The Thing (Dynamorph from DeadEndFX) LEDs are always lit (and not in a good way.)

xefned

xefned

Well-known member
I very carefully built "The Thing" from DeadEndFX, and the moment I plug in 9v, the LEDs light up. They're supposed to pulse with the guitar attack—adjustable with the trimpot. And they do at certain settings, but they never go fully dim.

The 3 on the left are brighter than the 3 on the right. That might be normal since they're 2 pair of LEDs in series (not parallel.)


1684709593004.png


The only fucky thing I did is sub the 2k rate pot with a 5k pot w/ 3k3 resistor on the outside lugs.
The rate pot seems to have no effect. So perhaps that resistor trick doesn't work in this configuration.



1684715700115.png

The drag part is turning the full 25 rotation trimpot, I never reach the 6.2v specified. I can adjust only from 4.38vDC to 5.37vDC

1684720309327.png

I'll replace the rate pot (currently 5k +3k3Ω resistor) with a proper 2k pot but I'm not sure it'll make any difference. As is, the rate pot does f**k-all. So I might as well try.

If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, then thank you. Otherwise this is just a report from the field.
 
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Has anyone made any progress on this? I recently built this Thing and have similar issues. The LED's stay always on, doesn't matter if the Morph switch is on or off. At least the original Dynamorph LED was off in bypass mode, as far I can tell from videos. I'm using a VTL5C1 with the different resistor value and the threshold pot seems to be working (I'm also not 100% sure about the Rate pot). What I find confusing is that when I put a LED in the opto holes, the LED is always lit, but when I have the vactrol installed and measure the resistance of the LDR, I can see the value changing... I can dial in 6.14v with the trimmer, but that doesn't really affect the brightness of the LED's. It seems like my pedal is working, but - as you guys - I'm wondering if it's fully working as intended.
 
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I gave up.

I tried every value of R60 imaginable. It behaved the same with every value.

I even removed R60, and it behaved the same. How is that possible? Removing R60 would disconnect the Vactrol, right? Yet, I still hear an envelope effect. It's unexplainable.
 
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xefned said:
I gave up.

I tried every value of R60 imaginable. It behaved the same with every value.

I even removed R60, and it behaved the same. How is that possible? Removing R60 would disconnect the Vactrol, right? Yet, I still hear an envelope effect. It's unexplainable.
Click to expand...
Yeah the envelope is the biggest mystery on this thing. But it's almost impossible to find any info on this project, I actually think this thread is the only one. Even details on the original pedal are pretty scarce (it's impossible to find a manual), which is a shame, because I think it sounds really cool.
 
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DGWVI said:
If you're digging what you hear with this one, and haven't already, I suggest building a Prunes and Custard. It's smaller, and just has the bits you need for the squelchy wavefolding
Click to expand...

Can you recommend a Prunes and Custard clone? I'm totally digging the sound of the Dynamorph and would like to explore that area a bit more
 
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pcborpcp said:
Can you recommend a Prunes and Custard clone? I'm totally digging the sound of the Dynamorph and would like to explore that area a bit more
Click to expand...

pcborpcp said:
Ah thanks, didn't occur to me that PedalPCB might have one. But it is actually pretty new - they don't even have a build documentation available yet. But judging from the PCB, it's way less complex circuit than the Dynamorph, which would make it interesting to compare the two:)
Click to expand...

Yep, Curds and Whey. I've built three with no issues. Of the clone boards I've built, it's my favorite


I'm honestly pretty disappointed with the Dynamorph, way too many parts for what it does
 
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DGWVI said:
Yep, Curds and Whey. I've built three with no issues. Of the clone boards I've built, it's my favorite
Click to expand...

That's gnarly as hell. I @!#?@! love it!

Now I understand that I have no envelope effect with my Dynamorph. That squawk / quack you're getting on the attack with the C&W at certain settings is what I mistook for an envelope effect.

So basically, I built a Curds and Whey with The Thing PCB with more parts, a larger enclosure, and a couple knobs that do nothing. 🤣
 
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xefned said:
That's gnarly as hell. I @!#?@! love it!

Now I understand that I have no envelope effect with my Dynamorph. That squawk / quack you're getting on the attack with the C&W at certain settings is what I mistook for an envelope effect.

So basically, I built a Curds and Whey with The Thing PCB with more parts, a larger enclosure, and a couple knobs that do nothing. 🤣
Click to expand...

Exactly my thoughts :ROFLMAO:

If you get a chance and want another flavor of wave folding, the Bronx Cheer is also an awesome circuit, and super simple at ~20 parts

Bronx comes in at around 01:50
 
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Yep, that is the main sound of the Dynamorph that I was after in the first place. I could probably combine the Curds or Bronx with an envelope filter to get everything the Dynamorph can do.

Jawari has a nice pinched sound that would be great for a standout lead in some songs. I dig it.
 
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It's wild to compare the number of components used in those builds to the Dynamorph. I'm not knowledgable enough to say if it should be capable of more, or if it's a somewhat badly (excessive) designed circuit.
 
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xefned said:
I will experiment and report back.

The spec sheets show significantly different ON and OFF resistances.

Xvive VTL5C9​
Xvive VTL5C1​
Perkins VTL5C1​
NSL-32R3​
RON
1k5​
25k​
200Ω​
60Ω​
ROFF
2M​
20M​
50M​
25M​
TRISE
4ms​
2.5ms​
2.5ms​
5ms​
TDECAY
50ms​
35ms​
35ms​
10ms​

Resistance ON time changes with current, a value I can't know. For example, the PE VTL5C1 lists a R-on in the range of 200Ω - 20k, depending on current. I'm assuming low current? Forward voltage also differs (1.65v typical on PE 5C1 but 2.5v on the Xvive version.)

At the very least, I need to bump my R60 if I wanna stick with the VTL5C1. I suspect my LED is always on inside the opto.
Click to expand...

I did some more testing with a LED in the vactrol holes and that was helpful to see how it is reacting to the threshold pot and that it is actually doing something. I'm using a VTL5C1 right now and judging from the specs, it might be worth it to experiment a bit more with the LDR. I have to get some VTL5C9 anyway for another project and I have some leftover LDR's that might be worth a try.

Btw, The Xvive VTL´s I'm getting have a white label without a LED indicator, but I've seen others like the one below (I guess a different brand). Which one are considered to be better/ more reliable?

VTL5C4-vactrol.jpg
 
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pcborpcp said:
I did some more testing with a LED in the vactrol holes and that was helpful to see how it is reacting to the threshold pot and that it is actually doing something. I'm using a VTL5C1 right now and judging from the specs, it might be worth it to experiment a bit more with the LDR. I have to get some VTL5C9 anyway for another project and I have some leftover LDR's that might be worth a try.

Btw, The Xvive VTL´s I'm getting have a white label without a LED indicator, but I've seen others like the one below (I guess a different brand). Which one are considered to be better/ more reliable?

View attachment 53721
Click to expand...
The ST VTL labelled ones specs are -

1000014731.jpg
 
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