Boss NF-1 Noise Gate

 Another awesome contribution Chris Stelloh.

 Another 1980's Boss pedal I use a lot, here's the modified layout for the original gray NF-1 Noise Gate, courtesy of Guitar Electronics DIY PCBs in PolanD: SCHEMATIC 

 I reversed the wiring for the decay pot, since it was working backwards from the original. The LM741 IC is being powered by a 1k resistor-limited supply, so I put the LED+ pad on that rail without any additional current limiting resistors, but if you need your status LED to be dimmer, you can add an extra cut at B23 and place a three column CLR from B22 to B24. As far as the trim pots go, I set the "RNG" to max and the "LVL" somewhere in the middle on my build.

 

Boss CS-3 Compressor / Madbean Oracle

 Another great contribution by Chris Stelloh!

 This is a layout drawn from the Madbean Oracle project, which is, essentially the Boss CS-3 compression sustainer. I really like the sound of VCA-driven compressors, especially on sampled drum sounds. This Boss pedal has been around for about 40 years, and the Madbean version makes a few slight modifications to it based on stuff people have done attempting to improve the sound quality and lower the noise. I included a list of part values that are most commonly swapped to make this more bass guitar friendly.

This one is verified and good to go. 

 

Jürgen Haible Wasp CV Filter LM13700 version

 Chris Stelloh have been playing around with Jürgen Haible Wasp CV Filter and sent me two verified layouts..

In hi sown words:

 I had a chance to build up that LM13700 version of the Wasp Filter and found that using a much different value of potentiometer for the cutoff control made for a better filter sweep.

This one is also verified. It contains a level pot that cuts or boosts the CV level. The oscillation switch implements the modifications that people have come up with for the Doepfer A-124 - which is a module that is basically a wasp. Albeit with some minor part value changes, as well as a HEAVILY modified CV and frequency/cutoff section.

 
 

Aion Fx Penumbra

 Layout drawn by Chris Stelloh.

Schematic is avaiable HERE.

Holy Island Audio Cannibal Pride Drone Synth

 Chris have done it again...

"Gwion of Holy Island Audio builds awesome stuff and, included in the package if you purchased the debut release from Gwion's band, Smothering, is a DIY PCB for a three oscillator drone synth called the Cannibal Pride. This is that synth, and it sounds KILLER - keep in mind that, as this is a sound source and not an effect, there is of course, no input."

build doc + schematic: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NSEFkj_Flshn4vLBJO7MGp9VPzflK6Mr4xwT9EP3oMo/edit?usp=sharing

Smothering: https://smotheringnoise.bandcamp.com/album/cannibal-pride

Video about this circuit: https://youtu.be/A1qYyTmdN6A?si=I2XEBzEkYL_AlnNu

 

 

BJFe Universal Reverb V2 / Capitalist Death Cult Actual G*ddamned Springs

 Heavily modified revebr unit by BJFe, treated by Chris Stelloh.

 

A couple of the tweaks are from Björn - in particular, the 2k2 resistor from the source of Q1 to ground. Lowering that value fixes a volume drop that can happen when the 50k dwell pot is maxed. I replaced the second dwell pot with a 10 ohm fixed resistor, so that it is almost at maximum. I also added a flat-mids BMP tone control and BC337 recovery stage that sounds really great paired with this circuit. Using a PN3269a in Q2 can squeal with feedback (a GOOD thing in my world) so dialing in the 10k output trimpot is a necessary step. It is possible to set it so that it only howls when the dwell+mix are turned to maximum. The charge pump is something I redrew from an old tagboard layout. The 555 doubler puts out 30mA of current which this verb circuit needs most of (the schematic says it draws around 20mA, and that was before I added the extra transistor) no matter what voltage you are running it at.

 

1776 Multiplex Delay Modulation Add-on

 A little useful modulation daughterboard for your delay circuits. Created by the one and only Chris Stelloh.

I originally made this for Ben Spinks, who verified it. It's the modulation daughterboard for the 1776 Effects Multiplex delay and it works pretty well with just about any PT2399 delay circuit. I've listed my preferred values as well as the originals from the build document. You can add a toggle between the mod depth and the delay pot to turn it off and on, but if you simply max the speed/rate knob, the modulation is no longer audible and the rate LED is static.

 

Maestro MFZT-1 Fuzztain

 Verified and drawn by Chris Stelloh!

