Who here has modded/built an EHX Small Clone?

[sunbeast]

I just bought a used Small Clone to mess around with modding during the gloomy winter months, and was hoping for some feedback from people that have done it in the past! Only $50 dollars for the pedal and less than $15 in parts= priceless fun IMO!

At the moment I plan to add:
- a depth pot,
- a delay time pot/ delay time capacitor change (this should ideally get into similar territory as the DEEP mod with the AnalogMan Chorus) ,
- a feedback/regeneration pot for the delay,
- an effects blend (or possibly just effects level) pot,
- an internal gain pot (to balance out the volume for changes in the previous)
- possibly an LFO clock capacitor selector switch to change the speed
- possibly a stereo out switch (to allow seperate outs for effect and dry signal)
- possibly an added flanger setting (although this will mostly be accomplished by adjusting the previous mods the right way)
- possibly a mod to limit/attenuate lower frequencies on the effected signals to prevent muddiness- I haven't found the ideal method for this one yet...

I have done a fair amount of studying on the internet from various resources, and have found a few different methods of achieving a few of the different mods. I have a few questions for those with real world experience here...

- For those who have done the Depth pot mod- I have seen one method that uses a 100k linear or audio pot simply in place of the stock depth switch, and then the popular SC clone schematic that uses a 10k pot and changes/removes some of the circuit values- I'd like to hear upsides/downsides from anyone who has tried one or the other (or both). I have heard some say that A is more versatile than B and so forth...

- For those who have added a blend pot or effects level pot- what have been the ups/downs of that for you? any suggestions? I was aiming more towards a blend pot idea so I could get more into vibrato territory if I wanted by removing the dry signal, but I have a feeling that this method might be slightly less smooth in function than simply putting a variable resistance on the effects signal by itself. The added internal gain pot afterward should help compensate some, but I won't really know til I try! Opinions?

- For those who have done a delay time mod- anyone try using the pot vs. a switch? My understanding is that the DEEP/THIN/NORMAL switch on the Analogman Clone Chorus is just a delay time capacitor selection, but it seems like a pot would give a nicer range. Any opinions?

- Anyone know a good way to add an attenuation to the bass on the effects signal only? Would it be possible to do this before the modulation section, or would it be better after?

- Any other cool Small Clone modification ideas or tips?

Thanks,
Karl

[12bass]

No experience with a Small Clone, though I've built and modded an A/DA flanger clone which sounds cool. Lots of useful information available here:

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforu....php?board=2.0

[rob_thebassman]

why not save up $250 for an analog man mini chorus with fixed deep and blend

[sunbeast]

Originally Posted by rob_thebassman

why not save up $250 for an analog man mini chorus with fixed deep and blend

Because this way I save around $190, get to have fun with experimentation + doing the work myself, AND get a whole slew of wild sounds that the Analogman can't. His pedal is just a Small Clone clone in itself, with variations of these same mods that have been common knowledge for years- as far as I know, he didn't come up with any of them on his own, he just found his own favorite way to implement them the same way I plan to do for myself. His clone almost certainly uses better components than mine will and has time and years of tweaks on its side (I would hope so for that price!), but I'd like to actually learn a thing or two by building one myself. Plus I happen to like lots of knobs and switches to tweak with, which his lacks!

[sunbeast]

Bump- I know someone out here has taken on a Small Clone build/modification!

[obsession600]

Originally Posted by rob_thebassman

why not save up $250 for an analog man mini chorus with fixed deep and blend

Because that is the path of the weak and the lazy. Rock on OP!

[sunbeast]

Thought I would update now that I have done a few of the mods.

I added the depth pot- I tried a 100K audio pot first, and the 10K definitely seemed to work better here. Can go from no depth, to just on the brink of being able to hear a chorus underneath the note, to full on warbling. Pretty cool!

I added a delay time control as well as switching out the delay capacitor. I originally put in a fixed 270pf cap in place of the stock 150pf, but found that the extra noise through most of the sweep of the delay pot from the longer delay time neccessitated a few more options. I ended up putting on a switch to choose between 270pf, 100pf, and around 73pf (which is with the other two caps in series). Along with the delay pot this gives me a very wide range of different tones, from very deep to very thin. I also tried a 550pf in there for the hell of it- the delays were in the slapback range, but the noise was a pretty loud wash or wave that would have made it unbearable for anything apart from ambient music (to be honest, I may add that cap as an option again just for fun!). The 100K linear pot seems to work just fine as the delay pot, I seem to get a good range across the entire sweep with no "dead spots" in effect at either end.

The next parts I plan to tackle are the blend control and overal volume control. Depending on how this works out I may not need the gain control, but I really haven't thought about the best way to implement the blend yet. I know I want to be able to mess with the entire range between completely clean and completely chorused, but have a feeling that the extremitites in either direction on the pot will be pretty noisy and possibly gainy if I go about it the way I had originally planned. We'll see!