The 8-Bitar - a new minimalistic octave down

[Freppo]

Hi folks,

Yesterday I released a small mini-project called the "8-Bitar".
It's a minimalistic octave down pedal with a glitchy and gated 8-bit sound.
Kinda like a super light Arcadiator for the mini-pedal board.

(demo transitions got a bit messed up in the rendering.
I guess that what's happen when you edit stuff using a cheap mobile app... )

This project started as a personal challenge (as it usually does for my stuff).
I just wanted to see how small I could design a circuit like this.
I'm very happy with the result. It only uses one chip (CD4069) + 1 transistor.
The PCB is small enough to fit inside a 1590A, even with regular jacks and a 16mm pot.

I hope you like it.

PCB, build document (with schematic), vero layout ect. at
www.parasitstudio.se

Cheers
/ Fredrik, Parasit Studio

[iainpunk]

Thats super cool!
Big fan of your stuff!
Is there any chance of you comming out with a wave folder circuit?, That would be cool!

Greetings from the Netherlands
Iain

[antonis]

You (always) rock, Fredrik... :beer:  :beer:  :beer:

[BetterOffShred]

     thanks man.  I love it, maybe I'll add it to my stable of your effects soon

-Brett

[Freppo]

Thank you all for the kind comments.

Is there any chance of you comming out with a wave folder circuit?, That would be cool!

Yes, perhaps something similar. I have been thinking about doing a Fuzz with a CV controlled resonant filter.

Cheers
/ Fredrik

[sergiomr706]

Sounds cool. But something's missing... Where's the kung fu video Freppo? With that name bitar-.sitar -guitar i was expecting a  kung fu vs yoga kind of video with your playing.-) sounds really great.

[Freppo]

Sounds cool. But something's missing... Where's the kung fu video Freppo? With that name bitar-.sitar -guitar i was expecting a  kung fu vs yoga kind of video with your playing.-) sounds really great.

Haha.. Kung Fu vs Yoga is such a bizzare movie, I love it!
Bitar is just bits in swedish hehe... But I promise that more kung fu demo videos is coming for future projects.
Anyway, i'm glad you like it.

Cheers
/ Fredrik

[lborl]

That is amazing

[patrick398]

Sounds great man, amazing as always!

[Marcos - Munky]

This is amazing! I've always wanted to build an arcadiator, but my board is mainly focused on 1590As, so this one will surely be built soon .

[BluffChill]

Just built this and have some nice fuzz but no octave down - anyone else had problems?

[Freppo]

Try removing R7. I've had the odd build where this resistor caused problems.
It's usually needed with a 2N3904, but it depends on the transistor used.

If that doesn't help, resolder R7 and try replacing the transistor insted.
Or just try replacing the transistor first.

I hope that helps
/ Fredrik

[BluffChill]

Thanks, I'll give it a shot!
I actually turned this into a pretty good regular fuzz by bridging two parts accidentally, so soldered a wire across and kept it. But I'll try your suggestion too. Thanks!

[Bishop Vogue]

Thanks Fredrik. Love your stuff! I checked your site and found the BOM and the schematic (in a pdf) but I didn't find a vero layout.  Where should I have been looking? Cheers.

[Freppo]

Thanks Fredrik. Love your stuff! I checked your site and found the BOM and the schematic (in a pdf) but I didn't find a vero layout.  Where should I have been looking? Cheers.

You can find stripboard layouts under DIY Guitar Effects > Original designs.

Here's a direct link to the 8-bitar layout
http://www.parasitstudio.se/uploads/2/4/4/9/2449159/8bitarvero.png

/ Fredrik

[thehallofshields]

Very cool design. Especially that divider section.

Point of curiosity; why add the cap between the first two amplifier stages?

[Freppo]

Very cool design. Especially that divider section.

Point of curiosity; why add the cap between the first two amplifier stages?

Thanks. 

The cap between the gain stages is needed to remove any DC offset for the second gain stage to bias correctly.

[Marcos - Munky]

Question: does the 4069 have to be unbuffered version? I'm ordering some parts online, but the store doesn't  list which kind of 4069 they sells.

[duck_arse]

the spec sheets for the 4069 shows that there isn't a buffered version. so all 4069's are unbuffered.

[Marcos - Munky]

Yeah, I saw the spec sheets after your answer, and all of the versions are UBx, which means unbuffered. But I have a CD4069BE here and, at least for the 4049, the BE suffix without the U means buffered. Actually that's why I didn't used this 4069 yet.