/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>798523
>Steel home electrical box
This is a pretty common solution. Also Hammond and plenty of other companies make enclosures specifically for pedal builders. They're usually not much over $10 depending on the metal.

Here's where I get most of my encloses for smaller DIY effects:
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/hardware/enclosures.html

But, in general, wherever you get them, the 1590 series from Hammond or similar are extremely common for both hobbyists and those making a living off it.

>>798596
>>798645
Hammond 1590... 1590b looks like the ticket. At $10, not really worth messing with other solutions, is it? Thanks!

>>798645
Just checked out the Tayda site... that is a great find, esp for pedal builders. I had some questions on wiring and they've clear diagrams on how the effects boards interface with the jacks and switch (e.g. how to hook up a 3P switch with a stereo jack.)

Did you guys have a lot of electronics experience before building pedals? I'm interested in starting to mess with electronics with the goal of making some diy-effects, but I'm wondering if I should start from the basics (making LED circuits and stuff) or if it's simple enough for me to dive in right away.

>>799399
Not that hard. Get a breadboard and some parts and dive in. Once you breadboard one up you like get a case and make it perm.

>>799399
just learn how to make simple amplifiers and filters. Op amps are very easy to work with

>>799407
>>799408
For getting the components, is ordering online generally a lot cheaper than buying in a shop, or is it more a matter of convenience?

>>799463
Cheaper, much better selection.

Also,as far as enclosures go I think D would work well.

>>799469
Alright, thanks a lot. Guess I'll get started then

>>799470
http://www.runoffgroove.com/articles.html

This is a Big Daddy distortion circuit from runoffgroove in prototype. I like it; parts on order from Tayda to make permanent.

>>799469
>>799470
>>799463
One thing though, you will get raped on shipping if you don't order massive amounts of parts. The way they have to package them there tends to be a steep minimum. Don't be surprised if you order parts for a single pedal and the shipping is more than the parts. Make sure you get everything in one order.

>>800638
Agreed on most of larger distributors ala mcm.

Tadya, shipping was $2 for about 25 little parts, a $15 order total. And then there's eBay from China... If you're being cheap you can get a lit of parts for a bucvk or two, free shipping. Takes a few weeks to get parts, good if you're not in a hurry.

How about some schematics?
I'm always building pedals, and collect a lot of schematics.
I'll post some.

>>798523
>Taydaelectronics.com
>Bitcheslovemyswitches.com

Try these places for cheap and effective parts.

>>799399
Electrical experience is not necessary for building pedals. Honestly there are plenty of simple "my first pedal" guides on instructables.com, "Randofo" has a lot of great instructables personally. Any trained monkey can assemble a pedal from solder-by-numbers guides.

To design pedals, as I do however, I would strongly recommend electrical experience. I would suggest reading those books in the beginner's section of the /ohm/ thread.

All in all, there are advanced concepts in some pedals, but there are also plenty of simple pedals that a beginner could easily understand.

>>799463
Ordering online is much more cost effective, there is indeed a waiting period, but I definitely believe it to be worth it. But take note of >>800638, some places will want you to order at least $10 or so. Like Mouser.com.
Tayda is pretty good for shipping.

>Schematic: A clever PT2399 (digital delay IC) that functions as a lo-fi distortion.

>>801074
For those of you who don't care so much for vero/stripboards, I'll post some other designs.

Here's a GREAT design for anyone who's looking for an interesting distortion to play around with.

This design is extremely flexible, and can do many different things by experimenting with part values. I built a bass-guitar modification of it recently for a friend.

>>801077
FYI AC128s are germanium PNP transistors, you can build this with silicon transistors if you prefer. It sounds harsher, but it's not bad at all.

Next up, how about an omnidrive? That's a cool design, really smart guy who invented this piece of work.

>>801077
I checked out ac128 transistors. Apparently this is some sort of audiophile part bc I see them sold as matched, nos, and other special snowflake words. What can I substitute in for these?

>>801074
Hmm. Could build on of these and a chorus pedal. I'm a big fan of chip based designs... Lower part count, and I typically find chips are cheaper than special transistors (saw comments on germanium transistors; answers my q)

>>801089
2N5088 or 2N5089s are good go-to silicon transistors. Not sure how exactly you'd have to modify the fuzz factory to use them though. I've built slightly simpler fuzz pedals around them and gotten crazy results.

>>801149
Same guy
Before anybody blows their top, I'm just a hobbyist and don't really mess with PNP designs, and I don't even know if PNP 2N5088s exist. I know I'm an idiot already.

>>798523
just build a wah pedal. its on breadboard using a normal potentiometer.
where could i source a pedal?
what about a 500mH inductor? ive currently got 5*100 mH on it

>>801080
Big fan of Hollis's wacky experiments, with 555s, etc.

Built a variation on this with an envelope controller going into pin 5 of the timer chip. Nasty.

>>801074
Here's the Big Daddy schematic from runoffgroove. Lm386 drives it; I've built a few amps from this chip and really like it. It distorts nicely when you hit its limits. I built a dual version to drive a ghetto blaster converted to a guitar amp.

