Someone else's thread got me thinking...

[Thunderscreech]

I know EHX has a passive signal attenuator coming out soon, but I was just thinking to myself last night as I was trying to get to sleep: "I could build one of those!"

Of course, what I'm thinking of isn't so much as volume pedal as it is an approx. -15dB pad, like on an amp, maybe with an internal trim pot for custom tweaking (provided that amps have passive pads on them )

If someone knows where I could find the schems for an amps pad which could be Haxored into a pedal, I'd be most greatful. My googling has come up empty handed.

[JohnDavisNYC]

volume pot in a box?

[bongomania]

Usually it's just a single resistor in series with the signal. The resistor causes a voltage drop which is the same as turning down the level. A normal passive volume pot does the exact same thing (although a cheap pot can lose a bit of tone).

No 1337 required.

[bongomania]

Or you could buy this: http://www.frontendaudio.com/A_Desig...tor_p/1001.htm

[Thunderscreech]

So just a high-quality pot in a box with a switch? Wow. That's easy...

Now what about values? I'm gonna guess 1 Meg to be on the safe side, plus those attenuate less. Or will I just have to guess-and-check?

[fretlessman71]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Or you could buy this: http://www.frontendaudio.com/A_Desig...tor_p/1001.htm

The only thing that box needs is a pan from Input 1 to Input 2 so you can balance BOTH inputs, THEN attenuate how you wish...

[katri]

Why not build a booster and always have it on and use the bypassed signal as the 'attenuated' signal

[Thunderscreech]

Originally Posted by katri

Why not build a booster and always have it on and use the bypassed signal as the 'attenuated' signal

Because I play active basses.

[katri]

Ok fair enough.

[Thunderscreech]

Not that your idea is a bad one. If I played my passive bass more, I would, but actives and boosts = solid state preamp distortion. The BAD kind.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by Thunderscreech

Now what about values? I'm gonna guess 1 Meg to be on the safe side, plus those attenuate less. Or will I just have to guess-and-check?

I would guess 500K or 250K would be ideal, but if you have access to a few different values then try them all out.

[Ba55Man1ac]

Do this:



25kΩ should do for an active bass, go higher for passive.