Here's a collection of vero (stripboard) and tagboard guitar and bass effect layouts that we have put together covering many classic and popular effects in growing numbers. Many of these have been posted on freestompboxes.org, so check that site out for great discussions on building your own effect pedals. Enjoy the builds and please also visit us on Facebook and Twitter
You've got a couple of choices. If you haven't made the board up yet then just leave the diodes off the board (and make it 2 columns smaller if you want) then on the switch:
1---4 2---5 3---6
Solder the pair back to back across pins 1 and 4. Take pin 2 to Volume 3, and take pin 5 to ground. The switch would be a 2 position DPDT. Or if you want to experiment put a different pair of diodes back to back across pins 3 and 6 and use a 3 position DPDT switch. Then centre off will be no diodes, and each of the other positions will bring a different set of diodes in.
If you have already built it up, de-solder the bottom leg of both diodes and re-solder them in 2 rows above (you will need to put an additional track cut between the new diode position and the bottom of the 47K resistor. Then use a SPST 2 position switch, one lug goes to Volume 3, the other lug goes to the far right hand hole on the same row you soldered the diodes to.
Wow. Thanks for the quick and early response. Says it's 6:42 where you are. That's dedication. It's almost 10 here and I am still not focused. Thanks, I am going to start this tonight.
one more quick question, then I'll leave you be. When you say "Take pin 2 to Volume 3", is that in place of the connection to the board to Volume 3 or in addition to it? Thanks again again
Finally got it built - sans switch (couldn't get that to work) but it sounds great. It's after midnight so I can't open it up and scare the family, but I will try it tomorrow at volume. Thanks again
Hello. I have this working well - I replaced all the ceramic caps I originally had in it with mylar ones and it smoothed it out considerably. But it is still pretty dark. Not a Black Sabbath kind of dark, just not alot of treble even with the tone dimed. Is there a value to change to lighten it up just a hair? Thanks and congrats on your 100th verification. There are a lot of happy DIYers out there that you have helped. I thank you for that.
You know what? Forget what I said. The more I play this thing, the more I like it just the way it is. It's a ballsy pedal and moves a ton of air. Thanks
Can I ask what the 10n cap does in this circuit? I assumed it was for the tone control since it seems to be connected to it (and for that matter the output as well) The reason I ask is because I socketed it and have been trying other values as an experiment. I have put caps from 1p to 150p in there. The top end of the spectrum seems to give it more balls, for lack of a better term, but I wondering what it's purpose is. Thanks
The 10n and the 100K Tone pot create a low pass filter which cuts highs. So if you decrease the value of the cap, it increases the cutoff frequency, above which the frequencies are attenuated. So basically the lower the cap, the more highs will get through the filter.
Tried couple different transistors on: 2N3904 - Boring. 2N5088 - Not much of an change comparing to 2N3904 on this design.. MPSA13 - This darlington is rated at 5000-10000 hfe, and it does give a lot of noise, but generally sounds just dead. No colours at all. MPSA14 - Darlington at 20000 hfe, not much change to MPSA13. 2N2222 - Aww. Fuller mids and much better overall body. Even compared to 2N3904..
You can guess that i sticked with TO-18 2N2222... :) This makes me think that it's always better to try most designs with substandard transistors. Lower hfe seems to generally give out better results.. +m
Well the 47n and volume pot create a high pass filter, but that only starts cutting bass from around 33hz downwards and so it's already really letting all the guitar's bass frequencies through so you're probably not going to notice any difference at all by increasing that cap value. You could try increasing the 10n cap at Tone 1, or maybe make the 100n input cap larger to let more bass into the circuit. But the problem you have is that this is a pretty simple circuit with passive filters so there's only so much you can do without something more advanced to actually amplify low frequencies to give you a real bass boost.
I would try doubling all three caps. 220 for 100, 22 for 10 and 100 for 47. I would guess that then you would need higher hFE transistor (like MPSA18 or 2N5089) to keep lower frequencies from dying. +m
Hi - I'm a newbie and not so familiar with electrical issues. Just a question about the schematic or layout .... Make it sense or/and is it usefull /or possible to bias the circuit? Just in case I will try some other type of transistors?
