need easy and simple reverb,compressor and delay.

Started by jogina111, August 13, 2012, 09:42:23 PM

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jogina111

can anyone give me a very simple schematic for  a delay/chorus pedal, reverb and a compressor.. Please give e the simpliest you have maybe a 10-part schematic? :)  thanks..

John Lyons

Nothing has that few parts.
Even a fuzz face which is about as simple as it gets has more parts.
A reverb/chorus/delay will have quadruple that amount of parts at least.
Basic Audio Pedals
www.basicaudio.net/

jogina111

thats ok as long as its simplier than those schematics used on mass produced, commercially available ones.

hannibal827

"One Chip Chorus": http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=92872.0

I can't vouch for the sound, but I have built the "Little Angel," another PT2399-based chorus introduced on this forum.  It's not as complicated as analog choruses are, but also doesn't really sound like a Small Clone / Clone Theory / CE-2, either.  This is not to say it's "bad," just "different."

These circuits that you're talking about are inherently complicated, compared to, say, a typical distortion circuit.  You're using a clock chip to drive a delay chip, you're throwing in an LFO if it's a chorus, and you're splitting and re-integrating wet and dry signal paths.  You also need lots of filtering to minimize unwanted noise.  But you also want a circuit that preserves your "tone."  It's a difficult balance, and reducing the complexity of these circuits is hard to do without degrading the sound.

The PT2399 chip allows you to accomplish several of these functions with the same IC, but like I said earlier, the tradeoff is a different sound.  Maybe it's your cup of tea, maybe not.
Pedals built: Pulsar; Uglyface; Slow Gear; Tri-Vibe; Tremulus Lune; Blues Driver; Fender Pro Vibrato; Nyquist Aliaser; Ultra Flanger; Clone Theory; Ibanez FL-301; Echo Base; Electric Mistress (Deluxe); Boss CE-2; Gristleizer; Maestro Filter Sample/Hold.

Mark Hammer

The number of components involved is NOT a result of adding unnecessary details.  In some cases (e.g., an analog delay, chorus or flanger), there is simply no other way to do even the very least without a lot of parts.  In other instances, the greater number of parts, and circuit complexity, is to avoid known and predictable problems.

For example, you CAN probably make something that produces a compression action with a small handful of parts.  I've seen such circuits, usually for ham radio microphones.  But compressing a voice mic signal is a different beast than compressing a guitar.  With voice, one doesn't have to worry about artifacts like envelope ripple during the decay phase when the strings are still vibrating.  Fail to prevent envelope ripple, however, and guitars will sound awful.  Ham radio operators will simply leave the compression on all the time, so balancing compression/bypass output levels is a non-issue.  A guitarist or bassist who turns the compressor off WILL be concerned about equal levels...and that necessitates additional circuitry/components.

Some music-related sonic changes CAN be accomplished with very few components.  But don't be misled by fuzz circuits.  Distortion is essentially "ruining" an audio signal in deliberate ways, and imposing imperfection on an audio signal can be the easiest thing in the world to do.  Making an audio signal do something orderly, however, can take considerably more effort, parts, and control. 

You can always make "effects" with fewer parts.  You just wouldn't want to use them in public, or while others were listening.

midwayfair

OP, you might want to check out modules like the FV-1 chip and some Arduino projects.

I'm not saying they sound great, but if you're determined to have the simplest possible project, that's where you have to go.

As far as "commercially available" pedals having complicated schematics, that's rarely true. Most DIY circuits are no simpler than the production schematics and are often more complicated.

Anyway, here are three projects with PCBs for you:
Compressor
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/Afterlife/Afterlife.pdf // http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/index.html
Be sure to check out John Hollis's original design.

Delay
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/projects/CaveDweller/CaveDweller.pdf

If you aren't interested in building in a 1590A, I highly recommend finding a Deep Blue Delay (Haberdasher on the Madbean forum can etch it for you) or building the EchoBase (MusicPCB). Yes, they have more parts, but the overall sound quality is worth the extra work. These will not do "real" classic chorus ... for that, you need delay times below 20ms, and the PT2399 simply can't do that. Which means you have to build an analog chorus pedal, which is hugely more complicated.

Reverb:
http://1776effects.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Rub-a-Dub-Reverb-BOM.pdf
http://1776effects.com/store/
This is probably as simple as you can get for a reverb, period. It's very close to the schematic in the Belton brick documentation.
My band, Midway Fair: www.midwayfair.org. Myself's music and things I make: www.jonpattonmusic.com. DIY pedal demos: www.youtube.com/jonspatton. PCBs of my Bearhug Compressor and Cardinal Harmonic Tremolo are available from http://www.1776effects.com!