Any DIY pedal builders on TB? Strut your stuff!

[AudioTaper]

Progress on the Mini Heterodyne Receiver (from PedalPCB) this week.
SMT fun!

I'm missing the 1uf caps, the toggle switches are on order. Pots and rotary switches are on hand.

The Obsidius (Darkglass B3K) is ready for ICs and pots!

 

[AudioTaper]

I bought a LDR assortment on Amazon, but they are unmarked and all jumbled together. Holding the DMM leads are a pain, so I rigged up a tester with a connector for a PC fan and a banana plug. This should make things easier for the Delegate compressor

 

[SubHuman]

Anybody know a Vocoder DIY pedal kit?
I did some searching and no luck. Thx!

 

[SubHuman]

I just completed a build on a fuzz pedal (the rock bottom) for a friend and shipped it off last night. It came out great!
View attachment 4229941 View attachment 4229942

The pedal itself sounded so good and kept so much bottom end that I’m making another for myself and I’m quite excited with how the case is turning out:
View attachment 4229944 View attachment 4229945 View attachment 4229946 View attachment 4229947 View attachment 4229948

Sweet Artwork

 

[SubHuman]

Anyone here ever try the Tayda UV printed pedal enclosures?
Invalid Link Removed

If so can you explain the process in clear novice terms? Thx!

 

[mdalamond]

I bought a LDR assortment on Amazon, but they are unmarked and all jumbled together. Holding the DMM leads are a pain, so I rigged up a tester with a connector for a PC fan and a banana plug. This should make things easier for the Delegate compressorView attachment 4231066 View attachment 4231067

Very clever, I like it.

 

[Feral Feline]

@derlewine Very cool paint jobs!

I love the sound of the Rock Bottom. I made a perf layout of it a year ago, populated the board and then never hooked it up.

Your build is GREAT incentive to get mine finished and into an enclosure. Don't think mine will look as jazzy as yours though.





Pixel & Kastle are both on my "todo" list. Great jobs on both pedals, @mdalamond, & especially that XLR, @G.Bisson.

I bought a LDR assortment on Amazon, but they are unmarked and all jumbled together. Holding the DMM leads are a pain, so I rigged up a tester with a connector for a PC fan and a banana plug. This should make things easier for the Delegate compressorView attachment 4231066 View attachment 4231067

Killer out of the box thinking — and I've got a similar assortment of LDRs to sort! Hopefully find the right one for the Cowgirl. MANY thanks for sharing that.

BTW, did you solder the SMD yourself? I've got some SMD bits to practice with, but I must be dreading it more than I thought or I would've attempted some SMD already — I keep putting it off.





@SubHuman The only vocoder I've come across is PAiA, so I searched and found the following:

Complete instructions for building an envelope follower filter ...
musicfromouterspace.com › VOCODER2013
The MFOS 12 Channel Vocoder Block Diagram shows how 12 of these channels, each tuned to a separate band of frequencies are routed to the main output bus.
People also search for
diy vocoder arduinomfos vocodereti vocoder schematic
vocoder designvois vocoderpaia vocoder

DIY Vocoders, what do people like? - MUFF WIGGLER
www.muffwiggler.com › ... › Music Tech DIY
8 Nov 2016 — Of the DIY vocoder recordings I've heard, the ones I thought were closest to the sound quality I like were from the 'modified' Paia vocoders.
Small vocoder projects?
3 Aug 2016
DIY - Elektor Vocoder - Project description
24 Dec 2017
18-channel DIY Stereo Analog Vocoder
9 Sep 2018
[Build Thread] MFOS 12 Channel Vocoder
27 Mar 2017
More results from www.muffwiggler.com

DIY Elektor Vocoder: Project description
www.vocoder.eu
In the mid 1990's, really young and inexperienced, I decided to build the Elektor 10 channel vocoder as described in the Dutch Elektor magazine from the early ...

Vocoder - PAiA - DIY Music & Sound Electronics Kits ...
paia.com › Catalog
PAiA – DIY Music & Sound Electronics Kits – Synthesizer, Theremin, Studio. ... The PAiA Vocoder, designed by Craig Anderton, is truly a price/performance ...

MFOS Vocoder Module DIY Electronics Parts Kit - Soundtronics
www.soundtronics.co.uk › mfos-vocoder-module-diy-e...
MFOS Vocoder Module DIY Electronics Parts Kit for just £81.36 + VAT. MFOS 12 Channel Vocoder PCB, kits and panels.

I'd forgotten about the MFOS vocoder.

Very involved, very BIG, these vocoder projects.

 

[Feral Feline]

@Groovy Luca burst his DIY Cherry Ginger and it's awesome!




Hope he posts it here, too.

