First pedal layout done

[cream123]

I did my first pedal layout on the computer today. It's for the Univox sqaure wave shaper...I'm building to sell to the bird. it's pretty simple....although it will be the second most complex, behind the condor cab simulator that I'm also building for the bird.

here's a clip of the pedal.

here's the layout: (the text box button wasn't working...)

look cool or what?

more details on the pedal as a whole:
it's gonna go: input, to the condor cab sim, then to a recording out, then to the sq wave shaper, then to a headphones...

sound cool or what?

 

[cream123]

Re: First pedal layout done

here's teh schematic

 

[SonofaMitch]

Re: First pedal layout done

pretty sweet, sounds good 2!!

~Mitch~

 

[carpfishy]

Re: First pedal layout done

Awesome tone. How much do you charge for building/designing/shipping?

 

[V!N]

Re: First pedal layout done

It's great to see some people are still cooking up new things. But I have to say that this isn't a very good layout at all. Sorry bro, not to rain on your parade, but I figured a single post with constructive criticism from somebody who actually build this would be of more help to you than a dozen of posts praising you for cooking anything.

You want the parts closer together than this, so they'll be less prone to picking up noise and no lengthy connections between them. Look for instance at the enormous road the 2M resistor has to travel to go to the drain of Q2 ! You are free to re-arrange everything, a PCB doesn't have to be as close to the neat little drawing of the schematic as possible, I realised that halfway through my very first PCB-design.
Also, it would be good not to have the wires with the power and ground running through all the components with the sound.


Then there's the schematic itself, there's room for some improvement. A 2N5088 for Q1 and a 2N5457 JFET for Q2 seem to be the most common available transistors these days for this pedal. The diodes are key to the distortion and the MD234's are germanium, but you could use any germanium diode you can find. Be sure to heat-sink them and buy a few spares ! Too much heat from your soldering iron and they break.

However, I stuck silicon diodes in my builds for a higher output and a warmer more crunch-like fuzz sound. Also, a 100k pot for the volume will help you with the output. I prefer two red LEDs there, but one client wanted a softer clipping, so I stuck two 1N4148 diodes in it .. Not as good as you ask me, like a thick blanket hanging over your cab and a lot of "kggggggggggg" fizz when you play. But hey, it's his pedal !
So I suggest you buy a bunch of diodes and LEDs and let your ears decide. They'll only cost you a couple of cents a piece and you'll learn a lot for future builds and designs by trying them and listening to it. The most fun I get out of making pedals is by experimenting on improvements.


p.s. Don't let the clips put you off, those were made by a bloke who connected his guitar to the Squarewave and the Squarewave to his computer .. In a real setup, it actually sounds pretty good.

 

[cream123]

Re: First pedal layout done

k, I really couldn't think of anything other way to set it up. I knew the leads are long but I'm still pretty new to the game.....


And I used 1n4148 for the diodes, and a 2n5088 and a 2n5457.


And I was never really too proud of it...I just wanted some criticism...

 

[Pierre]

Re: First pedal layout done

If you'd like more headroom and dymanics... try the 1N4001 or 2 (same effect) diodes. I prefer them to the 4148 by a mile, all my pedals have it.

Also Vin is right, you're free to get the components as close as you can basically. Less wire length = less noise and less resistance. All good. If some legs are under another pair and you don't want the short, use some wire insulation and bam, ready to go, protected.
For instance the first 2M resistor from the left could be placed a further strip to the left again... etc...etc... saving you space.

 

[V!N]

Re: First pedal layout done

If you'd like more headroom and dymanics... try the 1N4001 or 2 (same effect) diodes. I prefer them to the 4148 by a mile, all my pedals have it.

I could have guessed that ! :14: I found them to have way too much gain and fizz to sound good in this circuit and many others as well.
You might want to go out and buy a bunch of different diodes and LEDs yourself Pierre, different diodes work differently in different pedals and you're missing out on a lot of great sounds if you just stick the same bunch in everything.

Cream, be sure to post your next try here as well !

p.s. Good eye on that 2M resistor, Pierre.

 

[Pierre]

Re: First pedal layout done

I'm only used to TS style circuits :laugh2: until I build more, but I can't get stuff online so it won't happen I tried LED... especially in a DS1. They're a little too much for me. In a TS style circuit the pedal just gets too loud for me. No need for that much power.