Projects update August 2013

Hi All!

I have been insanely busy lately building pedals. I have built a Deluxe version of my Tremolo,
a Deluxe Stereo version of the Vintage Vibe and a little point-to-point Germanium Booster.
I have entered the DIYStompboxes 10-year anniversary contest with the Tremolo and Vibe and for that I have made a few demo-video's.
The pictures and demo of the Tremolo will be posted this weekend, but I am going to redo the demo for the Stereo Vibe as I am really unhappy with it, and it doesn't do the pedal justice.

DELUXE STEREO TREMOLO

Meanwhile I finally figured out how I am going to build that Stereo Tremolo idea I had floating in my mind for more than a year. I'm am going to incorporate the Deluxe Tremolo's 'MODE' switch in it as well, so it will become quite a versatile pedal while still being quite simple to operate.

I'm going to name it 'Deluxe Stereo Tremolo', and it is going to have;
-a 'GLOW' knob to adjust the intensity of the effect.
-a 'PULSE' knob to adjust the speed of the effect.
-Stereo in- and outputs.
-a 2-way switch to select between Stereo/Mono
-a 5- or 6- way 'MODE' switch for each channel to select between 5 or 6 distinctly different sounds;
 1-Tremolo
 2-Tremolo with frequency modulation
 3-Frequency modulation
 4-Phaser
 5-Vibrato
by having a 'Mode' knob for each channel the signal will not only bounce between channels but will also morph between different effects while bouncing.

Note that this bouncing/morphing effect only lives inside my mind, and only after building it I will know how it will really sound.

OC45 BOOST

Earlier I have posted a picture of this little Rangemaster style germanium booster. It was a version built inside a small enclose with a belt-clip to attach it to my guitar-strap. It had a set input cap, hardwired for maxed-out level and no bypass-switch. This way purely something I customized toward my own preferences, but I can imagine not everyone would like to use it that way.
I use it as an always-on device and like how the metal box on the strap helps speeding up the relicing process of my guitar, but for those who cherish the shiny lacquer on their guitars I have build this floor-box version with true bypass, a 3-way hi-mid-full boost switch and a level knob.

After designing several turret-layouts I decided to make this one fully point-to-point, as I couldn't come up with a elegant layout that had an as short as possible wiring, which is quite important when working with noisy germanium transistors. I used the leftover solder lugs on the rotary switch as a tagboard. For the transistor I used an glass-enclosed OC45, which has probably been made somewhere in the '60's

 Finally.

I feel I have reached an important point in my brief history of building pedals.
When I started doing this 5-years ago all I knew about electronics was how to fix a battery-snap with duct-tape, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, especially forums like DIYStompboxes.com, freestompboxes.org and pages like geofex.com I managed to develop the skills to make pedals that are good enough and set themselves apart enough from other brands to be able to start my own company and perhaps one day even be able to fully make my living out of it.

I would like to thank everyone here, on my facebookpage and on the forums I visit for their positive feedback, as it really gives me the confidence I am on the right track.
Please don't hesitate commenting on my posts or let me know what kind of pedals/sounds/functions you would like to see from me. I take all musicians wishes into account to try and improve my products.

Greetings, Kay/Liquitone