Ludwig Phase II tuning.

[digi2t]

Hi all,

Well, I'm into the next "Phase" of this adventure, tuning the Ludwig Phase II synth. With all the trimmers in this sucker, and no real solid technical info from original sources to speak of, I thought it would be important to give a cloner something to work with after their project is boxed. This could be of value to any original Phase II owners as well.

Below is a video that I recorded of one of my units that I've had on the bench for about 2 weeks now. I completely re-capped both my units. I did one, just to A/B the difference, and it sold me on the job. The second unit I bought was not working in any case, the C2 console electro was toast, so, in for a penny, in for a pound. I've tweaked, twiddle, measured, and recorded reams of info. In my humble opinion, this is the best this unit will sound, in any mode. That's my opinion. The video is to get your opinion. I've set this up to maximize the sweep, mouthiness, and percussive fuzz qualities of the unit, but, the frequencies can always be tweaked. In this case, I've mearly gone the extra mile to "spead the love" amoung all the modes. In this unit, if you try to give too much to one mode, you'll have to give something up somewhere else. If you can get along with tuning this unit, then marriage, kids, and a dog (or two) will be a piece of cake 

I'm not publishing any numbers before I share my findings with R.G.. Since I'm a layman here, I would like to get his input on what I'm getting here first. After he has a gander at the numbers, waveforms, etc., I'll share my stuff with everybody. I just don't want to lead anyone astray is all. Let me also add, that with his guide on the inner workings of this box, I would have never known where to start. Life lesson here; When wiser men speak, shut the hell up and listen!

So, here you go. Please forgive my crappy guitar noodling, and unscripted pauses 

[digi2t]

OK, this is what I have so far. First off, I'll mention that you should have a good quality DMM at your disposition. Quite a bit of this tuning relies on correct, and precise voltages, so a decent DMM should be "de rigeur". Also, I used a PC based oscilloscope, to vision what was going on. This was very handy at seeing what adjustments were doing to the individual filters. I've posted pictures below of my tuning.

So, batten down that cap of yours with some bailing wire, and here we go...

- If you're using a grounding input jack (like the original), don't forget to insert a cable, or dummy plug, to unground the circuit.

- Set trimmer R65 to full counter clockwise (in the orignals). I'm not sure of the orientation in the clone, but in any case, if you're turning it and start getting bad oscillation, crank it all the way the other way. Measure resistance between the trimmer and C28 (opposite T.P. 9), and then dial in the trimmer to get 22K on the DMM. This balances against the 22K resistor on the other filter, before it hits C.P. 6 fall board. Set all other trimmers to their center position.

- With animation off, pedal toe down, no fuzz, and a dummy plug in the input (to unground it, if using grounding input), the voltage at C.P. 18 console, with COUNTER mode ON, should be set at around 7.3 - 7.4v using trimmer R20. This will change slightly during tuning, but it's a close starting point.

-Set the rate voltage at pin 28 console to 20v, using R4. I find that this give the best balance between low and high speed.

-Next, set the opposing voltages in COUNTER mode. This will be the true test of your patience, and ultimately render judgement as to whether or not you deserve one of these units. I found that it's best to start here, so ask your secretary to clear your schedule for the day, put on a pot of coffee, and let's get down to business. Once this mode is balanced out, the other two modes pretty well fall into place. It's important to achieve balanced opposing voltages between toe down, and heel down. This is done by testing between pins 8 and 9 fallboard. Record the voltages, in toe and heel down positions on one pin, and then again on the other. What you're shooting for is something like this;
C.P. 8 fall board - toe 2.7v, heel 6.3v.
C.P. 9 fall board - toe 6.3v, heel 2.7v.
These values were taken from one of my units, but may vary slightly (about 0.5v) from unit to unit. The important thing is to be in this region, and as balanced as possible. This is done firstly by finding the area of travel on the pedal pot that gets near that zone. You might even have to jump up, or down some teeth on the pinion here. Then, by checking voltages between the two test points, adjust between R20, R31, and even by nudging the pot position slightly, to achieve an opposite balance in the voltages. A final fine tuning of "nudging" the position of the pedal pot SLIGHTLY, one way or the other may be required. I believe that any voltages between 2.4 - 2.7v, and 6.0 - 6.4v should be fine, as long as they are opposingly balanced. This is really the longest process, since there is A LOT of back and forthing, compromising, spliting hairs here and there, readjusting, more coffee, hair pulling, etc.. A real PITA, but in my opinion, the most important process.