>>801210
Yeah, hell I've gotten neat distortion out of as close to a naked 386 as you can get. Not sure how much of it was device clipping and how much was from genuinely overdriving my test amp, but it was some pleasant tinkering.

Also used a couple in place of the opamps in another crashsync variant as above.

This is now a guitar pedal thread.

Here's the next one I'll try building. Little Angel chorus pedal. Higher part count, sounds interesting enough to hassle with.

>>801522
dat comic sans doe

>>801155

>>801522
I've breadboarded one, and plan to mess with some component values and add some lo-fi stuff to the output end. Not something I recommend trying before that first cup of coffee.

Not that it's extremely difficult, but it does require a little thinking out, and that's a lot of connections for a diy pedal if you're used to little distortion projects and stuff.

>>801089
They're made of germanium, which is a vintage material for transistors, they have specific qualities (which aren't relevant to hobbyist level work) that make them sound unique, even with vary differences among themselves. So they're sold in matched sets that are similar. It's vintage, less supply, the potential for NOS and niche market drives up the price.

Pedal works fine if you substitute silicon PNPs instead. Just sounds different.

tl;dr they're old and they sound funny.

>>801149
>>801152
No worries, with all the transistor part numbers out there these days it's hard to keep track.
I used 2N5087s on a whim and it sounds fine, but honestly you could 2N3906s or any general purpose silicon PNP.

>>801149
I did change some of the resistor values, but that was only for taste, the pedal still sounds wild even if you directly substitute silicon for germanium.

>>801092
I totally agree, ICs take a lot out a lot of guess work and are very reliable IMO.

>>801637
>>801155
Like a schematic or an enclosure?
Mammoth Electronics / Ebay sell enclosures and wah pots to make those.
I'll link a schem, and a schematics vault for the curious.

>pic crybaby

Schem vault:
>http://tonepad.com/projects.asp?projectType=fx

>>801168
>saved
Whoa, 555s can sound really dirty in the signal line, looks like that thing can make some serious ATPesque waves.

How's your build? I've always wanted to build an envelope filter to play around with the LFO.

>>801210
Njfet preamp to a 386 amplifier? Talk about lo-fi, that's really cool. You wouldn't happen to have any audio clips of these in action would you?

>>801522
It doesn't label it in the schem (or perhaps I'm blind) but that must be a PT2399. I'm tinkering with a PT2399 right now, trying to get a good sounding digital delay/echo out of it.

My suggestion with that schematic is put a potentiometer on Pin 6.
There's a great article on the PT2399 at this webpage I read that explained a lot:
>http://www.diyaudiocircuits.com/tutorials/pt2399-digital-delay-analog-echo/
And here:
This one has a lot of text, but it explains a lot of really good things about the chip:
>http://sound.westhost.com/project26a.htm

>>801631
Rick Holt must have a sense of humor.

>>801663
Good luck, right on about the coffee though, I always drink coffee or beer (or both) when I sit at my breadboard.

This is the design I'm tinkering with currently.

>>801753
>>801210
FYI the jfet recommended is a J201, not listed on schematic. I don't have any clips and can't find any others have made one. Issue I have with it is microphonics... the circuit's feeding back a bit on the breadboard. Haven't research how to address this... ideas? Assume it's a grounding thing.

>>801522
This is indeed built around a PT2399. Agree with comments around pin 6; it's the first mod I'll try with this. As is, he's minimized the delay time by virtually grounding it (assume 100R is 100 ohm... though I see from attached article pin 6->gnd shouldn't go below 1K). I've read PT2399 is hard to use for chorus b/c echo is too long... only one way to find out for sure.

>>801902
>>801210
J201, eh? Nifty, I have all of the parts laying around then. I sometimes wonder why designers leave out crucial component names, I like to assume it's to coax hobbyists like us to experiment.

As for the PT2399, I too have heard it's hard to work as a chorus because of the long echo, the fellow in the link I mentioned >>801753
at >http://sound.westhost.com/project26a.htm
found a way to minimize the delay for resistors below 1-2k by delaying the startup of the PT2399 by about 25ms so that it doesn't latch up upon turning on. I'll link the picture.

The part that confuses me is the output labeled "timing circuit", I haven't tried it but I think that connects to pin 6's resistor.

No worries about audio clips.
Lastly, you're completely right, there's only one way to find out for sure! Good luck, and happy tinkering!

>>801750
electronics noob here, is the zener diode there to dump excessive current if the voltage exceeds the zener voltage? What about the two caps next to it?
I have trouble understanding what the use of some components connected directly into the ground is (except for most resistors of course): for example, in this pdf (http://www.premierguitar.com/ext/resources/files/DIY-PDFs/Oct14_PGDistortion_BuildGuide_Final_R2.pdf)), page 15 it says that you can add some diodes connected to the ground, but I don't see how exactly they affect the circuit...

