Opencan

I've moved the circuit as it was to a wiring board, and now the gain pot. doesn't work well, if i turn it all to the one side, it screems badly, and when i turn it to the other side, it does pretty much the same thing, but with more bass. i've checked the resistence of this should be 1Mohm pot. and in the middle its about 270K ohm, and in both ends it is about 4 ohms. it also gives some distortion in the middle of the scale. does anyone knows how can i debug it? weirdly i think its my diodes, because they are 8.3K ohm on the circuit, while when they weren't on they were about 640 ohms.other than that, i checked again and again for any wiring mistakes, and i seem to find none.

anyone knows what it might be?

nope, i'm sure i didn't, because he had other guitars he built with 3 singles that sounds like hums, and you can swich between them. I've tried to sqweez the secret out of him, and all i got is that it is doubling the single somehow.

I've seen someones guitar that have 3 single pickups, and the guitar had a switch to make the bridge singles to sound like an humbucker.

anyone knows how to create this circuit?

sure, here are some:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...ds/DSCF0613.JPG

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...ds/DSCF0616.JPG

I'm working on some changes in the circuit, for now i just decreased the output cap a bit, but i got a list of things i want to try and see how it goes. when i'm done, i'll make a copy of it on a circuiting board i bought and take it to my uncle to make some sound samples with his sound card

By the way, the box IS a food container plastic, which actually had something in it (i thing it was some beef, not sure)

Everyone, Thank you all !

Finally made it work, and it work perfectly well!!

Thank you!

thanks alot i'll just go buy some new caps and use thoes later or something, i have them randomly in my circuit ^^;

but i'll follow the advise i got in my previous topic here, and use none of them

and another question than i though of lately, where can i get the tools for making my circuit on a PCB board, like in this tutorial : http://www.tonepad.com/photoessay.asp?phot...10&sequenceNo=1

i know i can get the press n' peel sheet from small bear elec.

where can i get that copper blank? o.o

what that Sharpie mentioned here : "I have used a Sharpie marker to touch up the traces in the upper left" means?

are there any other etch resistence materials that i can use with this : http://www.tonepad.com/photoessay.asp?photoEssayID=11 tutorial?

where can i get this Ferric Chloride?

Thanks alot

but is there any way to connect the wires to the jacks holes?

And i'm using a pre-wired board - the safest way

And i got some other values not mentioned in the schem, but everything needed is here, some are in a black round form with a "Jamicon" tag on them (and 50V) by the way, are they polarazied? because i think they aren't really healthy to my circuit for a reason

a picture with everything : http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...ds/DSCF0588.JPG

emm, i don't mind giving them, but i've opened another thread about it a while ago, and thats what i've been told. anyhow, thats what written:

i got pretty much of them, so i'll give the numbers of some:

470J (blank other side)

129 AFF | 103 C1R

236 RAD | 330 AIJ

007 AFT | 332 C1K

023 A11 | 223 C1K

101 A1J | 302 ACM

029 A11 | 223 C1K

345 RCA | 100 AIJ

nothing else written

sorry for the frustration ^^;;

and now i'll add the most stupid question ever : doesn't the color of the capasitors indicate their voltage? and isn't there a way that if i know the cap. value to somehow check its voltage with a simple multi-metter?

You're right, i didn't described my problem (at all) enough, but your post was like saying to a child that shows you a painting he drew "yuck, thats gross, can't you do something better with your time?!" its just squeez any will you had to keep on going.

Israel, Hebrew, i don't mind giving other details..

I simply went to a store and bought what the schematic demanded. there are some resistors (which i got no problem with ) some diodes, some capasitors (which i DO got a problem with), a 4558 IC, some mono PL jacks, and all the wires needed in variety of colors (i like colors )

I got some yellow, small and resistor sized legs with no manufacter logo, which say the value of the cap and other numbers without any sense between the capasitors.

and i got some black capasitors, from a brand called "Jamicon" and it says 50V and the value there. i don't consider them problematic.

