Deciding on manual wah.

[NaBo]

That symbol just means a "variable resistor".  It CAN be an LDR, a pot, or any number of things.

Pots with all three lugs used (ie: separate wires) are wired as voltage dividers (controls the resistances between the middle lug and each outer lug), and pots with 2 unique wires used, usually with the middle and an outer lug tied together, are wired as variable resistors (controls the resistance between two points).

So, just wire up your pot like that and it'll work great!

[H4T]

Ahh, I see. So in the case of this Colorsound wah, I wire lugs 1 and 2 together as the ground, and wire lug 3 to the input?

[Paul Marossy]

You've got the idea H4T.  

[H4T]

Schweeeet, lol.

Now for a quick question in actually implementing that pot...I know I'll need to either get a threaded pot set up, or utilize some sort of slider pot. I saw a nifty use of a slider pot somewhere, I believe it may have been your site, Paul. Could I have the rocker control a slider pot cheaper than I could have the rocker control a regular pot with threads?

[Paul Marossy]

Nope, not my site. I don't think one would be any cheaper than the other. I think the standard CryBaby rack & pinion is the easiest route to go in terms of availability, and ease of construction - it's a pretty tried and true system.

It might be possible to use a slider type pot. Problem with that is that they aren't as heavy duty as something like a Hot Potz.

[H4T]

Quick follow up question on the CS Wah...the schematic calls for a 5.7M resistor, and I can't find one. I know if I had multiple resistors in series, their values will be added together, so does anybody know what combination of resistors I can use to achieve 5.7M?

Edit: Nevermind, lol. 2.7M + 3M will work, haha...too bad I can't delete posts >_<

[H4T]

Gwar, I can't figure out how to physically implement the pot to control the sweep...I don't want to spend $30 for a Hot Potz pot, so I'm opting instead for the LDR/LED method of the Colorsound wah.

I'm not sure how this will work...will there be a pad coming out of the pedal that I just hover my foot over to alter the tone, or does the LED inside the pedal alter the tone? I'd like something that I can manually do to alter the tone, for the feel.

[Paul Marossy]

I can't figure out how to physically implement the pot to control the sweep...I don't want to spend $30 for a Hot Potz pot, so I'm opting instead for the LDR/LED method of the Colorsound wah.

Just to clarify, the original Colorsound wah uses a pot, not an LDR. It's so simple to wire up, too. See this page: http://www.diyguitarist.com/PDF_Files/ColorsoundWahPCB.pdf

[H4T]

No, I know how to do the wiring, I meant I don't know how to physically make the rocker's up/down motion turn the pot shaft. I don't have very much mechanical skill anyway, so I don't know if I can put together one if I knew how.

Earlier I was told if I wanted to go with the LDR method I should build the Photon Filter. I will if I can't find a way to get that pot to spin cheaply lol.

[Paul Marossy]

Oh, I see. You know, you could just buy a Dunlop replacement rack & pinion set and you would be set. You're right, the hard part is the mechanics of the whole thing...

[H4T]

Hm..well I've still got the rack..here's what happened with my old wah pedal. The shaft of the rocker pot broke; this was before I knew how anything worked, lol, I kinda snapped it myself. Is the pinion permanantly attached to the pot shaft or can I remove it? If so, that would help.

[Paul Marossy]

Is the pinion permanantly attached to the pot shaft or can I remove it?

Yes, it can be removed. Usually, there is a pin or a C-clip that holds the pinion on the pot shaft. If you remove the pin/C-clip, it will come right off.

[H4T]

Darn, I see no pin or clip anywhere on this thing, and I don't have a camera so I can't really show you what this thing looks like. What I can do, however, is break off the remainder of the pot shaft, then superglue the stupid pinion to the end of another pot shaft, lol.

However, I'm still intrigued by the idea of using an LDR to control the sweep. What if in the place of the rocker I put the LDR, then when I moved the rocker up and down, instead of it spinning a pot it would be getting closer and further from the sensor, causing the noise to change?

Something like this;




Would this work well, or would it still be best to implement a partially spinning pot?