tiny tremoloOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[Gurner]

i'll get my coat  again.....lol....lol....


i knocked this up as a total noob (see page 1)......i just thought it would work...and it does....in a clean mode........it was a nooby way of using light n sound with no EE knowledge at all....,
saying that..i do have an affection for  the nooby way!!....seems more inventive and spontaneous......than staring at a scope n doing maths........its nice to get back to basics and use  your ears especially with distortions etc..... ....................though i realise that theory is important ...having fun and experimenting is too...especially for noobs like myself..........breadboard and have fun!...........i think the toothpills are kicking in.....

Rob, I'm not knocking what you've done or going all high brow ...if it works,  it works (& the amount that like your circuit is testament to that! ) ...I'm just jumping in to clarify in response to the odd post now and then, that this circuit isn't like a normal potential divider situation....

[Perrow]

Rob, I'm not knocking what you've done or going all high brow ...if it works,  it works (& the amount that like your circuit is testament to that! ) ...I'm just jumping in to clarify in response to the odd post, that this circuit isn't like a normal potential divider situation....

To clarify my thoughts on how the pot could be wired:



The value of the pot would need to be tested I guess. Put a buffer/boost in front to cut your losses.

I have about 50% chance of having the pot in the right order so about 75% chance of being wrong 

[Gurner]

Yes, that'll give a bit more depth (ie it's the inline series resistance I was talking about - as the LDR decreases in value, the pickup's load will increase, as will the current, therefore you get a more of a signal voltage swing), but a 5K pot as the top resistor of a two resistor divider chain -  ie where the bottom resistor is the LDR - isn't likely going to have a huge amount of effect (though this will depend hugely on the 'light resistance' of the LDR and how efficiently the LED is optically coupled to it) - making the pot larger in resistance will have more impact, but then you lose signal level.....

[deadastronaut]

no worries G,  the whiskey n pills to stop my face ache had truly kicked in...... ...i weren't having a dig, just stating that i'm just a dumbass.... ..

[ugly_guitar_guy]

Rob, I'm not knocking what you've done or going all high brow ...if it works,  it works (& the amount that like your circuit is testament to that! ) ...I'm just jumping in to clarify in response to the odd post, that this circuit isn't like a normal potential divider situation....

To clarify my thoughts on how the pot could be wired:



The value of the pot would need to be tested I guess. Put a buffer/boost in front to cut your losses.

I have about 50% chance of having the pot in the right order so about 75% chance of being wrong 

Sweet, I'll give this a shot tonight and report back the findings.

[Gurner]

if you want to hear the effect/impact without having to rejig rewire your circuit ....just roll your guitar vol knob back off a little - it's the same outcome (the top part of your guitar pot becomes the resistance that VR1 is creating in that diagram).

So with the guitar knob rolled back, this is the signal path....

1. pickup-> 2. guitar vol pot top lug-> 3. guitar vol pot wiper out-> 4. LDR to ground.

therefore 2. & 3. add the resistance needed to gain more tremolo depth.

[JRM]

Finaly done it: sound wonderfull. I like depth at 4:00 and speed/rate at 3:00: sounds pretty cool for rythm. It behaves ok with my fuzz face before and makes a tremendous effect if I add my Delay after it...

[garcho]

I tried this circuit with CMOS 555 chips and about 10 different colored LEDs - all of which produced clicking (a sound similar to digital clipping, or latency issues with computer audio). I used a red LED with a 100mF cap to ground from pin 3, and voila, no clicking.

[deadastronaut]

nice one gary....a cure for the old cmos..great.

[garcho]

Thanks for the ultra simple trem Rob! Considering the grumbling that accompanies EA, TremLune, etc., this is a great simple alternative. I make noise maker/pseudo synths and low-parts-count circuits like this are perfect for those. And, flashing LEDs are perfect for Tonegod's light plates.   

[jokersmile32]

I just made this and the led does not light up but i get sound variation by moving my hand over the ldr.  I used an NE555P IC chip, i cant find any info if it is CMOS or not.  Also,Can i use an optocoupler ic chip such as the PC123 instead of using an led and ldr(photoresistor) combination?  

