DIY Effect Makers (club?)

[Fredde]

Hi!

Thought I should announce my presence here! So far I have

Built and use:
- Orange Squeezer clone (modded with switch for guitar/bass)
- Fuzz (sounds a bit (ok, a lot) like a Woolly Mammoth)

Built, tested but not boxed:
- Bazz Fuss (runoffgroove.com design, mod: bigger input cap for bass). This is an awesome design for it's size and simplicity, my veroboard-design would easily fit in a matchbox. Sounds great but wasn't the sound I was after. (A fun possibility with this one would be to build it into a bass!)
- Gruntbox (Mark Hammer design). Also sounds great but again wasn't the sound I was after.

Future projects:
- Add a wet/dry-mixer to my fuzz pedal. The effect is a bit too much for most uses, but might be good if you could use just a little of it.
- A more conventional compressor. The OC i nice for sustain and "mwah", but the attack is too slow for funkier stuff. Any suggestions for a good design?
- Tremolo (for guitar use mostly), I've thought of a crude 555+vactrol design.
- Clean booster (with some eq) that also works as a headphone amp.

 

[rratajski]

Hi!

Thought I should announce my presence here! So far I have

Built and use:
- Orange Squeezer clone (modded with switch for guitar/bass)
- Fuzz (sounds a bit (ok, a lot) like a Woolly Mammoth)

Built, tested but not boxed:
- Bazz Fuss (runoffgroove.com design, mod: bigger input cap for bass). This is an awesome design for it's size and simplicity, my veroboard-design would easily fit in a matchbox. Sounds great but wasn't the sound I was after. (A fun possibility with this one would be to build it into a bass!)
- Gruntbox (Mark Hammer design). Also sounds great but again wasn't the sound I was after.

Future projects:
- Add a wet/dry-mixer to my fuzz pedal. The effect is a bit too much for most uses, but might be good if you could use just a little of it.
- A more conventional compressor. The OC i nice for sustain and "mwah", but the attack is too slow for funkier stuff. Any suggestions for a good design?
- Tremolo (for guitar use mostly), I've thought of a crude 555+vactrol design.
- Clean booster (with some eq) that also works as a headphone amp.

Go to freestompboxes.org and search for the Demeter Compulator thread in the "boutique stompboxes dissected" section. There are some vero designs there!

 

[Fredde]

Go to freestompboxes.org and search for the Demeter Compulator thread in the "boutique stompboxes dissected" section. There are some vero designs there!

Thanks, this looks interesting, the most promising one I've seen so far! I just have to find that vactrol somewhere, I suspect my normal led+ldr+heat shrink tube won't do the trick here...

Have you built this? If so, how do you like it?

 

[s_mcsleazy]

ok im going to soon be going for a interview at collage to lern cuircuit building and i was wondering if any of you guys can sugest some easy pedal builds so i can wow them

i have a friend who knows about them so she can help me out but can anyone sugest where is a good place to start

 

[Fredde]

ok im going to soon be going for a interview at collage to lern cuircuit building and i was wondering if any of you guys can sugest some easy pedal builds so i can wow them

i have a friend who knows about them so she can help me out but can anyone sugest where is a good place to start

How easy is easy? The Bazz fuss is the simplest I've seen.

 

[NateS]

ok im going to soon be going for a interview at collage to lern cuircuit building and i was wondering if any of you guys can sugest some easy pedal builds so i can wow them

i have a friend who knows about them so she can help me out but can anyone sugest where is a good place to start

Lm386 (chip) based designs are simple as pie - often only 3 or 4 components. I have a fuzz that is the Lm386 and 2 capacitors, and those are extra.

Still need to box that...

yellow-black-Red (#40): Fredde


anybody know why i can't edit the first post anymore? I guess it's too old. I'll compile the list when we get to post #250

 

[NateS]

NVM, i'll compile now:

