This Week on the Breadboard: The 'lectric Mama Flanger
- Thread starter Chuck D. Bones
- Start date
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
I tried MOSFETs and BJTs for Q1, they all sound the same. If you use a BJT, get one with a high HFE so it biases correctly and doesn't load the 3207.
I experimented with C29, which sets the clock freq range. Larger values of C29 gets this circuit into chorus territory. I went as high as 1nF.
The filtering is a compromise between being bright enough and filtering out charge pump noise from other pedals. The best solution for dealing with charge pump noise is to reduce it at the source. Easier said than done.
I spent some time studying the interaction between the BLEND and COLOUR controls. The two controls will always interact because the COLOUR control changes the peak amplitude of the wet signal. I configured this circuit so that when BLEND is dimed, the mix stays balanced for all COLOUR settings. When COLOUR and BLEND are set to zero, we get 100% dry signal. Advancing either control from zero adds in some wet signal. For high settings of the COLOUR control, BLEND changes the timbre more than it changes the mix.
If you don't have a scope, you can set the trimmers by ear and get close enough.
I experimented with C29, which sets the clock freq range. Larger values of C29 gets this circuit into chorus territory. I went as high as 1nF.
The filtering is a compromise between being bright enough and filtering out charge pump noise from other pedals. The best solution for dealing with charge pump noise is to reduce it at the source. Easier said than done.
I spent some time studying the interaction between the BLEND and COLOUR controls. The two controls will always interact because the COLOUR control changes the peak amplitude of the wet signal. I configured this circuit so that when BLEND is dimed, the mix stays balanced for all COLOUR settings. When COLOUR and BLEND are set to zero, we get 100% dry signal. Advancing either control from zero adds in some wet signal. For high settings of the COLOUR control, BLEND changes the timbre more than it changes the mix.
If you don't have a scope, you can set the trimmers by ear and get close enough.
benny_profane
Well-known member
Would it be worth it to have two capacitors on a toggle? Also, do you have a clock range to bias with frequency measurements instead of a scope?
cooder
Well-known member
@Chuck D. Bones awesome stuff, so would it be a good idea to put C29 onto a three way toggle to have say 150pf in middle position, add 220pf (total 370p) in down position, add 1n in upper position (total 1120pF)?
PS: kudos for spelling COLOUR the correct way ....
PS: kudos for spelling COLOUR the correct way ....
cooder
Well-known member
@benny_profane ... just posted that too, great minds think alike...
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
Oh, so 6 knobs isn't enough? You guys want a toggle switch too? 
The RANGE control has a huge, well, uh, range. My advice is build it and see for yourself. You can probably find one capacitor value that does what you want.
The RANGE control has a huge, well, uh, range. My advice is build it and see for yourself. You can probably find one capacitor value that does what you want.
Not sure I understand the question.
cooder
Well-known member
"Oh, so 6 knobs isn't enough? You guys want a toggle switch too?" @Chuck D. Bones
.... and onboard relay bypass...
We'll see how this all pans out then!
.... and onboard relay bypass...
We'll see how this all pans out then!
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
You should be able to share the +5V reg between the STOMPLFO chip and the relay controller.
benny_profane
Well-known member
I meant is the clock frequency range defined (i.e., min/max expressed in Hz). I misinterpreted what you meant when referring to setting up with the scope. I thought you meant setting up the clock.
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
I can measure the min/max clock freq if you're interested. The clock freq is inversely proportional to C29 (for reasonable values of C29). The BBD delay is 512 / Fclk.
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
I measured the clock freq range on my breadboard.
Fmin = 28.7KHz
Fmax = 272KHz
Those clock frequencies produce a BBD delay time (td) from 1.88ms to 17.8ms.
Flangers produce a series of notches in the freq response. The lowest freq notch occurs at 2 / td. The higher freq notches occur at odd multiples of the 1st notch freq. For instance, with Fclk = 51.2KHz, td is 10ms and the notches are at 200Hz, 600Hz, 1KHz, 1.4KHz, 1.8KHz, 2.2KHz, 2.6KHz, etc.
The bottom end of the RANGE control produces enough delay to get into the chorus range. Bumping C29 up to 680pF or 1nF will produce a stronger chorus effect. Be aware that slower sample rates produce more distortion and noise.
This article is worth a read:
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/chorus-flange-and-phase-pedals-difference/
Fmin = 28.7KHz
Fmax = 272KHz
Those clock frequencies produce a BBD delay time (td) from 1.88ms to 17.8ms.
Flangers produce a series of notches in the freq response. The lowest freq notch occurs at 2 / td. The higher freq notches occur at odd multiples of the 1st notch freq. For instance, with Fclk = 51.2KHz, td is 10ms and the notches are at 200Hz, 600Hz, 1KHz, 1.4KHz, 1.8KHz, 2.2KHz, 2.6KHz, etc.
