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
Use any wah pot you can get. The Jen originally used a Jen pot anyway, not an ICAR It won't get you exactly the same sweep response as an ICAR, but any pot will do the job. This is another component that has suffered from a bad case of "mojo madness", just because Jimi used one.
This is a good read: https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/comparing-wah-pots.801532/
I have tried many different pots and my fulltone pot is the only one that has that sweetspot I like... Too bad those pots are not for sale anymore :( I got mine in the 90s... still not scratchy thank god and I had yet to find a pot that is as good. however, I think if your good with the foot, you can still get good sounds from other wah pots lol
you can request specific inductors as well with Joe Gagan pretty much 250mh-700mh i got a 450mh like the italian film can its awesome. he also gives great coaching and advise to his customers
Definitely. I won't use anything else. They're call tonetanks I believe. I also only use his pots. Super smooth and sturdy as could be. Only one I trust for my way parts.
I made this with a yellow fasel and it sounds amazing. Thanks for the layout! My only gripe is there should be more room on the board for the inductor. I had to lengthen the leads on mine and sit it off the board.
I have a Gcb-95 here, that gives me a ton of problems! So i don't want another headache because of that pedal. I decided to completely rip it apart and build this McCoy wah into the enclosure! :)
I'm going to be using some trimpots for gain, input gain, mids and Q. And also equip it with a Halo inductor and Silver Mica caps. All the parts are ordered just now, so i will verify this in 1-2 weeks (very slow part company)
Now i just have 1 question. I can't use Bc109/Bc173. But which one of the next transistors would you recommend? Bc107B (hfe 300-315) Bc547C (hfe 500-700) Bc547B (hfe 300-400) Bc546B (hfe 300-400) Bc337-40 (hfe 300-400) Bc337-25 (hfe 300-400)
I finished mine tonight so the layout definitely works. Try the usual, cut the tracks to eliminate solder bridges. Ensure electrolytic is facing the correct way. Most of my failed builds have been due to components in the wrong places or wrong resistor values. Now I measure them all directly before they are placed in the circuit and my success rate has increased as a result. Good luck with it man. Btw mines stock apart from an increase in the midrange resistor (1.5k > 2.2k). Sounds great thanks Zach.
Thanks guys for the response! Reallt glad you'd like to help me out. I'm relieved to know it's not the circuit :)
I used Wetransfer, so the pics are only there for a week. https://we.tl/yg9B2IzYsF
So what i've done is a little different. I used some trimpots, so i needed a wider build. The tracks and cuts are still as shown in the circuit.
I've writen down the voltages. I'ved tried different transistors and i did some audio probe sessions. All i know from that is, that the signal cuts out at: 10nf-1k5-Q1 Base. But at various points in the circuit i get some volume back (not enough, but some). And that it does not matter if i take Q2 out of the circuit....weird right?
any time man, and nothing to apologize for. it has happened to all of us. the important thing is it's working, and most of all you're happy with how it turned out.
Getting ready to build this pedal and have a couple of questions. Can I substitute a 4.7uF NP cap for the 4uF e-cap? Hard to find a 4uF e-cap. I have a 470K HOT POTZ and was wondering if I could use it in this circuit? Most wah wahs use a 100K pot.
Update: Was able to acquire a like new Dunlop CGB95 for less than the cost of a Wah shell. Will use the pot - 100K and gut the rest. Will make it a true bypass using a DPDT footswitch. Have a Halo inductor that will require making the board a little larger (17x14). Should get rest of the parts in a couple of days and will post my results when I finish it.
I am not able to get this to work. Doubled and tripled checked for proper values, solder bridges, etc. Am using a Dunlop Halo Inductor and it looks like the hot leads should be 1 and 5, not 1 and 8 like shown in other Halo inductors (Whipple etc). 1 and 5 have wires connected to them where 4 and 8 do not. Am getting about 30 ohms across 1 and 5. Voltages: Q1, Q2 E 1.0 6.7 B 1.5 7.0 C 8.46 8.24 Read these using a 8.9VDC power supply. Do these voltage readings look appropriate?
Found my mistake by comparing the original layout with the re-drawn layout for a 17x14 veroboard. I mislabeled the 470R resistor with 470K. Changed the resistor and the Wah is now working!
Update: Wah worked but had an unacceptable amount of hiss, especially with a compressor and distortion pedals. Added an output buffer with no luck. Removed the output buffer and tried a couple of different BC109s. Turned out that 1 of the 4 I had on hand was causing the hiss. Put the 2 BC 109s with the lowest hFe (176 and 202) and the hiss disappeared especially when using a 9 Volt battery. Using my daisy chained power supply I can hear a very faint hiss that is barely perceptible.
Awesome sauce! Is a normal wah pot good enough or is the ICAR taper essential on this one?
ReplyDeleteUse any wah pot you can get. The Jen originally used a Jen pot anyway, not an ICAR It won't get you exactly the same sweep response as an ICAR, but any pot will do the job. This is another component that has suffered from a bad case of "mojo madness", just because Jimi used one.
DeleteThis is a good read:
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/comparing-wah-pots.801532/
Great info, thanks for your effort on this
DeleteI have tried many different pots and my fulltone pot is the only one that has that sweetspot I like... Too bad those pots are not for sale anymore :( I got mine in the 90s... still not scratchy thank god and I had yet to find a pot that is as good. however, I think if your good with the foot, you can still get good sounds from other wah pots lol
DeleteLook at the ones from Joe gagan for pots. I only use his pots and inductors, even made a few with custom inductance for some special builds.