- T.P. 2 voltages should be between 4 - 4.5v toe down, and 13 - 13.5v heel down at this point.

-I find that 3.800v at T.P. 3 seems to be the sweet spot for the main filters voltage. Adjust R29 to achieve this. It's critical to be as accurate as possible here, since very slight changes, yields quite audible changes. This is why I prefer multi-turn trimmers. 3.800v seems to give the most formant action in all three modes. It may vary by 0.005v switching between vowel, and parallel, so split the difference.

- Take a well deserved coffee/smoke (whatever's your poison) break. Time for another preamble here. For the  next step I used a PC scope. Bought a 2 channel USB scope off EBay for around 100$. I love it. For a noodler like me, it's fine, and it's just as important as my DMM. We have the same model at work, and I used it to tune my Gristelizer when I built it. So, I stuck with what I knew, and bought the same model, a DSO-2090. I tried tuning my Gristleizer by ear, but when I scoped it, I was WAAAAAYYYY off. No offence to Taylor, he's a super dude, but ear tuning is so subjective, it's almost voodoo. I suspect it will be the same with the Phase II. You could twiddle those trimmer into oblivion, and you'll get lucky to nail something decent from all three formant modes. God knows I tried in the past. OK... back to work...

- Fine tune the fiters, using trimmers R55, and R77. With a 2 channel oscilliscope connected to T.P. 8, and T.P. 9, turn on the animation (no fuzz), and set the unit to PARALLEL mode. Adjust the scope to get a decent sized view of the waveform. The screen shots below show my scope set up. An audio input isn't required here, unless you want to hear the output through an amp, but any input will distort the waveform on the scope, so I advise against it at this point. With the pedal in toe down position, turn the rate up to about half way. What we should try to get here is an opposing uniformity between the two waves, Channel 1 being just as high as Channel 2 is low, and vise versa. By playing with the trimmers, you can figure out which affects which channel (filter). A bit of back and forth will get the two filters evened out. Sweeping the pedal, while checking the scope, you'll see the waveform change. If the waves stay relatively balanced from one end to the other, that's good. Here are some screenshots of the waveforms I got using this process;

Parallel slow rate - toe down,



Parallel fast rate - toe down,



Counter slow rate - toe down,



Counter slow rate - pedal mid-position,



Vowel slow rate - toe down,



Insofar as R41 and R62 are concerned, R.G. believes that they are there to provide some really fine tuning of any imbalance that may occur between transistors in the filter section. I believe him on this one. While I didn't touch them on one unit, I was getting some very high pitch oscillation from one of the filters, which was squelched adjusting R62 on the second unit. Probably an inbalance between transistors on this side. Leaving them centered, and using them as a final hiss/squeal adjustment is probably best, since I didn't touch them on one unit, yet had to crank one on the other. Maybe it would be "a good thing" to ensure that the transistors are matched for the filter section. The scope images above are from my first unit. The waves symmetry in Parallel mode in the second unit is close to what I got in the first, but a touch off on one side. Tried as I may, I get damn close, but not perfect. Transistor mis-match maybe?

In the end, both units sound pretty well identical. Without animation, working the pedal, I get a nice wwwwaaahhhh in Parallel mode, yyyyyyooooooyyyyy in Counter mode, and oooowwwwaaaayyyy in Vowel mode.

Well, I hope this helps. If anyone has any further input, please chirp in. I'm just a layman here, but this is the easiest way I've found to get these suckers consistantly tuned. I've validated this process by using it on two different units, and also intentioanlly messing up the trimmer, and going through the process. Each time, I get very good results sound-wise.

Cheers,
Dino

[digi2t]

CORRECTION;

- With animation off, pedal toe down, no fuzz, and a dummy plug in the input (to unground it, if using grounding input), the voltage at C.P. 18 console, with COUNTER mode ON, should be set at around 7.3 - 7.4v using trimmer R20. This will change slightly during tuning, but it's a close starting point.

SHOULD READ;

- With animation off, pedal toe down, no fuzz, FFM INTENSITY set to MAX, and a dummy plug in the input (to unground it, if using grounding input), the voltage at C.P. 18 console, with COUNTER mode ON, should be set at around 7.3 - 7.4v using trimmer R20. This will change slightly during tuning, but it's a close starting point.

Also, all C.P.'s and T.P.'s stated above denote Connection Points (where a wire meets the board), or Test Points (any point where you would take a reading from). These are taken from the FACTORY schematics, and NOT from the Geofex article schematic. On the factory schematic, a C.P. is symbolized by a circle with only a number in it. A T.P. on the other hand is a circle, with the letters "TP" and a number.

