The Effect Builders Club!

[B.C.]

Would it be at all possible to modify a phaser and turn it into a Frequency Sweep? Like, instead of phase shift, do a wah type thing? i'd be using the BYOC kit, if that helps any.

In my design of a phasor, I'm going to say no. Alot of phasors are JFET based(mine included) which shift the original signal out of phase with itself. Several phase cancelations occur, making the typical phasor sound.

Others use LFO's but the idea is the same. To do a frequency sweep, I think you would need to do some actual signal processing. Again, I could be wrong.

So what I'm getting at is that modding a dedicated phasor circuit to do a frequency sweep would be pretty tough.

 

[niftydog]

Nope. Well, you probably could but you'd be crossing the line between "modifying" and "pulling the thing apart and using the components for something else"!

Best you could do would be to rip-off the low frequency oscillator section and tack it onto a voltage controlled filter section ripped from an envelope filter design.

 

[B.C.]

Nope. Well, you probably could but you'd be crossing the line between "modifying" and "pulling the thing apart and using the components for something else"!

Best you could do would be to rip-off the low frequency oscillator section and tack it onto a voltage controlled filter section ripped from an envelope filter design.

Yup, thats what I was trying to say in short, lol.

 

[i2k]

Based on some schematics, there several way to position a buffer on a blender. Splitter-Blend and Invalid Link Removed split the input signal into 2 and then each half has its own buffer. While Invalid Link Removed and [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] split the signal after the input buffer.

Can someone points me out the pros/cons of each design ?

 

[Thunderscreech]

Nope. Well, you probably could but you'd be crossing the line between "modifying" and "pulling the thing apart and using the components for something else"!

Best you could do would be to rip-off the low frequency oscillator section and tack it onto a voltage controlled filter section ripped from an envelope filter design.

Doesn't sound like that big a deal...Little trail and error might be required.

 

[B.C.]

Based on some schematics, there several way to position a buffer on a blender. Splitter-Blend and Invalid Link Removed split the input signal into 2 and then each half has its own buffer. While Invalid Link Removed and [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] split the signal after the input buffer.

Can someone points me out the pros/cons of each design ?

Hm, I'm not sure. This is the first I've seen a dual buffer like that.

 

[EclecticElectrk]

ok im a noob at editing, and effects in general, but if there is a mod to get a regular pedal more responsive to bass, i would like to hear. im sure that just sounded like total noobspeak, but im interested. in particular, a morley power wah model and an EHX bigg muff pi.

 

[niftydog]

...there several way to position a buffer on a blender...
Can someone points me out the pros/cons of each design ?

There's surprisingly very little difference in any of those schematics, actually. The main thing we should be concerned with is the load presented to the bass itself - the input impedance.

In the first two cases the topology is virtually the same and the input impedance is identical - 1M. This is literally 'set' by the 1M resistors. The fact that the op amps inputs are in parallel makes very little difference to the input impedance. (Impedance of the non-inverting terminal of an op amp is gigantic and as such is usually assumed to be infinite.)

In the buff'n'blend we still have resistors setting the input impedance - they recommend between 1 and 10M, so depending on what you select you would be able to get very similar results as the two above. Again, the input impedance of the FET is very high and would have minimal impact on the signal from your bass.

In the paralooper, again we have a 1M input resistor feeing into the massive input impedance of an op amp, so it really is very much the same again. The fact that this only has one op amp means virtually nothing because the 1M resistor's affect on the signal at that point is much, much greater than anything the op amp(s) might contribute.

So, from that perspective they are virtually identical.

If you want my opinion, the paralooper is the "right" way of doing this - a good op amp will happily drive both signal paths so there's really no need to have two op amps just to split the signal. The difference with the paralooper is that U2-B and it's associated components forms a low-pass filter, whereas the other designs pass full range signal at this point.

The buff'n'blend is simple, but lacks a buffer for the 'return' signal which may cause difficulty with some effects combinations.

 

[Thunderscreech]

ok im a noob at editing, and effects in general, but if there is a mod to get a regular pedal more responsive to bass, i would like to hear. im sure that just sounded like total noobspeak, but im interested. in particular, a morley power wah model and an EHX bigg muff pi.

