Signal Conditioner

[Leevibe]

The snappiest name I have for this one would be the "Turd Polisher" but I decided to just call it the "Signal Conditioner." It's one I've actually been thinking about and planning for a very long time despite the spartan graphics.

This is a really nice gate into a bloviator that I added some fun features to. One of the things I've run into with the gate I was using was that if I switched between guitars, like going from a Tele to my P90 guitar I would have to change the threshold setting. On this one I put bypass on a toggle switch since it's not exactly something that gets turned on and off in a set. I then used a stomp switch to toggle between 2 different pots so I can have presets. Each pot has its own LED indicator. I was able to to accomplish it all with only a 3PDT by ganging the pot wipers to pad 2 on the board and only switching lugs 1 & 3. It switches nice with minimal popping.

I used a pair of tip shunting jacks between the circuits so I can individually place them in my chain. Normally I have run a gate near the front of my chain just to kill single coil hum and then a sonic stomp toward the end. I have noticed there's enough hiss from the bloviator that I may put them both toward the end, just before delay/reverb and have the maximizer before the gate. We'll see. It's flexible enough for me to route either one wherever I want.

The knobs, stomp switches and fancy toggle switch dress nut come from BLMS. I'm actually pretty impressed with these compact 3PDTs. They're the cheapies but they have a really nice feel and sound and the solder lugs are nice. I'm sure I'll use them again. The board mounting brackets were drawn in Fusion 360 and printed in bronze PLA. I would normally use PETG but I ran out. I have to admit, it's nice printing in PLA after dealing with the gooeyness of PETG. And it prints so much faster.

To add to the fun, this includes a 10 segment display that functions as a VU meter of sorts. I hung that right off the output and it doesn't switch with bypass so it's always indicating signal strength. It doesn't give me any actual calibrated measurements but it's easy to see signal strength and it's a fun light show. That was a circuit and PCB layout I came up with like 5 years ago and I finally put it into something. I can't even remember fully how I came up with it but it works!

No fancy pics this time and the video and playing are crap. I just balanced my phone on my leg and played my bench guitar through my crappy bench amp to prove that the light show works.

Thanks for looking!

[dawson]

OOF- look at that craftsmanship: straight decals, mirror finish, custom 3d printed mounts, clean wiring, and the light show- LOOK AT THAT LIGHT SHOW!
What a great way to add interest to an effect that you hear less the better it's working!

[Marshall Arts]

Super awesome, as usual, Lee. Would you mind sharing the meter schematics with us? I think this would be a nice feature for other projects as well. Even better, would you sell PCBs for this thing?

[MTK]

Completely agree with the others. That meter puts it over the top. Excellent stuff.

[Willybomb]

Loving the PCB mounts

[gordo]

Huge blinky light fan here...

[jubal81]

Outstanding on every front. Concept. Design. Execution. Aesthetics.


I got to see a sneak preview and I love that '70s pro gear/synth look.

[Stomptown]

Beautiful and well thought out Lee!  ThE wiring looks great too.  I'm guessing that was a LOT of fun! And the "Butt Kick" PCB is hilarious! 😂

[Leevibe]

Thanks guys!

Super awesome, as usual, Lee. Would you mind sharing the meter schematics with us? I think this would be a nice feature for other projects as well. Even better, would you sell PCBs for this thing?

I don't have any plans to sell the PCB. That one needs to be tweaked anyway. It's possible that it could come available at some point though. I was smart enough to get it working but not smart enough to get it working as well as it could. I have a couple eyes on it with the thought that I want to share it when it's ready.

I love that '70s pro gear/synth look.

Yes! That's what I was drawing on for sure. I'm a sucker for that look. I suppose I used the wrong knobs to get it all the way there but I like the black aluminum on this.

... And the "Butt Kick" PCB is hilarious! 😂

I was wondering if anyone would notice that. Hehe