Friday, 15 February 2013

Colorsound Tremolo

This is per the original schematic, not a reissue. I made the transistor pinouts to match your basic transistors and i think that 2N5088s should work just fine in there. Original units have 2SC945s in them, so mind the pinouts and twist the legs if you want to use those.



Medferret's demo clip of his build:



Posted by at 18:12
Tags: , , ,

87 comments:

  1. JaviCAP15 February 2013 at 23:18

    Fuck, I didn't want to build more pedals in a week or so...... I need jacks, have to build this one!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Travis16 February 2013 at 00:21

    Wow. Sounds great. This one is getting built for sure!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JaviCAP16 February 2013 at 00:31

    And will fit in a 1590A, perfect, I need too a B250K 9mm too... well, it will be ready next week :P

    BR

    ReplyDelete
  4. superferrite16 February 2013 at 00:37

    Yeah! My first request fulfilled!

    Might need a booster afterwards.
    I'll look where I found the spot for a flashing LED on my old build and give you guys a heads up.

    ReplyDelete
  5. mah6216 February 2013 at 14:11

    Almost got this working except for an annoying siren effect along with the audio. I seem to remember this happening on another trem build I did last year. What I can't remember is how I solved it! any clues, anyone!?

    Mark

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    Replies
    1. IvIark16 February 2013 at 14:14

      Are you sure an ambulance wasn't driving passed your house?

      Delete
    2. mah6216 February 2013 at 14:44

      yes, actually, it might be coming to take me away :D

      Delete
    3. Unknown31 August 2017 at 17:40

      Did you ever figure it out?

      Delete
  6. Madferret16 February 2013 at 18:31

    I just finished this and other than the depth pot needing lugs 1 and 3 swapping it's correct. I've not got any 'siren' noise, although when I touch the depth pot you can hear an oscillation without playing anything but I guess when I put a knob on it it'll stop, it's probably grounding out - maybe this is your issue mah62? The pots would maybe benefit from being reverse log as the action seems to all be in the final third, other than that it's good to be tagged.

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    Replies
    1. Madferret16 February 2013 at 19:37

      Here's quick demo of the finished build for anyone interested to hear what it sounds like compared to the original: Colorsound Tremolo Demo.

      Delete
    2. mirosol16 February 2013 at 20:34

      Thanks man! I swapped the labels and tagged it. Plus i added your demo to the post! Thanks!
      +m

      Delete
    3. Corey11 July 2013 at 10:04

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    4. Corey12 July 2013 at 03:49

      I used bc549's as I couldn't find 2n5088's anywhere. No tremolo just a clean boosted signal. Would this be the problem? sorry still a newb.

      Delete
    5. Corey26 July 2013 at 14:09

      Built this one again. Used 2n5088's and still nothing. What could I possibly be doing wrong? I've retraced everything. faulty pots? faulty switch?

      Delete
  7. mah6216 February 2013 at 19:14

    Nice one, mate! I'm debugging as we speak, I'm sure I'm not the first person to expierence this oscillation problem. I've learnt so much reading peoples debug problems on this site that I doubt it is "my issue". When I get my head around whats going wrong on this build I'll share that with everyone and people will learn from my mistakes, so that makes it an issue for everyone. Let's keep it positive! Peace :-)

    Mark

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    1. Madferret16 February 2013 at 19:44

      Yeah I know what you mean, the amount of issues I've had over the last few months is unbelievable, one of the things that keeps you going is the fact that other people are having the same problems and can all help each other out. Like I said before, I was getting some oscillation noise whenever I touched the dials so maybe this circuit is susceptible to noise issues, if you want me to post a pic of my finished board so you can compare it yours I can do?

      Delete
    2. mah6216 February 2013 at 20:43

      That would be really helpful, mate! The more info at our disposal the better. I have a feeling it's down to dodgy soldering or, God forbid, more faulty components. I've been over the board checking for solder bridges, bad cuts or any misplacements. When I realise the problem I'll probably kick myself! A couple of months ago, I spent 3 hours debugging only to realise I'd forgotten to put the IC in the socket! what a knobhead!!

      BTW, I'm a bit thick with all this internet stuff but how do you upload sounds, vids and pics to this site? Anyway, 'nuff of all this stuff for now, It's saturday night so down tools! Cheers, all the best :-)

      Mark

      Delete
    3. Madferret16 February 2013 at 22:42

      Haha, I've left a socket or two empty in the past too. There's nothing worse than realising that you've wasted the last hour because of your own idiocy then getting laughed at by your girlfriend ;)

      I'll post the photo to the forum but I've got some mates round so I'll have to do it in a while.

