The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

krankguitarist

Krankitupologist
Alright, I'm making a pedal for an unnamed-unless-he-wants-to-be-named forum bro around here.

First off I'll post the disclaimer: I'm not getting paid to build this pedal. I'm only being compensated for parts/materials. This isn't my design, nor am I trying to pass it off as such.

Now that we're done with that...

The Uni-vibe is a pretty strange effect, and is a little daunting of a build for an intermediate-level pedal builder like myself. This pedal aims to achieve the same tone, except as a simplified variant. And LED's instead of an incandescent bulb. Ahhhh....much easier.

So, let us get started:

First off, we have the design. This pedal was designed by John Hollis, and the layout was put together by RG Keen from GEO.
step1.JPG


Next step is to get the PNP blue ready. This stuff bonds onto a copper-clad board and acts as a resist against whatever etchant we decide to use. I get the printout all ready, and my hand seems to like it:
step2.JPG


Next comes the cleaning of the board. It's cut to size, and then gone over with a little steel wool and soap. At this point I decide that this project also requires beer. So I grab my cheap-beer-that-I-got-for-3-dollars-a-six-pack-that-isn't-too-bad-actually and get to scrubbing:
step3.JPG

Oooh, shiny.

I transfer the PNP blue onto the board after almost burning my freakin hand with the iron. Then I realize, "hell, this layout calls for a vertical-mount trimpot, and I've only got a horizontal mount!". No worries, a little sharpie mark and I've got a usable (albiet a bit unsightly) resist:
step4.JPG


Now its time to etch. This was my first time using sodium persulfate, as opposed to ferric chloride. The etchant eats away all the copper around the resist, leaving you with only the copper underneath the resist to work with. Sodium persulfate doesn't make for the fastest etch in the world, but it seems to have worked pretty well:
step5.JPG

This board took about an hour to an hour and a half or so. Ferric chloride typically takes about 30 minutes for a board like this.

Last step for the day trim the fat, remove the resist, and center-punch where the holes are gonna be. Boom. We got a board ready for drilling!
step6.JPG


Drilling comes tomorrow though...It's been a long day, and Dan need's some rest. Maybe I'll even get some of the board populated tomorrow. Who knows ;).

This is Dan, signing off of the crappy pictorial for the day.
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

I admire your ability to quit a project like this when it's late!!

Seems like when I start something like this, I can't bring myself to stop, I have to finish!!

I'll be watching for the next update
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

Very cool pics/steps. I really like stuff like this, makes it easier to grasp what you're done. Good job!
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

I woulda kept on going on through the night, believe me...but the drill I use makes a bit too much noise, and my garage is right next to my parent's bedroom ;). So...i had to save it for today.

Anywho, This is my drilling setup right here. VERY, VERY, VERY low-budget. I use a vise to hold the battery pack. I use a zip-tie to keep the trigger on the hand drill pulled. Basically, I just slip the drill on the battery to get it started, and off to turn it off ;).

I do this so I can keep the drill stationary, while I guide the board onto the drill bit with both hands. Makes for relatively neatly drilled boards. Here it is:

step7.JPG


And here's how I drill them (only with two hands...I had to use one for the picture ;):

step8.JPG


I've got half of the board drilled so far...decided to take a short break. But I'll be back at it within a half an hour.
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

Great thread. I have a feeling it will be Vault worthy when it's completed. :bigok:
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

Continuation time! Got done drilling the board, and it came out lookin pretty good:
step9.JPG


Not perfect, but as good as they get with my setup ;).

I wanted to start populating the board right away so I set up my small, extremely messy workstation:
step10.JPG

and got to working.

First off, I got all the resistors and diodes on the board:
step11.JPG


And then most of the other components:
step12.JPG

Had to stand one of the resistors on end so i could get that horizontal-mount trimpot in there, and my 470uF caps were a little oversized for the board as well. But, a little tricky maneuvering and I got 'em in there just fine. Probably should have used the 10V ones recommended by GEO, but...eh...I like to over-engineer my stuff ;).

I used xicon 1% metal film resistors, as well as their electrolytic caps. AVX 5% Boxed metal film caps for the most part, except for the red 470pF cap in there, which is a 2.5% WIMA. Kingbright LED's, and some gold-plated IC sockets. I'm gonna test out some Texas Instruments TL062's and TL072's for the IC's...I'd prefer to use the 72's as they're lower noise op amps. They draw a bit more current than the 62's, though, and therefore may introduce some ticking into the signal. Thats why I used the sockets...makes it easier to swap out the IC's.

Next up, I gotta make the opto-couplers by shrink wrapping four pairs of LEDs (light emitting diodes) and LDRs (light dependent resistors) together. However, that will have to wait a few days, as I'm leaving for LA tomorrow right after work. So, updates will continue in a few days.

Until then...
 
Last edited:
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

So cool! Are there other pedal designs (phaser, compressor, etc.) available?
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

I'm back! Had a great time in LA, and got to see some old friends that I haven't seen in a while. Now I'm back at home, and can work on getting this pedal finished ;).

So, here we are at the next step. I needed a way to isolate the LDR's from any outside light, while binding the LED and LDR together. Heatshrink tubing will do the job well enough. So I set it up:

step13.JPG


step14.JPG


And use my zippo to heat up the tubing:

step15.JPG


Perfect! Do that times four, and I've got all I need:

step16.JPG


Next up, I put 'em on the board whilst making extra-sure that I orientate the LED's correctly.

step17.JPG


And the board is fully populated. Next up comes the offboard wiring. Once that's done, all I need to do is adjust the trimpot and set it up. I might get it done a little later today, though it might take until tomorrow. I'll update again soon...
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

Update time again:

I got her all wired up and ready to go:

step18.JPG


I'll admit, the wiring job isn't as clean looking as some of my previous pedals have been. But I fired it up, first try, and it worked! Adjusted the trimpot, put the back on, and voila.

step19.JPG


Put it in a BB enclosure and covered it in leather-grain tolex. Chicken-head knobs, and a nice bright orange LED. Been running it through my '68 Fender showman reverb, and it sounds killer. This thing gives a great vibrato effect.

I'll see if I can't get a few clips done tomorrow. Until then...
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

How much did this cost to make? Or is that private info...
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

Dunno that quite yet, Still gotta go over the receipts and figure that out. No less than 30 dollars, no more than 55.

I got a soundclip done as well...Its a quick little thing, but it showcases a couple of the sounds that the ezvibe is capable of. I used my godin montreal though the EZ vibe into my 68 fender showman reverb. Miced it up with a sennheiser E609 silver. The first couple of times is just the guitar and amp, after that I turn the ezvibe on.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=424368&songID=5518654
 
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

Very awesome tone, and cool tolex mwahaha.

PS - Could you tell me exactly what the knobs / switch does? I mean.. er.. what each one's function is.

And I shall be named - I have the money, just PM me to tell me how to er.. get it there.. and.. transfer and whatnot. Looks like a great job.
 
Last edited:
Re: The EZ-vibe, the birth of a DIY pedal

Neat project, it would be adviseable to close the ends on the opto's with a small flat plier when they are reheated.
We also make our own opto's at work:)
They can be used for a great many things!
Nice sound for sure!
Congrats.
Niels
 
Last edited:
Back
Top