Al Heeley

[quote name='Mikey R' post='581370' date='Aug 26 2009, 01:43 PM']Al, have you tried making one up yourself? Surely its just a well shielded transformer followed by a full wave rectifier and a regulator.[/quote] Sounds like a good idea whilst I have the soldering iron out: [url="http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/ss-ps4_lo.gif"]http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/ss-ps4_lo.gif[/url]

You can make a fibreglass mould from a wood-body blank and then use that mould for making geetar bodies, so thats not a costly or lengthy process at all if you're in the GRP industry. Only good for half a dozen runs though. So for proper commercial mfr, a hugely costly cnc-milled metal mould may be required.

[quote name='steve' post='580811' date='Aug 25 2009, 11:34 PM']...some kind of rudimentary tone control could be useful[/quote] I get a much brighter signal thru this Llama than other distortion.overdrive.fuzz boxes I've built, even with the phat mod - not a bad thing for a lead guitar to cut thru but not so much needed for the bass. Be interested to hear how you get on with your mods.

Now that sounds clever! The other mod suggested was to add a 10k pot in parallel to the Cap3 33nf, so that the hi-pass effect could be tapered off to allow more bass - sort of like adding a tone ctrl to it. Again, not yet tried myself but in the pipeline - must get me a breadboard. Re: tant cap, they are polar, yes? Is that influencing the signal in the path vs a non-polar cap irrespective of its value?

Just bought a (cheap) 6-daisy chain 9v supply myself but not tried it yet. AC hum from cheap power supplies is well documented, advice is to spend a lot more to get a quiet one, like a Dunlop brick, but i can't justify the expense yet. It may be a contribution from the cheap parts in the unit, poor grounding or also noise in the ring mains where you're plugged in. Sorry this doesn't really help you much, I'll let you know when I get a chance to try out my fx chain next at gig volume.

well the difference isn't huge as I guess theres more in play than just one cap value in the circuit to contribute to the freq balance, but it does seem to allow the freqency range to 'breathe' a little more. What I need to try is also the increase to cap 3 to maybe .5uf or 1uf at the same time as the 68nf to 1uf cap 1, that should have more significant tone change for bass. Sure sounds great for lead guitar though

Splendid - is that a bit Elephanty? Do you find your windows rattle? Your interior wiring is a lot neater than mine! I got some craft spray in a rattle can from B&Q. It's a bit soft but once fully dried the clear acrylic lacquer gives it a harder finish. Next time I want to try some of those more doody halfords metal-effect rattle cans.

Wasn't it Ampeg, released the clear plexiglass guitars in the 70's ? - (Dan Armstrong plexi, 1969) now seen as vintage collectables. i think they did a bass and a lead, as pupularised by the classic Chic line up. Heavy, hard to machine precisely, not known for its tonal qualities, I think it may have been released as a gimmick but its now a classic and they're doing a limited number of reissues now. I have a feeling Yamaha released a plastic or maybe composite-bodied lead guitar last year too,. sleek white lines, flush fitted controls and a couple of doody LED's built in for good measure. Not sure how well it did, guitarists are notoriously conservative, if it don't look a bit stratty or les paully they wouldn't be able to pose with it at a gig. bassists are on the whole a lot more imaginative

Found some:------> [url="http://musical-instruments.shop.ebay.co.uk/i.html?_nkw=pedal+connectors&_sacat=3858&_trksid=p3286.m270.l1313&_odkw=fx+pedal+connectors&_osacat=3858"]http://musical-instruments.shop.ebay.co.uk...mp;_osacat=3858[/url]

Don't forget you are building in a vintage road-worn value to your instrument by allowing it to develop a lilttle character from its gigs, etc. I believe adding a few cigarette burns to the headstock can also increase the value of your instrument. Don't miss the opportunity of allowing your instrument to collect value by protecting it from such daily wear. Scratches and chips are an investment.

So simple for people who are likely to have soldering irons and capacitors handy, probably means no demand for them commercially! Fisrt check is all comps in right place. This is not a prob with this circuit as its pretty simple. Second, as Nick says, ensure polarised caps are correctly aligned and transistor legs are correct. Third, I would just recheck for any dry solder joints, have a look under a magnifying lens if any solder joints look a little weak or dry, just reheat for a sec with the iron to get the solder flowing again. Fourth, use multimeter to trace current flow from battery through circuit. Remember to put a jackplug in the input to complete the circuit first! I checked all the copper track traces with a multimeter before sending so the pcb integrity should be fine. Fifth, use the audio probe technique to trace signal path. Most times, initial problem is resolved by finding a dry solder joint or maybe a solder blob spilling onto an adjacent track. Did u use a socket for your transistors, as many are very susceptible to heat? Good luck and hope you get it working.

Nick - did you mod yours at all for bass freq's or use standard component values?

Hey thats great - many thanks! Order being placed - Just need to find those really short male-to-male jack plugs now.

Silent Fly: I knew with the Llama I was going to do a little modding, extra switch, etc as well as put some DC power into it so I thought it would be easier to build into a bigger enclosure. The pcb is held in place with some firm foam rubber blocks with slots cut in to them so its cushioned, held quite firm byt is also easliy removed if need be. Now I need some expertise from you for getting the enclosures looking a bit more professional! Umph: Thx for the info, neat idea with the clean blend, the Llama is pretty good at fairly clean boost as well, a big range of gain available. Steve: Must get round to sorting out sound clips. At the moment I'm enjoying playing lead guitar thru these, really warm, thick overdrive soound. The Bass Drive starts to break up into fuzz territory a bit in the low frequencies, but overall, pretty nice for a simple 2-tranny circuit.

aah, thank you - didn't know Plat Waves had their own version, pity UK prices remain so inflated compared to USA.

No, all different circuits mate, the Llama is another classic, one of Tom Petty's favourites I'm told. Also known as the Tube Fuzz - better suited to lead guitar but a pretty good ranging fuzz for bass once a few caps have been swapped out.

All schematics from DIYstompbox.com Here's this weekend's efforts, from left to right: 1) BassDrive pedal, sort of cross between a fuzz and an overdrive, capable of reasonably clean boost too. 2) Green Red Llama with my Phat Norm mod, which switches out the 68nF cap of the original for a 1uF cap to let the bass tones breathe a little more. Superb pedal for bass or lead, even better than the Tubescreamer, more high end bite and nmuch higher gain range. marvellous! Again, can be used to boost fairly clean or shockingly dirty 3) Bazz Fuss - really simple little circuit for some dirty bass fuzz with no nonsense. Not tried this for lead guitar yet as I had to nick the footswitch to put in the Red Llama.

I get mine omn ebay too - used same seller from Hong kong for about 4 lots of purchases now. They are fine, £12.50 for 3 inc. p&p, won't find cheaper if they are any good.

Does anyone know a UK source of the Core X2 connector kit for pedalboard wiring? (or a UK equivalent), to enable no-solder custom length connections with just a Stanley knife and Allen key?

Oh my, this is really coming together very nicely :wub:

Rather tasty is that. Puts a lot of pressure on the buyer to source an equally zingy piece for the rest of the guitar

Me like. Me want.

Must admit I didn't know Czernobyl was in Poland - I thought it was in Siberia ? :wacko:

Pedal arrives 2 days later - looks really good for £39, rugged, rounded, does what its supposed to do pretty silently (at home practice vol anyway) and range of cut/boost on the 7 bands is perfectly adequate for the job.

It would be lovely with a black pickguard, make an ideal add-on to any collection.