      Delete
    4. IvIark16 February 2013 at 22:52

      Yes I've forgotten to put the IC in the socket quite a few times too. I blame Fosters or vodka

      Delete
    5. Madferret16 February 2013 at 23:15

      Ah Vodka, the solution to, and cause of, so many problems.

      Delete
  8. JaviCAP16 February 2013 at 20:07

    Hi,

    Well, just my two cents, as I still have not put my hands on this project.

    I thought when taking a look to the circuit that the speed pot could be too big. Madferret telling that it only gets use in the last third of the pot seems to confirm this.

    I had a similar problem with a Cmat Mods Tremoglo, the blinking led (and so the sound) did not became to blink until 1 o'clock and when I opened the box, there was a 500 log pot for the Speed control, while on the pcb was written C100K.

    Chad confirmed me that there was a factory problem: the 500A was wrong... and the label on the pcb too, the pot should be a 100k lin. After swappin the pot, the Speed was usable from full CCW to CW rotation, so I think I'll build this one with a lin 100 too.

    And so, as I find very useful in tremolos, where is the best way to include a speed blinking led on this effect? Q3 collector?

    BR

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    Replies
    1. mirosol16 February 2013 at 20:39

      Thanks for the note. I added (try 100K lin) to the corrected layout.
      +m

      Delete
    2. Madferret16 February 2013 at 22:46

      With this one it's more that the Fist part of the sweep increases the depth/speed really slowly and then the last third shoots up really quickly which was why I thought the reverse log may help. I'll definitely give the 100k a go tomorrow as it's a decent sounding trem when you hit the sweet spot so anything that helps get there would be excellent.

      Delete
    3. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 00:39

      Well, had no chance to build it right now, with a B100k. Well, don't know how it works with the 250B one, but the 100K one, begins to increase speed at about 9 o clock, so I believe that this is at least a more natural behaviour.

      Depth is very slow-response too, so don't know if try a 100C or a 50A.... I think I have both tyoes, so tomorrow will tell too, but the 100B speed will stay for sure :)

      BR

      PS Had to use a 360k (348k on my dmm) as I had no 330k ones

      Delete
    4. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 00:46

      And yeah, it sounds pretty decent, but not great. Can get a bit harsh at high depth & speed, and the slow speed is a bit fast for my taste.

      I'm very used to the Tremoglo, that for me is the best one I've ever tried, and besides con be used as clean booster, but this Colorsound will get boxed anyway, sounds good enough and can be of use for some situations.

      Delete
    5. IvIark17 February 2013 at 01:10

      Is the Tremoglo gooped? :o)

      Delete
    6. Madferret17 February 2013 at 01:29

      It's very choppy on the higher depths isn't it, like a square wave. I'm wondering if there'd be a way to mod the attack to a more gradual shoulder?

      Delete
    7. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 01:34

      No,, is pretty clean inside. Can take pics if you want, as haven't seen the most remote reference to this circuit.

      For what I could check when I blowed a 2N5457 and swappin' the pot, i think is based on the EA Tremolo with some modifications (very usual with Chad works.

      BR

      Delete
    8. IvIark17 February 2013 at 02:00

      Yes that would be cool mate, if you can take a front and back pic of the board and on the image put down any values that I won't be able to make out then I'll trace it. Email them to me if you like, or you could start a tracing thread on the forum :o)

      Delete
    9. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 14:06

      Done mate, but there are about 10-12 pics (some areas are a pain in the ass, as the ports are over there) and it's 60 megas.

      In one of the pics i've noted the trannies and caps values. Resistors will have to be noted by someone able to read codes at single sight :P

      How can i get this pics to you?

      Delete
    10. IvIark17 February 2013 at 14:14

      I think Hotmail has a 10M limit to attachments so you could send them in a number of emails, or maybe upload them here and send me the link:

      http://tinyupload.com/

      Delete
    11. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 14:35

      Sent :P Hope that yor mailbox is still alive!

      Delete
  9. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 20:01

    By the way, any sugestion about the blinking speed led? Being built in a 1590A, i intend just to include this one working both as on / tempo led.

    BR

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    Replies
    1. mirosol17 February 2013 at 20:14

      Not sure, but you could try to take the LED resistor from Q3 collector. Check the voltage first...
      +m

      Delete
    2. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 20:19

      Was thinking about the same. Will take a look on this point, but don't think I'd need a resistor, as the +9v comes filtered by a 4,7k resistor.

      Will take a look right now.