Schematic is avaiable HERE.

Demedash Effects Incandenza Relay Bypass

 Here is a contribution from Chris Stelloh that seem to be really useful.

Chris says:

This is an updated version of the Demedash Incandenza micro-controller free clickless relay true bypass switch. It takes up a bit more room than a simple 3pdt, but because of the friction-free operation of the SPST button, it will last WAY longer than that same traditional, mechanical 3pdt switch. I realize that most folks will not want to build an extra board where just a footswitch will do... but for those of us that DO, here's my drawing of a super-slick, silent, clickless relay that doesn't require any coding or microcontrollers. There are a few earlier versions of this circuit floating around the web, but this one has a very important update from Steve Demedash himself. The power filtering and 100 ohm resistor between the 555 and the relay is super important. I found that the power spike when engaging the flip flop was enough to mess with other circuitry that was close to the switch. For example: I had a dual circuit build with independent on/off switches and triggering one would sometimes trigger the other one unintentionally.

Anyway - here's a boring utility layout that has ended up being the thing I build the most, since I put these in just about any circuit that will permit it. This layout also allows you to omit the polarity protection diode for the main board and the status LED as well since those are both contained here on this switch daughterboard. The 5v DPDT relays you can use for this are not limited to just these three - however, these three are the smallest and most inexpensive I've found so far. Also - I don't like to use standing axial components or 3-row resistors but in the case of this board, I wanted to keep it as small as possible. Be sure and notice the anode of D3 connected to ground!

 

EarthQuaker Devices Rainbow Machine

 Chris "SPIN Doctor" Stelloh did it again! Amazing work with this box of fairy dust and chaos. The layout is verified and good to go!

 

 

...and here is a layout with "Stelloh mods". 

Capitalist Death Cult Just. Give. Up. V2

 Another contribution by Chris. This time he made some improvements and addons on a rare and wild Death by Audio circuit. Tone houndz...stay away!

 Chris says:

I don't know if this warrants its own post but I wanted to show it to you anyway since I was the one who verified your purple card drawing.

Since I built that up I wasn't happy with the bleed through in bypass that sometimes happens with the LM567. So I used the old "millennium bypass" trick of adding a mosfet to handle the LED switching so that you can use only a DPDT for true bypass with an indicator light. THEN I used the now-vacant set of poles on a 3PDT to connect/disconnect the power supply to the LM567 when the circuit is bypassed. So NO NOISE! I also added the master volume, because if ANY circuit needs it, it is this loud beast. Then I put the frequency pot (which I cut down to 10k) on a switched expression jack so that you can get foot-controlled crazy pitch-wah sounds with a standard TRS expression pedal like an inexpensive m-audio or nektar controller. Anything more than 15-20k of resistance for the frequency control just takes you into slower and slower chopped/tremolo territory. And the 10k pot still allows for some of that in the toe up/CCW position and all of the pitch control as you turn the knob up/put the treadle down.

 

 I added a toggle to change the resistance on the frequency sweep - this allows for a low range and high range mode on the frequency. Since most expression pedals have 10k pots, I wanted to keep the frequency pot at 10k too so that the sweep matches whether you are using the knob or an exp pedal.

 

 

Capitalist Death Cult No One Wants To Work Anymore

 Taking a break from the Madbean bonanza since Chris Stelloh sent a layout and a schematic of one his creations. Some words from the man himself: And yes, this layout is verified.

Here is something I came up with recently that shakes the pillars of heaven, via WAY TOO MANY cuts and jumpers.

It is essentially the modded fuzz face circuit from the Apocalypse Audio H Fuzz with an input buffer (sacrelige, I know), followed by a 5 band gyrator EQ. I used the values from the Dunwich Left Hand Path modded HM-2 and added a 5th lower gyrator that centers at 60Hz, so that bassists can bring the buzzsaw, too. The gain squeals when maxed, but the gate will still clamp down on it nicely. The d311 germanium diode is most likely not necessary. Anything with a .3v volt drop will probably do the job. The 50k trimmer sets the treble content from the fuzz before it hits the EQ stage and sounds best (to me) at about 1 o'clock, but to each their own. This WILL fit in a 1590bb, but just barely!

 

 

 

 

 

EarthQuaker Devices Organizer

 Chris just sent me an another Spin FV-1 based layout. And he verified it.