>>802059
Heyo, you guessed it, the Zener diode is there to catch any excessive voltage, which is a rare occurrence with nicely made power supplies, but in the event of a slight ripple, it would prevent anything serious from happening.

As for the capacitors, to the best of my understanding, those exist for the same purpose. If you take them out of the schematic you'll find that the effect sounds the same.

>PDF Guide
WOW! That is one really useful guide! I'm saving that link. If we had a sticky for guitar effect pedal building, that would need to go in it.

Anyways, to answer your question, there isn't any good reason to go connecting random components from the audio signal to the ground signal, but what that design is doing on page 15 is creating what's known as overdrive distortion. It's created by clipping the edges of the wavelength of your audio signal. This happens by the direction the diode is arranged in. There are many, many arrangements to diode clipping, they mention the standard, two diodes from signal to ground in opposite orientations in the PDF, but that is just the tip of the iceberg.

This sounds rather complex I'm sure, but I can dig up a guide to explain, to be honest, this is rather common and is used in many, many designs.
Here's an example of several kinds of diode clipping set ups.
>http://www.muzique.com/lab/sat2.htm

Also: a picture attached to give a rough description of what is happening here.

>>802183
BTW, in this picture the diode is facing ground, in your PDF the diode is facing the signal, so if you built it as your schematic shows, it would clip the "bottom" half of the wave instead of the top half.

>>802010
I bought a few j201 to build this preamp for a guitar that I was using a piezo contact pickup on. Guitar is gone now; fortunately I've found other uses for them.
>>802059
That PDF is an awesome find.

>>802183
Thanks for the explanation and the link, in hindsight it's something that I should've known since we've covered it in my electronic circuits class... guess I should study more eh?

>>802336
Probably the only other note on that is that flat-topping a sine wave like that effects the sound more than you'd think by looking at it. The hard transition from rising to flat pushes an impulse through the speaker in the acceleration graph, to stop it at that spot... it doesn't just make it quieter by a bit, it makes it harsh sounding.

>>802059
>>802183
>As for the capacitors, to the best of my understanding, those exist for the same purpose. If you take them out of the schematic you'll find that the effect sounds the same.
The zener prevents the voltage from exceeding a specific value, the capacitors keep it from changing quickly. You can build a basic voltage regulator with just a resistor and zener in series, but the output current can't exceed the q current through the diode or the voltage will drop. Capacitors allow you to exceed that current for short periods without the voltage dropping as much.

What confuses me is why they choose a 9.1v zener when the highest voltage in the circuit is a 9v battery. I know 9v batteries start at like 9.5v but as soon as you use it a little the battery will drain to the point that the diode doesn't turn on at all, in which case it does literally nothing. It will start acting up when the battery is still at like 90% capacity.

>>801210
>>801753
>>801902
>>802010
Found a clip for Big Daddy distortion. Was on build page... Just didn't notice it until now
http://www.runoffgroove.com/bigdaddy.mp3

>>802184
No, the schematic is correct. You're probably thinking of zener diodes which are used backward, but they still conduct when forward biased. A zener in that configuration would clip one or both sides depending on the size of the signal and the specifications of the diode.

>>803704
Oh shiz, you're totally right, they're facing opposite directions. I must've missed that. (I was probably drinking and working at my breadboard again.)

Anyways, those clip both sides of the signal, provided you use the same diode type for both diodes it will clip both sides (which you already know.) If you're the anon studying that guide, have you built it yet?

>>802900
Wow, that sounds pretty damn good for a noisy 386. I usually use LM358's because they've got a lower THD (I think) but considering how well that came out, that makes me rethink the 386. If you end up building one, be sure to share pictures and audio tests!

>>802462
Oh it's much more simple than you think actually: The zener is to limit incoming voltage from an AC/DC adapter, not a 9V battery. You wouldn't have any crazy voltage spikes from a battery, but an unreliable AC supply and a less-than-perfect AC/DC wall-wort could end up passing a surge into the pedals' voltage supply, possibly fucking it up. So, hopefully, the zener plus capacitors (which you wonderfully clarified for me, very sharp thinking anon) can mitigate any damage.

>pic is my last breadboard build of >>801753, the project I am currently working on.

Can someone recommend me a bass pedal circuit that sounds like a crusted syphilitic rat under excruciating pain?
I have a friend who plays the bass, their culture kinda revolves around rats in an ironic way.
I have experience with electronics, it doesn't matters if the circuit is too complex.

Also, can a pedal designed for a bass used with a guitar? Or would the differences between both make them uncompatible in terms of sound fidelity?

>>804087
I think you're the only one that knows what that will sound like.

You can use same pedals for guitar or bass AFAIK. Its not like amps/speakers, where they are purpose built.

bump

>>804087
>bass pedal circuit that sounds like a crusted syphilitic rat under excruciating pain
So...distortion? Ring mod? Distorted Ring mod?

>can a pedal designed for a bass used with a guitar
Yes, but whether or not it'll sound good depends completely on the pedal

>>804087
rat screams are ultrasonic and cannot be heard by humans

>>801210
Parts are in. Build begins soon.