      BR

      Delete
    3. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 20:35

      Well, both wrong :P It lits but doen't blink. Will have to look at some other place :P

      BR

      Delete
  10. JaviCAP17 February 2013 at 21:19

    Solved:

    +9v from upper row or +9 row to led anode. led's cathode + 1-5k resistor + wire to 3PDT switch (to the lung where you use to solder your indicator's led in other builds). Now wire from your ground lung in 3PDT to Q3 collector row (9th row at the right) and you're done.

    BR

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    Replies
    1. JaviCAP19 February 2013 at 23:30

      Well,, pedal finished.

      Just one comment: for the blinkin speed led, you have NOT to put a ground wire where usual as I told before, just the one to the row of Q3 collector, just this one, and works like a dream :)

      Well, here's the new dwarf:

      http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/5329/solatremolo.jpg

      Ans yes, it fits with no "problem" in a 1590A, it could fit even being (an extreme tight fit) of 24x14:

      http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/2638/solatremologuts.jpg

      BR!

      PS. Madferret is right, this tremolo can get a very very sweet spot, in my build (B100K spped pot) it's about Depth 1 o'clock Speed: Anywhere from 9 to 3 o'clock, really cool sound there.

      Delete
    2. Bohemian H23 February 2013 at 08:18

      You're a very sick man, Javi.

      Delete
    3. JaviCAP23 February 2013 at 11:08

      Sweet madness :P

      Delete
    4. Unknown31 July 2013 at 15:17

      Hi Javi. I tried your LED method, and it flashes in time with the speed, however every time it flashes you can hear a small thud from the amplifier. I assume it's as the LED draws current to switch on. Any ideas on a fix for this?

      Cheers!

      Delete
    5. JaviCAP31 July 2013 at 16:44

      Sure :)

      A 1uf (better if not electrolithic) cap between Q3-ground lug in the switch should help, depending on the kind of led.

      In my Pedal was not neccesary, but I've used this solution in some other ones when i need a blinking led.

      BR

      Delete
    6. Setenzak8 April 2016 at 17:38

      @Dan Holmes, the "small thud" your heard can come from your guitar noise.. I feel it with P90 but not with silent Humbucker.

      Delete
  11. Dave13 April 2013 at 17:30

    I built this and really like it. One thing to note is that using 50Kc taper pots dramatically improves the sweep on both depth and speed.
    Thanks
    Dave

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    Replies
    1. JaviCAP13 April 2013 at 18:38

      Thanks for the heads up Dave. I used a 100k for speed, and I think is still a bit overkill. I'll try 50k on my next build.

      BR

      Delete
    2. Corey11 July 2013 at 09:22

      This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  12. Corey11 July 2013 at 09:23

    I used bc549's as I couldn't find 2n5088's anywhere. No tremolo just a boosted signal. Would this be the problem?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Steve Weston23 November 2013 at 19:39

    Hi guys,

    Thanks for this, great build, Think It could be possible to change a few resistors to adjust he minimum/max speed?

    I found using B50k pots for both Speed/Depth worked the best with the least 'dead' movement.

    Thanks
    Steve

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    Replies
    1. cylens30 November 2013 at 13:22

      ok, just found out, that the max speed is set by the 3.3k resistor. i've replaced it with a 1.5k resistor, it's just perfect for me.

      min speed, is set by the pot value. 100k is fine, to me.

      Delete
  14. Dave27 November 2013 at 21:11

    Does anyone know how I can raise the volume of the pedal? There is a 100k resistor connected to output, maybe if I reduce that? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
    Cheers
    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  15. cylens30 November 2013 at 13:01

    hey, i've tried built a fair amount of tremolo pedals and this one is my favourite.
    hope that someone can chime in, otherwise, I will have to spam the forum...

    mine is not fast enough at max speed, i get it that altering the speed pot value won't change anything, as fastest speed is when the pot has a 0 ohm value. so, is max speed due to the 3.3k resistor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. cylens30 November 2013 at 13:24

      well, "why not try it yourself?", you should say... and you'd be right. replaced 3.3k resistor by a 1.5k resistor, perfect!

      might add a daughter board with a boost, otherwise I can't believe how good it sounds and how simple the circuit is...

