JHS Superbolt clone PCB and the missing JFETs

Hello solderers and pedal maniacs!

Here is my last build: a JHS SuperBolt clone! As you may know, I have already did a clone of this pedal, but I have finally designed a PCB for it!

Here are some pictures:

 

I used a Supro logo that was laser-cut with some double tape to make the "Supro" sticker. I think it makes a really nice look!

End of the crowdfunding campaign: what's next?

Here it is! The crowdfunding campaign is over, with a lot of success!
Thank you all for your support, Coda Effects is on the good tracks thanks to you!

Let me show you some numbers:

• 70 : number of supports to the campaign. For comparison, I had 25 different customers last year!
• 2200 visitors on the campaign webpage, with more than 50% of them coming from Facebook: thank you for sharing the project!
• 4 posts and news in different (french) websites: Audiofanzine, Guitar Wink, le Blog qui Gratte and Guitar Tone Overloard !
• 276 likes on Hello Play
• 73 likes on Coda Effects facebook page
• More than 65 pedals to make: lot of work to do now!

In this post, I want to present you how I am going to schedule everything. As mentioned on the project webpage, I will write blog posts about the perks and pitfalls of making a series of pedals. One the pitfalls if to make an impossible-to-follow delivery schedule for sure!

Here is my schedule:

• Receiving the money (one to two weeks): I will be then allow to see how much is left after the Ulule, Paypal, and French state taxes are off the collected amount of money. Indeed, almost 23% of the money will go to these different taxes. (No worries, I made the calculations before :) ). It should take one to two weeks to get all the money ready for ordering the parts!
• Ordering the PCBs, enclosures and components (one to two months): one of the most crucial step! Thanks to the prototypes I have already made and my experience, I already selected a list of reliable suppliers. However, the delays can be quite long due to their localizations (USA, China for the PCBs, which can cause delays due to customs). At this step, some "surprises" can also happen and delay the shipping of the PCBs / kits / pedals. Everything should be fine with the suppliers I selected, but you never now! One to two month seems like a reasonable delay for ordering and receiving all the parts.
• Drilling the enclosures, making the kits & effects (two weeks to one month): the fun step! I will do my best to make it as quick as possible, but always with great care about the project. I will have 27 pedals to make, and everything else will be kits (which implies only drilling). I already thought about tips to make it easier and quicker, which I will share with you in a next post.
• Making videos and build doc (one to two weeks): before sending the kits, I really want to make a tutorial video to show you how to assemble your kit. It will prevent a lot of mistakes I think, so I think it is worth the wait! 
• Shipping everything (one week + shipping time): I am currently evaluating which shipper I should use, for now I am considering the French post offices, which are quite good regarding tracking, delays and costs.

There it is! It is quite a lot of work to do. The maximum delay time is around 4 month (February 2017). I know it is quite a long time, but I hope to make it as quick as possible!

You will of course be informed about how it goes on a weekly basis.
If you have any suggestion or comment to make, do not hesitate to post a comment!

Finally, in order to follow the project daily, like the Coda Effects Facebook page, or follow Coda Effects on Instagram or Twitter.

Crowdfunding campaign for the Montagne Tremolo and Dolmen Fuzz

My crowdfunding campaign for the Montagne Tremolo and the Dolmen Fuzz is finally out there!

The Montagne Tremolo is my final version of the tremolo prototype I showed you in a previous post. It is an analog optical tremolo with tap tempo and 6 different waveforms available, thanks to the TAPLFO digital chip.

The Dolmen Fuzz comes from my love for EHX Big Muffs and especially the green russian version. I tried different prototypes and circuits, and it is quite close to a previous build I made as well.

Create your own pedal company: good or bad idea?

If you already have made a few pedals yourself, you surely have thought about selling them or at least build some of them for other people. Create your own guitar pedal brand seems like a good idea on paper, however there are many pitfalls.... Lets talk about it!

Disclaimer: I make effects myself, and this post is not intended to "kill competitors" (with my 30 pedals a year...)! On the contrary, I think it is way better to be transparent and to talk about it: this is only my opinion, and feel free to express yours in the comments section :)

It is a complex matter that is not always easy to discuss peacefully because of money, and there are many different opinions on the subject. It is also the source of really long yet exciting threads on DIY forums (check this one!). The simplest option for me is to discuss it from my point of view as a builder. Thus, I will talk about Coda Effects, and well, just once will not hurt, about me, and give you some tips if you want to jump in it!