Hey guys, I picked this pedal as my first build and I'm having a few issues. 1. I wired it without the switch to try and eliminate fault points, but I'm not getting any sound, static, or anything. I double checked the board, it looks fine, so I think it's offboard.
2. Where does the ground wire coming from the volume pot go. I feel like a total noob, but I tried hooking it up to where I have the ground wire on the output jack, board, and DC jack with no luck.
hello and welcome! starting from 2. yes ground can go to any of 2 jacks's grounds or to the dc jack ground. you must also ground all together: input's ground,output's ground,board's,pot's in this case, and dc jack's. if you did that, then we can go to no.1
check again unwanted bridges orientation of transistor orientation of the 47uf cap cuts(are they clean enough?) and the resistor values. i remember myself putting in 470k in place of 470r and wondering one whole day what's wrong! if nothing works out, just post some pictures of both sides and we'll make it! hope i helped.
ok. these photos seem good to me.it's not clear on tone 2 and 3, and it seems like you've soldered your blue and black wire together in the input jack witch is wrong, but i hope you did it right and it's just a bad angle in the picture. i think that the problem is in your board.so 2 pictures of both sides would be very helpful for us to be able to eliminate other probable problems good luck
lol, found a mistake in my wiring as I was taking the picture. The wire going from volume 3 to the board was connected to where the led+ should have gone.
I'll be trying this again after I build the test box.
here's the top http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb137/denmorin/20141129_185538.jpg
and the bottom http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb137/denmorin/20141129_191208.jpg
you can see in the bottom left corner where the copper broke off.
I'm bummed that I made that mistake on the wire from volume 3, and that I'll have to scrap this due to the copper breaking, but that's why I picked an easy one to start with.
you have a mistake! i can't see the 47k resistor. but even if it's there, it's in the wrong place.from the back of your board i can see it's one hole upper than it should.it should be next to the "c" of the transistor. it seems that you've put the resistor next to the down leg of 10nf cap. check this please and sent back and clean with the a knife or razor all possible unwanted bridges cause looks like there are some...
I built this circuit this morning and it does not work I have everything ok volume knob does not work does not kill signal when its down. I hope you can help me thanks.
Product Name : NPN Transistor;Model : 2N3904;Quantity : 100 A +/- 2% pcs Collector Base Voltage : 60V;Collector Emitter Voltage : 40V;Emitter Base Voltage : 6V Collector Current(Continuous) : 200mA;Collector Power Dissipation : 350mW;Pin Size : 14 x 0.5mm/ 0.551" x 0.019" ( L* D)
no diego.you got it wrong. we don't need the specifications of 2n3904..when mark said pin voltages, he means that you should take them from your board with a multimeter. it's done like this: supply 9v to the board, and set your multimeter to 20V. then take the COM-black cable from your multimeter to ground of the board. with the other cable (red) of your multimeter, you touch each leg of your transistor or ic in an other case. then you write down each reading that you see in the multimeter for each leg and post it here.
Built this one on Friday. I Found it to be sort of a "one-sound" circuit - it's either everything at full blast for me or it's just boring. It's bassy and has a fuzzy-drive texture with gain and volume all the way up. Tone also has to be all the way up or it's just mud. Kinda nice for slide playing, but I wouldn't waste too much time with this one.
Built this last week and it is amazing! Sounds great on my tele but last night I took it to jam and tried it on my bass and oh wow, this thing is killer for a bass, my question though is that i like loud and even with this pedal pinned its not really enough volume, does not match some of the other pedals on my board and i really do not want to get a boost, is there any way to get a bit more volume out of this? Different volume pot or a resistor value change somewhere in the circuit?
In case you and others didn't figure this out, the 680r resistor between the emitter and ground restricts the max. volume.
Decrease it or even remove it.