      Delete
    2. cylens1 January 2014 at 19:06

      and here's a build picture:
      http://imageshack.us/a/img541/7953/nnhs.jpg

      Delete
  16. N.R. Janoes24 January 2014 at 14:25

    Hey! Just finished building this one! It's fantastic! I just wanted to share it with you guys as it's my first build!!! So excited!!! :-)

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    Replies
    1. IvIark24 January 2014 at 14:38

      Nice one, now go and choose your next 15 builds! :o)

      Delete
    2. N.R. Janoes24 January 2014 at 15:31

      Here's a quick pic http://www.flickr.com/photos/45067467@N04/12118471775/

      Delete
  17. N.R. Janoes24 January 2014 at 14:50

    I've already have, colorsound phazex and valvecaster ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Unknown4 May 2014 at 04:28

    Hi guys. I'm having a bit of a problem with this build. I have built several pedals from this forum and can usually troubleshoot for myself - despite not really understanding what's going on. My problem is what would appear to be LFO bleed (I read about that in the comments of another layout on this forum). It's a very prominent percussive sound whenever the pedal is engaged. Speed varies with speed. Depth doesn't seem to change the percussive nature. The signal does trem, but I don't know if it's as designed because of the bleed. Are there any suggestions for specific areas to investigate, please? Many thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Kosko1 June 2014 at 07:48

    Hello! I'm a beginner. Effect works fine, but the speed controller gives a short frequency tremolo

    ReplyDelete
  20. mirosol1 July 2014 at 08:23

    Just got around to building one of these myself. The controls work ok, while the C taper for depth would be recommended. Or a B50K could also work. I'm sticking with B100K for now.

    Other thing. I did notice a volume drop higher than can be explained by psychoacoustics. So if anyone else is experiencing the same thing, i'd suggest lowering the value of that 4K7 resistor coming from Q1 emitter to groung. I used 3K3 and it's a lot closer to unity now.

    I think i'm going to add these notes to the layout..
    +m

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    Replies
    1. Unknown29 July 2014 at 17:04

      hey,
      i am experiencing a significant volume decrease when engaged.
      i lowered the 4k7 to 3k and still there is no apparent change in volume :\
      other then that the effect functions as expected.
      any advise please?

      Delete
    2. mirosol29 July 2014 at 18:46

      I'm guessing you may have something else wrong in there. Are the 18K and 330K around the Q1 ok? Are you using 2N5088s?
      +m

      Delete
    3. Unknown7 August 2014 at 12:00

      yeah well, i started using some testing utility i built in order the check the pedals before i solder the pots and switches.
      apparently i wired the the testing utility wrong, so the input was the out put and out put was the input.

      after plugin it correctly it works fine now, sounds great :D.
      and consequently also another pedal i was building works now :)

      thanks allot this is my favorite pedal so far :)

      Delete
    4. geof hancock1 February 2016 at 22:56

      I tried putting a 5k pot in place of the 4k7 resistor and it worked great as a volume adjust... It gives the trem a little more growl with it turned all the way up, but not in a bad way. It hasn't fried anything yet, maybe it will, but nice to have a little adjustment on the fly.

      Delete
  21. Unknown27 September 2014 at 08:15

    hi guys,
    i built this pedal a while ago and i started having problems with it.
    some times the signal would pass Through the pedal but with no effect,
    i used to reconnect the 9V supply and that would usually fix that.
    the problem escalated and now, no matter what i do, the pedal almost never works.
    any one got any ideas ?
    has anyone else experienced relatively long term problems with this pedal ?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Steve Weston27 December 2014 at 13:44

    Hi guys,

    Has any one got the schem for this version? I can only find one with 3 trans. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  23. vahnrondel11 January 2015 at 10:14

    guys i have a clicking sound problem in my build (heartbeat sound)... is it because my caps are all mylar? or is this normal? only occur when depth pot is on 0.. please help...

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMJTMdnjeHo&list=UUxjtWj3OGeV9zsNUVbmtzXg

    ReplyDelete
  24. vahnrondel9 February 2015 at 06:38

    just wanna share my build :D im so happy with this and i will definitely use this for my gigs
    credits to the maker of tagboardeffects.blogspot.com, IvIark and mirosol!!!
    -vahnrondel from philippines

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpePntGB75Q

    ReplyDelete
  25. Unknown7 May 2015 at 08:24

    Hi.i am new here and i have to say that this is a great site.i 've made 4 pedals with your help.great work!i am having trouble with this one.just like Corey i used bc549 and i have a clean slightly boosted sound but no effect.it still sounds even if i remove the pots.i checked everything and it's driving me crazy.please help.i really wanna built this one...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Unknown13 May 2015 at 16:39

    Still nothing. Any ideas would be helpful. Is it possible that the bc's causing the problem?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown14 May 2015 at 01:36

      Someone else above seemed to have the same problem using BC549s too, maybe track some 5088s down and try them instead?

