Al Heeley

if they are 2.5V, then you need to lose 4v from the 9V battery, (9-(2 x 2.5)) The LED's will be fine at 20 to 30mA current, so my ready reckoner says 180 Ohm resistor is needed. If you have 3 in series then you only need to drop 1.5V, which a 60 ohm resistor will do. Don't risk blowing your LEDs by skimping on the resistor unless you are sure they can take it. http://www.quickar.com/bestledcalc.php?session=

yep that should be fine, if you have them in series you can prob do away with any resistor, if you have them in parallel then each one needs its own resistor, they will be brighter but will drain your battery faster.

those resistors may be a bit much for the superbrights, you need a really bright light to shine thru the perspex effectively, I usually go for about 250 - 400ohm on one LED and 9V battery. For a normal stomp box indicator LED i would use about 1 - 2.5k no problem as it minimises battery drain and the light doesnt need to be really bright. The kit will do the job no problem but the LED's might appear a little weak.

Heres a glowplate I've added to the smaller format ross-comp clone pedal [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/al_heeley/IMG_3431.jpg[/IMG]

I can't imagine theres a technical reason why a blob of solder on a terminal would change a cable's resistance, inductance or capacitance significantly, that might lead to the cable sounding duller. If it's made the electrical contact and its firm, then it should be good to go.

These are wired 2 pairs in parallel with one single resistor (about 300R fell out of the bag) from the battery. For the smaller size enclosures I just use 2 LEDS in series at 1/3 spacing down the centre, if that makes sense. The domed top of the LED is sanded flat so they lie flush in the perspex, I believe the scratched top surface then helps the light to bounce back and out into the perspex but don't hold this to too much scientific scrutiny...

Heres a WIP - the base plate has had the rim filed off it, the perspex plate has been cut, sanded and drilled, 4 x 5mm holes drilled to take the LEDs that will be wired up to the DC jack/battery. I plan to mount a couple of LEDs sunk into the eye sockets of one of the skulls to act as the on/off indicator.

the ebs multi comp seems to get a lot of favour from bass players. thx - will keep my eyes open

Thanks - I'm not a ferrari man, rather more second hand 3-series BMW really; I think all the electronic differences in method are lost on me for now. Can you suggest a relatively cheap (sub £50) entry-level compressor that is worth a play with, that might be ok for gigging? I don't want to spend £140 - £200 on s'thing that I'm not convinced works for me but £40 - £ 50 is worth a punt to dip my toe in, so to say. Is it false economy if all the cheap comps are really pants? Are there any half decent cheap models worth a go? Do you have to spend over £100 to get something decent?

Ah, I think you mean they achieve a similar thing but using different methods. To ask for opinions on a forum only to be greeted with "my favourite is not necessarily your favourite" is not really worth the effort posting. What is it about your favourite that makes it so? What way does it compress, what tonal qualities are lent by the unit that makes you prefer it above the 300 other choices? On what basis would you recommed it if someone asks for your opinion? Now that's a discussion.

its the knobs and the lights really, especially the lights. But really, how can you say they all do different things? Surely they are sold as compressors so they all compress. If I spend good money on a compressor then when i took it home it sounded like a flanger or a whammy pedal I'd be most perturbed.

Not wishing to hijack this thread, but what is the best compressor for under £50?

Warmoth are expensive but they are really good quality. I cannot comment on the P-bass replacement necks but my gecko bass neck is not too thick, it is really well crafted and top quality woods. THe neck is a bit heavy but not a problem, it balances well. Are they worth £350? Hmmm, depends on your income and priorities, I think only you can make that judgement.

here is everything you need to know.... http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=66840.0

i was going to suggest same, taking a few small scraps from inside the ctrl cavity or pup routing, then it is the same tree.

yep, thats all it is, 4 red LED's wired in to the jack socket so it glows when its plugged in (normally always mains power on my pedal board) Theres a big long thread on DIYstompboxes about it, worth a read through, just watch your screw lengths as I've run into problems keeping smaller enclosures securely closed once the perspex bling sandwich is inserted. What would be cooler is bicolour LED's which are green or yellow to indicate power on, then turn red or blue when you activate the effect. Problem is the bicolour LED's I have are really weak so don't give much of an illumination through the perspex

a little added bling for the dark pub gigs [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v609/al_heeley/?action=view&current=IMG_3426.jpg][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/al_heeley/th_IMG_3426.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

coil resistance is always quoted as a measure of the output level. Most guitarists feel that bigger is better. Now string manufacturers are cashing in on selling even higher output strings as an additional benefit.

Been looking at that little white MXR compressor with the 5 knobs on it, cos it looks really cool, but I'm currently playing thru a slightly noisy home-made dynacomp clone. To be honest I feel there's a pressure to be using one since I see most of the advanced players make use of them but my ears are struggling to appreciate the benefits. Maybe its the raucous punk and Green Day stuff we bash out in pub gigs that isn't really conducive to the more subtle effects like compression. I'm guessing if the benefitsd are not really that apparent to me then thats a sign I don't really need one.

I've got a covered one bought cheap from ebay - put into the 5-string fanned fret bass i put together a few years ago, just checked the resistance, it's about 4.3k! You want it? Send me a pm Note: mine has no 4-conductor wiring, just earth and live; with this resistance it may just be a single coil in a plastic shell...

Just finished another Small Clone Chorus pedal (tone pad.com circuit) with 4-position voice setting, heartbeat LED indicator. A great, lush, analog chorus for bass or guitar. [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/al_heeley/IMG_3417.jpg[/IMG]

ok i like slinkys, i'm also interested in getting harmonics from frets I've never got harmonics from before (probably not my frets) but most of all I'm interested in the higher output since I sometimes have the volume on 10 and i'm still getting blasted by the guitarist.

Thanks - I've had some stuff from Dr Tweeks before , just knobs, LED's and some components. I've used Axes'r'us for years and think they are great but their pots are normally 250k or 500k for guitar wiring, I'll need some 2k, 10k, 50k, 100k, 500k pots in log and linear which can sometimes be a pain in sourcing. You can normally foind most of the ones you need at one outlet but then have to pay a lot of postage to get a single value from someone overseas, that no-one else stocks. All part of the game I guess.

Put together a few more pedals recently, being let down by the cheap pots from ebay, the taper is pants on them so theres sometimes a very low threshold between nowt and lots when you twiddle the knob, ramps are non-linear and you can't dial in the level accurately. Any suggestions as to where to buy better quality proper taper (lin and log) pots of various values please? Pity to spoil a good pedal build with a £0.69 china pot.

they are a classic workhorse, comfy narrow neck, versatile sounds but they are no boutique bass.