Pedals for Sale

Actually, it’s a different tremolo coming first: CMOS Eisley

Just got these boards in today and have begun the first prototype build. It’s an optical tremolo with both the audio path and LFO made from a single CD4049 CMOS hex inverter. Despite having it all function in a single IC, there is no LFO ticking in the audio. Two of the inverters are the audio path (input and output amplifiers), and three more inverters are arranged as a low-frequency oscillator. And the last inverter is unused (I may do another iteration later that uses this last inverter to add a bit of grit/drive).

There are three controls: Speed (pot), Depth (pot), and Triangle/Square (switch). The switch controls the wave shape of the LFO. Be default, the LFO products a VERY square output. To try to smooth this out as much as possible, I added a very large capacitor as a rudimentary low-pass filter on the wave. The result is pretty close to a triangle wave shape. And the switch allows you to choose which wave shape you want to use (obviously). There is also an LED to indicate LFO speed, and it is lit even when the pedal is bypassed. The pedal will be available with either a standard 3PDT mechanical bypass switch or with a relay-driven soft-touch bypass switch (modest upcharge for the latter).

I hope to have a demo video posted soon, and after that I plan to sell these primarily through a local music shop (who will ship pretty much anywhere), but I will also sell direct if someone would prefer that.

Pic of the mostly populated board:

cmos eisley

 

Effects Projects

The Wahscillator – An LFO-driven Filter

I always liked the original ROG Phozer’s base sound, but the LFO wasn’t really that useful at lower speeds. So I took the basic idea, which is the Tim Escobedo’s Idiot Wah + LFO, and kicked it up a notch. Instead of the Phozer’s input JFET buffer, I went with an op amp buffer, and since there’s an extra amp in the package, I also added an output buffer. The LFO is the Shoot The Moon tremolo. For the variable resistor element, just about any of the usual suspects will work: LED/LDR combo, vactrol, or even one of those optical ICs such as the H11F1. And that’s how the Wahscillator came to be. Read More

Effects Projects

The Snitch: a ProCo Rat clone project

There are many Rat clone projects out there, but this one is mine. This is a part-for-part clone of the original Rat circuit. There are no extra pots or switches…just three knobs of ass-kicking tone in a small PCB form factor. It’s laid out for 1N4148 / 1N914 diodes, but you could use pretty much whatever you want to mimic the various Rat version. My suggestions:

  • 1N4148 / 1N914 – Classic Rat
  • LEDs (diffused) – Turbo Rat
  • BAT41 or similar Schottky diode – You Dirty Rat (please don’t waste a real Germanium diode on a YDR build)
  • 1x 1N914 + 1x LED – Overpriced boutique Rat variant with an unnecessarily self-aggrandizing name

Read More

DIY Effects Info

Tim Escobedo “Circuit Snippets” from FolkUrban.com

I have spent countless hours pouring over the circuits and notes that used to be hosted on a strange little website called Folk Urban (used to folkurban.com but it’s gone now). These so-called “circuit snippets” from a guy named Tim Escobedo (RIP) has inspired so many DIY pedal hobbyists to build pedals, create new circuits, and learn about electronics. Tim’s impact on the DIY pedal scene cannot be overestimated. His amazing insights and creative ideas will be sorely missed. Read More

Effects Projects

AstroClone – An Astrotone Fuzz clone

Thought I’d redraw the classic Astrotone circuit and tinker around a bit. With some mods, it sort of reminds me of a light-weight version of the Colorsound Overdriver. The schematic in the File Pack below has the vintage parts values (to the best of my knowledge). I’m calling this the AstroClone since it’s an Astrotone Fuzz clone (duh).

Included in the AstroClone File Pack is artwork for etching (600 DPI), schematic and layout images, and Eagle CAD files.

And below is the BOM for my take on the circuit. I dropped the tone control because it’s useless. I also changed up things a bit to get a little more output and a little more grit.

R1 – 2M2
R2 – 33K
R3 – 1M
R4 – 470K
R5 – 2K2
R6 – omit
C1 – 1µ
C2 – 47n
C3 – 47n
C4 – 47n
D1 – BAT41 (any schottky will work)
D2 – 1N914 (any silicon will work)
Q1 – 2N4401
Q2 – 2N5089
GAIN – B250K
VOL – A25K

Effects Projects

Shoot the Moon Tremolo

The Shoot the Moon Tremolo is an optical tremolo originally based on the excellent Tremulus Lune circuit by 4MS/CommonSound. The audio path is similar, but the LFO has been simplified to three controls: Speed, Depth, and Shape (wave shape). The power supply section has also been overhauled to provide better electrical isolation between the LFO and the audio portions of the circuit, and both sections are physically isolated as well. The result is a dead-quiet tremolo that goes from triangle wave to almost square wave (that is, smooth to choppy).

There is also a Gain control so that the output of the circuit can be set for unity gain; or it could be used as a boosted tremolo, if desired. Additionally, with the Depth at minimum and Boost set to greater than unity gain, the circuit can be used as a handy-dandy op amp booster with no amplitude modulation at all.

Download the Shoot the Moon Tremolo file pack.
Contains: Schematic image, PCB layout image, legacy PCB build guide document with notes, and Eagle CAD files.

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