LEGO for guitarists

[emil]

Hi Guys,
I just registered to the forum. Many years ago I gave up DIY for guitar stuff, but this old passion never dies (you know it). So several months ago I build one distortion for fun and I had some short circuit with my minds . I went to my neighbor to show him my invention and I saw his kid playing with LEGO and I remembered how I was arraigning stomp-boxes years ago in a pedal board in the middle of the living room and how my wife was angry about it.

Why I am telling you this story? Because one crazy idea come to my mind - The SnapDrive. I decided to start a project that will change the paradigm of pedal boards, patch cables etc. Unfortunately I haven't all the needed information and I still haven't done all pedals in the world, so I think it is good idea to share and make it open source. This way everybody can contribute.

Please give me your opinion - positive or negative. Is this idea worth to invest money and mostly time.

The website is: theSnapDrive.com

[mat]

Very interesting indeed ! What kind of connectors You use on the modules ?

[emil]

Good question. At the moment I have negotiations with one Chinese company to produce magnetic connectors with 100k cycles.

[Jdansti]

Someone recently posted a modular synth kickstarter that appeared to use magnetic connections for the modules.

[vigilante397]

Hi Guys,
I just registered to the forum. Many years ago I gave up DIY for guitar stuff, but this old passion never dies (you know it). So several months ago I build one distortion for fun and I had some short circuit with my minds . I went to my neighbor to show him my invention and I saw his kid playing with LEGO and I remembered how I was arraigning stomp-boxes years ago in a pedal board in the middle of the living room and how my wife was angry about it.

Why I am telling you this story? Because one crazy idea come to my mind - The SnapDrive. I decided to start a project that will change the paradigm of pedal boards, patch cables etc. Unfortunately I haven't all the needed information and I still haven't done all pedals in the world, so I think it is good idea to share and make it open source. This way everybody can contribute.

Please give me your opinion - positive or negative. Is this idea worth to invest money and mostly time.

The website is: theSnapDrive.com

THIS LOOKS AMAZING. Let me know if you need any beta testers or anything of the sort 

[emil]

Of course we need. At the moment we are on the next phase which is making of 'real' prototype. What you see is the concept proof.

[Brymus]

I went to your web page and watched the demo,VERY COOL!!
I think you are onto a great idea,especially the open source thing.
People could save money buying a kit from you then design and add their own modules,or buy the harder to build or ones that require hard to find parts,a very unlimited,untapped potential in concept.
BTW I thought the sound you demo was very good.

[emil]

Thanks, man.
Yes, the main idea is not selling ready device but providing a platform that is open. This will make it popular on one hand and on the other it will give the opportunity DIY enthusiasts to build and share, even to sell their blocks.
This way they can focus on the sound and the idea, not on the components, boxes and paint.
Of course I will be great if we can manage to provide all these hard to find components and make them affordable.

[deadastronaut]

BTW I thought the sound you demo was very good.

yeah, nice sounds...overdrive /dist sound great.

[emil]

I have to confess I don't like it so much. I mean that it can be much better. The video is recorded at 3 am. the day before I submitted the application for venture capital funding. These days I will try to make some new records.

[vigilante397]

I have to confess I don't like it so much. I mean that it can be much better. The video is recorded at 3 am. the day before I submitted the application for venture capital funding. These days I will try to make some new records.

Obviously it can be better, but I think we all saw it as just a demo of a prototype, so we realize that it's not going to sound perfect the first time.

Still, all things considered, it sounds good.

[emil]

At the moment our issue is the construction and design. Soon I will post some of the concept

[emil]

Today we have done some tests. It seems that we have to focus on solutions without clipping diodes. The sound is rich but even plugged in tube amp is somehow thin.

See some pictures

[emil]

How do you find this sound. It is done by arranging several  FET and MOSFET blocks and some TONE controls. The recording is done straight into the sound card

https://soundcloud.com/emil-kirilov-2/fet-and-mosfet

[ggedamed]

The purpose of this system it's not clear for me. It is a breadboard or a pedalboard? Or something else entirely?

It sure looks more like a breadboard to me - one that does not allow me to change the innards of the circuits. Make the modules more and more granular and you end up with a real breadboard. I contemplated making my builds modular a while ago, but the "modulable" (is this a word?) parts of the circuits were not so many.

A modular pedalboard could be interesting since one could abstract switching and interfacing stages - like true-bypass/buffered-bypass or filtered power supply/regulated power supply/charge pump. Pedals could be modules with 4-6 pins: input, output, ground and power supplies (one circuit might need +5V and ±9V). So you can add a new pedal adding a switching module + a interfacing module + 1-3 power supply modules + the effect PCB with pots and switches. Replace switching modules with a global switching system aand you get a multi-effect.

I'm not judging, just being curious.

[emil]

ggedamed it is a very good comment. At the moment we are thinking of 2 concepts:

1. The initial concept was to make the smallest not-dividable modules that a circuit can have. For example a FET or MOSFET stage with switchable capacitors, a filter stage, a EQ stage, etc. and give the ability to decide what to put on and design single distortion effect.

We showed this concept to musicians and all that they can see is a mini stomp-boxes' pedal board not the ability to design overdrive or distortion effect as we expected. So we started thinking of a second concept:

2. Mini stomp-boxes put together and advanced switching circuit.

According to me number 2 actually adds no value. We create nothing new and makes no sense to recreate existing stuff. After we showed the device to some of our friends we concluded that no musician in the world will use number 1, because they all asked me to build this combination in one box

So finally, we returned to the previous concept. Snapdrive should be a development environment for distortion and overdrive effects and amp input stages as well. And it is very correct to see it as a breadboard. We will provide +/-15V, 9V, 5V, advanced switching with true bypass, pre-build circuits and circuits that can be manually modified. In addition to this, we will add a module with a tube and a high voltage power supply. At the moment we are thinking of the concept but it should be a chain of modules which can be connected in series and can be assigned in one of 3 channels.
I should make a drawing it will save thousands of words.

[ghostsauce]

This will sell. Just make sure the final product looks trendy enough to appeal to the smartphone crowd and you will be laughin'. Sounds wicked, great idea, looks like you're gonna pull it off well.

[R.G.]

For some very closely related ideas, see http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/fxbus/fxbus.htm from back in 2000.

I, too, expected some interest in the modularity. It was met with choruses of yawns.

[Brymus]

How do you find this sound. It is done by arranging several  FET and MOSFET blocks and some TONE controls. The recording is done straight into the sound card

https://soundcloud.com/emil-kirilov-2/fet-and-mosfet

For some single stage modules arranged on your board straight into a sound card?,WOW!
Nice crunch,sustain,and harmonics.
As part of EQ you could have several different spkr simulators,even mic placement modules as well.
Sort of hardware modeling instead of digital modeling,SMD would keep pre-built modules small and cost effective.
This reminds me of the Zvex board ,how did that work for him as IDK?

I wouldn't give up on the two different ideas,just let people choose which route they want to take.
I would imagine that some who start off,using "x" distortion,and "y" EQ would eventually get into making for example,a Dr Boogie.
And then say "what if I use these gain stages instead?" "or this cathode follower into the EQ?"
They would then have the ability to use the same platform to create their own,and maybe evolve to even building their own modules,ect.

[emil]

This reminds me of the Zvex board ,how did that work for him as IDK?

What is IDK?