Some C.P.'s also double as T.P.'s on the factory schematics. Although there are no T.P.'s on the factory console schematic, I do give C.P.'s where voltages must be taken from. For example C.P.18 on the factory console schematic. On the clone schematic, this would also correspond to the junction point between D1, and D2.

I did not have the opportunity yet to cross-reference the two, so please use the factory schematic below, and find the corresponding point on the Geofex schematic.

Thanks to Ry for pointing out this confusion. If Ry manages to validate this procedure as well, I'll make the necessary corrections/adjustments thereafter. In the meantime don't be shy to post on the Ludwig debbuging thread.

[R.G.]

When the frenzy dies down to a milder roar, I'd like to include the tuning instructions into the now-18 page building instructions if you would permit it, Dino.

After all one of these days years I'm going to have to tune up my own.   

[digi2t]

When the frenzy dies down to a milder roar, I'd like to include the tuning instructions into the now-18 page building instructions if you would permit it, Dino.

After all one of these days years I'm going to have to tune up my own.   

That would great R.G.. Right now, I going to walk through it with Ry. Validations only work when someone else is able to accomplish what is set down. I need to be sure that any points that may cause confusion are taken care of. Once that's done, by all means, you may attach it to the build article.

Cheers, and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
Dino

[Ry]

Thanks for the updates!  I will get back to tuning this beast tomorrow morning and report back.  I spent about a hour (maybe two) working on the portion that Dino revised.  I wasn't getting anywhere.  Some of the voltages weren't changing with the trimmer, so I started to suspect that I was looking at the wrong test points.  I do more than a fair share of technical writing in my day job.  I will gladly help you guys work up the tuning instructions as I get this running.  I will note everything as I go, it's the least I can do.

[Ry]

Ok, I'll admit to being stuck on this part:

-Next, set the opposing voltages in COUNTER mode. This will be the true test of your patience, and ultimately render judgement as to whether or not you deserve one of these units. I found that it's best to start here, so ask your secretary to clear your schedule for the day, put on a pot of coffee, and let's get down to business. Once this mode is balanced out, the other two modes pretty well fall into place. It's important to achieve balanced opposing voltages between toe down, and heel down. This is done by testing between pins 8 and 9 fallboard. Record the voltages, in toe and heel down positions on one pin, and then again on the other. What you're shooting for is something like this;
C.P. 8 fall board - toe 2.7v, heel 6.3v.
C.P. 9 fall board - toe 6.3v, heel 2.7v.
These values were taken from one of my units, but may vary slightly (about 0.5v) from unit to unit. The important thing is to be in this region, and as balanced as possible. This is done firstly by finding the area of travel on the pedal pot that gets near that zone. You might even have to jump up, or down some teeth on the pinion here. Then, by checking voltages between the two test points, adjust between R20, R31, and even by nudging the pot position slightly, to achieve an opposite balance in the voltages. A final fine tuning of "nudging" the position of the pedal pot SLIGHTLY, one way or the other may be required. I believe that any voltages between 2.4 - 2.7v, and 6.0 - 6.4v should be fine, as long as they are opposingly balanced. This is really the longest process, since there is A LOT of back and forthing, compromising, spliting hairs here and there, readjusting, more coffee, hair pulling, etc.. A real PITA, but in my opinion, the most important process.

I've put in maybe 5 hours on it.  Here are some assumptions that I'm going on after staring at the factory schematics: I've come to believe that C.P. 8 is the low side of RF51, which connects to trimmer RF77.  Similarly, I believe that C.P. 9 is the low side of RF52, which connects to trimmer RF 55.  This seems to be what the factory schematic shows on the fall plate.  Trimmer R31 does have a great impact on the voltages at these test points, trimmer R31 doesn't seem to affect them at all.  

Edit: the more I play with it, the more I think there must be an issue around trimmer rf77. It just isn't behaving like the tuning procedure indicates. Rf52 isn't a lot better, but it's voltages go in the correct direction with the pot sweep. Rf52's go in the opposite direction from what they should.

I'm assuming that Parallel mode is OFF in this step, as it does affect these voltages as well.

I can get things set up where the voltage at the heel at C.P. 8 is 6.3v, and the voltage at the heel for C.P. 9 is 2.7v.  When I put the toe down, these only change maybe .5v, and sometimes in the wrong direction.  Often, when I have a voltage around 4.7v for either the toe or heel, moving the position of the wah pot does nothing.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated at this point.  I've tweaked every trimmer on the board in attempts to get these voltages tuned and am really not getting anywhere.  I may have made bad assumptions.