I know what i worth, i know my knoladge is poor, but i've done circuits like that before, and with a little help with stuff i didn't really used before, like jacks (we just put the osiloscope or multi-metter as an output), and capasitors that i got from my teacher.

There's a point where insulting someone will help him to finish a project, but for someone who just tries to figure up whats going on, your just making him quite.

by the way, i never like thoes chinese sentences

and please, lets cut the "i worth more, i know stuff" and the "your lame, you should die!" stuff, ok?

By the way, at the worst case, i'll just call someone i know and go with a circuit for instruction, but that will cost quite a bit, so i rather not at this stage.

Sorry for the lame way i wrote it, i'll try to re-phrase it :$

I bought in an electronics-stuff shop all the stuff requiered to the circuit. they gave me some yellow, small capasitors that have no polarity. they never asked me what voltage i need or anything like that. now, a few days ago i spotted a capasitor missing, so i went to another store and specified my need a bit longer, and they gave me this red squer capasitor with 2 short (compared to my other component) legs.

now my actual question is, how can i know whats my capasitors voltage? firstly i thought it was by color, and it seems like i thought wrong. is there any way to test it? and for my circuit i guess 5V capasitors won't help at all :\

another weird question, that i seem to get wrong, is that i bought a mono input\output jack o.O it just seem fine to me o.o

And i'm really sorry for my level of english, its mainly because i don't speak english as a mother language.

And its really insulting to hear something like "I seriously douby that you're ready to complete this project without some serious hands-on assistance". anyhow, I've learnt only theoreticly eletronics for 3 years during school, and i know, at list in my opinion, enough to finish a simple IC circuit, except of this very basic info, that i never got because we didn't really had the funds for actual circuit building. I asked all the questions that i could think of, thats why it may seem i live in a farm that doesn't have electricity and try to manage to do something with components i bought from a traveler.

And really, thank you for all the help *gives a cookie*

bump.

i really need this

Its kind of my first real project (not from school, where i've been told EVERYTHING and i got other people doing the same, so we can debug ourselves) and i miss the very basic knoladge.

first, i got the IC of my distrotion-to-be effect and i can't really figure if the dot points the first leg, or the last one. how do i actually count them? i used the dot as "1" and the other reverse clockwise from there. is it correct?

another thing, i got the input and output jacks and i don't really know what goes to each leg of it. i'll add a picture and please tell me what goes where

another thing, is that i don't really know where to put the minus wire from the battery to ~_~ tried to put it to the collective minus, where everything goes when the schematics told me to put them to the "ground", is it good?

and i got some capasitors which i don't really know if they are good for this circuit (it uses a 9V battery), because when i went to buy something i didn't had, they gave me a different type. i'll add their picture near the jack. (they are yellow)

Thanks, and sorry for all the silly questions ^^;;

and here is a link to the circuit, if it matters:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...ampdistplus.pdf (the lower one)

This guitar looks great!

except of the HUGH headstock...

Is it balanced while standing?

Great work!

are you married?

your cream is a bit yellow.

try off-white if so.

or make it purple

Yes, the pinout is the same. You can find the data sheet Here . Should not be any problem using it. Just pay attention to the package - they come as DIPs as well as SMDs. It probably makes sense to put the extra 10 pF capacitor that is noted in dashed lines, because the OPA134 is much faster than the 741 and more prone to high-frequency oscillation.

As for close alternatives to the schematics you posted, I meant something like this: Tube Reamer, which is actually more or less a clone of the famous Tube Screamer (Ibanez).

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I'll try each and every tip you said, after i'll complete the original circuit on a solderless breadboard. I'll see what I like the most, and copy it to the board

I was about to use that cap anyway

Thanks for everyone for their help (don't think you heard the last of me! i'm a pain in the butt when I'm not completely sure about things!)