"This is a layout for the Earthquaker Organizer Polyphonic Organ Emulator that I drew up using the Pedalpcb schematic. Two things about this layout (which is verified - I have all ready built it):
1) it addresses the volume drop issue that was common in early traces of this circuit. The pedalpcb board now has a 20k trimpot to solve this, which I have simply converted to the 20k resistor that is on pins 13 and 14 of the quad op amp.
2) you will need some supplies - an FV adapter and the EEPROM with the algorithm - which I would recommend getting from pedalpcb. PCB Guitar Mania makes a clone of this but I did not see a listing on their site for an algorithm chip or an SMD adapter. The FV-1 adapter board that pedalpcb makes is quite easy to use and I would also recommend watching DK Pedals' tutorial on YouTube for soldering the FV-1, as it was very helpful to me. The EEPROM algorithm chip is available for about $6.00 and if you search 'Organ Donor EEPROM' you will find it. It is not listed on the regular EEPROM menu. Also - 2x14 rows of pin headers will be needed to go between the adapter board and your vero."

 

Capitalist Death Cult Fx Mexicali Räkmacka

 Another layout and a dsign for those like it heavy by Chris at CDC Fx. No blurb from me, Chris does it better:

Things are rainy and depressing here in California. And also depressing in the world, in general. So I've been drawing more layouts.

I was inspired by both the Dead Air Sawzall, and the layout another Dirtbox user submitted to you under the name "Glass Jaw" - with a Bax EQ in the middle of the two LM386 stages of the Acapulco Gold.

So I came up with a modified Acapulco Gold circuit with a better gain control (instead of the common mod of a 1m pot on the input, this one adds up to 10k of resistance between pins 1 & 8 of the 1st LM386) and "sandwiched" (hence the name, hah) an HM-2-style EQ in the middle of the two stages. I'm also running this at just under 18v with the onboard charge pump. The result (I just built it, so it is verified!) is a a pretty versatile amp-in-a-box with Sunn tonality and a switchable 3 band EQ! Not at all "chainsaw" but really cool sounding nonetheless! The TO-92 18v regulator is probably unnecessary, since the TL082 can handle more than that easily, but the LM386-4 is rated to max 18v and I didn't want to risk damaging them.

 

 

Parasit Studio Subspace Transmission

 Another lovely contribution from Chris Stelloh! This layout VERIFIED by Chris himself so it is good to go. More info about this monster is avaiable HERE.

Dead Air Sawzall

 Another contribution from Chris at CDC Fx! This layout is already VERIFIED and good to go.

Schematic is avaiable HERE and as you can see the drive section is a modified MXR Distortion+ derivate. You can yeasily tweak it to DOD 250 or countless other variations of the circuit.

Madbean Headtrip 2

Once again, a guest appearance. Chris at CDC was brave enough to dabbling with some Spin FV-1 processors. Yes, these are SMD parts there is several vendors online that sell adapter boards.

 This one is VERIFIED.

 

Since I started building effects in 2020, there has been a "level up" step I've been avoiding. As the level digital signal processing that is available through industry standard effect makers like TC Electronic, Boss, Line 6 and Strymon filters down to the DIY/hobbyist level - there really is no excuse for not at least TRYING digital signal processing.

The most commonly available engine of these DSP effects is the Spin FV-1 reverb processor. They are about $10-$15 each and have 28 tiny little surface mount legs that need to be soldered to tiny little pads on the circuit board without any bridging. So I've been squeamish and avoided them. Until now (dun dun).

After about 3 years of doing this I felt like my dexterity and soldering iron proficiency had progressed to the point where I shouldn't put this off any longer. I also MUST thank DK pedals for their tutorial that was a serious confidence builder.

This effect contains that chip - soldered to an adapter board designed by MAS Effects, which is attached to my stripboard layout of the Madbean Headtrip 2 FV-1 project. It also contains the algorithm chip from that project featuring the presets designed by Brian of Madbean..

The 5 knobs are for dry and effect level, as well as three parameters that change with each effect preset. There's a lot to cover with this pedal, which is why my video is about 5 times longer than anything I've posted so far... if you make it through all 8 clips, I salute you!!!

Mode 1: Choir - similar to the EQD organizer, with the controls condensed to three knobs: octave down, octave up, and choir (which has a slight delay on the signal)

Mode 2: Filter+Octave - an envelope follower that is controlled by knobs 1&2, with an octave up and down dialed in by knob 3.