I've had really good luck with the other steps up to this point, which is encouraging...

Thanks!

[digi2t]

Trimmer R31 does have a great impact on the voltages at these test points, trimmer R31 doesn't seem to affect them at all. 

If I remember correctly, R31 only affects the voltage either (I think I remember); in the heel down position, or, on only one of the two test points. R20 will adjust the voltage on both test points, and in any pedal position. Again, my memory is a bit fuzzy, and I'm going to have to open up a unit again to check, but you use R20 to move all voltages around, and R31 only moves the voltage on one TP, or pedal position. You have to really play with it, and at some point you should see what goes where. Like I said, it's frustrating when you don't grasp the inter-relationship of the works. I'll have to go back and figure out a more comprehensive way of explaining it.

It's moments like this that you see that what you understand, may not translate well to someone else. I'll figure out a better way to present that set up.

The only switch that should be on is the COUNTER switch. It's for this reason that your voltages should be opposite vis a vis the pedal position, and test points.  You should measure the toe and heel voltages on CP8, and then on CP9. Whatever you get on CP8, should read opposite on CP9, that's the goal. Hence, "counter".

Give me a few days. I'll rework that part of the procedure.

[Ry]

I think I noticed that R20 only affects one of the CP points (I think it's 8, but it may be 9), and R31 changes all of the voltages.  I didn't try seeing if R31 only affected the point in heel or toe position.  If so, that would make this a little easier, knowing that the voltage at that point won't shift with R20 or R55 being changed.  I'll investigate that tomorrow. 

I understand the issue in presenting this in written form.  There are probably 5 pots that each affect these test points.  I was playing with trying to tune it by ear, and noticed that RF29 made a huge difference on the filter sound.  I need to play with it a little tomorrow as well.

Don't rush back into your Ludwigs, I understand what I'm supposed to be getting, it's just not working out that way.  I'll keep plugging away at it.

Thanks!

[pinkjimiphoton]

ry, don't worry about trying to match dino's setting exactly...get it in the ballpark, then go by ear.

the bitch is, so many parts of the circuit are so freekin' interactive....adjusting one trimmer can totally change a different part of the circuit from where you're working.

i got my pII right here if you need any other readings to to ballpark with dino's...say the word.

but also, think about it...this is a NEW board and layout, with different (slightly ) components. even the change in the layout of the board could have an effect on the trimmer settings...parasitic capacitance etc and other things i know nothing about.

we really need to get keppy in here, and compare HIS voltages, as he's got the first "workalike/soundalike" built, and we're going by the original units which may be somewhat different.

just a thought!

[R.G.]

Dang, Jimi. As much as you downplay your technical abilities, you sure got that right!

[Keppy]

we really need to get keppy in here, and compare HIS voltages, as he's got the first "workalike/soundalike" built, and we're going by the original units which may be somewhat different.

Ow! Ow! Stop twisting! Ow!

*rubs arm*

Ok, I'll see what I can do...

[pinkjimiphoton]

about time ya joined the party kep!!
lol

RG,

i'm learning SL O O O Owly...lol

[Keppy]

- If you're using a grounding input jack (like the original), don't forget to insert a cable, or dummy plug, to unground the circuit.

Not a tuning issue, but I used a grounding OUTPUT jack, so the unit will work using either input alone.

- Set trimmer R65 to full counter clockwise (in the orignals). I'm not sure of the orientation in the clone, but in any case, if you're turning it and start getting bad oscillation, crank it all the way the other way. Measure resistance between the trimmer and C28 (opposite T.P. 9), and then dial in the trimmer to get 22K on the DMM. This balances against the 22K resistor on the other filter, before it hits C.P. 6 fall board. Set all other trimmers to their center position.

Easy

- With animation off, pedal toe down, no fuzz, and a dummy plug in the input (to unground it, if using grounding input), the voltage at C.P. 18 console, with COUNTER mode ON, should be set at around 7.3 - 7.4v using trimmer R20. This will change slightly during tuning, but it's a close starting point.

I did not find this useful. It changes dramatically depending on the travel of the treadle, so it's probably only valid on the originals.

-Set the rate voltage at pin 28 console to 20v, using R4. I find that this give the best balance between low and high speed.

Easy to do, but I forgot to test this out. I see it as a taste issue anyway.

-Next, set the opposing voltages in COUNTER mode. Once this mode is balanced out, the other two modes pretty well fall into place.