DeleteJoe GagaN HAS great wah stuff and wahs. He has the best pots and I really like his hand wound inductors. I have a tone tank and a Italia
Deleteyou can request specific inductors as well with Joe Gagan pretty much 250mh-700mh i got a 450mh like the italian film can its awesome. he also gives great coaching and advise to his customers
DeleteI have one of Joe's film can inductors that he uses on his Italian wahs. Best inductor I have tried bar none~~!!!!
DeleteDefinitely. I won't use anything else. They're call tonetanks I believe. I also only use his pots. Super smooth and sturdy as could be. Only one I trust for my way parts.
DeleteI made this with a yellow fasel and it sounds amazing. Thanks for the layout! My only gripe is there should be more room on the board for the inductor. I had to lengthen the leads on mine and sit it off the board.
DeleteWhat inductor recomended?
ReplyDeletepersonally i only use inductors from joe gagan.
Deletehere's his ebay account http://www.ebay.com/sch/kalena_5/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
shoot him an email about what your want and i'm sure he'll make you what you need.
Zach
ReplyDeletethanks for posting these. Now I will have to make replacement wah boards to mess with LOL :thumbs up:
I have a Gcb-95 here, that gives me a ton of problems! So i don't want another headache because of that pedal. I decided to completely rip it apart and build this McCoy wah into the enclosure! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to be using some trimpots for gain, input gain, mids and Q. And also equip it with a Halo inductor and Silver Mica caps. All the parts are ordered just now, so i will verify this in 1-2 weeks (very slow part company)
Now i just have 1 question. I can't use Bc109/Bc173. But which one of the next transistors would you recommend?
Bc107B (hfe 300-315)
Bc547C (hfe 500-700)
Bc547B (hfe 300-400)
Bc546B (hfe 300-400)
Bc337-40 (hfe 300-400)
Bc337-25 (hfe 300-400)
I Finished mine a couple days ago, but i can't get mine to work. So i could be me, faulty components or the circuit. Cheers
ReplyDeleteHey man. Post some pics of your build and a description of what's happening and you'll get some help to try and figure it out.
DeleteI finished mine tonight so the layout definitely works. Try the usual, cut the tracks to eliminate solder bridges. Ensure electrolytic is facing the correct way. Most of my failed builds have been due to components in the wrong places or wrong resistor values. Now I measure them all directly before they are placed in the circuit and my success rate has increased as a result. Good luck with it man. Btw mines stock apart from an increase in the midrange resistor (1.5k > 2.2k). Sounds great thanks Zach.
DeleteThanks guys for the response! Reallt glad you'd like to help me out. I'm relieved to know it's not the circuit :)
DeleteI used Wetransfer, so the pics are only there for a week. https://we.tl/yg9B2IzYsF
So what i've done is a little different. I used some trimpots, so i needed a wider build. The tracks and cuts are still as shown in the circuit.
I've writen down the voltages. I'ved tried different transistors and i did some audio probe sessions. All i know from that is, that the signal cuts out at: 10nf-1k5-Q1 Base. But at various points in the circuit i get some volume back (not enough, but some). And that it does not matter if i take Q2 out of the circuit....weird right?
No bridges :)
Any feedback is welcome! Thanks in advance!
SORRY GUYS! I found the problem!
DeleteMy supplier gave me 10 PF instead of 10 NF....Sorry for the hold up.
But now i can say, this thing sound AMAZEBALLS! Really glad you put this circuit online Zach. Thanks a million!
any time man, and nothing to apologize for. it has happened to all of us. the important thing is it's working, and most of all you're happy with how it turned out.
DeleteGetting ready to build this pedal and have a couple of questions. Can I substitute a 4.7uF NP cap for the 4uF e-cap? Hard to find a 4uF e-cap. I have a 470K HOT POTZ and was wondering if I could use it in this circuit? Most wah wahs use a 100K pot.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: Was able to acquire a like new Dunlop CGB95 for less than the cost of a Wah shell. Will use the pot - 100K and gut the rest. Will make it a true bypass using a DPDT footswitch. Have a Halo inductor that will require making the board a little larger (17x14). Should get rest of the parts in a couple of days and will post my results when I finish it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am not able to get this to work. Doubled and tripled checked for proper values, solder bridges, etc. Am using a Dunlop Halo Inductor and it looks like the hot leads should be 1 and 5, not 1 and 8 like shown in other Halo inductors (Whipple etc). 1 and 5 have wires connected to them where 4 and 8 do not. Am getting about 30 ohms across 1 and 5.
ReplyDeleteVoltages: Q1, Q2
E 1.0 6.7
B 1.5 7.0
C 8.46 8.24
Read these using a 8.9VDC power supply. Do these voltage readings look appropriate?
Found my mistake by comparing the original layout with the re-drawn layout for a 17x14 veroboard. I mislabeled the 470R resistor with 470K. Changed the resistor and the Wah is now working!
ReplyDeleteUpdate: Wah worked but had an unacceptable amount of hiss, especially with a compressor and distortion pedals. Added an output buffer with no luck. Removed the output buffer and tried a couple of different BC109s. Turned out that 1 of the 4 I had on hand was causing the hiss. Put the 2 BC 109s with the lowest hFe (176 and 202) and the hiss disappeared especially when using a 9 Volt battery. Using my daisy chained power supply I can hear a very faint hiss that is barely perceptible.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete