I'm a total noob and having fun with breadboarding. I've come across several super easy builds (like booster easy) that i'm working through. These are all single stage type amps.
Here's my list so far:
LPB-1 http://beavisaudio.com/bboard/projects/bbp_LPB1.pdf (http://beavisaudio.com/bboard/projects/bbp_LPB1.pdf)
COT 50 http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.com/2008/02/clock-of-tone-50-modifed-cot50.html (http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.com/2008/02/clock-of-tone-50-modifed-cot50.html)
Rangemasters
SHO http://hotbottles.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/building-a-z-vex-sho-clone-from-scratch/ (http://hotbottles.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/building-a-z-vex-sho-clone-from-scratch/)
Super cool SHO modhttp://revolutiondeux.blogspot.com/2009/01/fred-briggs-overdrive.html (http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.com/2009/01/fred-briggs-overdrive.html)
And just a hair harder...
Purple Plexi http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.com/2008/10/lovepimple-purple-pills-lovepedal.html (http://revolutiondeux.blogspot.com/2008/10/lovepimple-purple-pills-lovepedal.html)
Any other suggestions of cool pedals with similar complexity?
Thanks!@
If you can breadboard those, there's a ton of cool stuff you can breadboard of increasing complexity. This is sticking just with transistor circuits
AMZ mini booster - JFETs, but without biasing.
AMZ MOSFET booster - learn about using bias/reference voltages.
Fuzz Face: Make it easy on yourself and do it with silicon transistors.
Take what you've learned with single-stage boosts and you can breadboard the following:
ROG Improved EA Tremolo: This is kind of like a MOSFET booster with a really really simple transistor-based LFO involved.
Magnavibe: Uses a similar LFO to the EA Tremolo, but you get to play with light dependent resistors and blinky LEDs.
Bearhug Compressor: Not to blow my own horn, but simply because it's a compressor using two simple gain stages (one is the MOSFET booster), and then the compression happens in a way similar to the EA Tremolo creating its tremolo.
Skreddy Screwdriver: This adds a MOSFET booster of sorts to the front of a fuzz face. And you get to play with tone filtering in the bass and treble controls.
Big Muff Pi: Looks complicated at first ... until you realize it's just for gain stages in a row. You get to play with feedback loop diode distortion as well. TONS of stuff to play with in this circuit. It's why there's ten million muff variants.
I could go on ... but this should keep you busy for a while.
Wow, that EA trem looks alot simpler than I would have thought it should be. Thanks!
I've enjoyed your pedal reviews on youtube.
Bazz Fuss (http://home-wrecker.com/bazz.html)
Complexity can largely be determined by...
Number of components, crossing wires and node connections.
For Bipolar or Opamps...understanding LFO's etc. is a bit more complex.
For phasers etc. starting with a well made well marked [shows all component places and polarities etc.] board simplifies matters greatly, just make sure you have the correct value and orientation before soldering each piece.
Quote from: petemoore on April 01, 2013, 02:51:38 PM
Complexity can largely be determined by...
Experience! ;D
Op amps are easy. Once you get used to reading them on schematics your world of possibilities gets way huge.
Buy some TL072s. There are 2 op amps on each 8-pin chip, and they're super cheap, like, $0.30-$0.70 depending on where you get them. Go to runoffgroove, or beavis audio, or tonepad or mad bean or somewhere with a lot of easy schematics (a google image site-specific search for this forum, like, "opamp overdrive site:diystompboxes.com" works well (https://www.google.com/search?q=opamp+overdrive+site:diystompboxes.com&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=I-9ZUZOYK4KRrQHwk4HoAQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAQ&biw=1600&bih=1105)) and just assume the TL072 will work (rarely, they will not). You'll find they're no more difficult to work with than a transistor, and often times, less.
Try a Blue Clipper, from one of the early gurus of guitar pedals, Dan Armstrong (Purple Peaker, Orange Squeezer, Green Ringer, etc.).