      Delete
  27. Anonymous31 October 2015 at 18:14

    tried several times and got nothing ..maybe a bad solder tip?

    ReplyDelete
  28. Joe P.23 November 2015 at 21:37

    I used bc549's with no problems so it shouldn't be the transistors.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dead Eye9 March 2016 at 17:51

    Just finished building this. Several notes: if you're having oscillation with this, make sure it's not your power supply. Mine is pretty noisy and creates this goofy up and down oscillation with the pedal. Battery is quiet. If you're still having issues with the clock noise, a buffer before the Tremolo would probably help.
    I don't quite know if it's just my circuit but at highest speed setting the depth just disappears. I did change the 3.3k resistor to 1.5k for more speed though. I guess the wave might just be getting crushed too much. Same happened with small clone chorus and the ultra fast speed mod...
    the rate led is easy. Just connect led's + to q3 collector (one row above the 470nf cap at the bottom right) and the ground of the led anywhere you'd like. I put mine to the footswitch. Not all LEDs seem to work though. I found 5mm blue and white to work best, so just experiment yourself. It seemed like it worked better with a current limiting 2k2 resistor. Alligator clips are your best friends in this situation...
    In any case, a great build, the pots seem to have all the action at the very end so might be better to use anti-log pots. I simply used b100k for both. Too lazy to change it now hah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. vahnrondel11 March 2016 at 01:49

      I was waiting for this post!!!

      Thank you so much for sharing this KOLIZIJA...
      will definitely do this!!! we have same situation, the depth disappears on full speed only when the rate LED is connected...
      but works fine when rate LED is removed...

      I used a bi-colour LED for the rate and on/off indicator

      Delete
  30. Setenzak19 June 2016 at 07:20

    I built this pedal and mod it
    It's my first tremolo, It's a good one, very quiet, and fun gear.
    But mine work only if I reversed Q3.
    Is there any error on schematic ?

    ReplyDelete
  31. trev21 April 2020 at 02:29

    Lots of comments on this one, I used 100kb for depth and speed, I found the speed range to be right up my alley but the depth only really works maxed and then a quarter turn back, anything after and there is nothing, I ended up taking the wire off of pin 3 and bam the pot works all the way now! I'll try the 50kC pots next but I'd remove that wire to pin 3, I also got more volume when I did that.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Chris10 November 2020 at 19:20

    Has anyone else experienced a small amount of latency occurring between the time the effect is engaged and when it actually affects the signal in this circuit? I really like the tremolo effect, particularly with some of modifications that various people have suggested, but noticed this in my build. Just a quirk of this particular analog trem circuit? I also incorporated the blinking speed LED. Might that have an affect? Thank you in advance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris18 April 2022 at 21:07

      Decided to revisit this after a long time away from it. Any issues I had with the circuit were solved be removing the blinking speed LED indicator; latency went away so tremolo effect engages immediately, and no loss of depth at full CW on the speed pot. I went with B50k and C50k for the speed and depth pots, respectively, as well as reduced the 3k3 resistor at lug 3 of the speed pot to 1k5 to increase the maximum trem speed (per a few comments above).

      Delete
  33. perfector23 November 2020 at 09:07

    No effect, only clean sound. I have used 5088. And have checked multiple times. What should I be looking at?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Sizzorfite6 January 2021 at 05:52

    Anyone have a schematic for this?

    ReplyDelete
  35. KCUFRADIO23 April 2021 at 22:21

    Hey guys, I've also just built this pedal, and only getting the clean guitar sound through it, no effect. Any ideas why that could be? I can actually hear a veeeeery faint tremolo-like oscillation, so I thought maybe I wired the pots in reverse, but it appears I have them wired correctly. I also checked for transistor positioning, cold joints, unwanted connections on the veroboard, all seems fine.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ManicStrat211225 April 2021 at 19:25

      I had the same issue, but I can't remember what was going on with it. I'll find my notebook I wrote my trouble shooting notes for that circuit in tonight and get back to you.

      Delete
    2. ManicStrat211226 April 2021 at 06:44

      Still looking for my notebook :(

      Delete
    3. KCUFRADIO27 April 2021 at 10:52

      Would appreciate it greatly if you found it and told me :)

      Delete
    4. KoRMaX2 August 2021 at 08:56

      Just turn Q3 in the way of the rest of transistors. It worked for me!

      Delete
  36. trev12 June 2021 at 00:21

    WHERE WOULD I FIND A SCHEMATIC FOR THIS?

    ReplyDelete

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