(Apologies if this is in the wrong section – I wasn’t quite sure where to put it.)
I am a near-total noob when it comes to the theory and design of circuits, but I know my way around a soldering iron and my lead singer builds robots for a living so I’m pretty sure he can help me out.
Basically, I want to build a pedal for my electric guitar that houses the following effects, in order:
1. High-pass filter
- Bypass toggle switch
- Around 12 or 24 dB/octave cut
- Internal frequency adjust (trim pot/cap/whatever, range of roughly 20 Hz to 400 Hz)
2. Semi-parametric midrange boost
- Bypass footswitch
- Frequency pot (maybe around 200 Hz to 12 kHz)
- Preset gain (around 6 dB)
3. High shelf boost
- Bypass toggle switch
- Frequency pot (maybe 4 kHz to 12 kHz)
- Preset gain (around 6 dB)
4. Compressor
- Bypass footswitch
- Attack, release, threshold, ratio internal adjustment
- Output gain pot
I’d also like a “master EQ bypass” footswitch that bypasses the HPF, mid boost and high boost all at once.
I’m looking for a relatively simple circuit (so that I can actually build it), but I also want it to sound decent. I’ve got a good amp and a good guitar so it’s not like I need to rely on superb pedals to get a good sound, but I don’t want to build complete junk either. I’ve located good suppliers of electronics components and they sell things like enclosures and footswitches, so all I need now is someone to help me design the actual circuit – in other words, you fine folk.
Before you guys issue the usual warnings against DIY: I live in South Africa, and while electronics components are cheap, guitar pedals are not. The cost for components (including a casing and everything) to build a Boss DS-1 is roughly 1/8th of the retail price to buy one.
So am I totally crazy, or can you guys help me come up with an actual circuit to build?!
Again, I don’t understand circuits very well, so here comes a noob question: can I just build all four of these modules as separate circuits and just connect the output of one to the input of the next? In other words: can I just scour the internet for a HPF, semi-para EQ, high shelf EQ, and compressor, and wire them all together and shove them in a box?
Thanks in advance for any help you guys are willing to give me! I wouldn’t have posted here if the welcome thread didn’t make you lot seem incredibly helpful.
I am a near-total noob when it comes to the theory and design of circuits, but I know my way around a soldering iron and my lead singer builds robots for a living so I’m pretty sure he can help me out.
Basically, I want to build a pedal for my electric guitar that houses the following effects, in order:1. High-pass filter
- Bypass toggle switch
- Around 12 or 24 dB/octave cut
- Internal frequency adjust (trim pot/cap/whatever, range of roughly 20 Hz to 400 Hz)
2. Semi-parametric midrange boost
- Bypass footswitch
- Frequency pot (maybe around 200 Hz to 12 kHz)
- Preset gain (around 6 dB)
3. High shelf boost
- Bypass toggle switch
- Frequency pot (maybe 4 kHz to 12 kHz)
- Preset gain (around 6 dB)
4. Compressor
- Bypass footswitch
- Attack, release, threshold, ratio internal adjustment
- Output gain pot
I’d also like a “master EQ bypass” footswitch that bypasses the HPF, mid boost and high boost all at once.
I’m looking for a relatively simple circuit (so that I can actually build it), but I also want it to sound decent. I’ve got a good amp and a good guitar so it’s not like I need to rely on superb pedals to get a good sound, but I don’t want to build complete junk either. I’ve located good suppliers of electronics components and they sell things like enclosures and footswitches, so all I need now is someone to help me design the actual circuit – in other words, you fine folk.
Before you guys issue the usual warnings against DIY: I live in South Africa, and while electronics components are cheap, guitar pedals are not. The cost for components (including a casing and everything) to build a Boss DS-1 is roughly 1/8th of the retail price to buy one.
So am I totally crazy, or can you guys help me come up with an actual circuit to build?!
Again, I don’t understand circuits very well, so here comes a noob question: can I just build all four of these modules as separate circuits and just connect the output of one to the input of the next? In other words: can I just scour the internet for a HPF, semi-para EQ, high shelf EQ, and compressor, and wire them all together and shove them in a box?
Thanks in advance for any help you guys are willing to give me! I wouldn’t have posted here if the welcome thread didn’t make you lot seem incredibly helpful.
Do you know about these guy's "freestompboxes.org" The are heavily into it.
Perhaps you could identify some existing design's/circuts that claim to do what you need and combine them into one unit. The combining of the individual circuts is something I could help with, but first research each individual function, and see how others have done it.
Perhaps you could identify some existing design's/circuts that claim to do what you need and combine them into one unit. The combining of the individual circuts is something I could help with, but first research each individual function, and see how others have done it.
For the filter parts, i would get a breadboard and some op amps, and download a copy of TI "filterpro" and try out how some of the different filter types sound to you. the parametric part might be a bit more tricky, try modeling some filters that use 2 resistors of the same value, then you could use a dual gang pot.
for the compressor part, i would look for a clone of a popular one. (just watch out for obsolete/weird Japanese parts) and also have a switch so it can be pre/post filters.
for the compressor part, i would look for a clone of a popular one. (just watch out for obsolete/weird Japanese parts) and also have a switch so it can be pre/post filters.
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