The bottom end of the RANGE control produces enough delay to get into the chorus range. Bumping C29 up to 680pF or 1nF will produce a stronger chorus effect. Be aware that slower sample rates produce more distortion and noise.
This article is worth a read:
https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/chorus-flange-and-phase-pedals-difference/
Last edited:
Bricksnbeatles
Member known well
I’ve just realized that the tapLFO lacks the offset CV of and depth CV inputs of the stompLFO, which are arguably the most important controls to have in a flanger, so while the additional 8 waveforms, wave-shaping ‘distort’ feature, and tap tempo subdivisions would be nice to have, it would be much more trouble to adapt to Chuck’s design than I initially was thinking about.
The stompLFO also has double the max speed of the TapLFO, so that’s pretty cool.
cooder
Well-known member
What. A. Crazy. Mofo.
In the best sense of the word.
Dial on the wave knob and it takes you through weird and wonderful whacky worlds of flanging LFOs, I wasn't quite prepared for how whacky it can get, lol....
Of course there's the more 'normal' flanger sounds as well that I better start myself off with to get fully into it, and yes having the blend knob is definitely a good move to be able to get it calmed down a bit.
The colour knob makes a massive difference too and dialing the top range of that with internal trimmer is important; it scared the beejezuz out of me first when I dialed that up and got into feedback zone.
Awesome design, mad genius I'd say. And I'm glad I had another spare 3102 left here after Chuck hooked me up (via a generous you know who person here) to a 3207 as well.
It's all go, hold on to the swoosh and swirl. Time to celebrate with a bit of photobombing.
As you can see in the gutshots she's a bit of a tight affair in there, I had two caps mounted underneath board and the inductor was meant to go underneath as well. However, I had only a 1000uH inductor which measured on the CCCT 840uH. I might replace that with a closer to optoimum 750uH when I get some.
Thanks so much for the awesomesauce projects here, all hail Chuck and the Boneyard me thinks.
In the best sense of the word.
Dial on the wave knob and it takes you through weird and wonderful whacky worlds of flanging LFOs, I wasn't quite prepared for how whacky it can get, lol....
Of course there's the more 'normal' flanger sounds as well that I better start myself off with to get fully into it, and yes having the blend knob is definitely a good move to be able to get it calmed down a bit.
The colour knob makes a massive difference too and dialing the top range of that with internal trimmer is important; it scared the beejezuz out of me first when I dialed that up and got into feedback zone.
Awesome design, mad genius I'd say. And I'm glad I had another spare 3102 left here after Chuck hooked me up (via a generous you know who person here) to a 3207 as well.
It's all go, hold on to the swoosh and swirl. Time to celebrate with a bit of photobombing.
As you can see in the gutshots she's a bit of a tight affair in there, I had two caps mounted underneath board and the inductor was meant to go underneath as well. However, I had only a 1000uH inductor which measured on the CCCT 840uH. I might replace that with a closer to optoimum 750uH when I get some.
Thanks so much for the awesomesauce projects here, all hail Chuck and the Boneyard me thinks.
giovanni
Well-known member
Which PCB is that? Some existing flanger board that you used to build Chuck’s circuit?!?What. A. Crazy. Mofo.
In the best sense of the word.
Dial on the wave knob and it takes you through weird and wonderful whacky worlds of flanging LFOs, I wasn't quite prepared for how whacky it can get, lol....
Of course there's the more 'normal' flanger sounds as well that I better start myself off with to get fully into it, and yes having the blend knob is definitely a good move to be able to get it calmed down a bit.
The colour knob makes a massive difference too and dialing the top range of that with internal trimmer is important; it scared the beejezuz out of me first when I dialed that up and got into feedback zone.
Awesome design, mad genius I'd say. And I'm glad I had another spare 3102 left here after Chuck hooked me up (via a generous you know who person here) to a 3207 as well.
It's all go, hold on to the swoosh and swirl. Time to celebrate with a bit of photobombing.
As you can see in the gutshots she's a bit of a tight affair in there, I had two caps mounted underneath board and the inductor was meant to go underneath as well. However, I had only a 1000uH inductor which measured on the CCCT 840uH. I might replace that with a closer to optoimum 750uH when I get some.
Thanks so much for the awesomesauce projects here, all hail Chuck and the Boneyard me thinks.
Chuck D. Bones
Circuit Wizard
Cooder designed the board and the graphics. Excellent work, as always!
jeffwhitfield
Well-known member
Me want! Where can I get a PCB for that? Lovely work! 
