moving along!

sooooo let's see...

some new-ish ideas that i'm making headway on:
*PWM fuzz is moving along - slowly but surely. i decided to go ahead and get PCBs fabricated for this, rather than make them on perfboard. they'll be way nicer looking!

*i'm working on another 2 overdrives, in addition to the fuck overdrive (which will be coming out in january) funny, because i was never really the biggest fan of overdrives (kind of why i named the first "fuck overdrive") and now i'm interested in making 3 different ones... ha! not sure if they'll all surface, but they're fun to work on.

*i'd like to get started on a cool blend/loop pedal with dual boosts and some other neat features - almost like a swiss army knife of a pedal! the basic block diagram is all laid out, i just need to hit the breadboard.

*warped record/MBV/boards of canada pedal is also slowly but surely under way!

i need another breadboard or two...

here's a pic of the next batch of TAFMs on their way to fuzzhugger.com. they should have them in stock some time next week...

overwhelmed... almost.

i just need to make a list.
finish all pending direct custom pedal orders.
finish all pending direct standard pedal orders.
finish all pending retail pedal orders.
finish run of PWM fuzzes.
finish testing/tweaking overdrive #2.
finish website.
order stamps, stickers, spraypaint, shipping boxes, on-off-on switches.
finalize drilling order.
make a silkscreen and make the order.
start planning next short run of pedals.
start planning next next short run of pedals.
start planning next production pedal.
start planning next next production pedal.
clean the shop.
put up more lights.
that's good for now. don't want to go too nuts here...

finally done with the layouts!

well, i had to change around my layouts a tiny bit which really sucks once all the routing is done, but no matter because they're all done! team awesome v5

now to get them all printed and fucking hope to jesus or whomever that they line up with the enclosures i'm getting drilled...

no new progress on the PWM, but i did come up with a simple, neat little overdrive that i may make a run of in the future. i have a few more things to add/refine and i'll be done with it.
i feel odd having working with 2 overdrives in such close proximity to each other, though it'll be very different than the fuck overdrive, that's for sure...

time for some new circuit boards!

every 25 pedals or so i need some new boards. it's nice as it allows me the luxury of updating the PCBs without having a ton of them on hand that may have had a small error or mis-label. i really enjoy this part of designing/building...

it's like figuring out a weird puzzle on a few different levels - you have the design of the pedal, the layout of the controls on the pedal, which in my case delineates at least partially the PCB layout, the component layout on the board and the routing associated. i often spend more time than i should on this stage since i try and get the most compact, efficient and aesthetically pleasing layout i can. some people are true artists when it comes to circuit layouts... that's what i'm striving for!

here are my layouts for the fuck overdrive and the newer year4545. i just started working on another tafm layout, which should be done by the weekend.

PWM fuzz cont. 2

if at first you don't succeed, try again.

the first layout (left) was, in theory, a good idea. certain aspects of it were nice, but overall the routing that was left would have been atrocious. the second layout, while not as aesthetically pleasing to my eye, works a bit better... though i still had to do some creative layout tricks.

the fuzz part of the layout is a piece of cake, but the modulation portion is a huge bitch... i probably spent more time on it than i should have, but i really want to keep the modulation and the audio sections as separate as possible - there was no audible ticking or noise on the breadboard except for when all controls were maxed out - even then it was usable noise... ;-)

thankfully now that the one is more-or-less done, the rest will be a lot easier. goddamn it's fucking freezing in the shop, though. it certainly doesn't help things...

the rest of my day.

PWM fuzz cont.

here's a short clip of the PWM fuzz in action. still thinking of a name for it...

PWM fuzz with random modulation

sweet. i've got this bad boy up and running the way i wanted it to sound.

*it goes from huge synth fuzz to thin nasal mosquito buzz with some nice reedy shades in-between.

*the modulation is pseudo random and has a solid range from super slow to crackle-y fast. there is also a CV input which disables the random source so you can use a periodic LFO or other source. i tested it with a 9v, 5v and bipolar 9v source. the 5v had the largest range with the depth pot, though the 9v worked ok too. the bipolar source worked, but the range was much smaller and as the circuit isn't designed to work with one, i would recommend against using it. your mileage may vary with the CV in, but most sources should work fine...

*i decided to also add a "chop" switch which makes the depth either really choppy and stark (almost tremolo) to smoother (though i disliked a very smooth setting and decided to omit one for simplicity).

*tons of output on this beast.

overall the random source is really interesting. there are lots of broken sounds here as well as some subtle movement - though single notes work fine, i think the circuit really shines on legato playing, after reverb or another modulation effect (phaser) or more sustained, notes. guitar and synth clips to follow later.