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
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Monday, 1 April 2013
Escobedo Harmonic Jerculator
Small and simple. Tim Escobedo's adaptation of Interfax Harmonic percolator. This demo vid is not necessarily 1:1 with the schematic, but it should give you an idea what to expect...
Ok you can tag this one. I added an extra couple of columns and put in some sockets so I could add clipping diodes between the end of the 100nf coupling cap and ground just to see how that sounded, without the diodes in it's exact to the layout.
To be honest I mainly built this because of the name, anything called a Jerculator needs to be investigated, the only problem is I can't work out if I like this or not. On some settings it seems really sweet and others not so much. I think I'll try some different transistors and see if it can win me over.
Yes, the original Harmonic Percolator has diode clipping at the end :) You could also consider taking a pot between the clipping diodes and ground - kind of like the ZVex Machine. That could be nice addition.. +m
This was the first pedal I ever built and the reason I got hooked on pedal building, it has a lot to answer for :-) as a complete noob I bought all the parts from my local maplin so it's probably one of the more expensive builds I've done.
Built one, if this is what percolators sound like then I'm afraid I dont get it. It sounds ok but not special or anything, think this one might be a seller. Thanks for the layouts as usual! Dave
The genuine Percolators had clipping diodes in them, I added some to this layout and it adds a little something, I agree though that it didn't exactly bowl me over. I don't think I bothered to box it.
These (this and percolator) need to be played loud and on the clean. It may not be suitable for all, but anyone looking for Albini/Shellac sound should keep an open mind... +m
Built this, there's quite a bit of oscillation on super high gain settings, and at lower gain, it does this sort of half-overdrive,half-fuzz thing which is cool, but something I could pull out of a bunch of other pedals. This one's just okay. Not getting boxed.
It's definitely got some 'sweet spot' settings, my main problem was that I went from really liking it's sound to hating it with just a quarter turn of the dial and in the end I did't think I'd get any use from it.
I made an accidental discovery with this pedal and thought up some mods. Whilst testing, i accidentally knocked the croc clip of that grounds the board and all of a sudden the pedal burst into glorious auto occsillation which changed dramatically with the guitar's volume control. Therefore I am going to add a footswitchable ground lift pot, similar to the one on Devi Ever's hyperion. I'm also going to use Madferrets idea (thanks man!) of using some clipping diodes but using a pot in series with them to change the degree of clipping, again I'll make this mode footswitchable. I'll give this a go later and if anyone is interested maybe I could give details to Mark or Miro to post here.... Cheers Dave
Well a couple of hours experimentation/mutilation and I've managed to make something quite interesting out of this. I'm so impressed with the result I might consider making a few just to sell. It ocsillates, beeps and whistles, and sounds compressed and sputtery with the diode mode engaged. Good times! Thanks Dave
Hi MF, I put in a footswitchable ground lift pot for oscillation on the fly and I put a toggle switch in and pot to control diode clipping. When you put diodes in yours, did you note a volume drop? Thanks Dave
Yeah there was a volume drop, some of the signal gets shunted to ground, ge diodes suffer worse from this than si ones. I'll dig out the board and try the ground lift, sounds like it'll be pretty mental.
Ah, glad i used silicon ones. Yes, I used a b5k pot for mine but anything up to 20k will be fine. One important thing to note, dont connect the volume pot to the board's ground, instead, ground it via the ground lift pot (obviously connect it to the lug that would be connected permanently to ground). Doing this means the volume still works when the pedal is in oscillation. Thanks Dave
Thanks for the heads up. Just a thought as well, using 4 diodes, 2 in series each way, would help to combat the volume drop if it's an issue. The only drawback would be that you'd get slight less clipping, maybe something to play with if you're going to make some to sell?
Yes I did try it with 2 pairs but I felt the difference was too subtle between clipping and non clipping modes, I wonder whether two pairs of germanium diodes may produce better results, what do you think?
If I remember correctly two pairs of Germanium diodes should clip at the same point as one pair of Silicon but with slightly different tone, maybe a bit more compression. Maybe try a pair of silicon on one side and germanium on the other as a kind of compromise?
Yes, hmm more experimentation is needed tonight so I can order parts before the tayda discount runs out haha. Thanks for the food for thought, I'll let you know how it goes, and if you do that ground lift mod, let me know how you like it. thanks Dave
I think I have a way of curing the volume difference problem. Rather than bringing the diode volume up, I'm going to investigate bringing the normal mode down so there isnt a major difference. I just hope the pedal will still be loud enough. Cheers Dave
Finished this one last night. I dig it. Fortunately for me, I am still new to building pedals so I am happy with pretty much anything that works when I get done!!!
man this is mean! :D
ReplyDeleteHi everyone,
ReplyDeleteCan it work with a 2nd 2n3904 as Q2?
Tanks!
No it needs to be a PNP transistor, like the 2N3906 shown in the layout.
DeleteOk! And what about a BC560?
DeleteYes that is PNP and so will work
DeleteOk, gonna try that. Thanks again!