Early 2013, I started to show interest in guitar pedal building: after opening a Fuzz Face, I was quite astonished by the simplicity of the circuit (there is almost nothing in there!), and I realized that building guitar effects might be simpler that I thought.

Big Muff PCB available!

The Big Muff PCB that I conceived finally arrived in its final version... And it is alive! I also wrote a detailed build document.

 

It is a double layer PCB to make your own Big Muff! I added a fourth optional knob: the mids knob. Mids are a huge turn off for me with Big Muff: all your medium frequencies are scooped! 

When you use one in a band, you always disappear in the mix, quite boring when you want to use the loudness and sustain of a Muff and be heard! I made it optional in case you want to stick to the original design. Thus, you can make any Big Muff variant that you want, including "boutique" variants that often use a mids knob!

I made it usable for a 1590B, so quite a small enclosure compared to the original Big Muff, ideal for crowded pedalboard purposes! But you can use it in a bigger enclosure, allowing a lot of mods.

Ready to make your own Big Muff? Get one here:

 Buy

The quality is maximum with this PCB: it has been made using an immersion gold process that ensure easy soldering, and long lasting connexions. The PCB is lead free, so it can be used in any country (Europe does not allows lead in solder or electronic devices). Pads are quite spaced, and are big enough to allow easy soldering.

I used he same components name than in The Big Muff page. This is very useful, you can just pick the version you like on the Big Muff page, and make it yourself quickly! It also makes mods easier to do, and you can relate quickly between the excellent circuit guide from the Big Muff page to the PCB.

Example of a pedal made with the PCB

Here is a Ram's Head I made with the PCB. It is made wit a "replica" spirit: I used the exact same values as a 73' ram's head. I always wanted to know exactly what it sounded like, so this was a good time to try it!

This pedal was made to test the "optionality" of the mid knob, really easy to do. I used my "Dolmen Fuzz" logo, made by HPM laser. I used a standard 1590B Hammond enclosure, that I polished with sand paper like my other Big Muff.

As you can see, it fits perfectly in the enclosure. I tested my drill template, it is perfect! As you can see, I made the wiring easy:

I also tested the compatibility of the PCB with Wima MKP2, which are really good capacitor for audio. Works well and gives a niche red touch to the circuit!

With my PCB and the detailed build doc I have written, you should be able to make your own Big Muff easily!

Ready to build yours? Get one here:

 Buy

Happy new year 2015: Coda Effects in numbers!

Happy new year to you all!

 

I really want to thank you for your support and messages, 2015 was a great first year for Coda Effects, and I hope it will continue in 2016! Here are a few numbers about 2015

Big Muff circuit going to fab!

Here is my new Big Muff PCB!

Remember when I was telling you about PCB development? (yes, long time ago...) I finally finished one! It took me a lot of time, but now I am satisfied with my layout:

As some of you recognized, this is a Big Muff circuit! I decided to add an optional forth knob: the mid knob. I can decide whether I want to add it or not, simply by adding a jumper if not (and then, the tone potentiometer can be wired in the center of the pedal). Maybe I will add another optional feedback mod, allowing to connect Q1 emitter to Q3 emitter via a switch. It creates a nice noisy feedback, ideal for sound experimentations...

The circuit is exactly the same as a classical Big Muff, I just added the mid knob in the tone stack, and some components for polarity protection and voltage stabilization. (on the top-left part of the PCB) I will rename the components so their number will be the same as the one used on the Big Muff Page, so you can easily make any version of the Big Muff you like, or modify it with their great circuit guide.

Capacitors sizes were chosen bigger than needed, so they can be swapped with other value to fit any Big Muff model (Russian, Ram's Head, ...etc). Note the funky logo I made because OshPark is not able to use imported images...  Anyway, it is still nice!

I receive the first batch of prototypes:

It is a very compact build! It can fit a 1590B enclosure (well, I hope so...), or at least a 125B with top mounted jack. For now, I ordered a test batch of 3 PCB in oshpark, and I plan to test it as soon as possible! If it works correctly, I think I will produce a small serie of PCB.

As you may know, PCB are cheaper if ordered in large quantities. If you are interested in buying one PCB (or more!), send me an email, so I can adjust the number of PCB I will order! Price will be around 5-8 euros for the first batch (depending on the number of people interested), with a 1 euro shipping cost for France, and 3 euros abroad.

