Sea Urchin (Deep Blue Delay), with modulation

[Diamond]

Sooo, I built me a Sea Urchin! I used a board from Haberdasher's stock, but I added the modulation section from the Echo Base (see attachment) and the extra voltage regulator protection from the topic on FSB on vero. The modulation can really add another dimension to the delayed signal, from a subtle warble to some wacky sounds. To be honest though, the Sea Urchin already sounds great without the modulation. In fact, I think I will buy another Sea Urchin board from Haberdasher.

[LaceSensor]

thats hot
I like it.
Did you make a layout for the modulation? if so can I have it please?

[eldanko]

THAT is a great looking pedal.  Man I'd love to hear that thing.  And own one.   

[Bret608]

This looks really, really cool...any chance of a gutshot? 

[Haberdasher]

awww, man.....I do love that paint job!  I wish I knew that technique.  Is it messy to do?

[Diamond]

Naaah the technique is easy! It's just the dragonfly swirls: http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/DRAGONFLY-LAYOUTS_0/TUTORIALS/HOWTO/

You basically take two or three colors of water based paint, add some water, then drop it onto the enclosure in different spots. Swirl it around with a toothpick until you have a pattern you like. Let it dry and add clear coat. It's not that messy if you place the box on a piece of cardboard with strips of taped down toothpicks, so the enclosure doesn't stick to the cardboard when it dries.

I have a vero layout of the modulation part, but I need to update it. I will add it later. I don't have any gutshots at hand, but here are some other pictures I do have:

[murdog47]

Awesome finish! Put up a sound clip if you get a chance 

[CarpathiART]

What a calming paintjob! Really alive looking and the knobs are also spot on. Almost dreamlike finish. Cool!

[mjcyates]

I am generally not a fan of the swirl paint jobs but that looks great! Very cool.

[jtn191]

bravo! Sweet enclosure and mods. I'm also curious to hear how it sounds if you've got the time

[Diamond]

Thanks for all the cool comments! I really like the way the swirl came out myself. I also like this size of enclosure. It's a BBC-size enclosure. It's slightly higher (about 1cm) than the regular BB's that you would normally use, so it's ideal as a "second row" enclosure, if you know what I mean. It's easier to step on, with a row of B's and BB's under it, but not that much higher that it sticks out.

About the sound: I really like it! It has nice ambient sounding repeats that don't get in the way of your playing, but it does have that typical PT2399 hiss / white noise, especially on higher repeat settings. If you play it into a dirty amp you really don't notice it that much though, but if you really hate white noise this definitely isn't for you.

[LaceSensor]

pleease share the vero for the modulation add on?

[pickdropper]

That's a really nice looking build.

I need to box up my Sea Urchin.  It's a very nice sounding delay.

[Diamond]

pleease share the vero for the modulation add on?

Haha, you're a little impatient, aren't you? I will share the vero, but first I need to update it. I did some of the wiring 'on the fly' with the schematics as a guide, so I need to include that before I upload it.

[Diamond]

I'm really sorry it took this long! I just got a new job right after finishing this project, which took a big part of my time. But that's good news, because now I have more money to do more projects. Here is the modulation board with the wiring exactly like I did it. The modulation is exactly the same as from the Echo Base project, the schematic of which (as well as some other mods) can be found here: http://musicpcb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Echo-Base-build-PDF-updated-051810.pdf I also added the extra protection for the voltage regulator. I already posted the link for this earlier in the topic.

I added a few notes:
1) Don't connect lug 1 of the Delay pot to the main board. I'm talking about the MAIN board here, the Sea Urchin board. You DO need to connect delay pot 1 to the modulation board vero.
2) Connect pin 3 and 4 of PT2399. I wasn't sure of this before I started, because the Rebote and Sea Urchin didn't have these pins connected. The Echo Base did though, so I did as well and the project works perfectly.