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DIY Stompboxes => Building your own stompbox => Topic started by: rwebbart on December 15, 2011, 10:08:18 AM

Title: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps? (ANSWERED)
Post by: rwebbart on December 15, 2011, 10:08:18 AM
Sorry, I know there are a lot of "combine 2 effects threads" but I couldnt find one that addressed this specifically.

If I want to combine the 2 circuits in the top drawing, do I leave the clouded section in, or do I remove the output/input caps and pull down resistors and join them as in the second drawing? I know just hooking the input and output together would work, but are the extra caps necessary since the signal is already converted to DC and doesnt need to go back to AC until it leaves the second effect circuit?

Many thanks in advance for any conformation/correction and any elaboration on why!
(http://randywebb.net/diyfx/circuitquestion.jpg)
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: egasimus on December 15, 2011, 10:19:12 AM
Quote...two join to effects together
:o
you, sir, are a criminal.
I'm not going to help you now.
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: rwebbart on December 15, 2011, 10:32:31 AM
Quote from: egasimus on December 15, 2011, 10:19:12 AM
Quote...two join to effects together
you, sir, are a criminal.
I'm not going to help you now.

Oh, wow... The worst part is, they both said "to" and I went back to "correct" it. If I said I was only on my second cup of coffee, so Im not quite awake yet, would that help?
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: blueduck577 on December 15, 2011, 10:35:51 AM
Leave one of them.  Which one you want to leave is personal preference
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: rwebbart on December 15, 2011, 10:37:11 AM
Quote from: blueduck577 on December 15, 2011, 10:35:51 AM
Leave one of them.  Which one you want to leave is personal preference

Thanks, but can you briefly describe why so I can wrap my head around it better?
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: thedefog on December 15, 2011, 11:28:18 AM
So you're asking what is the purpose of the input/output cap and the pull down resistor?

Input cap acts as a high-pass filter - depending on the value in conjunction with a resistor to ground, you will roll off more or less of a frequency range. This is useful for taming certain effects and how they behave when they're amplified/filtered/etc.

The output capacitor is mainly used to block DC current. But they are sometimes used for filtering too.

Pull down resistor is for minimizing true bypass popping.
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: rwebbart on December 15, 2011, 11:32:53 AM
Quote from: thedefog on December 15, 2011, 11:28:18 AM
So you're asking what is the purpose of the input/output cap and the pull down resistor?

Input cap acts as a high-pass filter - depending on the value in conjunction with a resistor to ground, you will roll off more or less of a frequency range. This is useful for taming certain effects and how they behave when they're amplified/filtered/etc.

The output capacitor is mainly used to block DC current. But they are sometimes used for filtering too.

Pull down resistor is for minimizing true bypass popping.

Thanks, but I get that. I was asking about where i have the drawing above clouded. Why leave the one (as the other replies suggested) where they are joined which will become the middle of the circuit, not the input or output.
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: therecordingart on December 15, 2011, 11:41:01 AM
If you remove both caps you'll be applying DC from the previous stage to the next. By keeping one of the caps you are only passing the AC portion of the previous stage to the next stage.

If you remove the caps that is called DC coupling or direct coupling.
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: jafo on December 15, 2011, 11:41:13 AM
Both caps do the same thing; you only need one. It's not necessary to use both.

In fact, using both can be harmful, given the cutoff frequency of caps in series (the reciprocal of the summed reciprocals, or something like that).
Title: Re: To Combine 2 Circuits, Do you remove the Output/Input Caps?
Post by: rwebbart on December 15, 2011, 11:44:47 AM
@jafo & @therecordingart

Ding! You just made the lightbulb go on. I get it now! I appreciate it much.