[DavenPaget]

I just made this and the led does not light up but i get sound variation by moving my hand over the ldr.  I used an NE555P IC chip, i cant find any info if it is CMOS or not.  Also,Can i use an optocoupler ic chip such as the PC123 instead of using an led and ldr(photoresistor) combination?  

Just make sure the optocoupler is within the resistances mentioned ... if none try to get what you see as "typical" LDR's .
NE555 is NOT a CMOS 555 . Only TLC555 is .

[JRM]

I just made this and the led does not light up but i get sound variation by moving my hand over the ldr.  I used an NE555P IC chip, i cant find any info if it is CMOS or not.  Also,Can i use an optocoupler ic chip such as the PC123 instead of using an led and ldr(photoresistor) combination?  

First you'll have to find a TS555 as it's the best IC for this circuit.
Second: is the led OK? Test it first. You should use a superbright 5mm red led for the LDR and then block any other light source (use isolation tape or a piece of heat shrink tube).
Third: the rate led should be a 3mm standard yellow led.
My circuit works fine with both clean and distorted sounds. The only thing he doesn't like is my Colorsound Power Boost clone as it raises the signal too much for the Tremolo to work properly. But I heaven't tested yet to decrease a little bit the volume either of the guitar or of the Power Boost.
I've used a 10k pot instead of a 4.7k because I already had it. The LDR I used was a 132k/3M. Have fun.

[comfortably_numb]

Has anyone used this in the effects loop of their amp?  As I guess it's in the modulation effect category, I'd be using it post gain and pre delay.  Would that load the LDR too much to be useful?  Probably building this soon either way.  I love the simplicity, volume drop or not.

[ugly_guitar_guy]

Has anyone used this in the effects loop of their amp?  As I guess it's in the modulation effect category, I'd be using it post gain and pre delay.  Would that load the LDR too much to be useful?  Probably building this soon either way.  I love the simplicity, volume drop or not.

Yup, tried it both ways with my Mark V and it was slightly better in the loop than in front, but it still wasn't as strong of a tremolo as I liked. I ended up building a small version of the EA tremolo instead and it's much more consistent all around. But this circuit was tons of fun to work on, and sounds fantastic on cleans.

[JRM]

I just made this and the led does not light up but i get sound variation by moving my hand over the ldr.  I used an NE555P IC chip, i cant find any info if it is CMOS or not.  Also,Can i use an optocoupler ic chip such as the PC123 instead of using an led and ldr(photoresistor) combination?  

First you'll have to find a TS555 as it's the best IC for this circuit.
Second: is the led OK? Test it first. You should use a superbright 5mm red led for the LDR and then block any other light source (use isolation tape or a piece of heat shrink tube).
Third: the rate led should be a 3mm standard yellow led.
My circuit works fine with both clean and distorted sounds. The only thing he doesn't like is my Colorsound Power Boost clone as it raises the signal too much for the Tremolo to work properly. But I heaven't tested yet to decrease a little bit the volume either of the guitar or of the Power Boost.
I've used a 10k pot instead of a 4.7k because I already had it. The LDR I used was a 132k/3M. Have fun.

Just to update with IC voltages to GND:
Pin/Voltage (speed rate=full=0 resistance):
1: 0V (GND)
2: 1.13V
3: 1.5V (Leds connection, no need to protect them with any resistance)
4: 1.43V
5: 1.43V (connected with pin 4)
6: 1.13V (connected with pin 2)
7: 1.13V
8: 2.19V

[rugeb]

Schematic VERIFIED, and it sounds cool!

[rugeb]

Now, the veroboard (with a little modification of connections...)
 



NOTE: The schematic and the veroboard, it's based in design of "deadastronaut". Thanks Rob!.

[deadastronaut]

your welcome!...

[Perrow]

Smaller vero layout, tested and working...Hope you enjoy it!!! Some ticking here...

From page 4, smaller, but I haven't checked if there's any improvements in the new layout other than the reverse polarity protection.