Recently in Effects Pedals Category

Here's the first working version of the Staccato guitar effect pedal. I ended up choosing the name based purely on sound description. It uses the Ampeg Scrambler distortion circuit and passes the signal through a Vactrol for a softened gating effect. Every time I try to record a sample of it in action, I end up playing around with it much longer than necessary. But this is a good sign.Controls from Left to right:Pots - Texture, Blend, Rate, WidthFootSwitches - Bypass/Power, Staccato-ON/OFFThere's switch built into the texture pot that acts as a big ol' gain boost as well as a DC Jack in the rear with reverse polarity protectionHere's a sample I recorded off of a little practice amp I rescued from the dumpster. It starts off Dry, then uses the straight distortion, and finally, adds the staccato gating/tremolo effect:Staccato Proto sample AAC 1,009KB

I start with a tiny light dependent resistor and an amber 3mm LED (use a yellow LED if possible). These two are going to be good friends.

I pushed the LED and photoresistor flush together, then place the kissing components down on a bit of electrical tape.
Thus begins a very long staring contest.

Now roll the tape around a couple of times. Bend the component leads apart and press the tape together in between in order to keep light out.

I then take a thin strip of black tape and wrap it between the leads horizontally.

Squeeze around on the tape a bit in order to seal any openings. (Remember the round leads go to the resistor, the square-ish ones to the LED) You can check to see if there are leaks by hooking the resistor leads to a multimeter - in a dark room shine a flashlight on both ends of your new vactrol. If the flashlight changes the resistance reading on your meter then you have a leak and need to seal the package a bit more.

This is definitely a quick fix, (a sturdier vactrol should be constructed using epoxy or perhaps silicone adhesive) but I've found these to be a great way to control resistance. Just add a little LED flasher circuit and you're good to go for all sorts of effect pedal, synth, and general electronics mods and designs.

PS - Here's an LED flasher circuit:
blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/10/blinking_eyes_c.html

I've been working on a guitar effects pedal based around the rare and coveted Ampeg Scrambler. I used almost all the original components specified in the schematic and integrated a simple polarity protection for the DC jack. The biggest enhancement I've added is a sort of vibrato effect as an optional modifier to the texture control. I find the effect quite interesting, but I have a hunch there's a simpler way to achieve it. Currently, I have a timer circuit driving a makeshift vactrol (LED taped to photoresitor). The main circuit's texture control is then fed through the vactrol's variable resistance. I'm concerned that driving the vactrol's LED and 555 timer in addition to the rest of the pedal will create an impractical strain on battery life. Hmm, I should probably measure the circuit's current consumption to learn more. More to come.