Idiot Wah using 4017 kit with Square/Triangle wave LFO = Stepped Wah?

[Jamforthelamb]

Hey All,

I've had this idea rolling around in my head for a while now, but don't have all the circuit knowledge to know how achieveable it is.
Getlofi.com released a kit a while ago built around the 4017 chip to make a step sequencer you can see here.
http://www.getlofi.com/?page_id=1897
What I would like to do is use that kit to make an Idiot Wah into a stepped sequence wah. Would that be very difficult to implement? What would I need to do to hook the Idiot wah up to it?

Also I know that it takes a squarewave lfo to trigger the 4017 sequence, and I have a circuit I use pretty regularly that has a square and trianglewave output you can see here.
http://www.experimentalistsanonymous.com/diy/Schematics/Oscillators%20LFOs%20and%20Signal%20Generators/Simple%20Dual%20LFO.gif
I was thinking maybe I could use that circuit in squarewave mode to trigger the 4017, and have a mode to switch it over to control the frequency of the wah with the triangle and squarewaves like a modulated autowah (switching off the sequencer portion).

And, too top it all off I have a dead Digitech Whammy enclosure that I want to mount it in to utilize the treadle for possible manual cotnrol of the wah/rate madness 

Thanks for listening to my pie in the sky!
-Kevin

[Jamforthelamb]

Bumpity

[slacker]

That all sounds like it should work to me.
To control the idiot wah you just need to make "VR" into an LDR and then have your sequencer/LFO flash a LED attached to it. Or you could use a transistor or FET in place of VR.
I can't see a schematic for that sequencer so  I don't know exactly how you'd hook it up, have a look at the CD4017 part here for something that's probably pretty similar and already includes the LED/LDR part. http://tech.thetonegod.com/vanpoint2/van_point2.html.

This is basically what the Zvex sequenced pedals are and people have built clones of those or work a likes already, if you do a search for "ooh wah" or "seek wah" you'll probably find them.

[Jamforthelamb]

Hey slacker,

Thanks for the reply! I'm familiar with the Vanishing Point, I just noticed it has a lot more circuitry then the sequencer kit from getlofi, so I wasn't sure if it would work still or not. Guess the thing to will be to just get it all together and see what happens  

-Kevin

[Jamforthelamb]

Just for anyone who may be watching this project (yeah right  ).

Got most of my initial parts together, and the 4017 kit from get lofi.com. Got my Idiot Wah circuit up and running (after some debugging help on this board). Also built my dual LFO circuit last night, and had some fun playing with it + the Idiot using an LDR/LED combo. I think this is going to work awesome if my LFO will play nice with the 4017. I have a dead Whammy enclosure that I'm planning on mounting this thing in, and utilizing the treadle setup to have some expression options (wah, LFO speed, etc). Hopefully with some planning I can get this thing to do almost all Wah options out there except for Envelope (could probably do that too, but would rather have a dedicated one), regular treadle wah, fixed wah, sequenced wah, and wah with a square or trianglewave.

I'll keep updating my progress if there is any  .

-Kevin

[Jaicen_solo]

Have you seen the vanishing point sequencer project by The Tonegod?

[Jamforthelamb]

Have you seen the vanishing point sequencer project by The Tonegod?

Yes, Yes I have, see the quote below from this same thread 

Hey slacker,

Thanks for the reply! I'm familiar with the Vanishing Point, I just noticed it has a lot more circuitry then the sequencer kit from getlofi, so I wasn't sure if it would work still or not. Guess the thing to will be to just get it all together and see what happens 

-Kevin

[Jamforthelamb]

Here's a question for everyone. The kit I've recieved has a diode coming from each step that goes to a pad where you are supposed to wire your pot/etc. I want to wire LEDs to each stage so they will indictate when the stage is on. Should I just wire up my LEDs in place of the diodes, or after the diodes provided with the kit?

Thanks!

-Kevin