Cool Effects

[critch]

This summer i am thinking of building some pedals, i like rock, metal, nu-metal, death metal, etc....
are phasers/flangers and the like quite difficult, and comparabale to the likes of BOSS?
any suggestions on projects?
P.S. Veroboard or PCB prefered....
thanks

[radio]

Hello

Look at   www.tonepad.com

or           www.generalguitargadgets.com

choose a project and then you can still decide whether

you ll build it with veroboard or PCB.

Names are close to B*ss or Iban*z,the choice is yours

my vote would go to MXR P45 phaser on vero too by Torchy

and maybe the ideal first phaser project

Just my 2cents :wink:

Greetings JMErnzer

[Ge_Whiz]

Yeah, I was going to say "start with Torchy's Phase 45 layout."

[critch]

ok thanks, i need to plan ahead coz i have to order mostly from the US, it seems,
any more?

[MartyMart]

ok thanks, i need to plan ahead coz i have to order mostly from the US, it seems,
any more?

www.runoffgroove.com
Loads of great projects, the "Improved EA Tremolo" is great and Torchy
has done a nice vero board layout for that also.
Check his gallery for "dozens" of ROG and other designs !!
He is doing a "Phase 90" and "Ross Phaser" at the moment too
Here's some "UK" places to get parts cheap
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/esr/
ESR great for caps/resistors /DPDT switch/Pots/transistors ... etc etc
Also "Bardwells" and "Rapid Electronics"

Marty.

[Mark Hammer]

What makes a "beginner project"?  Interesting question.  When recommending a project for someone starting out, I suspect many here take the following into account:

1) Does it require making a PCB or not?  Certainly having a PCB simplifies construction, and helps to avoid forgetting ground connections and other headaches.  At the same time, requiring someone to buy the supplies and learn how to make PCBs before they ever get a working pedal in their hands is not exactly the gentlest entry.

2) Does it require hard to get, obsolete, or hand-selected parts?  Some kinds of parts have extremely limited distribution because they either aren't being made anymore (the delay chips for certain chorus and flanger pedals is one example), or because only certain types of distributors will carry them.  In other instances the part is more or less available, but there are many variations on that basic part and it must be selected in some manner, either on the basis of specs or part suffix.  The ideal beginner's project uses parts that you can buy in almost any town around the world, and parts that simply require that you buy them off the rack and solder them together.  If it could all be found at a Radio Shack (though prices elsewhere are regularly much cheaper), that fits the bill.

3) Does it require much adjustment after it's built?  Certainly pre-use adjustment is not always that *hard*, but anything that requires the builder to know a little more about optimal functioning of the circuit might stretch them a little farther than they might be ready for at the moment.  There are certainly plenty of things with trimpots that might be suitable for a second project, though.  I guess another aspect of this would be the question of whether the build is the sort where you'd need to know something about how the parts interact to know what to change, post-build, to make it work the way you want.  Ideally, you want a project where parts tolerances play little role in ultimate usability.

4) Is it going to be a bugger to troubleshoot?  This one is tricky.  The ideal scenario is where a novice posts a thread with "My X doesn't work: Why?" as the header and within 2 or 3 suggestions the source of difficulty is quickly nailed down.  Far more problematic are those where the builder is required to have a certain level of knowledge and expertise to even formulate the problem and post a question.  Certainly anything that stands in the way of efficient collaborative troubleshooting should be avoided as a first project.

5) Will it be cheap to make?  This is kind of tied in with other aspects, but it is a legitimate concern.  The cheaper and easier and faster it is to go from intention to playable device, the more motivated the beginner will be to try it again and recommend it to others.  Conversely, there are few things as depressing as investing too much money and time and hope in something that just ends up sitting there on the shelf, unusable and taunting you.  If it was a $10 investment, well, most folks here can probably drink that much while complaining about it.  Once it starts to get up into the cost of buying a decent quality second hand pedal, though, that's another matter.  And just to be clear, we're not talking about how much a person COULD spend on some components, like knobs, pots, jacks, or chassis.

6) Will/can you learn something from it?  You can learn something from just about any build, I suppose, but some builds shine a very bright spotlight on how things work.  One aspect is the opportunity for tinkering with mods.  Another is how mentally organizable the different subcircuits are.  

7) Will it do something useful?  This one is tricky.  For some folks, their first build has to do something amazing or at least very robust.  As much as distortion-producing devices are generally the first pedal that anybody buys, and as much as virtually every $59.99 amp these days comes with diode-based clipping on board, for some reason, many folks either want, or recommend, a fuzz of some type as first project.  In some ways, because *clean* amplification is so hard to achieve, and is interfered with in so many different manners, distotion projects are almost a no brainer - i.e., if you even think of getting distortion, you'll get some.  On the other hand, because they are so pedestrian in some ways, people get tired of them and want something different, and you can end up pissing away fast sums of money and time on something that sits in the corner and actually keeps you from making music.  Personally, I like to recommend things that I'm confident you'll use a long time from now (e.g., a loop selector).  On the other hand, since construction technique and reliability is likely to be poor first time out, I suppose it may be wiser to go with something the person won't care about as much, or be as essential to their rig.