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DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: Bruce_W on April 01, 2010, 10:37:06 AM

Title: Doubler effect?
Post by: Bruce_W on April 01, 2010, 10:37:06 AM
Does anyone know of a schematic or layout of a pedal equal to just the doubler part of an MXR Flanger/Doubler?
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: Mark Hammer on April 01, 2010, 11:16:16 AM
Doubling or what some refer to as "ADT" (Automatic double tracking) is essentially what a chorus does, except bumped over more in terms of delay range.  So, where a chorus might sweep from 2-15msec, an ADT unit might sweep from 8-30msec, or something like that.  It is the more pronounced time-stagger that creates the impression of one person reacting to what another has done (which is what happens when you double-track, right?).

So, if you wanted to experiment, a good place to start would be to increase the value of the clock cap on a chorus pedal so that the delay range used is bumped over.

Is that enough?  Not at all.  The longer the delay time, the more lkely that changes in delay time will produce drastic pitch wobble.  Stated another way, much less of the sweep-width range control will be usable if the overall delay range is nudged over to longer times.  As well, reducing the HF clock speed to produce longer delay times out of the same BBD can have the side-effect of producing much more audible clock noise.  That, in turn, demands that the filtering be adjusted to have a lower rolloff point.  One way around that is to use a higher-capacity (more stages) BBD, and run that at a high enough speed; something like what MXR did for the doubler section of the unit you inquired about.

Coolaudio makes an 8-pin version of the 3208 2048-stage BBD (http://www.coolaudio.com/products.html), which is pin-for-pin compatible with the MN3207 used in so many chorus pedals.  Pop the MN3207 out and stick a V3208D in, and you've doubled the delay time without having to do any additional changes.  Could be worth trying out.
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: Bruce_W on April 01, 2010, 07:35:31 PM
Quote from: Mark Hammer on April 01, 2010, 11:16:16 AM
Doubling or what some refer to as "ADT" (Automatic double tracking) is essentially what a chorus does, except bumped over more in terms of delay range.  So, where a chorus might sweep from 2-15msec, an ADT unit might sweep from 8-30msec, or something like that.  It is the more pronounced time-stagger that creates the impression of one person reacting to what another has done (which is what happens when you double-track, right?).

So, if you wanted to experiment, a good place to start would be to increase the value of the clock cap on a chorus pedal so that the delay range used is bumped over.

Is that enough?  Not at all.  The longer the delay time, the more lkely that changes in delay time will produce drastic pitch wobble.  Stated another way, much less of the sweep-width range control will be usable if the overall delay range is nudged over to longer times.  As well, reducing the HF clock speed to produce longer delay times out of the same BBD can have the side-effect of producing much more audible clock noise.  That, in turn, demands that the filtering be adjusted to have a lower rolloff point.  One way around that is to use a higher-capacity (more stages) BBD, and run that at a high enough speed; something like what MXR did for the doubler section of the unit you inquired about.

Coolaudio makes an 8-pin version of the 3208 2048-stage BBD (http://www.coolaudio.com/products.html), which is pin-for-pin compatible with the MN3207 used in so many chorus pedals.  Pop the MN3207 out and stick a V3208D in, and you've doubled the delay time without having to do any additional changes.  Could be worth trying out.

So there is no current pedal or DIY layout that does this doubling effect?
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: Mark Hammer on April 01, 2010, 08:54:07 PM
Anything that is capable of generating delays in the slapback range, and also has modulation capabilities, will do what you want.  I don't follow the current stuff that closely to name you a product.

I neglected to ask you:  Was it something about the MXR unit specifically that you wanted to duplicate, or did you simply want something in that family of effects?
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: jacobyjd on April 01, 2010, 10:43:21 PM
You know, an idea popped in my head that kind of mish-mashed the clarinot with a chorus, and is related to this.

This stems from the idea that no LFO-based (even a slow one) modulation could very closely mimic another player doubling a guitar part.

But...why not, in addition to a slow-LFO pitch wobble, build in a fairly insensitive envelope control? The harder you hit the note, the more the pitch will bend. You could make it really subtle, I think, and it would make for some interesting variation. Plus, if you built it to have a lot of ripple, it might actually benefit the situation here.

Just a thought :)
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: Bruce_W on April 02, 2010, 02:34:37 PM
Quote from: Mark Hammer on April 01, 2010, 08:54:07 PM
Anything that is capable of generating delays in the slapback range, and also has modulation capabilities, will do what you want.  I don't follow the current stuff that closely to name you a product.

I neglected to ask you:  Was it something about the MXR unit specifically that you wanted to duplicate, or did you simply want something in that family of effects?


I would like to duplicate the doubling of that effect as a pedal.
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: therecordingart on April 02, 2010, 02:53:55 PM
I've been wanting to do a whole MXR Flanger/Doubler, but the obsolete Reticon chip is a stumbling block. The flanger sounds pretty sweet as well.

I've tried reproducing what the doubler does inside my DAW using a delay, but it just wasn't the same. I e-mailed MXR a few months back to see if they had any NOS chips which they do not.
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: isildur100 on April 02, 2010, 03:31:59 PM
You could look at the Magnus Modulus which is like a Rebote delay with modulation capabilities. At very short delay lengths and with subtle LFO settings, it sounds close to a doubler.

That's the closest I came to a doubler with a DIY pedal.

cheers

Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: slacker on April 02, 2010, 03:35:52 PM
The Echo Base (http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=60662.0) will also do slapback with modulation.


Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: Mark Hammer on April 02, 2010, 03:47:55 PM
Quote from: therecordingart on April 02, 2010, 02:53:55 PM
I've been wanting to do a whole MXR Flanger/Doubler, but the obsolete Reticon chip is a stumbling block. The flanger sounds pretty sweet as well.
If we've been able to make alternate versions of the A/DA Flanger collectively without the MN3010, then surely we should be able to accomplish this with one of the BBD chips currently in production.

Believe it or not, I have no idea what BBD is used in the MXR unit.   One is clearly an SAD1024 but what the heck is that 22-pin monstrosity?
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: slotbot on April 02, 2010, 03:49:10 PM
does anyone know where you can buy small quantities of the cool audio chips?
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: therecordingart on April 02, 2010, 03:53:30 PM
Quote from: Mark Hammer on April 02, 2010, 03:47:55 PM
Quote from: therecordingart on April 02, 2010, 02:53:55 PM
I've been wanting to do a whole MXR Flanger/Doubler, but the obsolete Reticon chip is a stumbling block. The flanger sounds pretty sweet as well.
If we've been able to make alternate versions of the A/DA Flanger collectively without the MN3010, then surely we should be able to accomplish this with one of the BBD chips currently in production.

Believe it or not, I have no idea what BBD is used in the MXR unit.   One is clearly an SAD1024 but what the heck is that 22-pin monstrosity?

Not sure. I was talking about the Reticon chip.
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: Bruce_W on April 02, 2010, 09:58:59 PM
I thought I read somewhere that the MXR used  the Reticon chip, which is no longer made. Some have said to use a short delay to get that effect but it doesn't sound right( with my delays anyway).  I tried an original Flanger/Doubler a few years ago and should have bought it.
Title: Re: Doubler effect?
Post by: Mark Hammer on April 03, 2010, 03:50:54 PM
Finallly found a better quality picture.  It is a Reticon R5101.

Even found a thread for it here:  http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=42710.0;prev_next=prev