Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Given I listed the RG Keen method, I thought I should add the Small Bear method as well. It’s a simpler test that some people prefer, and it’s generally considered not as accurate as the RG Keen method but close enough for most purposes. NOTE: Be prepared to see the voltage fluctuate a lot while the transistor stabilises. … Read more
I discovered this nifty little hack today, maybe you already know about it, but it’s new to me. After improving my germanium transistor test kit yesterday, I thought I should also upgrade some dodgy leads I’ve been using with my breadboard. I sometimes start building on vero, then solder wires on temporarily to test … Read more
If you haven’t heard of this before (which seems unlikely), here’s the original RG Keen article, which explains how it works. I use a spreadsheet set up with the calculations ready to go for testing; there’s also an online calculator here. NOTE: Be prepared to see the voltage fluctuate a lot while the transistor stabilises. Don’t wait too long though, … Read more
Note: Normal power ripple filtering can be added to these. Probably better to add filtering after the IC rather than before (or both ends if you are really keen).
Power your fuzz / high gain circuits with noise problems from this. Like most things, it’s not a silver bullet for your problems, but it will probably help. Here’s a better technical explanation than I will ever manage. There’s a few variations of this circuit – google is your friend if you want to find out more. TLDR: … Read more
I was recently commissioned by a couple of guys at my church to build some Strymon favorite switches. These are pretty easy to build and are a great place to start if you’re getting into building pedals. Not much to say about them other than that so let’s get into the build. Parts You will need … Read more
What’s the OCB you ask? It’s the bypass buffer circuit from the new version of Fulltone’s OCD. It allows you to switch between regular true bypass and buffered bypass. There are 2 versions: The first (smaller) inverts the phase of your audio signal when engaged (in bypass mode phase isn’t inverted). The second (larger) adds … Read more
Got a request for the DI portion of the Hartke LH1000 bass amp. This is more or less that, but with a simplified power section. In the amp this runs off a bipolar 15 volt supply, but I would think it would also work with regular 9 volt supply. There’s not an unbalanced output, but … Read more
This one was requested ages ago and I got halfway through laying it out, and then promptly forgot about it. It’s a power amp/speaker cabinet simulator, emulating a SLO power amp and a couple different speaker cabinets based on the value used for CX (see schematic for values). This layout follows the Rev4 schematic from the … Read more
Got a request for a dual buffer that inverted the phase of the signal. Found this post from Parasit Studio and used it for the basis of this design. I added polarity protection, power filter cap, and output caps. You can use either dedicated jacks for the in phase and inverted phase outputs, or use … Read more