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2020 Winter Build Off - 4000LS

#121
I have a giant lighted magnifying glass contraption I inherited from my Doctor grandfather, I peer through that when I solder, even IC pins look huge. I learned by going to Radio Shack (remember them?) and buying a "breadboard" and a random assortment of componenets , and just practicing until it came easily. The most complex one I did was the rotovibe, pretty much Robin Trower in a box. It has a pulsing bulb that activates light sensors for that "throb", that one kicked my a**, but it works! Actually all of them fired up first time. Anybody who wants to learn to solder while making their own pedals, I highly recommend BYOC pedals. The instructions are superb, and they have a great builders forum.
DIY Guitar Effects Pedal and Amplifier Kits
 
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#122
Gilmourisgod said:
No joke, if you really hate it, mail it to me, and I'll solder it. I've made a few pedals by Build Your Own Clone, it was a blast. I don't understand all the electronics behind it, but I can solder pretty well, I've done boards for a flanger, vibe, compressor, and chorus. Pretty much paint by numbers with a good diagram.....
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I'm with you :thumbsup:
I built the Mimosa Jr from BYOC (great compressor by the way).
I finally, after twenty some years, am getting to the point where I can see the spool on my 1 pound roll of solder... guess after a few more builds I'll have to buy a new roll.
 
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#123
I drilled through my beam and my wings, even though it felt like (and looks like) sacrilege. But now I have a cavity in which the circuit board can nestle.

4000LS_0446.jpg


4000LS_0447.jpg


Which meant I was free to glue the wings on, starting with the lower one.

4000LS_0445.jpg
 
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#126
(I'm pulling a @Jisch today; working while on conference calls.... :cool: )

Using a Forstner to hog out the pickup cavity.

4000LS_0452.jpg


The ChiSonic is 4" tall by about 2" wide, so I can use my EMG 40 template and slide it down for the width.

4000LS_0451.jpg


Just a kiss in the corners to get the tighter radius...

4000LS_0453.jpg


Got the height right with a minimum of wood removal!

4000LS_0450.jpg
 
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#127
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#134
TerribleTim68 said:
Do the electronics go here? -
View attachment 3732768
Because I'd think you just drill at a very "flat" angle from this direction, no? -
View attachment 3732769
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You would think so!

But it's not that simple. At least in my mind.

The color organ runs on 12V. I'm also going to use a John East BTB-01 two-band preamp, which is happy anywhere between 9V and 18V. So I'm using this rechargeable 12V battery pack:

12v-battery-3000mah-02.jpg


Which uses a standard 2.1mm coaxial power cable (like the kind pedals use, but polarity reversed). The color organ also has a 2.1mm coax power connection, so I thought I would use one of those OneSpot daisy chain cables, plugged into the battery, and plugged into the color organ, and the third plug snipped off and wired straight into the preamp.

The layout I settled on has the power running across the top of the center beam, down into the color organ circuit cavity, with the audio cables running through the bottom section. I read somewhere that it's best practice to keep power and audio cables separate.... :cautious:
 
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#135
Power cable routing sorted. I used my Dremel right-angle attachment with a little Dremel router bit (so cute) and made a right-angle hole.

4000LS_0457.jpg


On the top side I routed a little channel between that hole and the circuit cavity.

4000LS_0456.jpg


Test fitting revealed that the cavity and the channel needed some deepening, but it fits.

4000LS_0458.jpg


I have a cable with a right-angle plug on order, but this one will do for now.

4000LS_0455.jpg
 
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#140
Strap button screw holes and bridge screw holes drilled. Routed a clearance channel for controls. Going with a master volume and a John East BTB-01 stacked two-band, so not much room needed.

4000LS_0461.jpg


First Second coat of Tru-Oil applied. I just love that rich chocolatey-brown hue that the walnut takes on! It also accentuates the bit of crazy heartwood-sapwood contrast going on near the center. :cool:

4000LS_0460.jpg


The front side has a tiny bit of heartwood-sapwood contrast too, on the upper wing, but it doesn't look nearly as awesome, and the lights will drown it out anyway...

4000LS_0459.jpg


I'm hard up against my deadline now. There are two weeks left in the build-off, but as luck would have it, I'm going to be on a vacation trip for that very last week. So that means that I have to get this thing finished up and giggity within the next seven days. It's possible I'll succeed, but only if no unforseen complications arise...
 
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