Yep, I'd say use polyester caps, and replace the 741 with some good but not overly expensive opamp, like the OPA134. A world of difference.

As for this distortion circuit, I personnally think it's a bit crude. You get "smoother" distortion with diodes in the feedback loop of the opamp (like in some solid-state, "blues-typed" units, the Boss OD, for instance, I believe). But after all, your ears will be the judges; so try this unit first (that will be a good start), and then you can try a little more sophisticated designs...

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Is there a difference in the costs of thoes caps?

Thanks for the tip, I'll get an extra IC of OPA134 and try it as well on the same circuit, but is the wiring the same?

can you add this diode to the circuit and send me the schem.s (and the diode brand) so I'll be able to understand better? I know all the term only in Hebrew :\

I don't mind picking some extra stuff for moderation, I just know nothing about it :\

Is there anything I can learn from (in English) about building circuits and the basics about differences about parts and stuff like that? (I do know how a wave acts, to calculate thoes stuff, the harmonics thing, how to actually fix stuff in circuits and all that, I just need a guide)

And I really don't have any problem doing way more sophosticated designs, I don't find it problematic. The reason i go this simple is: 1. keeping the costs as low as possible, even if we talk about the plate i'll have to buy for circuits with more stuff on them, because now I've just drilled a CD box

2. Trying out my skills, because in lab class we only did expirements like proving a resistor makes a capasitor discharge slower on DC and how a simple amplifier works, but nothing more than that

3. I don't have the right tools to find problems right now, so I can debug only simple circuits I fully understand

When iy will work I'll play a bit with it and go to harder things.

And the main reason I go THAT simple is that I want this unit to function as headphones amplifier, with distortion option, and thats why I don't really care that much about the quility comparing to stuff that will be used on big amps.

no no, the weight is only because I use top quility casted metal shielding.... nothing to do with HUGH RESISTORS... nothing at all..

and walk away red of shame

But be sure, thoes resistors won't burn quickly (the battery will die faster..)

So, you say I should just use the cheap caps?

No, what Merlin said was to use a non-polarized cap - preferably a poly film cap, but a ceramic will do (after all, it's a distortion box). Polarized caps of any kind really have no business in the signal path, and even if you could live with the audio degradation, they have a nasty habit of failing with litlle or no warning, for very stupid reasons. I really don't like seeing electrolytics outside power supplies and bias circuits, and I have no use for tants whatsoever (Boss, MXR, et al, use tantalums simply because they're cheap and small).

Then again, I would never use a 741 as an opamp in any audio circuit either, so...

I totally agree - regardless of any old-school mojo, the noise level alone is enough to drive me crazy!

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So I should get something like that:

http://img.ebigchina.com/cdimg/331133/1277.../1112605848.jpg

or that:

http://www.elwire.com/faq/seq/seq5/images/0.1uF.jpg

right?

And what SHOULD I use instead?

AWW come on guys, the hum and hiss is the best part, not to mention the fact that if you touch it(DON'T!) it picks up EVERY radio frequency(within reason) at once. Although that may be to do with the fact that I live near my cities main transmission tower.

You gotta have faith in the old skool. PLUS, it "Goes Faster".

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o.O

What are you talking about?

Neon pink with poo brown dots. BIG dots.

Can't go wrong with that

Or try your finishing skill and make it full of flowers make it like a 3 years-old kind of flowers

that will own!

Or turquoise burst !

Forget about old fashioned dies! (make it black!) (( o.O ))

The capacitors with 2 parallel lines are normal Film or Ceramic caps, non-polarized. The ones with the positive (+) sign are electrolytic (polarized) with the positive lead facign in the direction of the (+) sign.

I dont remember that particular schematic needing 3 different types of pots.. and I'm only seeign two on the schem... You should be fine with just a Linear and a reverse Log (if you have somewhere that it NEEDS a reverse log, according to the schem you could use linear taper pots for both of them.)

Log stands for... Log. xD I really am not clear what it means.