True

It's important to achieve balanced opposing voltages between toe down, and heel down. This is done by testing between pins 8 and 9 fallboard. Record the voltages, in toe and heel down positions on one pin, and then again on the other. What you're shooting for is something like this;
C.P. 8 fall board - toe 2.7v, heel 6.3v.
C.P. 9 fall board - toe 6.3v, heel 2.7v.

This is where things get hairy. CP8 is NON-ADJUSTABLE IN THE TOE POSITION - sort of. You wouldn't notice this unless you disconnected the treadle and moved the pot manually, but neither trimmer affects this point if the pot is at it's most extreme. In real use, where the treadle doesn't quite use the full range of the pot, it will change slightly with R31, which really sets the value of CP8 in the heel down position. Here's a full breakdown of what controls what:

CP8 toe - neither
CP8 heel - R31
CP9 toe - R20
CP9 heel - both

My treadle seems to provide greater travel than the originals. I found that if I set the pot to reach it's extreme setting in the toe position, I only got .85v at CP8, which I couldn't match at CP9. After experimenting, I found that I got the best range setting the pot to reach its extreme in the heel position. Additionally, I had to shim up the toe to reduce travel, otherwise I got oscillations in the toe position no matter what.

With the unit in heel position, I set R31 for about 6.7v at CP8. Then I shifted to toe position, put my meter at CP9, and adjusted R20 to get 6.7v. When the range of voltages at CP9 proved to be less than CP8, I went back to CP8, adjusted for a few tenths less, and tried again. I ended up with:

CP8: toe 2.18v, heel 5.73v
CP9: toe 5.81v, toe 2.49v

As you can see, I didn't get mine quite as tight as Dino's, but I didn't really see the need to in practice. The metering of these values can shift a couple tenths based on how hard you compress the rubber stops on the treadle anyway, and this worked well for me.

- T.P. 2 voltages should be between 4 - 4.5v toe down, and 13 - 13.5v heel down at this point.

I got 3.7v-14.4v, so it appears I still have a little more travel in my pot than the originals. This is down from 1.9v-15.6v before I added the shims.

-I find that 3.800v at T.P. 3 seems to be the sweet spot for the main filters voltage. Adjust R29 to achieve this. It's critical to be as accurate as possible here, since very slight changes, yields quite audible changes. This is why I prefer multi-turn trimmers. 3.800v seems to give the most formant action in all three modes. It may vary by 0.005v switching between vowel, and parallel, so split the difference.

Yup. I adjusted by ear and ended up at 3.85v. Put it at 3.8v with the meter, then listen & tweak.

- Fine tune the fiters, using trimmers R55, and R77.

I don't have a scope, but anytime I moved these away from halfway the sound either got marginally worse or oscillated. Centered is good.

Insofar as R41 and R62 are concerned, R.G. believes that they are there to provide some really fine tuning of any imbalance that may occur between transistors in the filter section. I believe him on this one. While I didn't touch them on one unit, I was getting some very high pitch oscillation from one of the filters, which was squelched adjusting R62 on the second unit. Probably an inbalance between transistors on this side. Leaving them centered, and using them as a final hiss/squeal adjustment is probably best, since I didn't touch them on one unit, yet had to crank one on the other. Maybe it would be "a good thing" to ensure that the transistors are matched for the filter section. The scope images above are from my first unit. The waves symmetry in Parallel mode in the second unit is close to what I got in the first, but a touch off on one side. Tried as I may, I get damn close, but not perfect. Transistor mis-match maybe?

I ended up with R62 all the way at one extreme for the best elimination of squeal. R41 didn't have much effect, just the slightest dampening of the high end. I left it in the middle.

So, Dino's instructions work pretty well, even without a scope. I hope my discoveries of which trimmers control voltages at which points in which states prove helpful. I'll see if I can get another video up soon.

[Ry]

Thanks, Keppy!

I'm sitting in front of mine and found one mistake that has gotten me a little further-I had the treadle pot wired backwards. Now I can get everything except the toe position of cp 8 to adjust properly. No matter what I do, I cant get this reading below about .5 volts lower than the heel position. So it's usually around 6.2 to 6.3 v when the heel is at 6.7 to 6.8 v, for example. I've tried giving up on e settings of all other trimmers and just focusing on this one. The lowest I can get it (between r20, r77, and r29) is 4.58 v.  I'm not sure what to look at to diagnose this problem. I may have a bad resistor value somewhere.