However, with this gain in volume, you also gain distortion—i.e. because the circuit is now louder it'll cause the diodes to clip sooner. So your lowest gain setting will be more distorted/less clean and the sound of the Gain control at max on the stock circuit might be found at 50% (at the very least, it'll be before max.).
You may also find the transistor itself starts to saturate as you approach max. Gain.
This could be a plus if you feel the circuit could be more distorted or you simply like having the option of more distortion, but it could also be a negative if you think it works best at lower gain settings.
The solution for the latter is simple—keep the 680r and add a switch from the emitter to ground. That way you'd get the stock sound and the new boosted sound that also distorts sooner and harder at higher settings.
If you want more volume at lower gain settings, try LEDs or other diodes that require a larger (louder) signal to start clipping.
With everything else stock, you could end up with the Gain control at 50% and no clipping, but significantly more volume. Then as you advance the Gain, it'll start to clip and be much louder, but less distorted.
With the new diodes AND the 680r resistor removed with the emitter going straight to ground, the Gain control will probably be closer to stock at 0 to 75-85% (i.e. you'll go from clean-ish to overdriven), then as you approach max the transistor will also start to distort, all at a significantly larger volume.
Is there a way to put the diodes on a DPDT? If so, which diode on the board would the switch connect to? Thanks
ReplyDeleteYou've got a couple of choices. If you haven't made the board up yet then just leave the diodes off the board (and make it 2 columns smaller if you want) then on the switch:
Delete1---4
2---5
3---6
Solder the pair back to back across pins 1 and 4. Take pin 2 to Volume 3, and take pin 5 to ground. The switch would be a 2 position DPDT. Or if you want to experiment put a different pair of diodes back to back across pins 3 and 6 and use a 3 position DPDT switch. Then centre off will be no diodes, and each of the other positions will bring a different set of diodes in.
If you have already built it up, de-solder the bottom leg of both diodes and re-solder them in 2 rows above (you will need to put an additional track cut between the new diode position and the bottom of the 47K resistor. Then use a SPST 2 position switch, one lug goes to Volume 3, the other lug goes to the far right hand hole on the same row you soldered the diodes to.
Wow. Thanks for the quick and early response. Says it's 6:42 where you are. That's dedication. It's almost 10 here and I am still not focused. Thanks, I am going to start this tonight.
ReplyDeleteIt was actually 14:42, Google timestamping must be a bit dodgy :o)
Deleteahh. still it was quick
Deleteone more quick question, then I'll leave you be. When you say "Take pin 2 to Volume 3", is that in place of the connection to the board to Volume 3 or in addition to it? Thanks again again
ReplyDeleteIn addition to it. It basically creates the link to the diodes that had previously been provided by the vero track, but with the switch in between.
Deletegreat, thanks
DeleteFinally got it built - sans switch (couldn't get that to work) but it sounds great. It's after midnight so I can't open it up and scare the family, but I will try it tomorrow at volume. Thanks again
ReplyDeleteHello. I have this working well - I replaced all the ceramic caps I originally had in it with mylar ones and it smoothed it out considerably. But it is still pretty dark. Not a Black Sabbath kind of dark, just not alot of treble even with the tone dimed. Is there a value to change to lighten it up just a hair? Thanks and congrats on your 100th verification. There are a lot of happy DIYers out there that you have helped. I thank you for that.
ReplyDeleteYou know what? Forget what I said. The more I play this thing, the more I like it just the way it is. It's a ballsy pedal and moves a ton of air. Thanks
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed your post somehow. Glad it's grown on you though
DeleteCan I ask what the 10n cap does in this circuit? I assumed it was for the tone control since it seems to be connected to it (and for that matter the output as well) The reason I ask is because I socketed it and have been trying other values as an experiment. I have put caps from 1p to 150p in there. The top end of the spectrum seems to give it more balls, for lack of a better term, but I wondering what it's purpose is. Thanks
ReplyDeleteThe 10n and the 100K Tone pot create a low pass filter which cuts highs. So if you decrease the value of the cap, it increases the cutoff frequency, above which the frequencies are attenuated. So basically the lower the cap, the more highs will get through the filter.
