something I'm proud of. it has a main power on, and bypass/sag switch switch, the red led indicates sag, and the green one will dim accordingly. the dimming ended up being a really neat mistake, but here it is. i will upload the schematic for it if anyone is interested. i guess i don't have a picture of it all together... i will have to get one.

>>711606
put the schem, i'm curious.
I should have made it passive tho.

>>710549
You are using spent PCB etchant?
(FeCl+Cu)+wi

>>711856
Yeah, post a schem!
The more we share the more we learn.

>>711860
Yes. Preferably spent PCB etchant, that way some of the copper will deposit onto the aluminum enclosure.

Right now I'm building/half way designing a three (maybe four) in one fuzz pedal with a simple ring mod and 3 band EQ with a LPF. One fuzz is more distortion like, one is a crazy synth/octave up monster, and the last will be a more hairy, traditional fuzz (currently using Big Muff fuzz circuit). Pic related is part of the current schematic. Mind you, this is very much a WIP, so there's stuff that needs to be added/removed.

Current progress includes getting the first fuzz to behave properly. I was always having something going wank with the gain knob, fuzz sound, etc. However, it finally works for some reason (I suspect it's an impedance issue...maybe).

Also, there's a high pitch note that I figured out to be ~15.5kHz present in the audio. I can't figure out where it's coming from, especially seeing as I've already tried to clean up anything that might be coming from the power supply. But who knows, maybe I missed something. I am only a hobbyist after all. Anyone have any tips that might help with removing that?

>>712235
Almost all of your opamps are incorrectly biased (no return path to ground or reference voltage). That's a more than a sufficient reason for weird unpredictable operation.
Fixing that might help with the oscillation as well, but if not, check your grounding and wiring in general. Doubly so, if you're using a solderless breadboard. Also, make sure the noise does not come from that charge pump. They tend to cause problems.

>>708257
nice mod! Did the 2p6t mod for capacitor as well and true-bypassed the pedal like you.
http://youtu.be/TNyG-5p1cEg

>>712242
thanks.
very nice demonstration.
care to elaborate on the gain and 'Q' mod you have?

>>712235
Wow! That's huge! That must have huge parts!
Haha, jokes aside, I am only a hobbyist myself, I think >>712237 may be onto something however, in respect to TL874C and D.

I've never tried to design a pedal that complex before, it will likely take a lot of fiddling and work. It seems like you've got the right ideas though, with your stages and buffers.

I say, GOOD LUCK! Please keep posting updates as the build goes along, I'd love to see where this project takes you!

>>712237
Charge pumps have caused me a great deal of issues in the past, I've used them before to drive OP AMPs that require +9 and -9 volt sources with only a 9volt battery to power the charge pump, but found that overall it seemed I wasn't getting enough current into the circuit from it.

Is that an unsound design? I always figured the goal of the MAX1044 was to do exactly that.

>>712309
No, inverter is pretty much the most basic use for IC charge pumps. The old ones are generally quite wimpy, though, and the output isn't regulated in any way. The output voltage sags noticeably if you draw more current than just a little.
In addition to that, the older designs are easy to kill (no overcurrent protection) and the switching ripple is often quite tedious to filter away. In many cases it's in the audio range, unless you specifically raise the operating frequency.

Newer designs offer more variety, but unregulated inverters are still very common.

>>712383
Hmm, that's some helpful information anon, thanks!

What IC charge pumps do you typically use for your voltage inversion?

>>712235

looks shit

too linear

aim for synergy

>>712237
>Also, make sure the noise does not come from that charge pump.

Would cha look at that, it was coming from the charge pump's -9V output. I connected a 51 ohm resistor to pin 5 and put two 10uF caps going to ground on both leads of the resistor. That filtered the sucker right out.

>>697121
>it's an experimental design I came up with to force the OP AMP to deliver wild gain and clipping
I'm pretty sure it'll just latch up or down depending on whether it uses p channel or n channel input transistors.

>>712890
Well, I don't make guitar pedals, so I'd assume my favorites wouldn't be that great for pedal use.
But to suggest something, you might want to check LT1054. It's pretty much like MAX1044, but with 100mA maximum output current and around an order of a magnitude lower output impedance. It has an option for regulated output as well. It's rather power-hungry, though.
If you can live with 5V maximum input voltage, then MAX889 would offer 200mA output, regulation, current limit, overtemperature protection and very high switching frequency. It's power-hungry as well.
For (very) low output currents, MAX840 has more reasonable power consumption and very low output ripple (it has an internal linear post-regulator).
For generic unregulated use I usually choose LM2664. There's nothing special in it, but it's small and can live with small ceramic capacitors. It's limited to 5V input.

>>713029
It has a tendency to do that. I'm fiddling around with different designs to find what works best. It's main issues currently is reliability, since oscillations be something my clients usually seek, I have an obligation to keep it "glitchy" as they call it.

So it's definitely a WIP.

>>713139
I understand you're not familiar with the hobby, but I appreciate the help. I'm going to dig up some datasheets and mull over those! Maybe i'll come along some others along the way, thank you for the tips!

2 days without a message, i don't like this.
Whats the simplest tremolo/chorus/vibey out there?
saw the classic univibe but it seemt too complicate for me, transformer, mains connection, etc...

>>714496
I would love to post some work, but I just cant.
I don't mean to be reticent, It's just that I accidentally my soldering iron's heating element, and the new one is in the mail.

Tremolo / Chorus, Vibe?
>>695472
That's the easiest one I've ever seen.

I have personally built the EA Tremolo before, I like it a lot, it's a good tremolo. I have my designs set on modifying it to add a fuzz to it, but have yet to preform that build.

Once my new heating element comes in, I promise I'll post my build log of the my (Fat) Fuzz Factory Clone.
I don't mean to treat this thread like a blog, ideally I'd like to inspire others to take part in building and to share pictures of what they are building and have built. But this is 4chan after all, you take what you get.

Anyways, try this link.
http://tonepad.com/getFileInfo.asp?id=130
It's the EA Tremolo. I've attached a picture of related schematic.
No transformer, mains, etc.
Tonepad is a wonderful resource for pedalbuilders, super helpful people who run that website.