Theres no certain brand of anything you need, a cap is a cap and a resitor is a resistor. Just make sure you have the right IC. Having the wrong IC isnt good! (There are some really trciky schems that require certain brands of IC)

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YOU WON A COOKIE

to claim your prize private message me for a phone number in Israel with a call price that is sky-high and wait until someone answers you call and tell you we are out of them

I should just turn the pot. around so the edges will be turned? I have no clue what "reverse" actually does..

mmmk forget the cookie, customs will eat it,

the crazy one with the plus sign is polarised(+ and-) and the other is non-polarised, log means logrithmic, and I doubt you'll find a reverse log, just swap ends of the taper for reverse. I built a superior version to what you're wanting(superior in the sense that it was a od250(same thing kinda) and it was modified for better tone. Swapping the terminals for the reverse log pot does work.

edit: dang beat me to it. and he needs the 3rd pot for the micro amp.

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I wish I actually listened while making my electronic degree... 3 years of sleeping.. yet got pretty good grades though

Actually, my problem is way too simple, I have NO TOOLS. marked a CD jewl box and made holes using a heated up pin. will make the circuit using hot glue and cables...

The polarized, output capacitor is marked as a tantalum one. That's not pretty. Tantalum caps may seem "fancy", but they are no good in audio signal paths. Don't use them. (That's the short version. The long version is a long analysis of the tantalum caps behavior over the whole spectrum, with detailed measurements...)

Just use a regular electrolytic cap. Actually, since it's 1 µF, I wouldn't even bother with a polarized cap here. I would use a plastic, non-polarized, 1 µF capacitor instead. That will sound better.

Then again, I would never use a 741 as an opamp in any audio circuit either, so...

 

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So, you say I should just use the cheap caps?

Anything you will recommand me to use at the same price range and ease of circuiting?

Anyhow, here is the schemes I'm actually using:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...tortionplus.pdf

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...ampdistplus.pdf

And here is what I did with the jewl box. will need some more work of course:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...P_061608_01.jpg

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...P_061636_01.jpg

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...P_062028_01.jpg

I bet this is the lowest budget project here since.. ever! (and I'm starting to think of second-hand resistors already ~_~)

I want to make my own Pre Amp and Distortion by a schematic identical to an MXR MicroAmp and a MXR Distortion plus.

In the schematics 2 kinds of capasitors shows, one with 2 prallel lines, and one with a line and half a dent line, and a "+" sign on what side.

here is the picture of a schematic for what I intend building with the 2 different capasitors bolded:

http://members.lycos.co.uk/driftingfuzzbal...tion%20plus.jpg

I've done the board (made my own from a jewl box of a CD ) and almost everything is totally planned, and in a few hours i'll go to shop for the parts I need, so can you please tell me what I should ask for at the shop?

Plus, there are 3 potentionmeters I need, one is a linear potentionmeter, one is a reverse log. and one is a log. potentionmeter.

what log. stands for? o.O

And for last, is there anything that I should get a certain brand over another in thoes components on the schematic I added? (I already got a certain diodes and ICs type)

Thanks alot, Ron

COOKIE PRIZE FOR THE RIGHT ANSWERS!

(shipping is not included, offer valid only on orders over $150 in Israel, Only physical addresses and rural boxes are accepted. Post office box's and APO's Do Not Apply, valid only on non-oversized items, I reserve the right to end or change this Free Cookie Prize offer at any time)

its huge, so maybe a 12 string?? that would rock

but because you have all the hardware i don't think its an option.

its could work perfect for a 12 string, and not look that odd.

GREAT WORK!

the neck seem REALLY bent down o.o

other than that, great work and design, i love your shaping

however, you mentioned its your first guitar, so how come it got a serial number? o.O

and you put the straps in the body half way of the wood or something? because it doesn't shows in the back. first i thought it was so really good painting ^^;

keep up the good work!

he will make toothpicks out of it!

which pickups and tuners?