I just recently modded my Vox wah to be true bypass, among other things, and while I never paid any mind to talk of "tone suck", it made a BIG difference. So I'm looking to make my DD-5 true bypass, and do a few more mods at the same time. I've soldered a bit of stuff, and I at least know what I can do, and what I need to leave for when I've had more practice. I'm not going to touch any surface-mount stuff.
1. True bypass. Here (http://www.bossarea.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2487), ashtone did full bypass with a 4pdt switch, and by jumpering some components. Couldn't I just remove the stock switch and jumper the wires to leave the pedal always on? Then, I would install a 3pdt (or 4pdt, if necessary) to create an A/B switch like ashtone did.
2. To replace the stock LED with an LED for my A/B switch, could I just jumper the stock LED leads? Or does that diode need to be in the circuit or kablooey?
3. I'm going to solder a .1uf or .22uf cap to the feedback knob, so the signal degrades with each loop. I don't know what type of cap to use (polar? non-polar? material?) Here (http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1067825), they say "the outside lug", and I'm not sure what that means, and where the other end goes. I'm sure I could find this if I kept searching, but if you have any input, let me know, please. Do I need to lift a contact, or is the cap just bridging two leads?
4. I want to connect the "Delay Time" control to an expression pedal. I'm thinking of drilling a hole for a 1/8" stereo connector to connect to my external expression pedal, and hooking it up to the leads for the delay time knob. My questions follow:
a. Is it just a potentiometer that controls the delay time (eg, the voltage to lead X)?
b. If "a" is true, can't I just wire up my expression pedal in parallel, and just turn the knob away so that no signal is going to lead X, and then use the expression pedal to lead X.
c. If you turn the pot all the way up, is it as if the pot were not in the circuit? If so, I should be able to set a low level of delay at the knob, then adjust from the expression pedal, right? I don't want to blow any circuitry.
If C is true, I'm totally wiring a 5-lead mini-jack into the DD-5, wiring it to both delay time AND feedback, and installing a selector switch on my expression pedal.
Thank you so, so very much. I'm just getting into modding, and looking forward to the awesomeness.
References:
True bypass:
http://www.bossarea.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2487
Tone mod:
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1067825
Expression pedal mod:
http://www.analogman.com/dd5.htm
1. True bypass. Here (http://www.bossarea.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2487), ashtone did full bypass with a 4pdt switch, and by jumpering some components. Couldn't I just remove the stock switch and jumper the wires to leave the pedal always on? Then, I would install a 3pdt (or 4pdt, if necessary) to create an A/B switch like ashtone did.
2. To replace the stock LED with an LED for my A/B switch, could I just jumper the stock LED leads? Or does that diode need to be in the circuit or kablooey?
3. I'm going to solder a .1uf or .22uf cap to the feedback knob, so the signal degrades with each loop. I don't know what type of cap to use (polar? non-polar? material?) Here (http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1067825), they say "the outside lug", and I'm not sure what that means, and where the other end goes. I'm sure I could find this if I kept searching, but if you have any input, let me know, please. Do I need to lift a contact, or is the cap just bridging two leads?
4. I want to connect the "Delay Time" control to an expression pedal. I'm thinking of drilling a hole for a 1/8" stereo connector to connect to my external expression pedal, and hooking it up to the leads for the delay time knob. My questions follow:
a. Is it just a potentiometer that controls the delay time (eg, the voltage to lead X)?
b. If "a" is true, can't I just wire up my expression pedal in parallel, and just turn the knob away so that no signal is going to lead X, and then use the expression pedal to lead X.
c. If you turn the pot all the way up, is it as if the pot were not in the circuit? If so, I should be able to set a low level of delay at the knob, then adjust from the expression pedal, right? I don't want to blow any circuitry.
If C is true, I'm totally wiring a 5-lead mini-jack into the DD-5, wiring it to both delay time AND feedback, and installing a selector switch on my expression pedal.
Thank you so, so very much. I'm just getting into modding, and looking forward to the awesomeness.
References:
True bypass:
http://www.bossarea.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2487
Tone mod:
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/showthread.php?t=1067825
Expression pedal mod:
http://www.analogman.com/dd5.htm