Tap tempo modded Echo Base PCBs in the works - vote on features

[Taylor]

Lots of fun to be had with 2 separate delays... 

[cap10random]

this sounds like an awesome project!  i'm definitely down for a couple boards if the price is right.  i've been wanting to build a delay for a while now anyway.


oh, hi everyone.  i'm new here, but i've been building for a little while now.  i'm not advanced by any means, but i really enjoy being able to make pedals that are unavailable and/or better and custom versions of current pedals.  hopefully, i'll be able to design my own stuff someday too.  

[Taylor]

Welcome cap10random. I'm not actually advanced either, but I'll get there one day. You'll find that the people on this forum are extremely generous with their knowledge as long as you're willing to put some legwork in.

[JKowalski]

It's too bad that Princeton didn't make an echo chip with enough delay time bits to be useful for tap tempo 

4 bits is their best selection range but that's not near enough to do anything with. They had a serial port control on one of their chips too I believe where you could manage the entire chip in serial instead of parallel, if only they had an 8-bit serial delay input... SIGH

I'm not familiar with that, except that I remember some pedal company selling an Echoplex-derived standalone preamp.

What does this preamp do that's special?

I think it was just a certain "tone" that they felt was popular enough to warrant putting it in a standalone pedal. Maybe it has particular frequency responses or distortion characteristics that sound good? I don't think it has any merit in regard to delays specifically though considering their choice putting it in a standalone.

[maximee]

I'd be interested in getting a board or two as well.

[aziltz]

I think it was just a certain "tone" that they felt was popular enough to warrant putting it in a standalone pedal. Maybe it has particular frequency responses or distortion characteristics that sound good? I don't think it has any merit in regard to delays specifically though considering their choice putting it in a standalone.

i'll be making on anyway.  we'll see how it sounds.  the idea was to get the delays sounding a little more different than the dry, and you could tell your buddies it "sounds" like an EP3

[aziltz]

how's this going btw?  Is there a timeline in mind?

[Taylor]

No timeline really. I'm finishing up the tap tempo tremolo board first, then I have a lot of stuff with my own designs that I'm trying to finish quickly.

I would estimate that the design will be done in a week or 2, and then when it's done it'll be about 4 weeks before boards are available for sale.

[markeebee]

Taylor, as a matter of course, please count me in for two of any project your warped genius conjures up. Including this. And the tap trem. And the hover boots.

[aziltz]

Taylor, would it be too much to ask you to share some thoughts or your process on getting these PCB projects made?

I for one would be interested in hearing about how to do this, either now or later.

thanks,

A

[Taylor]

Taylor, as a matter of course, please count me in for two of any project your warped genius conjures up. Including this. And the tap trem. And the hover boots.

I'm starting to wonder if Markeebee is a sockpuppet acount I created during my somnambulism to puff up my own ego... Seriously, though, I can't take much credit for any genius here, I'm basically just assembling parts of schematics other people came up with. But I do appreciate the kind words.

Incidentally, DIY personal flight actually IS an interest of mine. I do plan to build a backpack helicopter one day, and I will hook you guys up with kits if you want. 

Taylor, would it be too much to ask you to share some thoughts or your process on getting these PCB projects made?

I for one would be interested in hearing about how to do this, either now or later.

I'm not sure I know what you mean. Are you interested in getting PCBs made of your own circuits, or...?

Basically, I do the design in a CAD program, get prototype boards made, build up the proto, and if it works right I get the bigger run made. Let me know if there's a specific part of that process you'd like to know more about.

[mikemaddux]

id be in for 2 boards

[oliphaunt]

I'm in for a couple!

[tonymccallie]

New to this forum, but I'm the process of doing a BYOC with the dual PTAP2. I'd love to see all this in one board with those other features you listed. Sign me up for a few!

[StereoKills]

I'd be in for a board or two!

[NQbass7]

Just outta curiosity, what's the timeframe on this?  I'm mostly wondering if I should hold off a few weeks on a parts order to get parts for this on as well, or if it's gonna be a month or more and I'll just save it for a different order.

[jkokura]

No timeline really. I'm finishing up the tap tempo tremolo board first, then I have a lot of stuff with my own designs that I'm trying to finish quickly.

I would estimate that the design will be done in a week or 2, and then when it's done it'll be about 4 weeks before boards are available for sale.

From two weeks ago. Taylor's pretty good about communicating where he is in the process as far as I've seen. I don't think there's a hurry on this one as there's another project to finish for him in front of this one.

Jacob

[Taylor]

The PCB design is not quite done. I will probably finish it in the next couple of days. Then it'll be a week and a half until I get the prototypes. Then another 2 weeks for the big batch to be made. So we're probably about a month from the point I can start actually shipping boards.

[Taylor]

It's almost done now, need to sort out the finer details of the cascaded delay chips.

But I think I'll have to lose the feedback filter. Just can't find room for it. Or, does anybody know of a low parts count bandpass filter?

I haven't seen this done, but what if you cascaded an RC lowpass and RC highpass, with the highpass cutoff set lower than the lowpass's? Is there any way to vary frequency of something like this without a dual-gang pot?

[alex frias]

Two separate delay lines sound cool. I remember some algorithms in my old Lexicon Vortex, you can do thing like series or parallel arrangements with some cross feedback lines... You can extend the delay time limit or add some new combinations. It can be done with simple switching. Congratulations and I want one or two of them.

Oh, and a companding is a real good addition, the sound is very clode to analog type echo, well... I like it.