Edit: I'm getting closer. Moving the gears on the pot is now making a huge difference. I can now see how this is going to work!

[Keppy]

Huh. Like I said, I could hardly get the toe position voltage of CP8 HIGH enough. Not sure why you're having the opposite problem.

[Keppy]

Update: I didn't like the pedal with the toe shimmed up, so I removed the shims. I recalibrated so both CP8 & CP9 max out at 6.4v. CP8 bottoms out at 1.8v with the toe down, CP9 at 2.1v with the heel down. I discovered as well that the animation can cause oscillations at settings that are otherwise good. R55 & R77 can be used to cure these.

-Turn the modulation all the way up with the rate all the way down.

-In every filter mode, check the extreme treadle positions for oscillation/squeal. R55 & R77 each affect a few different modes, so you may have to cycle through a couple of times before you cure them all. Again, in my unit I had to turn R62 all the way down - it's a jumper, essentially.

[Keppy]

So, here are the steps, in order, according to what worked for me.

1) With the power off, set R65 to 22k.

2) With the power on and animation off, use R29 to set TP3 to 3.8v.

3) In Counter mode, match the opposing max/min voltages at Filter Board CP8 & CP9. Min voltages 1.7-2.7, max 6.4-6.7. Adjust the treadle to help achieve this if necessary (mine uses all pot rotation at the heel side with some to spare toe side).

4) Fire up your amp, turn on the Animation and use R4 to set your desired range on the Rate control.

4) If you have a scope, do what Dino said.

5) If you don't have a scope, search for and destroy squeals. Animation max, Rate min, use R55, R77 & R62 to adjust until every last one is gone.

[digi2t]

This is where things get hairy. CP8 is NON-ADJUSTABLE IN THE TOE POSITION - sort of. You wouldn't notice this unless you disconnected the treadle and moved the pot manually, but neither trimmer affects this point if the pot is at it's most extreme. In real use, where the treadle doesn't quite use the full range of the pot, it will change slightly with R31, which really sets the value of CP8 in the heel down position. Here's a full breakdown of what controls what:

CP8 toe - neither
CP8 heel - R31
CP9 toe - R20
CP9 heel - both

My treadle seems to provide greater travel than the originals. I found that if I set the pot to reach it's extreme setting in the toe position, I only got .85v at CP8, which I couldn't match at CP9. After experimenting, I found that I got the best range setting the pot to reach its extreme in the heel position. Additionally, I had to shim up the toe to reduce travel, otherwise I got oscillations in the toe position no matter what.

With the unit in heel position, I set R31 for about 6.7v at CP8. Then I shifted to toe position, put my meter at CP9, and adjusted R20 to get 6.7v. When the range of voltages at CP9 proved to be less than CP8, I went back to CP8, adjusted for a few tenths less, and tried again. I ended up with:

CP8: toe 2.18v, heel 5.73v
CP9: toe 5.81v, toe 2.49v

As you can see, I didn't get mine quite as tight as Dino's, but I didn't really see the need to in practice. The metering of these values can shift a couple tenths based on how hard you compress the rubber stops on the treadle anyway, and this worked well for me.

That's right Kep. Right on the money. I just couldn't remember what affected what anymore. Thanks for clarifing that. Actually, your numbers seem pretty tight. I did the final touch by shifting the pot position a bit, but I was exploring, and being picky as well.

If you don't mind, may I paraphrase your write ups for the rewrite of the procedure? If we can present as many angles as possible, I think it will give the best chance for a builder to get it up and running quickly.

The pedal travel will definately play a huge role on the numbers. Quite honestly, I think the original Ludwig has a fair amount less travel of say a Dunlop wah. Your build most certainly reflects this. It's something that I'll have to point out in the rewrite, to avoid any head-scratching in some cases. I should mention it early in the article.

Your last post, in a nutshell, is perfect for a "quick set up" type guide. It's spot on. I'll include it as well, again, with your permission.

Thanks a bunch Kep. I'll echo Jimi, we were beginning to miss you here 

Cheers,
Dino

[Ry]

Thanks for the help, guys!

I spent some more time with the tuning. I'm still having trouble with the toe position of cp 8, but I think I'm getting closer.  I initially thought that the majority of the tuning took place between r55 and r77, but am now realizing that it has more to do with r20 and r31. R55 and r77 are almost more like fine tuning trimmers. 

I'm going to have to watch the video at the beginning of this thread again. I'm not sure what settings make this thing oscillate, but mine doesn't seem to. I need to play with it some more, though. I've been very focused on just getting the Counter mode trimmed out...