 

[Groovy Luca]

Thanks man! Yes this is my first build so be kind guys
Runoffgroove Ginger kit from TH custom, enclosure painted, stenciled and dropped on the floor by me so it's already a relic lol.
I highly recommend the kit, it was easy enough even for a first timer and good quality IMO, only complaint the jacks are kinda trash, the TRS basically fell apart so I just put in a standard Switchcraft and don't plan on using batteries.

Recorded a couple tracks with it today at a reggae/rocksteady session, I'll upload them in a minute.
sounds nice thick and full at low gain settings, and equally as good overdriven, nice little pedal.
Want to thank everyone in the original thread First pedal build advice for their help!

Luca

Edit: here are the tracks (jazz bass with flats > ginger > DI. No eq/fx, just a little compression on the way in)





If anyone's interested I'll track a little demo with the gain cranked

 

[mdalamond]

Thanks man! Yes this is my first build so be kind guys
Runoffgroove Ginger kit from TH custom, enclosure painted, stenciled and dropped on the floor by me so it's already a relic lol.
I highly recommend the kit, it was easy enough even for a first timer and good quality IMO, only complaint the jacks are kinda trash, the TRS basically fell apart so I just put in a standard Switchcraft and don't plan on using batteries.
View attachment 4231950

View attachment 4231946
View attachment 4231947
View attachment 4231951

Recorded a couple tracks with it today at a reggae/rocksteady session, I'll upload them in a minute.
sounds nice thick and full at low gain settings, and equally as good overdriven, nice little pedal.
Want to thank everyone in the original thread First pedal build advice for their help!

Luca

Edit: here are the tracks (jazz bass with flats > ginger > DI. No eq/fx, just a little compression on the way in)





If anyone's interested I'll track a little demo with the gain cranked

Yes please. Would love to hear a track with the gain cranked.

 

[AudioTaper]

Killer out of the box thinking — and I've got a similar assortment of LDRs to sort! Hopefully find the right one for the Cowgirl. MANY thanks for sharing that.

BTW, did you solder the SMD yourself? I've got some SMD bits to practice with, but I must be dreading it more than I thought or I would've attempted some SMD already — I keep putting it off.

No problem, I love this thread and swapping ideas and advice. The picture isn't super clear, but I cut the connector down enough to fit in the cable guide hole in the banana, then melted the plastic a bit with a heat gun so it stays put.

Yes, I soldered the SMT parts. I do some hand SMT assembly at work here and there, so I have a bit of practice. They actually have us (the department I work in) go through IPC solder training every 2 years. Heres one of my old practice boards. Sharpie ultra fine point marker shown for size reference

The quad pack under magnification. My more recent practice board looks better, but its not handy at the moment

Don't let them intimidate you. You have some parts to practice with, how does it look?
Do you want some tips?

 

[mdalamond]

No problem, I love this thread and swapping ideas and advice. The picture isn't super clear, but I cut the connector down enough to fit in the cable guide hole in the banana, then melted the plastic a bit with a heat gun so it stays put.

Yes, I soldered the SMT parts. I do some hand SMT assembly at work here and there, so I have a bit of practice. They actually have us (the department I work in) go through IPC solder training every 2 years. Heres one of my old practice boards. Sharpie ultra fine point marker shown for size reference
View attachment 4232197

The quad pack under magnification. My more recent practice board looks better, but its not handy at the moment
View attachment 4232198


Don't let them intimidate you. You have some parts to practice with, how does it look?
Do you want some tips?

WOW! And I thought I was doing something soldering in a j201 smd,

 

[Groovy Luca]

Yes please. Would love to hear a track with the gain cranked.

Here you go:





Gain and treble full on since I play dark sounding flatwounds. I think you can get more gain/distortion by adjusting the trimmers inside too

Any advice for a next project/kit guys? I'm not really a pedal guy but building is fun!
I'm thinking about something funky (envelope filter/ sinthy stuff) or practical (DI, compressor, etc)

Thanks

 

[JoeDaddio]

Anyone here ever try the Tayda UV printed pedal enclosures?
Invalid Link Removed

If so can you explain the process in clear novice terms? Thx!

There is a good thread on it on the PedalPCB forum. Lots of info as well as some member-made resources. Well worth the read, those folks are doing some rad stuff with it.

Invalid Link Removed


joe

 

[mdalamond]

Here you go:





Gain and treble full on since I play dark sounding flatwounds. I think you can get more gain/distortion by adjusting the trimmers inside too

Any advice for a next project/kit guys? I'm not really a pedal guy but building is fun!
I'm thinking about something funky (envelope filter/ sinthy stuff) or practical (DI, compressor, etc)

Thanks

Sounds great. I’m gonna compare my build to yours. I prefer the fingers.

 

[Groovy Luca]

Sounds great. I’m gonna compare my build to yours. I prefer the fingers.

Thanks, yeah I'm not a pick player so that's very sloppy too. Thought it would be useful as a comparison

 

[mdalamond]

Very useful. Thanks for taking the time .

