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A project log for Open Source Analog Effects Pedal

A modular platform for developing and trading guitar (and other) audio effects. Focus on, but not limited to, pure analog signal path.

joshJosh 11/11/2014 at 15:160 Comments

After my long shot to make it to the semi-finalist round of the Hackaday prize did not pan out, I had to put this project on the back burner in order to focus on some more pressing life issues. In the mean time, however, I did manage to begin breaking down some common analog circuits to modularize them. The following is a list of potential module types:

Each one of these types form basic building blocks, which can be assembled in a linear fashion to create a complete pedal.

As an example, to build a TS-808 you would assemble the following:
Input → Buffer → Op-amp based distortion → Active tone control → Passive attenuator → Flip flop switch → Buffer → Output.

Another example; to build a Big Muff, you would assemble the following:
Input → Buffer → Passive attenuator → Transistor based distortion → Transistor based distortion → Passive tone control → Buffer → Passive attenuator → Output.

It's easy to see then that hybrids of these pedals could be attempted by swapping out transistor distortion for op-amp distortion, or even stacking entire sections of pedals together.

How about an 808-Muff?
Input → Buffer → Op-amp based distortion → Transistor based distortion → Passive tone control → Buffer → Passive attenuator Output.

Or how about using LFO and an active attenuator to create distortion vibretto?

Vibrostortion:
LFO → active attenuator ↘
Input → Buffer → Op-amp based distortion → Active tone control → Passive attenuator → Buffer → Output

In future posts, I'll be sharing the generalized layouts of the specific module types.

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