Finished a distortion pedal

[FalseTodd]

Finished is a relative term, that means "not finished". But the circuitry is done, there's just a couple bells and whistles I want to add. Maybe a paint job, I dunno.

And for scale:

 

[Steve]

I was trying to find plans for one... do you have a circuit diagram? What type of distortion is it?

 

[avi]

a bunch of my friends are doing this - i do believe there's plans and info for parts readily available online.

my pal buster's namesake pedal:

 

[Steve]

I want to make a splash pedal for a bass... the audio splash effect is awesome

 

[City]

call it the virginity stomper or something as absurd.

 

[FalseTodd]

There's a ridic amount of schematics and info out there. Check out these two sites:

www.diystompboxes.com

They have a really great forum. I built a delay pedal and had a question about it, and the guy who designed it wrote back to me in like 2 hours.

www.generalguitargadgets.com

This is a really good place to start. Very clear PCBs and layouts. Good if you're not ready to start designing circuit boards from schematics yet.

That pedal was called the BlackFire. (Lamelamelame name) It was designed by some guy named Joe Davisson who has since dropped off the face of the earth. If you want the schematic I can email it to you, I don't think it's online anymore. It's OK, but I'm not entirely pleased with it. It tends to not handle heavy palm muting very well.

 

[TheNewChupe]

This is most definitely another of those "project" things i've wanted to do. The first was making beer, which i've started. The pedals may very well be next (although may be a couple yrs).

A paint job might be cool, but frankly, the ultra industrial look is kinda cool, considering it's your first pedal. Leave room for improvement, so to speak.

 

[TheNewChupe]

so that's a true bypass, DPDT switch right?
most of the "first" pedals i researched doing were just fuzz boxes and had WAY simple circuitry, which is good for my meager non-electronic brain.

 

[FalseTodd]

It wasn't my first actually - but definitely the easiest time I've had so far. And the ultra-industrial look is still kicking on the delay pedal I built. Greg's using it now and it seems to be going strong...

Yeah it is true bypass, and the switch accounts for literally like 1/4 or 1/3 of the cost of the entire unit.

 

[FalseTodd]

I'm going to work on a Big Muff Pi clone tonight hopefully...

 

[TheNewChupe]

sweeeeeeeet.

if you've already done one that has the industrial look going for it, then yeah, i'd say PAINT THAT BUGGER. Flowers N' Shit. (feel free to use that name)
or Labia Tree, as i hear that's on the verge of becoming 'scene' these days.

 

[TheNewChupe]

also: the delay circuit was YOUR FIRST?!? i thought those circuits were crazy difficult.

 

[FalseTodd]

no no no - my first was something called the Electra Distortion, which is notable cause you can buy all the parts at RadioShack. Predictably, it's a complete piece of crap and sounds *awful*. Next was a Tychobrahe Octavia, which I built wrong, but in such a good way. We ended up using it as a vocal effect in The Manifold Curiosity. Then I did another distortion, a proper Tychobrahe, and THEN the delay pedal, which took me four tries and many destroyed components. In fact I actualy BLEW UP a voltage regulator. Like exploded, parts flew across the room. It was awesome.

 

[lizard]

exploding equipment on stage is so metal. very grym and troo.

 

[TheNewChupe]

ah, ok. that makes me feel somewhat less inadequate. the whole circuitry thing is still pretty much a mystery to me, but so are many things. i had no idea how long you'd been doing this stuff- but that's very cool that you've got to a point where you're making things that have tonal personality.

although: have you ever made beer?
(please say "no" so i don't feel like a toad)

 

[FalseTodd]

I made some with a friend once, but it was really his baby. It came out crazy: pretty much totally flat, very dark. Pretty good taste, but absolutely positively NO AFTERTASTE. Like none. Like the first taste vanished instantly, and you weren't sure if you were lowering the glass or raising it to your lips.

 

[ChromeLife]

ah, ok. that makes me feel somewhat less inadequate. the whole circuitry thing is still pretty much a mystery to me, but so are many things. i had no idea how long you'd been doing this stuff- but that's very cool that you've got to a point where you're making things that have tonal personality.

although: have you ever made beer?
(please say "no" so i don't feel like a toad)

*ribbit*

 

[Steve]

Thanks for the links

several of the diagrams I found are obvously shrunken form a larger size, but I found one I'll start to work on soon... Ibanez Sonic Distortion ( http://www.muzique.com/schem/sonic.gif )

 

[FalseTodd]

Does he give a schematic for the clean "channel" buffer? Or does that just propose that you leave the other half of the opamp to just sit there? I ask cause I don't know how to make a buffer happen (although someone recently posted to the diystompboxes.com msg board about how to do that...)

 

[kleo706]

For interesting "vocal effects," I dug up an old voice synthesizer application for the apple //e. It's got an absolutely fantastic lo-fi sound to it.