Time to play "Catch Up"

Alright, so after the mahem of the lats build I took about a week and a half off from building. Now I'm gonna box up a few projects that I have sitting on my bench. Pretty sure I have 5 or 6 projects that are ready to be boxed. I remember building a bunch before Matt (the crazy multi build I just did) got in touch with me. I think I even have artwork for some of them too. Here is the list of stuff waiting to be completed.

Tap Tempo Tremolo
Analog Delay (DM 2 work a like)
Voodoo Vibe clone,
Dead Astrnaught TremShifter
Shoe Gazer clones (2 of them)
Fuzz Factory Clone
Wampler Pinnacle Clone

So as you can see I have my hands pretty full for a couple weeks. I should blow through these pretty quick though. Most of them have been built and tested, They just need an enclosure and some art work. I might try and do a couple of face plates for the "fancier" builds (analog delay and voodoo vibe). Or maybe and etched enclosure here and there. We shall see. Thanks for reading!

-Mike-

Holy MOTHER OF ELECTRONICS!!!

So a while ago a fellow builder (Dan Minner) and I started to collaborate on a multi build that was based heavily on the "post-rock" and "post-punk" genre of music. Specifically for ambient and textural sounds, more or less that "wall of sound" type effect. This was going to be very in depth and complicated for us. The original design of the enclosure/s was scrapped due to a fabrication issue and we ended up using the biggest Hammond Enclosure we could find. This resulted in a pedal that is almost the size of a sheet of paper. It's massively AWESOME. Dan did the layout for the knobs and all the art work on the enclose. I Etched all the PCBs and assembled this monster. Here are the Circuits that the pedal is made up of.

Way Huge - Red Llama Clone - This is controlled by the Level and Gain controls on the pedal. It is a fuzz type effect and also acts as the main on / off of the pedal. None of the other effects will come on with out this engaged. You can how ever turn the other effects on before engaging the RL.

Dead Astronaut - Flying Saucer Reverb - This is a VERY spacey / oscillating reverb. This is controlled but the Reverb Mix, Damp, Tone, OSC switch, and hidden Bright switch (red cap). This is probably the most versatile reverb I have ever had the chance to play with.

Mad Professor - Deep Blue Delay - This is a great clean sounding PT2399 delay. It leaves nothing to be desired in the delay field. This is controlled by the Delay Mix, Feedback, and, Delay pots. Great for those longer, almost oscillating repeats.

Parasit Studios - Sonic Reducer- Your 8 Bit MADNESS! This is controlled buy the 8-Bit toggle switch, Rate, and Resolution pots. This adds that extra weirdness that both Dan and I love. Plus Parasit Studios has some of the coolest original design effects out there.

Now this being my first multi build it was a bit of a challenge. I had to figure out how to wire 4 circuits together. Most people start out with 2, but no...I HAD TO DO 4! I did it though. This thing is awesome. I will try to do a demo of it this weekend, Thanks for reading. for now here are some pictures.

Once again Thanks for reading. Here are some links for you to check out!

Dan's Facebook - ADDPedals

Parasit Studios - 8-bit goodness
Other Layouts we used - effectslayouts

UPDATE!

I Finally did a demo for this. Here it is, Enjoy!

Been Busy...

Hello Everyone,
     I have been very busy lately. With the recent home purchase and the 46577 feet of snow we got I've been kinda poking a projects here and there. Here are some projects I've been working on.

Reverb for Darren

- Board is done, tested, and sounding awesome!
- Enclosure is etched, painted, and drilled (I finished the clear coat last night)
- Waiting for final assembly and Demo.

