Multifx System Progress (was "Whats left to build?")

[RaceDriver205]

Hey, Id just like to check if ive got everything. Im going to put all of this in a (large) multi-fx box, and once its built thats it.
I have: (with a few left to finish)

• Envelope Filter (many types), Ring Mod (active & passive), Sitar & Acoustic sim
• Distortion (many types), Compressor, Booster
• Phaser (many types), Flanger, Chorus, Univibe, Tremolo
• Octave Up and Down
• Attack Delay, Delay, Looper
• Reverb, Noise Gate, Synth, EQ (post & pre)
• Pitch Shifter (hopefully)

Thanks

[geertjacobs]

Lo-fi telephone/antique radio sound pedal?
Equalizer?
Fuzz?

For the Multi fx box
Stereo output?
looper?
Amp sim?
Cab sim?

[RaceDriver205]

Yeah, I was thinking of a master pre-equalizer and a master post equalizer, ill add 2 to my list.
I think stereo would be too much work for such a large system, even though ive heard how cool a synthesiser sounds with headphones.
I was also thinking about having a germanium fuzz just for the sake of it, but from the sound samples ive heard im not really a fan.

I have a cab sim for a separate headphone/DI output, and one or two amp sims (distortion), but I dont have a Lo-fi so ill add it to my list.
Are there any DIY loopers at the moment that are feasable? (can get parts etc)
Thanks, keep the suggestions coming people.

[donald stringer]

Hey race driver what order are you putting them in ? By the way dont forgetsome type of simple comp., an orange squeeze would suffice. This must be something going around I am brainstorming mine also. Wondering about using R.G. cd3053 schem for bypass switching throughout. I have got that one figured out very well.Those 3 spdt in a chip would come in handy routing your signal through this.

[RaceDriver205]

Oh the switching. Dont get me started.
Ive got some crazy stuff im working on - Im having a separate small pedal with LCD, atmel microcontroller, keypad and tranmitter built in which will control the main unit from a distance. The main unit will have banks of 4066 switches + D-flipflops to switch effects combinations on and off.
Damn ive made my self some work with this thing.

Ive only got a rough idea of what order to put them in. The tricky one will be getting all the envelope filters to be controlled by the clean signal whilst having them all processing post-distorted signals. But I guess ill get to that when they're all built - and work! 

[RaceDriver205]

k I guess thats it then.

[MartyMart]

ROG splitter/blender is a VERY useful item.
Great on chorus/flangers that seem to "WET" such as CE-2

MM.

[Quackzed]

you gotta have a footpedal man!! like a cool volume pedal you can use for like cool groovy controll of speed for chorus trem vibes etc... foot controllable speed on vibes is the stuff dad dad daddy-o. spiffy!

[RaceDriver205]

4 sure. The one thing thats missing is an expression pedal. Having expression control over all the modulation effects, however, sits well above my "complexity threshold". Which, by the way, has already been set fairly high .
I think a wah/volume pedal would be a good adition though. I just need to find a cheap old wah/volume pedal to do the job. (I find US$40 for a shell from smallbear a tad too much to justify buying one).

[RaceDriver205]

Actually, stuff it! I'm buying one of those expression pedals.

[Quackzed]

its not as bad as you think...
you could get a bunch of 1/8" jacks and have 1 for each pot you want to control... i usually just wire it right to the first 2 lugs of the "whichever" pot... such that the new pot is in parallel with it. with a 100k vol pedal that gives like 0-50k at max setting... close enough for rock-n-roll but loses a bit of the slowest setting when plugged in (or fastest setting depending on the circuit) still, being able to have some control and change speed as your playing is COOOOL even if you lose a bit of slow or fast...
I just thought of something...  
you could have a few switches on the vol pedal to match it to the pot your controlling...
if you use a vol pedal with a 500k you could add a spst switch to add in a 100k paralell and get @100k... then another switch with a paralell 50k for @50k...
so.. 100k pot + paralell 500k vol ped= @0-100k travel a bit less...
      100k pot + paralell 500k vol ped + para 100k R= 0-50k travel
      500k pot + paralell 500k vol ped = @ 0-250k travel
       25k pot  + paralell 500k vol ped + para 25k R = @ 25k travel
so  using a 500k pot with some switches would be more full range or will get you most of the range or maybee 100k pot on the vol ped if most of the pots you want control over are in the 50k or smaller range... these arent exact ranges and the taper would be real weird with a 10k pot and 500k pot in paralell but... you can see how you could get most of the range out of most pots your likely to be using with just a paralell pot and some switches to lower the value...  instead of switches you could use another pot to dial in the range of the pedal... wired as a variable resistor.. a volume pedal with a universal travel adjuster...
oops... the docs back GOTTA GO ... back to the year 1985!!!!

