Tap Tempo question

[OptimusPrime]

Hey guys question. I'm just a beginner to the electronics design world and want to know if this is possible.

Here's my idea: a pedal with a regular non-latching soft switch and LED. but heres the cool part. after you finish setting the tempo, the LED flashes to the tempo you set it at.

Was just wanting to know if this is possible, and if it is, how hard would it be to design the circuit. Thanks

[garcho]

That part is really easy. Have you made a tap tempo circuit before? Any idea what ICs you'll be using? A popular one around here is Electric Druid's TapLFO. It has a whole pin dedicated to 'Tempo LED'.

[OptimusPrime]

To answer both your questions at the same time, no  .
When I ment beginner I ment like this is my first circuit design\ build.
I have virtually no knowledge of how to design a circuit, and very little knowledge about electronic engineering in general.
that's one of the main reasons I joined this forum. was so I could
pick your all's brains and learn how to start doing this.
I will check out the circuit you recommended and If you would be willing to walk me through the process
off constructing the circuit I would be VERY appreciative.
Im very interested in electronic engineering as I plan to into it and study it in depth in college and want to get as
large of a head start in my education as possible so all help is greatly appreciated!

Also im planning to use this as a tap tempo switch for a guitar delay pedal.

[pappasmurfsharem]

To answer both your questions at the same time, no  .
When I ment beginner I ment like this is my first circuit design\ build.
I have virtually no knowledge of how to design a circuit, and very little knowledge about electronic engineering in general.
that's one of the main reasons I joined this forum. was so I could
pick your all's brains and learn how to start doing this.
I will check out the circuit you recommended and If you would be willing to walk me through the process
off constructing the circuit I would be VERY appreciative.
Im very interested in electronic engineering as I plan to into it and study it in depth in college and want to get as
large of a head start in my education as possible so all help is greatly appreciated!

Also im planning to use this as a tap tempo switch for a guitar delay pedal.

A problem that you run into when attempting to design a tap tempo is the circuit you want to use the tap with. You will generally have a potentiometer that's assigned to some sort of time variable. Then how does that time variable change when the potentiometer changes. It's probably not going to be linear and requires some sort of programming to cater to the circuit.

Something to keep in mind.

[garcho]

When I ment beginner I ment like this is my first circuit design\ build.

Does that mean you've never designed a circuit before? Or that you haven't built a guitar pedal before? Because they're very different things. Some advice from a fellow beginner: don't start with a complicated pedal. It's a really crappy way to learn. No one is smart enough to skip steps; humans tend to learn things in a sequential, logical manner. Build a buffer first. Here's a great place to start. You'll learn about powering your pedals, filtering your power, wiring things correctly, mounting hardware, sourcing parts, drilling, etching and labeling enclosures, etc. All that stuff takes experience to learn. Once you've built a buffer, build a fuzz or an overdrive. Then move on to envelope followers, filters and LFOs. Then move on to digital chips like CMOS, then BBDs, then PICs or microprocessors - which is what you'll need to build a tap-anything. You can get there, without a doubt, but not on a first build.

Some more advice: don't try to design a pedal. Instead, build a few pedals that you might *actually* use as a guitar player. Then after living with them for a bit, ask yourself "what do I want to hear instead or change?". Then you're on the road to designing something. When it comes to analog audio, you'll inevitably realize that the wheel some guy designed a long time ago is good enough and all the situation requires is for you to custom fit it to your needs. But designing something because you want to be a designer won't get you far. Stand on the shoulders of giants!

Do you know how to read schematics? Have you soldered anything before? Do you have some basic power tools?

Here's an example of a tap-tempo circuit. Don't expect anyone here to walk you through a build, though. We're all happy to help, but do all the homework yourself, before you ask.

[therealfindo]

That part is really easy. Have you made a tap tempo circuit before? Any idea what ICs you'll be using? A popular one around here is Electric Druid's TapLFO. It has a whole pin dedicated to 'Tempo LED'.

This is not for delay circuits, right?

[mth5044]

That part is really easy. Have you made a tap tempo circuit before? Any idea what ICs you'll be using? A popular one around here is Electric Druid's TapLFO. It has a whole pin dedicated to 'Tempo LED'.

This is not for delay circuits, right?

It can be for whatever you want it to be! Most folks here use it in combination with a vactrol for things like trems and other modulation. It does put out a CV, so if your delay can sink with a CV it can be for a delay.