Mode 3: Detune+Tremolo - this is similar to the "detune" mode on the Whammy pedal. Its's a faux chorus of sorts. Knobs 2&3 control the speed and depth of the tremolo

Mode 4: Flangecho - an 850ms delay. Length and repeats are knobs 1&2, flanging level in the repeats is knob 3.

Mode 5: Echo+??? - a 975ms delay. Knobs 1&2 are the same as mode 4. Knob 3 controls a multi effect that goes from modulation to buzzy ring modulation to tremolo in the repeats.

Mode 6: Flangeverb - knob 1 is the reverb level, knob 2 is the low cut, knob three blends in a similar flange modulation as on mode 4.

Mode 7: Choirverb - a "shimmer" reverb with verb level on 1, low cut on 2, and octave up & down on knob 3.

Mode 8: 4th/5thverb - reverb level on knob 1, 4th down on knob 2, 5th up on knob 3. This doesn't show quite as much on the video but this is definitely the most organic/analog synth-sounding patch of these 8 (in my opinion)

Now the footswitches: the left switch is a "master on/off" that bypasses the entire circuit.

The right switch kills the input to the effect chip and allows the reverb/delay/choir to trail off naturally. HOWEVER - this will keep the dry blend knob in play and depending on where you have it set, this knob can boost the heck out of your signal. Which can be a good or bad thing... up to you.

Are any of these sounds "usable"? That's a matter of taste, of course, but at the very least, NONE of them are delicate. Thanks for reading this far...

-Chris, CDCE

 

Capitalist Death Cult Yukagir

 Another guest appearance with a verified layout by Chris at Capitalist Death Cult!

Here is what he has to say about this bass fuzz monster:

 

Capitali$t Death Cult Effect$

YUKAGIR Preserved Siberian Fuzz

The Yukagir (pronounced Yookahgeer) Preserved Siberian Fuzz is named after a 39K year old Wooly Mammoth fossil that was unearthed in Siberia in 2002. This effect was basically the distortion I needed to make use of the NOS Soviet military germanium transistors and diodes I've amassed a collection of.

Essentially - this is a "Green Ringer" style octave noisemaker with a jfet blend control that is followed by a burly PNP germanium fuzz+distortion that works equally well for bass or guitar. The germanium transistors are MP42B's, and the diodes are germanium D311's - both originally manufactured in the 1970s for the Soviet military.

The original inspiration for the fuzz came from the Apocalypse Audio H Fuzz - and it bears some tonal similarities to the Zvex Wooly Mammoth/Mastotron. I added a voltage inverter to the fuzz circuit so that it can function with a regular 9V/negative tip power supply like a One Spot.

The controls are as follows:

INPUT: fuzz gain - it will squeal when you max it.

TREBLE: tone control, that mostly adds high end definition as you turn it clockwise.

OUTPUT: master level

MIDS: a three way switch that is almost flat to the left, scooped in the middle, and boosted to the right

GATE: this knob is highly interactive with the mids switch and input knob - it will also filter some of the lows as you turn it clockwise.

RINGER: this is the octave blend control - this knob will also interact with the gate, as the level of octave will cause some velcro-ish sputtering of its own.

The footswitch on this unit is the Demedash Incandenza relay "soft click" design and will last WAY longer than a mechanical switch, and is super reliable. However - depending on your power supply and whether or not you daisy-chain others to that supply, the pedal will either default to powering up or down every time you disconnect it. Kind of like how Boss pedals are always on every time you power them up with a One Spot.

There are a lot of different tonal possibilities in this box - from gated and sputtering to roaring bass-heavy blare, as well as some FZ-2 style boosted+scooped octave fuzz tones, too.

All handbuilt and finished by just me (Chris) in my garage in central coast California!

 

 

 

 

Electro Harmonix Bassballs / PedalPCB Lowballer Twin Envelepoe Filter

 It s time for a guest appearance!

Chris Stelloh of Capitalist Death Cult requested a layout for this one a while ago but I couldn't do it at the time so he went off and did his own. The layout is verified and good to go.

It is basically a EHX Bassbals with quite a few mods by PedalPCB. The internal trimpots are now extrenal pots. The Attack, Decay and the the distortion section are addons that wasn't included in the original Bassballs.