Category: Uncategorized
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Fake op-amps
I bought some op-amps from Aliexpress a few days ago. They seem to be working. I patted myself on the back for getting a such a deal, they were about $0.08 each! All of the parts seem to be working except fro the LM308 which didn’t work at all. After watching this video, I’m starting…
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Timmy clone
Timmy is a boutique overdrive by Paul Cochrane. This pedal generated a lot of discussion over the ethics of cloning pedals. A couple companies were accused of cloning Timmy. Most of the most popular boutique pedals out today are clones of something. In the case of Timmy, Paul is a small manufacturer, who does all of…
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New PCB day!
I have a few new PCB projects in the mail today. Flatline Compressor by John Hollis Titan Boost by John Hollis Tremolo-matic XXVIII from Stompboxology Distort-o-matic XI from Stompboxology Bobtavia by Bob Starr John Hollis John Hollis was one of the first people I ran into posting DIY designs on the internet. All of his…
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Cheap parts from Aliexpress.com
I need some op-amps, usually I’m buying these from Tayda Electronics or StompboxParts.com. Tayda is the cheaper of the two but StompboxParts ships faster. In this case neither place had all of what I wanted in stock. I wasn’t in a hurry so I decided to experiment and order from Aliexpress.com. This place seems be…
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The Crank by Mark Hammer
This is interesting variation on the Tube Screamer style diode clipping. Read more about it at Mark Hammers site here: https://hammer.ampage.org/files/The_Crank.gif In a nutshell the goal seems to be less distortion. More of a booster to overdrive effect. I’d say this circuit meets that goal. The sound is mostly clean with some gravel or grit…
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Tremolo-matic X by stompboxology
This circuit is based on a type of tremolo that some Fender amp models. Its operation is very interesting. It splits the signal path into a low pass and high pass routes and alternates crossfading between each. It has a sweet subtle flavor of tremolo. I had built this circuit years ago making a PCB…
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Experimenting with the mill
These are some experiments to render some patterns on the mill. I did a wave pattern on a powder-coated green box and two bare-metal boxes. I also did a pattern similar to the cover of Joy Division’s UnknownPleasures. The green boxes came out good but the lack of contrast makes the effect rather mild. The…
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Tremolo-matic XXII v2
This project was originally from the Stompboxology newsletter. In a discussion about the circuit, the question came up about an extra op-amp used to create a second bias voltage buffer. This appears twice on the schematic as IC1B and IC2. IC2 seems redundant. I decided to test this out by making a second version of the…
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UBE Screamer 4069
I wanted to do something a little more artful as a box. The Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures has a very iconic image. I don’t know what the secret sauce of this image is but it’s very compelling. From what I read the image appeared in Scientific American 1971 and was described as “stacked plot” of…
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Tremolo Matic XXII Stomboxology Update
I updated the Tremolo Matic XXII from the stompboxology newsletter by removing the single op-amp. It looked like this was used as an extra buffer for one of the reference voltages. Everything works without this extra op-amp but there is a distinct thump form the LFO. I made another run of boards via PCBWay.com. The…
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Smash Drive Aron Nelson
Smash Drive is a DIY community project by Aron Nelson, who runs the DIYStomboxes.com forum. Smash Drive is a overdrive/distortion built from the LM386. Its simple and easy to work with. you’ll find the 386 in many guitar circuits. its cheap and easy to get. Projects that use the LM386 RunOffGroove Ruby Earth Quaker Devices…
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Silicon Tone Bender
Here is a Silicon Tone Bender built around four BC109 transistors. It sounds pretty good! The original circuit was provided by user Mic Tester over at FreeStomboxes.org. I built this some years ago on a piece of strip board. I ended up selling it at the Musicians Electronics Swap meet in Berkeley. Here are some…