Man O' War DX

[benny_profane]

Here's a stock build of the Man O' War DX (based on the Maxon AD-900). I've got an MN3005 version of the AD-900, and the modifications added here really add a lot to an already great pedal.

This was my first BBD delay project. I've built a few BBD modulation effects, but the delay proved to be quite a departure. The layout is nicely designed and population was smooth. I ran into problems when I got to biasing, though. Thanks to all who helped me via the Tech Help page. Those problems turned out to be me not seeing things through properly. After populating a new board and many redundant components later, I dug into the schematic and the actual engineering of the circuit. I think that with BBD-based effects (especially in the absence of an oscilloscope) understanding the interaction of the biasing controls is really key. I plan on revisiting this when I have access to a scope, but I'm very happy where it's at now.

Again, thanks to everyone that gave insight and helped me better understand this circuit, I really appreciate it.

The enclosure is finished with acrylic faceplates. They are white with a black substrate and laser etched.

[Bio77]

That's gorgeous, I love everything about it!  Did you engrave the plates yourself? 

[gordo]

What a seriously cool build. Acrylic plates look fantastic.

[cooder]

That came out fabulous! What a great build!

[Thewintersoldier]

Beautiful. The colors, the faceplates, the build is super clean. I bet it sounds amazing. Great job!

[jimilee]

Makes my builds look silly. I love everything about them also.


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[TGP39]

Yes, the faceplate is very well thought out, but the guts and the wiring
are immaculate!!!     

[Boba7]

Stunning! Love the faceplates

[Timko]

Very clean.  The artwork looks like something you'd see on a commercial pedal.

[benny_profane]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the feedback!

That's gorgeous, I love everything about it!  Did you engrave the plates yourself? 

I've engraved pedals/faceplates myself in the past, but these were done via ponoko.com. I took advantage of their first-time user discount and made a bunch for different pedals at once. Not sure if I'd keep on using them at full price, though. So far, I think that the acrylic faceplates are my favorite finishing technique. As long as you don't mind a more muted aesthetic, they look good and are really durable. Also, it makes final assembly extremely easy—and no need to wait for paint to dry after you've finished the board!

I enjoy making more elaborate designs with waterslides, but acrylic faceplates can't have extremely fine lines or a lot of detail. I actually like working with these design restrictions, though; I've always appreciated minimalist and typographic design. Here, I decided to make it really straightforward and leaned on establishing functional distinctions with the control blocks. The location of the modulation LED was actually not planned. I had designed the faceplate but hadn't considered that indicator. I got lucky that there was an empty space in the corner. I ended up measuring the location on the faceplate then marking and drilling it. I mounted the faceplate with some hardware and center-punched the location on the enclosure before drilling.

[Bret608]

That is stunning! Congrats on an awesome build.

[Hexjibber]

Wow! I love this! Superb work all round! Quite fancy doing one of these myself actually


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