PCB Board for AxisFace and Vox Clyde McCoy Wah clone?

[formerMember1]

hi,
I have read the GeoFx, and other sites over and over again about Circuit Board, Stripboard, Perfboard, etc... and also searched the forum.

I am about to send my order out to Smallbear and Mouser. I have my orders saved but need one last thing,(and most important)

I have decided to go with making a Circuit Board, or buying one off GGG or tonepad etc...  I need to keep the layout the same as shown on
http://fuzzcentral.tripod.com/axisfacesi.html     Since i am a beginner and don't want to make things more complicated.  I already spoke to someone on this forum, (mojotron) about using the boutique fuzz from GGG, and building the Axis Face on that board.  It seems i would still need to jumper some things,(i think).  also i still need a board for my wah and output buffer in wah.  Did anybody ever use the wah board from GGG to build a Vox CLyde McCoy wah on it?  Was it a perfect match or is there a lot of difficulty adapting the Vox to that board.  Also what about the output buffer, that can't be built on that GGG board right?  

Also, what about the wah pc board from GGG.  I am using off board enclosed jacks.  So how do you stop the board from shorting out by touching the inside of the enclosure?(i am talking about the the solder side)

thanks for the help :wink:

Anyone think i should just build my own boards for these to pedals?
I know it has been talked about before, and even though i read stuff on it many times, i will go read it again before i post any questions pertaining to making my own board for these two pedals.

thanks again

[jimbob]

I have the mod board from GGG. Awsome quality! You can tweak it a million diff ways. I also have his direct replacemnt board that you can do a lot with to. He sent out my last boards in few days. Quick shipper.

The buffer CAN be built for that board as well. I built the replacemnt board as the McCoy w no prob. I just used a Fasel I bought from Aron. I also added a 5p2t for cap switching.

[neon333]

If I were you I would slow down a little bit and do some more homework.
There are a ga-zillion sites out there (some of which are linked on this site in the wiki and the faq) about basic electronics, soldering, and board making, etc., read them over and over again.

I started out by doing mods to a crybaby wah and ruined the board because of poor soldering technique.  Go to your local electronics store and get a soldering iron (if you don't already have one), solder, any blank board w/ traces, a grab bag of resistors and start practicing your soldering skills.  KEEP READING!

I, like you, am pretty new to this stuff.  It's not enough to just buy a board and components, follow a layout and, come up with a killer pedal.  It really helps if you have even a rudimentary understanding of how the circuit works.  Only now, after about six months of homework, is it all starting to make the smallest bit of sense to me.

Nope, I haven't even tried a pedal build yet.  Right now I'm playing around with four different free schem/pcb design apps.  They are frustrating the crap out of me at the moment but, I have also gained some valuable insights about circuit design, schem. reading and layout design.

Be patient and I think/hope that you will save yourself some headaches down the road.

Just my 2 bits.

Good luck,
Joe

[jimbob]

started out by doing mods to a crybaby wah and ruined the board because of poor soldering technique

Hehe - I actually did the exact same thing when i first started. It was a dunlop gcb-95. Messed up all kinds of stuff on it. In a way I wished Id have waited in a way- but then again that board sucked IMO.

As far as make your own board or buy? Im doing both. All bout convience for me.

[formerMember1]

neon333:oh no man, i could solder great.  I have loads of parts already and such.  What i meant by my post was where i could get a pc board for a Vox CLyde McCoy clone and axis face.  i meant that i read EVERYTHING  about boards and such and came to the conclusion that i will either buy a pc board from GGG or tonepad, and if they don't fit my needs than i will make my own.
thanks for your interest though  :wink:

The buffer CAN be built for that board as well. I built the replacemnt board as the McCoy w no prob. I just used a Fasel I bought from Aron. I also added a 5p2t for cap switching.

You mean an output buffer for driving fuzzfaces correctly, right?  Did you mean you built it directly on the GGG mod wah board, or you built it seperately and ran wire to the ggg board? Would you recommend the GGG modwah board or the GGG wah board for a Vox CLyde McCoy wah?
I guess trimp pots can't fit on the standard wah board, right?

It was a dunlop gcb-95.but then again that board sucked IMO.

yeah that board is cheaply made, traces come off most of the time.  I want to start off new for the wah.  I took everything out of the wah and placed it in the trashcan. Same with my dunlop fuzz.  I just kept the enclosures to mount an axis face and the wah in them.

[jimbob]

You mean an output buffer for driving fuzzfaces correctly, right? Did you mean you built it directly on the GGG mod wah board, or you built it seperately and ran wire to the ggg board? Would you recommend the GGG modwah board or the GGG wah board for a Vox CLyde McCoy wah?
I guess trimp pots can't fit on the standard wah board, right?