I first designed this PCB for personal use, but it can be a win-win situation if people are interested.

For now, I am thinking about the logo I will use, I thought of this:

I noticed that the "Pi" symbol, looked like a lot a Dolmen... Which is also convenient for a Fuzz that has been used by many stoner guitarists, including ones disguised as druids (Sunn o))), anyone ?). Maybe I will have it laser cutted in black or red (maybe purple for a "violet era" rams head), in order to have 2/3 different version. A bare aluminium version with the red logo that will be the "vintage correct" version, following a classic 73 ram's head fuzz schematic, and a black logo on a black or dark green (russian) box for a "doomy" version, very bassy and gainy.

Let me know what you think about it, post a comment!

LPB1 mini PCB !

The LPB1 (Line Power Boost 1) is a boost pedal that was commercialized in 1968 by Electro Harmonix. It is the first boost pedal using a silicon transistor. Indeed, previous boosts like the Dallas Rangemaster Treble Booster were using germanium transistors. Another novelty with this pedal was that it was boosting all frequencies and not only trebles, making it the first clean boost available!

 

The circuit is really the most simple one you can imagine for a boost:

First, there is a 0.1uF coupling capacitor that prevents parasitic DC current from the guitar to go in the circuit. With the R2 resistance, it forms a high pass filter : by changing its value, you can modulate the amount of bass going through the circuit. If you increase C1 value, more bass will go through, and vice versa.

Then, there are two resistors forming a voltage divider (R2 and R1), to provide a certain voltage to the base of the transistor. Here it is : R2/(R2+R1)x9V = 43/(43+430)x9=0,81V at the transistor's base.

The silicon transistor is a 2n5088 (originally a 2n5133 - same transistors that were used in the Big Muff later), wired as a common emitter. R4 and R3 will define the amount of amplification. If you increase R4, amplification will be larger. If you increase R3, there will be less gain.
A second 0.1uF coupling capacitor that prevents DC current from the battery to go out of the circuit. Finally, a 100k potentiometer wired as a variable resistor defines the final volume.

If you look carefuly, you can see that the last stage of the Big Muff circuit is exactly the same! A LPB1 circuit is used to increase the final volume.

Indeed, this circuit can be used in a lot of different effects to boost the entry or final level. A fun thing to do is to add a LPB1 boost before a saturation effect to increase the gain. It is very fun on a Big Muff (like in the Musket Fuzz or Supercolider fuzz), or on a Tube screamer (like in the Fulltone Fulldrive)!

In order to be able to add this little circuit when I want, or to test it on several pedals, I decided to make a small PCB that allows you to add a "boost" knob on every pedal you want. There is a "in" and a "out" pad that allows you to place it anywhere in a circuit:

I will test it on a Big Muff or a Jan Ray! I could also try to see if it can fit a Hammond LB enclosure (super small squared enclosures like the one I used for my Strymon Favorite switch) Note that there is no voltage stabilization or polarity protection system on this board (too small, not enough space for it!), so do not hesitate to wire a 100uF capacitor between the two lugs of your power supply input.

I should receive all the parts to test it soon...

Klon Centaur buffer boards

Today I just received my first PCB conceived by me! A really simple Klon Centaur buffer.

I never really used a buffered pedal before having some boss pedals or my EHX soul food. I want to try whether it really changes something when placed at the beginning of the chain. But the main reason why I choosed this circuit is because it is a really simple one.
I am really satisfied with my layout, a lot of geometry going on here, every component just fits! It is really a small PCB, I wonder whether it can fit in a 1590LB enclosure... Seems possible! 
For now I am planning to use it in a patch box for my pedalboard, to use it as an optional buffer at the begining of the chain.
I did all the work on eagle, so maybe I will write down a short tutorial soon.

PCB development

I am currently working on conceiving PCB with Eagle software.
It will allow me to have some backup PCB of circuits that I make often or for specific projects. Also, PCB are really easier to work with than veroboard, and look much more professional!
And what a satisfaction to have something that you made up from scratch!

Will you manage to recognize on which circuits I am working on?

 

There are still a few changes to do to be sure that everything fits, components in the PCB, and PCB in the enclosure!
To do that, I will have to order the components and enclosure to test with printed PCB glued on cardboard.
If everything is OK, I send it to fab and cross fingers !

