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
Finished this yesterday. Didn't work straight away. Did some research and Q1 comes can come with C and B the opposite way around. Swapped it, so on mine, the flat side now faces to the right. Everything works as it should. Compared to my AC tone pedal this is warmer, less jangly - a lot more about subtle harmonics. It is very touch sensitive. I've never heard an AC30 in real life so can't judge it next to that. Well worth the build though!
ReplyDeleteI've just checked mine and they're the other way too so I've updated the layout. Thanks for the feedback.
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ReplyDeleteThis sounds great but I am getting a large volume difference between the 1n4148 and the BAT41 (I didn't have any BAT46.) I am assuming that the switch is accessing the set opposite to its throw position. Is it a property of the BAT41 (will BAT46 be different?) or is that the way it's supposed to be? Otherwise the middle position sounds correct and the sound of the distortion is really nice. Thanks
ReplyDeleteYes, the 1N4148 have a typical forward voltage of around 0.7V, Schottky diodes have a forward voltage from maybe 0.25V to 0.35V. The diodes in this circuit dump some of the signal to ground (all signal voltage above their own forward voltage) and so yes a lot more of it is dumped by the Schottky. If you want to get it closer use two diodes in series (4 total) for the Schottky's.
DeleteGreat. Thanks as always
Deletefor the dpdt, does it have to be an on/on/on, or can an on/off/on work?
ReplyDeleteI laid it out with an on/off/on in mind, but for diode switching like this with a centre off position, either type will work.
Deleteyou rule man. so informative and quick to respond. thanks a lot.
Deletei only have some 1n914, 1n34a, and 1n5817 laying around, will these work for the diode switching? any idea what they'll sound like?
ReplyDeleteoh, and a couple 9.1v zeners. any suggestions?
Delete1N914 is practically the same diode as 1N4148, so use those instead. You couold also use 1N5817s in place of BAT46. Ones on the switch are for clipping, so any will do. You could try on LEDs for those too..
Delete+m
dumb question, but i don't have any 1k pots, i have a couple extra 2k, what would i need to do to make it a 1k?
ReplyDeletePut a 2k resistor to 1 and 3 on the gain pot. It will change the taper of the pot but still be ok. Or just use a 2k pot. It wont hurt anything.
ReplyDeleteHi , sorry a little confused . Does the led + go to the on indication led plus leg , the negative to ground or does it connect as in the off board wiring section via the stomp switch ? Thanks
ReplyDeleteSorted it . Connected -ve of led to switch . Works fine but the added gain via the diodes is very fuzzy at extreme ranges of gain pot . Is that what everyone else is getting ?
Deletebuilt it and love it! :)
ReplyDeletetested loads of different transistors and went with 2N3565.
Hfe 285, biased at 4,8 and the diodes i liked the best was;
1N4005 together with SB340 and 2x1N4148.
I don't know what kind of amp the guitarists of Rolling Stones uses but
this pedal sound just like them live when playing songs like Brown Sugar and Start me up...
A sweet mild distortion with a little trebleness and some AC30 dark bass.
A wonderful pedal, but not much you can roll of volume on guitar with.
The sweet sound disapperars beyond 9 on guitar, and on pedal the gain
works almost the same, killer tone at 5 o'clock and it all goes away
at 3 o'clock... just like the Briggs mod i built a month ago, the vintage '64.
I really recomend this build!
Maybe it's my amp who marries nice with the pedal and gives it some sweet twang, i don't know... but i am happy with it :)
It is sensitive to picking, and sound even better while playing lightly.
If i digg in too hard a lot of AC30 dark sound and bass will shine through and
i dislike that sound.
I guess i will hook it up with a compresson and test it?
It can be a nice combination.
.....And i get no fuzz on max gain, but i use a different transistor, but i dont recal the 2N5088
went fuzzy either.
Thanks for the 2n3565 recommendation, just upgraded my 2n5809.
DeleteIvIark what do you think of bc108b for this project?
ReplyDeleteIt's worth a try. It isn't as high gain as the 2N5088 so you'll get a different response, but you may prefer it with a lower gain transistor in there so it's always worth experimenting. Get some sockets so you can swap them and see what you like best in there
DeletePut this one together today and love it. I may try a slightly higher value for the gain pot to see if I can get into a milder sound. I'm also going to add a Naga Viper in the same box to add some tone control and drive options.
ReplyDeleteGood evening
ReplyDeleteI built this pedal yesterday and it is really nice. The central location is
what I prefer. I'll try to change the diodes for testing.
A question. While sound with volume 6/7/8 and the gain to 10 with all
the three positions, I feel a loss of power. As if the sound suffocating at some
point. Maybe too much compression distortion? Have you ever?
Grazei Paul.
Not having any luck with this pedal. The only substitution I've made are a 10k pot for gain, and a bc548, which is orientated for CBE according to the layout.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks *ok*, no solder bridges, all the connections done as per the layout.
This is actually my third build of this pedal, believe it or not, the first two were on PCBs that I was PIF'd. I got a very low volume clean sound (no dirt) with those, but I'm getting nothing with this one.
Well, I got hold of some 2n5088 and revisited this board. Didn't work, went and found some suspect solder bridges and it worked finally...
DeleteBuilt with a 2n5089, love it. Use it just as a gritty boost (so dropped the diodes and hard wired the gain to max). Only mod was to lower the input cap to 330n just to tighten up the bottom end a little.
ReplyDelete