Here is a picture of the board

High Gain Distortion For Matt

- Board is made, populated and waiting to be tested

- The enclosure has a decal on it and been clear coated. Also waiting to be drilled

- Waiting for final assembly and test

Picture of board

Madbeans Kracken for me

- Board is Populated, Tested and complete. Sounds great and enveolpe-y

- Art is done and laid out on the enclosure. The enclosure is painted, drilled, and needs clear coat

- Needs Final assembly and test

Picture of the artwork

Development HELL

I have been in the process of designing a ringmod from John Hollis's Frobnicator schematic. I have had to redesign the board a few times and correct a few mistakes. I think I might finally have it. Over the weekend I etched the latest version of the board and last night i populated it. I will try and test it tonight and verify that it works. This is a ringmod / tremolo and it should be very cool if it works. Here is a picture of the layout. I will post a picture of the board I etched later tonight.

Ringolo (old) Layout

That's it for now. I'll post more in a day or two. Thanks.

-Mike-

Just a quick update!

Hello All,
    So I am now in a temp operating position. I threw together a workbench and solder station. I also started to assemble the Mini verb for Darren. I drilled the enclosure, populated the board and did a test fit. Every thing is lining up but its tight. I also got a few more orders and requests for more builds. I think I need to keep a spread sheet to keep track of who wants what. I also decided to revisit the Ringmod that I was designing a while back. I found a couple errors in the schematic that I drew in Eagle CAD. I did some shuffeling and I think I have a layout that will work. I will do an etch before I order a prototype for OSHpark. That's all for now, I will do a build report for the Reverb once I am done with it. Thanks for reading.

-Mike-

Updates and things...

Hello Readers,

    So it's been a long time, not really but, I figured I'd give you an update. My Customer Tom (the guy who I built the Elephuzz for) loved his pedal. Just after that was posted my buddy Matt asked for a clone of the Boss ML-2. To that I said "yeah I could do that OR...build you something WAY better!" So I have etched the board and populated it. I have also drilled the enclosure and started painting. He wanted a charcoal color and orange and purple LEDs. As he said "kind of an ode to Portal" the video game. I had the decal all laid out before he told me that and wait till you see what I came up with! it's pretty bitchin'! I'm not gonna spoil the art but here are a couple pictures of the board.

 

I did etch an extra board for myself (the white one on top is for me) and created a switch board as well. Keith on MBPF did a wiring diagram and I decided to make a board for it. More updates on this to come. I'll do a separate write up, as I always do, once I am finished with the build. 

    Second I have been working on my own PCB design. This has been the thorn in my side for a couple of weeks now. I did the design (what I thought would work) and ordered the prototype pack from OSH PARK. Needless to say, once populated it didn't work. I have been trouble shooting and testing this thing for 2-3 weeks now. I have 3 pages of hand written notes, attempted 6 or 7 different things, and even went as far as to redesign the board. I have taken a break here and there from it but, DAMN is it frustrating! I guess that's one of the pains of doing your own desing tho. Maybe i should have started with something a little less painstaking. Perhaps a fuzz or distortion NOT A FUCKING RING MOD. Sorry just venting. More to come on this too.

     While taking a break for the ring mod madness I decided to populate another board and take my mind off it. I went with the "Kracken" by Madbeans. This is a modified version of the Mutron Micro V envelope filter. The Mutron was a one knober, this has controls for "Attack, Decay, and Range" It also features a Hi/Lo frequency switch. This is a GREAT filter! It sounds awesome and was fun and easy to build, I have the art done and the enclosure drilled. Just need to finish painting and apply the decal and clear coat. Here is the artwork I used on the pedal. The LED indicator will be where the eye is.

This will be in a Hammond 1590B enclosure. It will also be a permanent fixture on my board. Can't wait to finish this and post it. 

     Finally, I also finished up a Hamlet Delay. This is a fabricated board by Jon Patton. This has to be one of my favorite PT2399 delays. It's the most analog sounding and cleanest I have built. It does take a little dialing in but it is worth it! The PT2399 delay is often advertised as an "analog" delay...LIES, ALL LIES! They are analog voiced, That is the difference. Any ways no pictures for that yet, I'll post them ASAP. Thanks for reading guys. See you soon.

-Mike-