The Kraken is a modified Mutron Micro V™ envelope filter. The Mutron Micro V™ is the “little brother” of the more fully featured Mutron III™ having only a Range pot and a Hi/Low switch for the filtering. The Kraken expands the controls to include Attack and Decay for the envelope response. This is the only alteration to this classic and great sounding envelope!
Controls
Range: This controls the intensity of the envelope dynamics generated by your pick attack. Higher settings yield greater sensitivity, which in turn drives the intensity of the swept filter.
Attack: This control lets you dial in finer adjustments to the attack of the envelope. It is interactive with the Range pot.
Decay: This control determines how long it takes for the envelope to sweep the filter. Higher settings yield longer decay times.
Hi/Lo: This switch controls the range of the filter that is swept. Hi is thin and resonant. Lo is full and dark.
Mods
Try a pair of diodes with lower forward voltage for D1 and D2. This may improve sensitivity to picking dynamics. You can use 1n34a, BAT41 or BAT46.
Try a higher value pot for the Decay control for even longer decay times. Suggestions are 250kB or 500kB.
I can't find a vid of the Kraken and so here's the Mutron V. I will swap this for a Kraken vid when someone here verifies this and posts one for me :o)
YAY! i'm going to start building it now.
ReplyDeleteHope it works after all that! :o)
ReplyDeleteyou and me both!
DeleteVerified! and it sounds great!
ReplyDeleteExcellent, cheers John!
DeleteSo it took John three hours :)
DeleteI may not be the king of fast verifications anymore :P
+m
This looks nice! I was going to build a SWAW but that's a lot of parts I don't have, not to mention the big ol' board... you've built both, John, what do you think?
Deletethey're really two different animals. the SWAW sounds just like an auto-wah, whereas this one is more of a standard envelope filter.
DeleteDo you think you could do some clips over on TB? :D
DeleteI was actually going to request this one! Thanks for the layout!
ReplyDeleteJohn does this thing do weirdo synthy high frequency stuff?
IMO, it's not a 'weirdo synthy sounding' pedal. it's just a good sounding envelope filter
DeleteHow did you know that I received my new CA3080s on past friday, Mark? :P
ReplyDeleteAs usual, John's is the fastest guy in town.
Well, I've built the original Mutron V. I think that this effect was designed this way, simple and with just a knob and a switch. There are many other options if you want a more complete envelope filter.
So I just had to get rid of the attack and decay knobs, swap some values and put another link plus a disgusting looking aereal wire :(
Well, i sounds just like the demos, a simple envelope filter, not really an autowah... and it sounds really cool.
If you want really versatile effects, try the Meatball or the Mutron III itself. If you just want a little envelope filter that sounds really cool, this is the choice IMO.
BR
funny, i'm actually going the other way on my Kraken. added a blender and an input sensitivity control on mine. IMO, the input sensitivity was kinda necessary since after adding the blender, the blender sends the Kraken a buffered signal and I wanted to be able to control how hard it hit it to trigger its envelope. I should still be able to get it in a 1590B.
DeleteInteresting mod. I would like to ask you what exactly is the input sentivity you added, and how you wired to the other boards.
Deletehttp://tinyurl.com/nzlr6fa
ReplyDeleteI think I'll be renaming the "Decay" knob on mine... ;)
If the hi/lo switch is an ordinary dpdt on/on switch then what`s this A1 A2, B1 B2 bullshit, what`s wrong with good old 1-6 switch numbering ;-{)
ReplyDeletejust an FYI, IvIark labeled it as per madbean's Kraken schematic. it's nothing to get upset about.
DeleteI wasn`t getting upset, hence the smiley, I know the reasoning behind the numbering but others may find it confusing when all the other layouts have switches numbered 1-3, 1-6, 1-9 etc. There is no other reference anywhere in the blog of a switch being labeled this way so it lends itself to the question being asked, probably numerous times ;-)
DeleteYeah on the schematic Brian just split it into two separate poles, A and B. So you have A1 to A3 and B1 to B3 instead of 1 to 6.
DeleteI like the A1-A2 B1-B2 numbering. It actually means something if you care to understand what's going on in the switch. ;)
ReplyDeleteIs this a good one for the bass?
ReplyDeleteit's pretty good, but I found mine to be a lot better with bass with a clean blend, sensitivity control and a slight booster.
DeleteJohn! I just built the kraken and want implement your clean blend and sensitivity. Do you have vero layouts? BTW this is mine: https://scontent-a-mxp.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/10480145_10204151773984493_7406786719550819274_n.jpg
DeleteHi johnk! I tried the Nine Volt Nirvana's Tape Measure as a slight boost but I lose all the character of the filter, lots of highs are being added to the sound.
DeleteWhat circuit did you use as a boost? And did you put it right after the Kraken's output?
i just used a Jfet boost added to the pedal's output. if i remember correctly, it was something like this one: http://effectslayouts.blogspot.com/2014/11/jfet-boost.html. and you dont' ever add a boost to an enveolpe pedals' input.
Deleteif i remember correctly, it was something like this one: http://effectslayouts.blogspot.com/2014/11/jfet-boost.html
Thanks John! That little Jfet booster is doing the job nicely!
DeleteDONE!
ReplyDeletehttp://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/Effects/others/Mutron/MutronV_-01.jpg
http://johnkvintageguitars.homestead.com/Effects/others/Mutron/MutronV_-02.jpg
Very nice John
DeleteJohn, question: Can you tell me your method on this one for mounting the LED? I like the look of that simple little dot on the face next to the stomp switch. I use those metal bezels that come with a plastic wedge. But the plastic wedge always gets a little wanky from the heat of the iron. I have tried using clips as a heatsink, but those plastic things just don't hold the led in there very well.
DeleteAlso, I can't believe how much you manage to get in that little box!
I just drill a 2.5mm hole and slightly ream it with a tapered reamer until the led has a very tight press fit. it won't budge if you get the hole sized just right
DeleteOK great, thanks!
Delete2n3906 should work instead of 2n5087 right? They're both PNP and have same pinout.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Dave
Yes it should work fine
DeleteSure, I didn't remember that had a bag of 2N5087 and used 2N3906 on the first time. No sound difference at all, use whatever you have.
DeleteBR
This question's mainly for John Kallas, but anyone who's built both can chime in. Which one's better, the Seamoon Funk Machine or the Micro V/Kraken? I need an good envelope filter for bass.
DeleteI think that I actually like the snow white auto wah the best so far.
DeleteThe Snow White Auto Wah sounds pretty good, but I don't think I'll have enough time to finish it when I go home over Thanksgiving.The reason I asked about the Funk Machine and the Kraken is that I have a 95% stuffed Kraken board (missing CA3080), and the parts on hand to build the Funk Machine. Is the Funk Machine at all like the Dr. Q? If so, I'm building the Kraken.
Deleteprobly a bit late but the seamoon gave me a big volume drop and was finicky. the swaw is awesome and the nurse quacky is really great too!
DeleteHi I tried to build this one with a jrc 13700D instead of 3080. All i get is a schratchy sound...
ReplyDeleteAny one tried with 13700 and got it to work? i used the doughter bord from this: http://tagboardeffects.blogspot.com/2012/10/emma-transmorgrifier.html
Also i replaced the 2N5089 with BC549 and the 2N5087 with 2N3906.
Anyone have an idea??
I built one, and it works and sounds quite fine, but there are minor issues. The attack phase is a bit too distorted when picking stronger. The decay phase sounds a bit unstable. It does sound a bit random releasing the sound, not like a nice waveing release. The attack and decay pot work a bit too subtle, almost like fine tuners.
ReplyDeleteI built exactly the vero you posted except the 1n8 where I used 2n2. I think the transistors may cause this. I picked random the two 5089 and the 5087. They should be gain matched I guess. Any hfe recommendations or other ideas?
Thanks.
thanks bros, can't wait to fire up the old iron!!
ReplyDeleteCan the LED from the board be skipped to wire it as shown in the off board wiring section. It doesn't look like it does anything for the circuit on the board but I just wanted to check. It's just an on off indicator correct? Thanks
ReplyDeleteI always include an LED resistor if there is room to accommodate one on the board without adding columns, but yes you can ignore it if you prefer to wire it another way. Although it is a lot easier to take a wire to the LED anode offboard than it is to take a wire to a resistor to the anode.
DeleteI agree with you after having thought about it. I will prob just swap out the 4.7k for 3.3k as the 4.7 won't work on my blues. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteJust finished it and it sounds great. I love this site.
ReplyDeletejust finished this and it sounds like a fuzz thats being strangled by Hulk Hogan. checked everything over multiple times and can't figure it out, any help would be great, maybe some pin voltages or something to compare
ReplyDeletethat's really odd, but sounds strangely awesome sounding....
Deleteit actually is pretty cool but sometimes it makes no noise at all, i can't see anything wrong with it and i didn't substitute any components anywhere
Deletejust built another one and still nothing :(
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIs there a parts list?
ReplyDeleteall the parts are labeled on the layout.
DeleteHi, I built the pedal and put everything in a enclosure with my usual off board wiring. I only get a really loud high frequency tone out of it that changes a little bit when I turn the potentiometers and a lot by flicking the switch. I checked all of the parts and breaks and there are no unwanted links or so. cant make it better by touching stuff and wiggling things inside the pedal. could that be a transistor issue? I saw Q2 solder in the other way round on a picture but my data sheet says that the orientation is right as shown on the layout. Also, would it matter to change the the connections on the Hi/Lo switch from left to right, A-B ?
ReplyDeleteMine is doing this too. Did you figure out what the problem was?
DeleteI also have this exact problem.. is it a bad 3080?
DeleteHaving the same issue - either of you it figure out?
DeleteI have ukulele bass I have just built and would love to have an attack/decay pedal to make it sound a bit more thumpy like a classic upright. John Kallas mentioned some mods to make it more bass friendly...did those mods ever appear? Really could use the help. Thanks
ReplyDeleteJust completed this build. Worked on the first try. Thank you so much for your work into this site. Truly is a blessing for effects lovers :)
ReplyDelete