Introduction and a number of builds (Phase 100, Colorsound OD, Timmy and others)

[Cloverleaf]

Hello people and pedalbuilders of Madbean!

I've been a long time lurker of this forum, always checking out other people's builds to learn from them and apply them to my own pedalbuilding experience. So I figured it's about time I posted some stuff and shared my experience as well.
I'm 24 years old, I live in the Netherlands and have been building my own effects since approx. November 2012.
I've always been kinda sucky at introducing myself at forums so I'll move straight on to the pedals.
Note that most of these are quite recent, as most of my early pedals looked quite iffy on both the outside and the inside - although most of them did work, surprisingly without much tone suckage.

Anywho, on to the pedals!


First up is a Timmy clone on veroboard. This one was made in mid 2013 I believe, my wiring wasn't as tidy as it should have been back then. Sounds killer though. I put some heavier caps in there as well so I could apply an 18v supply. I also put in a DPDT switch to accomodate more clipping options. All diodes are 1N4148.
The smiley is derived from Newground's "angryfaic" smiley and the LED's glow bright red when the pedal is engaged.






Next up is a stereo auto-panner on a PCB from musicfromouterspace.com.
Built this one last February I believe. Looks a little battered due to the paint not being super high quality (probably also because I sprayed only about two layers and a layer of clearcoat).
This one was a little tricky, as it needed a bipolar (+12v/-12v) power supply which I don't have. I decided to use a voltage inverter to produce -9v for the necessary negative supply rail. I also incorporated an AMZ FET signalsplitter/buffer circuit in order to maintain stereo output in bypass. The AMZ buffer gets its power from an 18v charge pump.
I also added an expression pedal jack, so the panning speed can be adjusted by an expression pedal. When used properly it produces some nice lesley-esque swirling tones.







This one's a Colorsound Overdriver clone on a madbean PCB. Sounds fantastic. I've got to say I'm quite satisfied with how tidy it turned out.
I put some electrical tape on the tranny's (2N3440 @ Q1 & Q3, 2N2219A @ Q2) to prevent them from shorting via the enclosure. Think I built this one around last April.






Completed this one yesterday. It's an MXR Phase-100 clone from GGG. I decided to make the center-frequency 25k pot an external control for more variations in sound. Also decided to use two DPDT switches with LED indicators instead of a multi-pole rotary switch because I didn't have one.
Could've wired it a little tidier now that I look at it, but it works and it's noise-free so I'm satisfied






And last but not least, a big muff clone on a madbean PCB. This was one of my first builds. Works fine but looks horrendous on the inside - hence I'm not posting any photos of the innards (such spaghetti). The two switches on the side of the enclosure switch the clipping diodes in the feedback loops of Q2 & Q3 - either a pair of 1N914's or a pair of 1N60's.





And finally a complementary photo of all pedals engaged.




Thanks for reading, please let me know what you guys think! Some good criticism will be well appreciated

[muddyfox]

love the yellow one!
welcome!

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Nice builds bro!

I see you used a 5C2/2 for the Vactrols in the Phase 100. I believe the spec calls for a 5C3/2. Do you notice any differences?

[Leevibe]

Great stuff. I really like that "battered" look. Its good that you posted and im looking forward to seeing more from you. No more lurking!

[Cloverleaf]

Thanks to all of you! I really appreciate your positive feedback
I definitely won't be lurking (as much, ha-ha) anymore. Whenever I complete a new build I'll post it!

I see you used a 5C2/2 for the Vactrols in the Phase 100. I believe the spec calls for a 5C3/2. Do you notice any differences?

Actually to be honest, I totally missed that detail! I'll go check out an original Phase-100 demo on YouTube and compare it with my own. Thanks for pointing that out

EDIT:
I don't notice that much of a difference on normal settings. Looking at the specs on a datasheet of both vactrols, it does appear that there's quite a difference between the two. On more extreme settings mine does appear to have a little more "intensity" in it's "swooshes", especially with the speed turned up. If I find time later tonight I might post a little soundclip.

[jubal81]

Welcome to the forum. Great looking stuff and really interesting - especially the stereo setup. Very cool.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Dont get me wrong... I believe if you are happy with your build then ROCK IT!!! 

I was just wondering if there was any reasoning behind the Vactrol difference.. 

[alanp]

Angry Marines stompbox!

Very cool collection

[Cloverleaf]

Thanks Alan, that means a lot coming from you! I've seen many of your builds and I gotta say, very impressive stuff

Dont get me wrong... I believe if you are happy with your build then ROCK IT!!! 

I was just wondering if there was any reasoning behind the Vactrol difference.. 

I'm indeed very happy with the way it sounds, don't worry I'm going to leave it as it is. You did spark my curiosity though, I'm often fascinated by how small changes in components can have a dramatic effect on sound. I'm definitely going to look into it.

[GrindCustoms]

Nice builds sir, especially like the stove top knobs on the CSOD, very well done.

Welcome on board!

Rej

[selfdestroyer]

Great looking builds and welcome to the family.

I love how DIY pedals look when they are "aged" with use. Its like a well used tool.

Cody

[jimilee]

Auto panner? How cool is that. Got an audio demo? That's a want for sure.

[Cloverleaf]

Thanks ya'll! I really dig the look of 'used' or battered pedals as well. The muff clone was purposefully 'reliced' for this reason (was actually a failed paint job so I figured I'd finish it off like that).

About the auto-panner, I'll post a sound clip of that sometime tomorrow. Might dedicate a thread to the effect as it can be used quite diversely - depending on how you set up your amps/cabs, or in combo with a stereo delay or other modulation effects.

[lincolnic]

These look great! I especially dig the Timmy. I've always been a sucker for LEDs-as-eyes...