DeleteThank you. I appreciate it. That makes sense.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteJust tested this one, and it's pretty good.
ReplyDeleteTried couple different transistors on:
2N3904 - Boring.
2N5088 - Not much of an change comparing to 2N3904 on this design..
MPSA13 - This darlington is rated at 5000-10000 hfe, and it does give a lot of noise, but generally sounds just dead. No colours at all.
MPSA14 - Darlington at 20000 hfe, not much change to MPSA13.
2N2222 - Aww. Fuller mids and much better overall body. Even compared to 2N3904..
You can guess that i sticked with TO-18 2N2222... :) This makes me think that it's always better to try most designs with substandard transistors. Lower hfe seems to generally give out better results..
+m
what could i tweak to make this fatter and bassier? output cap, volume pot value?
ReplyDeleteWell the 47n and volume pot create a high pass filter, but that only starts cutting bass from around 33hz downwards and so it's already really letting all the guitar's bass frequencies through so you're probably not going to notice any difference at all by increasing that cap value. You could try increasing the 10n cap at Tone 1, or maybe make the 100n input cap larger to let more bass into the circuit. But the problem you have is that this is a pretty simple circuit with passive filters so there's only so much you can do without something more advanced to actually amplify low frequencies to give you a real bass boost.
DeleteI would try doubling all three caps. 220 for 100, 22 for 10 and 100 for 47. I would guess that then you would need higher hFE transistor (like MPSA18 or 2N5089) to keep lower frequencies from dying.
Delete+m
being that this is based on the electra, wouldn't it be easy to tweak for more gain?
DeleteHi - I'm a newbie and not so familiar with electrical issues. Just a question about the schematic or layout ....
ReplyDeleteMake it sense or/and is it usefull /or possible to bias the circuit? Just in case I will try some other type of transistors?
I used Millenium Bypass...."LED+" what to do?
ReplyDeleteThe LED+ is just to connect the LED on the enclosure if you wish to. You can leave it.
ReplyDeleteHey guys, I picked this pedal as my first build and I'm having a few issues.
ReplyDelete1. I wired it without the switch to try and eliminate fault points, but I'm not getting any sound, static, or anything. I double checked the board, it looks fine, so I think it's offboard.
2. Where does the ground wire coming from the volume pot go. I feel like a total noob, but I tried hooking it up to where I have the ground wire on the output jack, board, and DC jack with no luck.
hello and welcome!
Deletestarting from 2.
yes ground can go to any of 2 jacks's grounds or to the dc jack ground.
you must also ground all together:
input's ground,output's ground,board's,pot's in this case, and dc jack's.
if you did that, then we can go to no.1
check again
unwanted bridges
orientation of transistor
orientation of the 47uf cap
cuts(are they clean enough?)
and the resistor values.
i remember myself putting in 470k in place of 470r and wondering one whole day what's wrong!
if nothing works out, just post some pictures of both sides and we'll make it!
hope i helped.
I was able to get some oscilation after taking everything apart and redoing the grounding and jacks and the pots make noise.
DeleteThe copper is starting to lift off of my board around the edges, so ill probably just scrap this board and try again after i build a proper test box
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteNot the best picture, especially since I gave up on keeping it neat after a few tries
Deletehttp://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb137/denmorin/Mobile%20Uploads/20141129_164854.jpg
ok.
Deletethese photos seem good to me.it's not clear on tone 2 and 3, and it seems like you've soldered your blue and black wire together in the input jack witch is wrong, but i hope you did it right and it's just a bad angle in the picture.
i think that the problem is in your board.so 2 pictures of both sides would be very helpful for us to be able to eliminate other probable problems
good luck
lol, found a mistake in my wiring as I was taking the picture. The wire going from volume 3 to the board was connected to where the led+ should have gone.
DeleteI'll be trying this again after I build the test box.