You can buy a Bass Big Muff. EHX is selling them now.

As to the wah, that's a little different. Wah's operate on a frequency sweep, and a bass wah is generally tuned for the lower end of the spectrum. I'm not sure of the necessary modifications, But someone else might.

You might also check out the Morley Double Bass Wah.

 

[B.C.]

ok im a noob at editing, and effects in general, but if there is a mod to get a regular pedal more responsive to bass, i would like to hear. im sure that just sounded like total noobspeak, but im interested. in particular, a morley power wah model and an EHX bigg muff pi.

I believe if you take you initial signal and put a capacitor to ground you should, in theory, get a more bassy responce. Its been a while since I've had RC circuit theory, but that should do it.

So, in short, its hard to mod a pedal to do this.

 

[B.C.]

So some interesting developements for my pedal making.

The schematic is done and set. Since my advisor at college is assistant chair to the EE department, he is letting me access the printed circuit board lab as much as I want.

Man, I read college is the best time to start a small business and they aren't kidding!

 

[niftydog]

Oh yeah, I was gonna post an answer to this question too!

Most often modding a pedal for more bass requires increasing the input and output capacitor values (which form high pass filters with nearby resistors) which is quite do-able if you can wrangle a soldering iron. But it really depends on the circuit specifics.

 

[EclecticElectrk]

thanks. i didnt really mean buying new effects, but those are good choices. i should have gotten a bass big muff but i saw one cheap on ebay so i snagged it. i am more interested in if there was anythign i could do to mod these pedals so they were more responsive to the bass frequencies

 

[Thunderscreech]

thanks. i didnt really mean buying new effects, but those are good choices. i should have gotten a bass big muff but i saw one cheap on ebay so i snagged it. i am more interested in if there was anythign i could do to mod these pedals so they were more responsive to the bass frequencies

like niftydog said, increase the input and output capacitor values.

 

[B.C.]

like niftydog said, increase the input and output capacitor values.

Yeah, agreed, probably the best way to go.

 

[i2k]

If you want my opinion, the paralooper is the "right" way of doing this - a good op amp will happily drive both signal paths so there's really no need to have two op amps just to split the signal. The difference with the paralooper is that U2-B and it's associated components forms a low-pass filter, whereas the other designs pass full range signal at this point.

The buff'n'blend is simple, but lacks a buffer for the 'return' signal which may cause difficulty with some effects combinations.

Thanks a lot Niftydog....
BTW, on Splitter Blend there's a FET buffer before the switchable inverting/non inverting buffer on the green return part. Any idea why it's there ? Can I safely remove that FET buffer and get similar result ?

 

[mikeboth]

Would it be at all possible to modify a phaser and turn it into a Frequency Sweep? Like, instead of phase shift, do a wah type thing? i'd be using the BYOC kit, if that helps any.

I don't see why other people are saying this is so hard .... replace the circuitry that does the auto-sweeping with a pot (for a wah effect, have this pot located in an external pedal). The only real 'trick' is adjusting start and end points and using the 'right' pot to get a good 'range' of use (and for some phasers, avoiding feeding too much current into certain parts).

 

[EclecticElectrk]

like niftydog said, increase the input and output capacitor values.

how exactly would i do that? would that mean buying a different capacitor?

 

[EclecticElectrk]

Oh yeah, I was gonna post an answer to this question too!

Most often modding a pedal for more bass requires increasing the input and output capacitor values (which form high pass filters with nearby resistors) which is quite do-able if you can wrangle a soldering iron. But it really depends on the circuit specifics.

ive got a soldering iron, do you think you could explain what exactly you have to do?

 

[B.C.]

how exactly would i do that? would that mean buying a different capacitor?

Yes, that is what he means. The idea here, if I'm understanding correctly, is to change the input capacitor to a larger value, which would mean desoldering the old leads and soldering the new capacitor in its place. However, I'm going to warn you the many modern chips are VERY sensitive to heat, so there's a chance of damaging you effect here.

Hope this helps.