DeleteOk you can tag this one. I added an extra couple of columns and put in some sockets so I could add clipping diodes between the end of the 100nf coupling cap and ground just to see how that sounded, without the diodes in it's exact to the layout.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I mainly built this because of the name, anything called a Jerculator needs to be investigated, the only problem is I can't work out if I like this or not. On some settings it seems really sweet and others not so much. I think I'll try some different transistors and see if it can win me over.
Cheers!
DeleteI'll tag it.
Yes, the original Harmonic Percolator has diode clipping at the end :) You could also consider taking a pot between the clipping diodes and ground - kind of like the ZVex Machine. That could be nice addition..
+m
Nice idea, I'll definitely be giving that a go.
DeleteThis was the first pedal I ever built and the reason I got hooked on pedal building, it has a lot to answer for :-) as a complete noob I bought all the parts from my local maplin so it's probably one of the more expensive builds I've done.
ReplyDeleteCould I use a PNP germanium ? Seems like a fun adaptation.
ReplyDeleteWorth a try. It will work, but i don't know if it will sound better ot worse when compared to 2N3906.
Delete+m
Built one, if this is what percolators sound like then I'm afraid I dont get it. It sounds ok but not special or anything, think this one might be a seller.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the layouts as usual!
Dave
The genuine Percolators had clipping diodes in them, I added some to this layout and it adds a little something, I agree though that it didn't exactly bowl me over. I don't think I bothered to box it.
DeleteThese (this and percolator) need to be played loud and on the clean. It may not be suitable for all, but anyone looking for Albini/Shellac sound should keep an open mind...
Delete+m
Built this, there's quite a bit of oscillation on super high gain settings, and at lower gain, it does this sort of half-overdrive,half-fuzz thing which is cool, but something I could pull out of a bunch of other pedals. This one's just okay. Not getting boxed.
DeleteIt's definitely got some 'sweet spot' settings, my main problem was that I went from really liking it's sound to hating it with just a quarter turn of the dial and in the end I did't think I'd get any use from it.
DeleteI made an accidental discovery with this pedal and thought up some mods. Whilst testing, i accidentally knocked the croc clip of that grounds the board and all of a sudden the pedal burst into glorious auto occsillation which changed dramatically with the guitar's volume control. Therefore I am going to add a footswitchable ground lift pot, similar to the one on Devi Ever's hyperion. I'm also going to use Madferrets idea (thanks man!) of using some clipping diodes but using a pot in series with them to change the degree of clipping, again I'll make this mode footswitchable. I'll give this a go later and if anyone is interested maybe I could give details to Mark or Miro to post here....
DeleteCheers
Dave
Well a couple of hours experimentation/mutilation and I've managed to make something quite interesting out of this. I'm so impressed with the result I might consider making a few just to sell. It ocsillates, beeps and whistles, and sounds compressed and sputtery with the diode mode engaged. Good times!
DeleteThanks
Dave
Sweet! What were the mods you did in the end?
DeleteHi MF, I put in a footswitchable ground lift pot for oscillation on the fly and I put a toggle switch in and pot to control diode clipping. When you put diodes in yours, did you note a volume drop?
DeleteThanks
Dave
Yeah there was a volume drop, some of the signal gets shunted to ground, ge diodes suffer worse from this than si ones. I'll dig out the board and try the ground lift, sounds like it'll be pretty mental.
DeleteAh, glad i used silicon ones. Yes, I used a b5k pot for mine but anything up to 20k will be fine. One important thing to note, dont connect the volume pot to the board's ground, instead, ground it via the ground lift pot (obviously connect it to the lug that would be connected permanently to ground). Doing this means the volume still works when the pedal is in oscillation.
DeleteThanks
Dave
Thanks for the heads up. Just a thought as well, using 4 diodes, 2 in series each way, would help to combat the volume drop if it's an issue. The only drawback would be that you'd get slight less clipping, maybe something to play with if you're going to make some to sell?
DeleteYes I did try it with 2 pairs but I felt the difference was too subtle between clipping and non clipping modes, I wonder whether two pairs of germanium diodes may produce better results, what do you think?
DeleteIf I remember correctly two pairs of Germanium diodes should clip at the same point as one pair of Silicon but with slightly different tone, maybe a bit more compression. Maybe try a pair of silicon on one side and germanium on the other as a kind of compromise?
DeleteYes, hmm more experimentation is needed tonight so I can order parts before the tayda discount runs out haha. Thanks for the food for thought, I'll let you know how it goes, and if you do that ground lift mod, let me know how you like it.
Deletethanks
Dave
I think I have a way of curing the volume difference problem. Rather than bringing the diode volume up, I'm going to investigate bringing the normal mode down so there isnt a major difference. I just hope the pedal will still be loud enough.
DeleteCheers
Dave
Finished this one last night. I dig it. Fortunately for me, I am still new to building pedals so I am happy with pretty much anything that works when I get done!!!
ReplyDeleteThis isn't a bad sounding little pedal - if I wanted to add clipping diodes off-board, directly on a switch - how would one do that?
ReplyDeleteThanks for all you guys do!
Albini in a box. Fun build. Will be a nice piece to have in the studio for harsh overdubs on post-punk songs.
ReplyDelete