Thats the output buffer im talking about. I made mine from Phillips site. Its only like 6 components. Find a scrap pice of perf. I ran my wires from there to my board.Man, i wish I had pics! I had a zillion wires as i modded it soo much experimenting. If you search here I posted my finds as I cant recall all them right now. I used the regular  wah board from GGG on the one I modded. The GGG board is big enough to install the trimmers but I would place regular pots that can be mounted on the outside of the enclosure for  fine tuning. GEO has a article about what all everything does and GGG has this which ROCKS   http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/instructions/wah_mod_notes.txt Great info and an easy read!

[formerMember1]

yeah i read all that stuff o geofx and GGG already but thanks anyway.

yeah that is where i am getting most of my info and parts list(fuzzcentral).

just to make sure i am understanding your post correctly:

You used the standard wah board from GGG and was able to install some 100k trimmers (and other value trimmers). NOT the mod wah board.  i don't really want to add all that extra pots to pedal enlosure and stuff.  I just want to be able to mount trimmers on the PC Board so that i could tweak the Q resistor from 33k to 100k and also the input resistor for volume fix. (and a few other resistors).  I don't want to socket the resistors and buy a bunch of different values.  Then i want to leave it that way or later turn a trim pot for a different sound.

Did you ever try the PRO POT?
I ordered the ProPOt and Halo inductor off Banzai effects in germany.

Is the GGG Board just a replica of the GCB-95 board?  Did you have to jumper some of the traces or anything?  I don't want that stupid INPUT BUFFER stuff on there that dunlop puts in there. Does the standard wah board at GGG have places to mount pc jacks.  I want to mount mine off the PCB.

thanks for your help man

[mojotron]

formerMember1 - you seem like the kind of person that might want the capability to build your own boards. It's really pretty simple, but you do need to have a laser printer, I started with one of those kits a while ago from Radio Shack - which actually a pretty good start.

[Fret Wire]

It's really pretty simple, but you do need to have a laser printer

Before you spend Ritchie's money, I'd like to point out that us injet folks make pcb's just fine with the photo resist method.  Hell, I'd still do it if I had an laser printer. Some folks like to iron, some folks like to develop. There's a couple of good ways to skin that pcb cat.

Btw Ritchie, I getting confused, what wah shell are you using? A Dunlop GBC-95?

[mojotron]

It's really pretty simple, but you do need to have a laser printer

Before you spend Ritchie's money, I'd like to point out that us injet folks make pcb's just fine with the photo resist method.  Hell, I'd still do it if I had an laser printer. Some folks like to iron, some folks like to develop. There's a couple of good ways to skin that pcb cat.

Btw Ritchie, I getting confused, what wah shell are you using? A Dunlop GBC-95?

Yep you're right, there are several ways to make boards, the printer method is just one way to do this. But, I think the expense, and required patiance, is the same either way - assuming you don't want a new printer for this sort of thing.

[Fret Wire]

I think they are exactly the same in regards to work and effort, just different paths to the same end.

[mojotron]

I think they are exactly the same in regards to work and effort, just different paths to the same end.

I hear that you can get smaller traces ane even more detail with the photo resist method. I'll try it some day when I need to do more detailed stuff.

Is there a way to make a metal surface work with the photo resist method?

I ask because for something like etching an enclosure (which looks really great) the photo resist method would be a cool thing to try.

[Fret Wire]

You can get finer detail and smaller traces if you safeguard against light bleed thru under the traces. A heavy glass weight and opaque tracing paper take care of that.

To make it work with an enclosure, you need a way to apply the photo resist material to the metal. If they make a liquid or aerosol resist solution, it would be scary easy to do. Coat the box, lay the transparency over the box, weight it down with glass, and develop. Dunk it in the resist remover, then into the etching tub. I'll have to look around and see if someone makes such a liquid. :wink:

What's driving me nuts is trying to find stencil making supplies so I can do copper, nickel, and gold plated graphics on like plated boxes.  

[formerMember1]

Btw Ritchie, I getting confused, what wah shell are you using? A Dunlop GBC-95?

yeah, it is a GCB-95 enclosure.  I was goin to modify that pedal but the boards traces are just popping off right and left.   Plus there is all that buffer junk on there.(i know how to get rid of it though)

I will probably get a laser printer and make my own boards.  I just bought a new computer 2 months ago and they threw a 59.99$ inkjet in there.  After rebate i only spent 10 bucks on it anyway.  Can i just get the cheapest laser printer i could find?

by the way, GGG emailed me with a diagram, (just for me) :lol:
so i don't need to use the caps and stuff on his modable wah board.
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/wah_mod_lo_no_switches.gif

thanks

[mojotron]

...  Can i just get the cheapest laser printer i could find?
...

Older HPs do a good job, I got one off of ebay, rebuilt it using roller kits... it was a pain, but I really like what I ended up with after about 5 hours of work and $100. I chose an HP that used the HP "micro-fine" fuser because that stuff makes great boards with PNP

[formerMember1]

Anyone know what size board i should get from small bear for the Axis FACe, Vox CLyde McCoy wah and output buffer i am building?

He sells 3"x 4", 4" x 6" and 6" x 8" sizes.  thanks