[Mark Hammer]

If you have not experimented with parallel processing, you have not lived as a musician.  Make yourself a 2 or 3 out splitter, and a 3 or 4 in mixer.  Even better, make that mixer footswitchable so that you can cancel an entire path if you want, or make the mixer a stereo out with pan control for each input.

[RaceDriver205]

Ahh, the complexity involved in implementing both those ideas in a multi-fx box is going to drive me insane!
Oh well, im like Nikola Tesla, I wont be happy to leave it unless its perfect. Its probably going to have a bucket load of 4066s in it!

[Quackzed]

the splitter blend over at rog is a nice design for a paralell line its all buffered and easily adaptable as an a/b box, i never built one but i thought it would be cool to have echo and modulation "always on" and be able to blend them in with a clean signal...you could simplify and just have a buffered effects loop type setup at some point in the chain that you could "blend" pot in or switch on/off. 2 xtra jacks 1 dpdt and a pot.... plus a few opamps... one small piece at a time man... don't get frazzled  just take it slow, your right about the complexity tho... you can always leave some room for a few boards and add on as you go... 

[comfortably_numb]

I really want to see some pictures of this as it comes together man.  Sounds pretty incredible.  Have you seen David Gilmour's new board?  All tube...damn.

[RaceDriver205]

Dont hold your breath CN.
Based on my current rate of construction (which started last year), finishing by July is my current estimate. 
But dont worry! I will be sure to provide this forum with all of the pictures, sound samples and design details once it is completed.

And sorry everyone, im not touching tubes!

[RaceDriver205]

Right!
Ive seen a lot people showing off their pictures of their effects, so I thought Id be a sport and show you all whats been completed so far:


Note that these are the completed and working effects boards. They total about 50% of the total work that needs to be completed. Still have no idea what sort of enclosure I'll use.

[petemoore]

  Th'at's real Sporty !!! If you make your own game, winning is a 'shoe in'.
  I didn't see buffer...small, handy item. Splitter-Blend of course has that.

[RaceDriver205]

Yeah, there'll be splitter-mixer circuits in there too. I intend to have all of the distortions independantly mixable, so you can have for example: 30% AMZ OD Pro, 20% DS1 with High Treble, and 50% Dr Boogie with High Bass. This will allow a massive range of distortion timbres. I may also have a mixer for all of the Envelope filters, so you could have for example: 50% Neutron filter in sweep up mode, and 50% Phuncgnosis in sweep down mode.
My Active Ring Mod, Univibe, Neutron filter, and Microsynth still sit waiting for me to bring them to life.

My own personally-designed-from-scratch creation, currently in progress, will be the "remote control".
Given the size of this thing, I thought it would be much to clumbsy to have the actual case as the "stompbox". Ive seen the systems the guitarists from Dreamtheatre and U2 use, and they're massive and rediculous looking. (Well I thinks so  )
The control features will included:

• UHF remote connection to multifx/pedal array system, with option of straight cable
• Two pedals (up/down) which select pre-programmed effects combinations
• Maximum of 64 (or 99) possible effect-codes with any combination allowed
• Keypad for programming in combinations
• Backlit LCD screen for displaying effect names/combinations
• LED display for current combination/effect number
• Computer Interfacing to allow management of available effects or effects combinations
• Rechargeable battery array with power indicators

It is only in design stage so far. CMon people, tell us what you think! Anything missing? 

[bancika]

Impressive!