Timbre Man by HamishR, Chuck D. Bones, and MattG

[fydo]

Build Rating

5.00 star(s)

Hello!

Huge thanks to @HamishR, @Chuck D. Bones, and especially @MattG.




This has been a long time coming! MattG was generous enough to send one of his PCBs back in May (Edit: actually it was April!). I almost had enough parts on hand to build it, but was just missing the relay, so I waited for my next Tayda order (and included a fancy UV print too). When I went to finish up the pedal I discovered I had somehow missed transferring the voltage regulator to my parts spreadsheet, so I needed to wait again for another order. Now that I finally had all the parts I needed I was able to put this wonderful overdrive together. The PCB is laid out nicely and I had no problems populating it.

When putting together the drill template and UV print, I wanted as much real estate for the massive logo as possible so I tried to squish the potentiometers up as high as I could. It was a very tight fit, and you can see I used some kapton tape to ensure I didn't short the DC power connections with the back of the Mid potentiometer.

This overdrive sounds great! It is a modified TSV-808. As Chuck Bones notes in his thread, rolling the treble back and bringing out the mids works nicely here (esp. compared to a Timmy)
This was my first build using a relay and momentary switch, it sure feels nice!

As thanks to HamishR, Chuck D. Bones, MattG and the community in general, I have shared my Tayda drill link here:

Tayda Electronics Drill

Tayda Electronics Drill Designer for custom enclosures.

drill.taydakits.com

And my UV print file is attached.
Just keep in mind the tolerances are quite tight with regards to where I placed the potentiometers (I was prepared to need to off-board wire a film capacitor or two if needed, but thankfully that wasn't required)



Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

fydo

 

[HamishR]

Thank you and I'm stoked you like it! It's still a favourite of mine.

 

[MBFX]

It seems like lots of builders are going for an SPST footswitch and a relay these days. What are the advantages/disadvantages to that approach?

 

[temol]

It seems like lots of builders are going for an SPST footswitch and a relay these days.

SPST + relay
Momentary footswitch + relay + microcontroller

 

[temol]

Advantages of the relay+microcontroller based switching - you can not only switch on/off but also programm additional functionality to the switch. For example - mute, momentary on/off. I'm not sure if it's advantage - silent switching.
Disadvantages - sometimes higher cost (prices of the microcontrollers went up). Also you have to programm microcontroller (or even write a code if you need custom functions). Next - depending on the relay type: if you loose power pedal returns to bypass mode.

 

[Fizz]

SPST + relay
Momentary footswitch + relay + microcontroller

What makes it preferred in this build?

 

[Brett]

What makes it preferred in this build?

The board designer.

 

[fydo]

Thank you for all the kind comments and reacts!

With regards to using momentary switches:
Yep, all of @temol's points are correct. I'll also add that these momentary switches make maintenance way easier too. If the footswitch wears out/fails, it's only a matter of soldering two wires to get up and running again, vs 6+ wires on a 3PDT setup, or if you're looking at a board where the 3PDT is directly soldered into a PCB that contains other components (Like many of AionFX's boards, and few of PPCBs as well) then you need to desolder the 3PDT from the board without damaging anything, which can be quite difficult - for me, at least

As for this particular build, yes, I used the momentary switch simply because it was in the BOM.

 

[MattG]

Advantages of the relay+microcontroller based switching - you can not only switch on/off but also programm additional functionality to the switch. For example - mute, momentary on/off. I'm not sure if it's advantage - silent switching.
Disadvantages - sometimes higher cost (prices of the microcontrollers went up). Also you have to programm microcontroller (or even write a code if you need custom functions). Next - depending on the relay type: if you loose power pedal returns to bypass mode.

Also: the relay should have a dramatically longer life compared to a mechanical 3pdt. Most of those relays' specs rate them for >1 million cycles, the mechanical switches are usually rated for around 50k cycles.

Another small benefit that appeals to me: when you integrate the relay into the PCB, you can put it at the top right by the in/out jacks - this minimizes signal cable length, particularly in bypass mode.

And it's a matter of personal preference, but I like the soft touch/no click momentary SPST switches compared to the mechanical switch's click.

But yes, it's almost always more expensive to go with the relay bypass solution; it's more complex; and it takes up more PCB space.

Next time I make a PCB that I give to other forum members, I intend to have the relay bypass integrated and the PPCB-style solder holes at the bottom, so you can easily choose either/or; I'll also use the silkscreen to demarcate the actual effect circuit from the relay circuit. @MichaelW used standard mechanical bypass for his Timbre Man build.

 

[temol]

Another small benefit that appeals to me: when you integrate the relay into the PCB, you can put it at the top right by the in/out jacks - this minimizes signal cable length, particularly in bypass mode.

This is the main reason I use relays. To shorten the signal path, to avoid running the traces through the entire board to the edge.
Yes, it's nice to have click free switching but I'm ok with ordinary 3pdt.

 

[MBFX]

So THAT is how my Spark Mini works!