Deletehere's the top
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb137/denmorin/20141129_185538.jpg
and the bottom
http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/bb137/denmorin/20141129_191208.jpg
you can see in the bottom left corner where the copper broke off.
I'm bummed that I made that mistake on the wire from volume 3, and that I'll have to scrap this due to the copper breaking, but that's why I picked an easy one to start with.
you have a mistake!
Deletei can't see the 47k resistor.
but even if it's there, it's in the wrong place.from the back of your board i can see it's one hole upper than it should.it should be next to the "c" of the transistor. it seems that you've put the resistor next to the down leg of 10nf cap.
check this please and sent back
and clean with the a knife or razor all possible unwanted bridges cause looks like there are some...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI built this circuit this morning and it does not work I have everything ok volume knob does not work does not kill signal when its down. I hope you can help me thanks.
ReplyDeletePost your transistor pin voltages, that will always give us the best clue and a good idea where to look for an error
DeleteProduct Name : NPN Transistor;Model : 2N3904;Quantity : 100 A +/- 2% pcs
ReplyDeleteCollector Base Voltage : 60V;Collector Emitter Voltage : 40V;Emitter Base Voltage : 6V
Collector Current(Continuous) : 200mA;Collector Power Dissipation : 350mW;Pin Size : 14 x 0.5mm/ 0.551" x 0.019" ( L* D)
no diego.you got it wrong. we don't need the specifications of 2n3904..when mark said pin voltages, he means that you should take them from your board with a multimeter. it's done like this:
Deletesupply 9v to the board, and set your multimeter to 20V.
then take the COM-black cable from your multimeter to ground of the board.
with the other cable (red) of your multimeter, you touch each leg of your transistor or ic in an other case.
then you write down each reading that you see in the multimeter for each leg and post it here.
Built this one on Friday. I Found it to be sort of a "one-sound" circuit - it's either everything at full blast for me or it's just boring. It's bassy and has a fuzzy-drive texture with gain and volume all the way up. Tone also has to be all the way up or it's just mud. Kinda nice for slide playing, but I wouldn't waste too much time with this one.
ReplyDeleteBuilt this last week and it is amazing! Sounds great on my tele but last night I took it to jam and tried it on my bass and oh wow, this thing is killer for a bass, my question though is that i like loud and even with this pedal pinned its not really enough volume, does not match some of the other pedals on my board and i really do not want to get a boost, is there any way to get a bit more volume out of this? Different volume pot or a resistor value change somewhere in the circuit?
ReplyDeleteIn case you and others didn't figure this out, the 680r resistor between the emitter and ground restricts the max. volume.
DeleteDecrease it or even remove it.
However, with this gain in volume, you also gain distortion—i.e. because the circuit is now louder it'll cause the diodes to clip sooner. So your lowest gain setting will be more distorted/less clean and the sound of the Gain control at max on the stock circuit might be found at 50% (at the very least, it'll be before max.).
You may also find the transistor itself starts to saturate as you approach max. Gain.
This could be a plus if you feel the circuit could be more distorted or you simply like having the option of more distortion, but it could also be a negative if you think it works best at lower gain settings.
The solution for the latter is simple—keep the 680r and add a switch from the emitter to ground. That way you'd get the stock sound and the new boosted sound that also distorts sooner and harder at higher settings.
If you want more volume at lower gain settings, try LEDs or other diodes that require a larger (louder) signal to start clipping.
With everything else stock, you could end up with the Gain control at 50% and no clipping, but significantly more volume. Then as you advance the Gain, it'll start to clip and be much louder, but less distorted.
With the new diodes AND the 680r resistor removed with the emitter going straight to ground, the Gain control will probably be closer to stock at 0 to 75-85% (i.e. you'll go from clean-ish to overdriven), then as you approach max the transistor will also start to distort, all at a significantly larger volume.
You can build a lpb1 (linear power boost) circuit and put the output of the ghetto into the input of the lpb1 and its output, lpb1,to the switch
ReplyDeleteI know this a dead topic but anyone know which resistor could be increased for more volume?
ReplyDeleteThanks!