DEMO Mini Heterodyne Receiver

This post contains an audio or video demo
DGWVI

DGWVI

Well-known member
Build Rating
5.00 star(s)
Still my least favorite of all the bigger PLLs I've played. The interactivity of the sub and oscillators overwhelms me, and it doesn't sound cool or unique enough to warrant that kinda stress :rolleyes::ROFLMAO: . It's tracking also leaves a lot to be desired without mods.

I kept this one stock, and it does it's thing. I'll let the crappy video guide you to your own judgment.

I might open it back up and play with the preamp and input filtering to reign in the tracking some, as I've done in the past. But, I won't make it a priority as I have other PLLs that I like considerably more

Board is beautifully laid out, and easy to assemble as is standard for PedalPCB's offerings. The SMD chips might seem daunting, but they're incredibly easy to solder, so long as you have a suitable tip- I personally do every pin individually.

I'd recommend it for fans of PLL synths and those on the search for a really lo-fi and limited harmonizer.
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Quality build and enlightening demo as always. So which one IS your favorite PLL? I’ve done the heterodyne, the flock, the Into the unknown, the multi wave mega, the c19, not sure if the Glitchee qualifies as a PLL per se, but has similar sounds. Feel like I’m forgetting at least one, but meh. Of my bunch the c19 and Glitchee are the least unruly, but I do love the multiwave even with it’s steep learning curve. I will say that the heterodyne was the first I built and I like it well enough, but really dislike the LFO setting for some reason
 
Diynot said:
Quality build and enlightening demo as always. So which one IS your favorite PLL? I’ve done the heterodyne, the flock, the Into the unknown, the multi wave mega, the c19, not sure if the Glitchee qualifies as a PLL per se, but has similar sounds. Feel like I’m forgetting at least one, but meh. Of my bunch the c19 and Glitchee are the least unruly, but I do love the multiwave even with it’s steep learning curve. I will say that the heterodyne was the first I built and I like it well enough, but really dislike the LFO setting for some reason
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My faves are the Into the Unknown, Theremin, 0415, the Multiwave Mini, and the Schadenfreude. None of those really do the harmonizing thing outside of offering multiple octaves, but they all track better, and have a wider range of things they can do. And, admittedly, I don't like the LFO functions on the ones that offer them, but having the filters, and built in ring mod action that a few do, those appeal to me more.
The Ugly Face doesn't really count, but it cops a lot of the same tones for the straight PLL fuzz textures, and that's become a favorite of mine

Yeah, they kinda butchered their take on the Theremin portamento thing. It's super close to the one used on Parasit's Theremin and ItU, if you wanna mod it to be a little better
 
Diynot said:
I’ve seen you mention the ugly face a couple times and since I trust your judgment in the weird noise department I may have to grab me a board…..to hoard.
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Of all the variants currently available from the various vendors, I suggest the Nutty Fuzz. I really hate the LFO that a lot of people add, and the Nutty has the Fuzz blend, which is actually really nice for a splatty kinda blown speaker tone. I don't find the Expression control over the frequency terribly useful, but you might dig it

Also, it's by far the best laid out
 
Nice. Thanks for putting the demo up. It's good to have a reference for what these sound like before buying them.

I built this recently and found the volume to be extremely loud. Have you found this too? Or perhaps i have made a mistake somewhere.
 
I see in a previous post that you used log pots instead of linear. Was that for any reason?

That might solve my volume issue. Each pot goes from no sound to super loud pretty much instantly.
 
neiltheseal said:
I see in a previous post that you used log pots instead of linear. Was that for any reason?

That might solve my volume issue. Each pot goes from no sound to super loud pretty much instantly.
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The logarithmic pots will give a more gradual increase in output for each voice
 
Nice! Been curious about one of these for a long time (even bought the type 2 toggle switch), but not sure I'll ever actually use all the options. Thanks for the demo
 
MichaelW said:
Where did you find the 4046BNSR?
That's one blasted component I'm missing to build mine out. Seems out of stock everywhere.
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DGWVI said:
You know the drill- send me a PM :ROFLMAO:
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I'm in the same boat as MichaelW, 4046BNSR and Godot knows what else. He is coming, isn't he, Godot?


I'm also interested, DGWVI, what mods you'd make to this thing, to make it track better (preamp & input filtering tips hints [mine is meant for bass] would be much appreciated) and anything else you like to mod.


I'm a little dismayed that this thing is your least favourite PLL, because your tastes align so well with mine, but you did say "least favorite" — so it may be the least, but it's still a favourite, right?
 
Feral Feline said:
I'm in the same boat as MichaelW, 4046BNSR and Godot knows what else. He is coming, isn't he, Godot?


I'm also interested, DGWVI, what mods you'd make to this thing, to make it track better (preamp & input filtering tips hints [mine is meant for bass] would be much appreciated) and anything else you like to mod.


I'm a little dismayed that this thing is your least favourite PLL, because your tastes align so well with mine, but you did say "least favorite" — so it may be the least, but it's still a favourite, right?
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I like to drop a 33n from pin 1 of R10 to ground. The values of R10 and the added cap can be adjusted to taste. The input of the PLL reacts better to heavier LP filtering, but too much and you'll also have to increase the input gain a bit.

It's a fun circuit, but has a bit too much going on for me
 
DGWVI said:
I like to drop a 33n from pin 1 of R10 to ground. The values of R10 and the added cap can be adjusted to taste. The input of the PLL reacts better to heavier LP filtering, but too much and you'll also have to increase the input gain a bit.

It's a fun circuit, but has a bit too much going on for me
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I'm with you on that. Similar to the leprechaun. Completion was super exciting. The stoke was high but when that feeling wore off I was left with the reality of finding ways to use them..... musically??

Edit: Says the guy with 2 ring mods on his board.
 
Mentaltossflycoon said:
I'm with you on that. Similar to the leprechaun. Completion was super exciting. The stoke was high but when that feeling wore off I was left with the reality of finding ways to use them..... musically??

Edit: Says the guy with 2 ring mods on his board.
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It's okay, I've got four stand alone pitch shifters on my board.

I've yet to find another Ring Mod that felt worthy enough to hang out with the Ring Thing. The Neurotron I recently built might make it to the board, but I don't like a whole lot of settings, if I'm honest
 
DGWVI said:
I like to drop a 33n from pin 1 of R10 to ground. The values of R10 and the added cap can be adjusted to taste. The input of the PLL reacts better to heavier LP filtering, but too much and you'll also have to increase the input gain a bit.

It's a fun circuit, but has a bit too much going on for me
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Thanks for all that.

One can never have too many PLLs, and never too much info to make modifications...
 
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