Whenever I build something I usually build two. The parts are cheap. If I make a mistake or the PCB doesn’t etch correctly I have a spare. If you build the first and it doesn’t work you can build the second and compare the two.
In the case of the Silicon Tone Bender I used Nocentelli’s strip board layout, which worked well. I built two as usual. I thought the first sounded good so I thought I’d build the second and box it up. Lately I have been trying to use up extra parts I had lying around. I found a box with an etched top that I hadn’t used.
This box was originally going to be Big Muff variant, but the box was over etched. So it was never finished. The design included three controls: Volume, Tone and Gain. which worked out for the Tone Bender.
I decided to add the Fat switch on this one so I drilled an extra hole. I soldered the “fat” cap to the switch and ran a wire to the switch and the PCB.
I used a Green LED and some Knobs I got from Futurlec. These knobs seemed like a good deal at the time. But it turns out that the hole is too small for 1/4″ shaft. They will fit on a knurled press fit type shaft. I hardly ever use those so these knobs had sat in the knob drawer for while. I finally decided to get rid of them with this project, so I sanded the shafts down until the knobs fit.
notice the PCB is mounted on a small hex bolt. I used a nylon standoff. This worked pretty well. I’m guessing it will stand up over time. The small nut has a nylon lock ring in the end.
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