black-brown-red (#01): bassk81976
black-red-red (#02): TheMutt
black-orange-red (#03): DerHoggz
black-yellow-gold (#04): Taylor Livingston (Iron Ether Electronics)
black-green-red (#05): Cobrahawk
black-blue-gold (#06): Darkglass (Darkglass Electronics)
black-violet-red (#07): brotherdoc
black-grey-red (#08): bigchiefbc
black-white-red (#09): Herr K.
brown-black-red (#10): Mudfuzz
brown-brown-red (#11): xray
brown-red-red (#12): chicago_mike
brown-orange-red (#13): jimmy rocket
brown-yellow-red (#14): rcubed
brown-green-red (#15): karter2000
brown-blue-red (#16): McSpunckle
brown-violet-red (#17): Erik Schieffer
brown-grey-red (#18): oerk
brown-white-red (#19): moose23
red-black-red (#20): dune2k
red-brown-red (#21): UncleFluffy
red-red-red (#22): MetroBass
red-orange-red (#23): paul_s
red-yellow-red (#24): Gabeja15
red-green-red (#25): walker rosewood
red-blue-red (#26): KarateKid25
red-violet-red (#27): zenrad
red-grey-red (#28): jschwalls
red-white-red (#29): Tim Raats
orange-black-gold (#30): rratajski (Fuzzrocous Pedals)
orange-brown-red (#31): naiko
orange-red-red (#32): MPU
orange-orange-red (#33): bjlevine
orange-yellow-red (#34): zaubertuba
orange-green-red (#35): paganjack
orange-blue-red (#36): Low Sound Love
orange-violet-red (#37): Stu L.
orange-grey-red (#38): bigbadbob76
orange-white-red (#39): pickle
yellow-black-red (#40): Fredde

 

[dune2k]

Fuzz Face and Tube Screamer are more complex than the Bazz Fuss, but well documented (search for technology+of+effectname and you'll find the two geofx pages).

 

[Fredde]

Yey! Just finished a Demeter Compulator clone, works great - just what I was after. Thanks rratajski for the recommendation!

 

[Jonyak]

I ahve done quite a few builds.

my latest have been, a customized muff, a brassmaster, EA tremolo, and am currently finishing up a fuzz factory clone.

 

[rratajski]

You can give my spot to someone else. I'm like an ent, no clubs or affiliations haha. Great thread though!

 

[netface]

can anyone help me with my first build? just having a little trouble reading shematic.

are the caps -/+, left to right?

and are the jacks both stereo?

thanks.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[jimmy rocket]

can anyone help me with my first build? just having a little trouble reading shematic.

are the caps -/+, left to right?

and are the jacks both stereo?

thanks.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Usually electrolytic caps flow + to - with the arrow, and those are aligned like that. (opposite of what you said) electros generally want to flow to ground (see the 100 uf cap - upper right)

Also, both of those jacks are stereo, but the out jack doesn't really need to be.

 

[netface]

thanks man. you rule!

 

[Fredde]

It seems to me you should connect the tip to the sleeve on the output if you want to use headphones and hear something in both ears. And yes, it probably needes to be a stereo plug to work with headphones.

The reason for a stereo plug on the input side is merely to disconnect the battery when it's unplugged.

This amp is very simple and doesn't have a lot of features, but it could be a nice template for future experiments. You could for instance add gain/volume controls etc. (Other people might tell you to look for a better design to start with, but experimenting is fun and the first ones you make are not usually keepers anyway.)

Start by googling for "LM386 datasheet" and take a look at that! (You will read lots of datasheets as a DIY-effect maker... )

Good luck with your project!

 

[netface]

thanks for the help!

 

[warwick.hoy]

I've got an old Weller I feel like I'm going to have to replace the tips on. Any suggestions on soldering iron tips from a Cable building and DIY effects standpoint? (Which is the direction I'm going to go in starting out with cables and working my way up to Effects/Amps/Synths as well as repairs)

 

[karter2000]

I have a Weller WLC100, and I tend to use the Weller ST7 pencil tip for most of my stompbox stuff, especially for populating pcbs. The iron came with a ST3 1/8-inch screwdriver tip, which is good for larger stuff like cables and off-pcb connections like jacks, pots, etc.

 

[DannDubblewe]

I have a Weller WLC100, and I tend to use the Weller ST7 pencil tip for most of my stompbox stuff, especially for populating pcbs. The iron came with a ST3 1/8-inch screwdriver tip, which is good for larger stuff like cables and off-pcb connections like jacks, pots, etc.

Ding!

I've completed two WM clones so far. I've almost received all the parts to complete two more. I'm also going to see about building a Heliotrope clone which I am really looking forward to.

I've also been thinking of buying a small bench top drill press and a unibit so that I can easily make a custom silkscreen or painting on a totally flat enclosure, seal it, and drill the holes to my liking. It's really exciting!

 

[warwick.hoy]

I actually have access to a brake bender and drill press and I am hoping to bend my own enclosures, I still have to decide on a material but the big expense seems to be the Hammond enclosures and the 3pdt footswitches. I don't like the bare finish on the Hammond enclosures and my plan is to go with a brushed or antiqued metal aesthetic and I want somthing that is a bit cleaner in appearance than the Hammond enclosures.

Making my own enclosures will be a bit down the road a ways since I still have to put together my first pedal. I intend to start out with soldering up cables and working with the GGG CB1 for practice, then moving onto perfboard and using schems that are available on the interwebz,...then hopefully designing my own circuits (most likely inspired by and tweaking existing designs).

Thanks for the suggestions Karter.