Tools, Tones and Toys for Guitarists
Here’s a super quicky for your Saturday. Got a request over on Facebook for a simple voltage inverter using the 1044/7660 chipset. Great for when you need to power a positive ground effect like PNP Fuzz Faces and Tone Benders but still want to daisy chain it with negative ground effects or not use a … Read more
Yesterday, Ronaldo commented on the Power Brick post pleading for a voltage doubler using the 555 chip. Well, since it sounded like it was an emergency, here you go. 😉 D1-2 should be barrier Schottky diodes and don’t forget the jumper under the IC.
Here’s a little utility board that could come in handy. It uses a MAX1044 or ICL7660 to convert +9v to both +18v and -9v. It’s essentially the charge pump from the Klon Centaur. I’ve added a 10v zenner (1N4740) diode to protect the IC, but that’s optional.
Awhile ago I saw someone asking adding an +18V inverter to a board and the differences it made in some pedals, as well as what they need to do and worry about. Since there are more then a few people who have added an +18V inverter on a switch so they can switch between +9V … Read more
Got a request for more blend effects, so let’s start with a simple one. You can use this as a daughter board to add a blend control to an existing pedal (or incorporate it into something else you’re building), or use it as a stand alone blending pedal. 2N5457 should work just fine for both … Read more
A lot of older circuit designs (DynaComp, Ross Compressor, etc.) use the CA3080, which is now obsolete and rather expensive. The LM13700 is essentially two 3080s in one chip, and much more affordable. Here’s a conversion board to use the 13700 in place of the 3080. Use long header pins, mounted from the solder-side of … Read more
Most effects run off 9 volts, but a lot of them can run off 18. The Fulltone OCD, Earthquaker Devices Monarch, and the MI Audio Crunch Box are just a few examples. If you don’t have an 18 volt power supply and want to get some different sounds and more headroom out of an effect, … Read more
Got a request for an active DI, which coincided with a project I’m working on, so it seemed like a good idea. This one’s designed by Samuel Groner and modified by Jack Orman. The schematic came from his blog and can be found here, along with some other info about the circuit.
I guess I’m about 15 years late to bypassing effects using this method, but I thought I’d post it anyway. Like most builders, I generally use a 3PDT footswitch for most of my builds. However, I recently purchased some DPDT footswitches to use on a few effects that either use a weird way of switching … Read more
The input caps on some old circuits like the Fuzz Face, Tone Bender, or Rangemaster are ripe for variation. Here’s a board that will allow you to switch between 6 different capacitors of your choice. You could also use this for a Gibson Varitone-like switch on a guitar. As with the Rotary Clipping Switch layout, … Read more