Lovetone clones - Wobulator, Doppelganger

[Shed_FX]

Hi all,

Im currently working on clones of the meatball, ring stinger, brown source, and big cheese. They are coming together nicely but as ever I have my eye on the next project. I’ve heard on the internet that a clone of the wobulator is in existence and was wondering if anyone has any information on it. I have some gut shots of the lovetone but they aren't clear enough to piece together a schematic.

If anyone has any photos of either of these pedals could they post them so I can begin to get them cloned. I think I’m correct that neither of these pedals are still in production so hopefully this isn’t treading on any toes. 

Hopefully this will be fruitful for all.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Dirk_Hendrik]

That clone was mine
I have made a few and have, with every one, run into the trouble again that it seems the design is pretty much tweaked on the components available. This meant that if somewhere in the circuit a component was used that was different in spec's (example the LED's used) that could cause other parts of the circuit not to work correctly. A normal LED in the front panel would cause the right channel LFO to "hang" meaning low current LED's were required. Furthermore the wob circuit is extremely sensitive to ticking noises radiated by the square wave part of the LFO's.

Wrapping up, it took me too much time to build one.
As for the schematic, I do share some of my reverse work but not all. Not this one. sorry.

[Shed_FX]

Thanks for the quick reply, sounds like it was quite a task and judging by your site you are waaaaayyyy ahead of me on technical proficiency. I think I my have to put the wobulator idea on the shelf!.

[Processaurus]

The 4ms Tremulous Lune works in a very similar way (optically), and has all kinds of extra options to pick and choose from, if all you're after is just a stereo tremolo that will do what lovetone's does. 

[Rectangular]

hey shed,  those four loveclone projects are great, I've been looking to finish the entire set as well. I know the doppleganger project exists, but as its rather complex, I'm more interested in doing the '?' Flanger with no name  first. if you want to team up and scrouge for reverse engineering data, let me know

we need to find someone who knows a guitar shop that has these pedals on rent, get them to rent it for a day, and take pics/ write down the values

[Dirk_Hendrik]

Are you sure a day is enough?
Double sided boards etc makes revirsing quite a PITA, especially fo the more complex lovetones like the ?

[markusw]

I think it could be done with a one- or two-day rental but the pics had to be really high-res and the values had to be sure.
The pics I have from the component side are unfortunately too blurry to even think of rev-engineering. You just can see that there are a lot of trannies.
If they are not labelled I'm pretty sure it will be a lot harder to rev-engineer (at least for me).

However, with some really good pics, best a couple of each PCB side and also detailed views from the jacks and switches I'm very confident the ?Flanger could be done. Provided, the part values are clear.....
Just my 2c...

Markus

 

[scotsman]

I know the doppleganger project exists.

It does?  I'd love to see it - the Dopp is on my short list of things I must build/own.

[Dirk_Hendrik]

. Provided, the part values are clear.....

OK....
Expect sanded IC's as a starter ,

The ? will undoubtly contain a BBD somewhere. Make use of reference schematics and Mark Hammer's BBDementia file to determine the type. Furthermore try to have a scope at hand to be able to measure minimal and maximal clock times, LFO waveforms etc etc. This will give you a lot of help setting up your clone.

[Rectangular]

dirk: from what I've seen, lovetone was a very cheap no-BS company, all their boards are single-sided and rely on very easy to find components. I've broken down the complete layout/parts list of a pedal in about 5-6 hours,  its even easier if you have a scanner or digital camera with good macro capabilities

the "?" Flanger has a daughter board, much like the audio transformer/diode ring  portion of the Ring Stinger. I'll bet 300 bucks it also contains at least one LED/LDR combination in plain sight. I'd also wager most of what's in the ?Flanger¿ we've already seen in the other LT pedals. some tl074's, maybe those BC549's

I'm completely down for cloning this thing, we just need some pics

-wreck tangle

[puretube]

http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=52565.0

[markusw]

The BBD seems to be a MN3207 + a  MN3102. There is just one (sanded) IC which suspiciously looks like a quad opamp 
From the pics I can't say whether the about 16 trannies are labelled.
And of course there are a couple of LED/LDR combos  Interestingly, there is also a OEP1200 audio transformer....

Furthermore try to have a scope at hand to be able to measure minimal and maximal clock times, LFO waveforms etc etc. This will give you a lot of help setting up your clone.

This would be great!! At least the clock freq ranges would be fine.
 

[Dirk_Hendrik]

all their boards are single-sided

The wob is not..

[markusw]

all their boards are single-sided

The wob is not..

Interesting! Must have been a different version than the one I've seen pictures of (v3).

[markusw]

Just had a look at the pics again....seems the trannies in the ?Flanger are labelled 

[Rectangular]

markus - where are these ?flanger pics ?  I'd love to have a look at them

dirk: really ?  double sided ? I would have thought the tremolo effect would be the simplest of the lovetones, excluding the cheese/brown source of course. there seem to be a few different revisions, I think the white/black jacks and black or blue paint jobs are the tell-tale for that

[markusw]

It's actually not correct that they are blurry..there are simply too many details missing for a serious attempt...

[Rectangular]

hey markus, is that the original image size, and are there any other shots ? is the photographer/owner known, do you think we could coax them for more info ?

q14 seems to be a BC3078, but I think its an exception, the rest are probably generic (dare I say bc549)

there are a few interesting bits, theres  some kind of resistor/diode tangle on the right side, and there's that big orange thing in the  top right corner, some kind of inductor ?

three LED/LDR combos ! score

-rec

[markusw]

Hey rec,

there are a couple of other pics but trust me, you won't gain much more information than from this one.
The big organge thing is a OEP1200 audio transformer.

resistor/diode tangle on the right side

That diode, resistor conglomerate is really interesting!

is the photographer/owner known, do you think we could coax them for more info ?

Yup, but he is far too busy to make a part's list and to take more pictures. Also he isn't really happy with the idea of disassembling his unit risking a damage.

 

[Shed_FX]

Its fantastic to see so much interest in getting these cloned and their secrets unlocked. Thank you puretube for posting that link for the doppelganger images they are some great images of the board side which should help a lot. Has anyone got any of the component side so i could begin to construct a schem even without values! Its really sad that they have stopped making these units commercially because they are so highly respected. I look forward to any future light we can shine on this to create a full back catelogue of loveclones.

The idea of hiring one is great and i will try and look into where i could do that. I know that a few famous guitarists live near me and are mentioned on the endorsement list of lovetone maybe ill go and knock on their doors!