Mutronics Mutator workalike DIY?

[loki]

Hi,
I recently got interested in this cool unit:
http://www.mutronics.co.uk/html/mutator.htm
http://www.mutronics.co.uk/html/whatis.htm

It's the same Radiohead guitar player Johnny Greenwood uses for them wacky sounds (paranoid android solo for example)

Its price is definitely too much, so i was wondering if there are some DIY projects similar to this one.
thanks!

[Rodgre]

Just think of the mutator as a series of circuit modules and you'll find a lot of DIY possibilities.

Let's see, you've got two VCFs.... there are a ton of schematics for those out there. You've got an envelope follower. You've got LFOs. With a schematic for a pretty wide-range VCF, you could build up two of those. Then you could build an envelope follower circuit to control one or both of the VCFs. Then build an LFO to control them as well. You might want to have external voltage control inputs to manually sweep the filters, and have facilities to invert the phase of the envelope and LFO on one or the other filter.

Roger

[loki]

thanks rodgre
i'll make some researches and hopefully i'll find the right schems

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

Two envelope followers, with separate inputs to the envelope follower circuits, plus external LFOs mixing with the envelope follower outpiuts, would go close.
Looks like a job for 4MS!!!

[ExpAnonColin]

Two envelope followers, with separate inputs to the envelope follower circuits, plus external LFOs mixing with the envelope follower outpiuts, would go close.
Looks like a job for 4MS!!!

Naw, it needs to self oscillate first

Keep in mind they are using a VERY complex envelope following system there...  what with the gating and all.

Also keep in mind Johnny greenwood used a DOD 440 for paranoid android.

-Colin

[loki]

well it seems something too difficult to do for me at the moment, but thanks anyway  :wink:

Also keep in mind Johnny greenwood used a DOD 440 for paranoid android.

-Colin

Are you sure? i meant the 2 solo parts, that sound like they've been computer-processed... doesnt sound to me as the DOD 440...
or maybe they were really comp-processed lol

[robotboy]

The uglyface is the closest I've heard a pedal come to the mutator. It has an envelope filter, oscillator, modulation, harmonies and heavy fuzz. If you hooked an expression pedal up to the frequency control, you could get an effect similar to Johnny Greenwood's solo where the frequency shifts towards the end. Of course, it's not going to be a dead-on replica of the mutator, but it can be built for less than fifty dollars, while the mutator is $949.  :wink:

[loki]

robotboy,
thanks for the tip on the uglyface... i had always seen threads about it but never considered them, since i thought it was a simple fuzz....
i think i'll build it when i have time... it sounds cool, i just want to find a way for the frequency to shift by itself, without an expression pedal i mean

[smccusker]

robotboy,
thanks for the tip on the uglyface... i had always seen threads about it but never considered them, since i thought it was a simple fuzz....
i think i'll build it when i have time... it sounds cool, i just want to find a way for the frequency to shift by itself, without an expression pedal i mean

The mutator doesnt shift the frequency by itself. After Jonny recorded the solo, they fed the signal through the mutator while he fiddled with the controls, and then they fed the processed signal through it again, while he fiddled further. An expression pedal isn't that hard to add, and it will give you heaps of control over the crazy sounds you can make.