 

[Feral Feline]

Fingers/Picks — each sounded good to me, I'd use whichever sounded right for the song being played.

DANGNABBIT! Gottsta build Ginger Vitus now...

Luca, I'd recommend a FX25 or DOD 440 to go with your Ginger (leaning heavily towards the FX25 'cause it doesn't need a vactrol, and it just sounds great and can go all dubby, too, if you minimise the dynamics to keep the filter from opening up.

Or you could build a Nurse Quacky to keep it in the DIY-associated Realm from whence came the Ginger.

Compressors... Bearhug, or Engineer's Thumb for continuing the DIY theme; Pumpernickle for something with LED metering and DBX-ishness or Diamond Bass Comp clone...

WOW! And I thought I was doing something soldering in a j201 smd,

I knowwww, 'ight?

No problem, I love this thread and swapping ideas and advice. The picture isn't super clear, but I cut the connector down enough to fit in the cable guide hole in the banana, then melted the plastic a bit with a heat gun so it stays put.

Yes, I soldered the SMT parts. I do some hand SMT assembly at work here and there, so I have a bit of practice. They actually have us (the department I work in) go through IPC solder training every 2 years. Heres one of my old practice boards. Sharpie ultra fine point marker shown for size reference
View attachment 4232197

The quad pack under magnification. My more recent practice board looks better, but its not handy at the moment
View attachment 4232198


Don't let them intimidate you. You have some parts to practice with, how does it look?
Do you want some tips?

Crazy Mad SKILLERZZZ!

I, too, love this thread!
I'll hit you up for tips in future when I'm ready to tackle the SMD projects that are stacking up, I want to wait 'til I'm settled in Canadder. Alas... Things don't look good for common people right now, all the shipping cans are booked solid by the Big-Money-Business Peepull. So, it may take months before I get all my solder clobber back and set up...

 

[Groovy Luca]

Fingers/Picks — each sounded good to me, I'd use whichever sounded right for the song being played.

DANGNABBIT! Gottsta build Ginger Vitus now...

Luca, I'd recommend a FX25 or DOD 440 to go with your Ginger (leaning heavily towards the FX25 'cause it doesn't need a vactrol, and it just sounds great and can go all dubby, too, if you minimise the dynamics to keep the filter from opening up.

Or you could build a Nurse Quacky to keep it in the DIY-associated Realm from whence came the Ginger.

Compressors... Bearhug, or Engineer's Thumb for continuing the DIY theme; Pumpernickle for something with LED metering and DBX-ishness or Diamond Bass Comp clone..

Thanks for the suggestions! I was also looking at FuzzDog Moo-Tron kit, not sure though. Would these vactrols work fine? Xvive VTL5C3 – Electric Druid
The model no. matches but maybe I need to check something else? I've read they're discontinued and hard to find but I found that link with a quick Google search, so I'm kinda suspicious.

Also a general question is it worth it to search and buy components from Mouser/rs electronics (I'm in Italy) or would I risk buying wrong parts only to save a few euros?

Sorry for the noob questions and hope I don't get too much out of topic. I was scrolling through the thread and you guys got some rad builds by the way, very inspiring stuff!

 

[Feral Feline]

Never apologise for asking a noob question, and everything you've said/asked is all bang on topic.

Fuzz Dog, Electric Druid and Xvive are reliable, but some circuits are just fussy. Like how some PT2399-based delays need to sample a few of the chips before you find one that works (*tip, don't throw the "dud" chip out, it might work in another build). I have some Xvive and IIRC I have some NOS VTL5C3 squirreled away. Vactrols are indeed getting expensive for ol' school finicky builds that require a specific spec. NS-32 are still easy to find. I haven't built the Mootron, but you said you would get the kit ... surely the vactrols are included with the kit?

Ordering from Mouser/RS/Digikey — you've gotta do your homework and really know what you're ordering. I wasn't the first person to order humongous caps that are the correct value but wayyyyy overrated in the voltage department — and I won't be the last. I tried to give the portly caps to my friend that builds amps, he insisted I hang on to them — well I'll be darned if they won't soon become useful to me as I build a Tube Pre Pedal and an amp or two...

So, yeah, pedal BOMs don't always tell you what spec of something to get and so you see a 470n cap at a cheap price and order it and it arrives ...
470n @ 600v — the BOM didn't specify the voltage, but most likely all you needed was 470n @ 25v, maybe 36v. Rule of thumb, and there are always exceptions, but order caps that are rated twice whatever voltage your pedal will run at. For 9v, you can get away with 16v probably, but a charge-pumped pedal running at 18v should have a min 36v rating on its caps. Take this with a grain of salt, I'm not an electronics engineer.

Overall, YES, totally worth ordering from Mouser et al. Just gotta do the homework, and accept there will be times you learn from experience.

Pull the trigger on that Mootron.