Laser engraved plates

I recently ordered some laser-engraved plates with the Coda Effects logo. I have ordered through HPM laser, a french company, which was affordable, and people there were really helpful and patient ! (not easy to know exactly what you need in some cases !)

Here is the result before cutting everything:

Ink was projected with the laser on a stainless steel plate. The result is really neat and with 3M double-sided tape, I can stick it to any pedal enclosure I made for a really professional looking stompbox !

Dead Astronaut FX Chasm Reverb PCB

Today I received a PCB from Dead Astronaut FX, the Chasm Reverb!
Dead Astronaut (alias Robert Henry) is an effects builder based in the United Kingdom. He builds a lot of different effects (fuzz, distorsion, tremolo, delays...), with beautiful etched enclosures.

I recently had a crush on the reverb he makes, the Chasm Reverb. It is a beautiful, deep sounding reverb that can auto-oscillate to create great sounding "waves" of sounds, ideal for post rock or prog rock. It is based on a Belton Brick, an IC allowing builders to make digital reverbs. Moreover, it has interesting options compared to other reverbs: a mix potentiometer to choose the amount of dry and wet signal, and a bypass system that let the reverb ends when you turn the effect off. It is called "trails". There is also a "damp" setting and volume.

You can find demos on youtube (chasm reverb or prismatic reverb) that are really great sounding!

Dead Astronaut can make the Reverb for you, or you can order a PCB to make it yourself. As being a DIYer, I ordered the PCB for a reasonable price of 11 pounds. If you want to make one, you can buy the PCB here. Robert is very helpful and replies quickly to emails, he gave me a lot of useful informations. The PCB is of very good quality, double sided with a nice ground plane. The Chasm reverb layout is quite nice, and not too compressed:

We can see the big space necessary for the Belton Brick

(Digital Reverb IC)

 

The circuit is nice seen from the bottom too!

I started to populate the board. I could add every resistance, but I miss some diodes types and capacitors values. And of course the Belton Brick!

I am really looking forward to hear it!

Dead Astronaut's website:
http://deadastronaut.wix.com/index

Vintage overload !

I got these little beasts yesterday :

  

Vintage NKT275 red dot transistors ! These are the original transistors that you could find in the vintage Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Faces:

I am really really happy to have these pieces of vintage godness ! I will (of course) make a proper Fuzz Face with it. Hfe are 95 and 140, so quite high gain will be expected from this build. However, I will still combine the best of vintage and modern to do the best fuzz face possible ! Update: here it is!

If you want to find such transistors, I recommend you to search on ebay, and to pay attention to every detail in order not to be scammed. There are plenty of re editions of these units. Watch out for a flange, which should not be there, or a "hat form" of the transistors. In this case, they are likely to be "reissued" or re-branded transistors.

Big Muff Variant (in process)

I am building a Big Muff variant. As a base, I am using a classic ram's head PCB (made by etronics, cheap and quick, really good manufacturing!), which was quickly populated with BC109 and MPSA18 transistors (cool combination!), metal film resistors and a lot of Wima film capacitor MKP2:

Fig. 1 Empty board, and populated PCB ! Very quick and funny to do !

I have already done few modifications on the circuit: possibility to bypass the tone stack circuit, feedback loop between the transistors for a maximal gain with a momentary footswitch. I changed a lot of values to make it smooth and not too scooped in the mids. It is already a very funny and good sounding device ! Last thing missing would be a 3-bands equalizer alternative (it would be possible to choose between classic big muff tonestack or a 3 band EQ with a switch).
It is already a "smooth" big muff, not too gritty, and has a lot of bass. The tone control is really efficient, but I still need more mids!

I am also trying to make a smaller proper PCB for this variant, in order to fit it into a BB enclosure. I am working on this with Eagle, a software to conceive PCB. Hopefully I will manage to finish it soon!

Cheap resistor is cheap !

I needed to get myself a stock of resistors of different values.

It can be very useful when you want to try different values or when you forgot to order THE resistor that you absolutely needed!

I got this 1280 metal film 1% resistors pack on Amazon. There are plenty of offers of the same kind, it is directly imported from China, and resistors are perfectly fine.

I measured some of them and did not notice any significant difference with the theoretical value.

For me, it is really a good deal and a good start if you want to constitute a stock of components at a reasonable price! Of course, it is still a good idea to buy some small packs of the most used values like 1k for instance.