Congrats man,

Looks siiiick!

Hey man,

You got these sorted?

Compressors can be tricky things due to the CA3080 or LM13700N chips used.
(Vs say a muff circuit which will usually be a blown transistor for example)

If you don't come right, let me know and I don't mind having a look.

Hope all is well,
Matt.

Hey guys,

Hope all is well.
For those who know me (fellow effect builders - Benjamin Craig, Manfred, PSean, PeterLeRoux and more), hope you are doing fantastically well. ?

Perhaps I'm posting this topic in the wrong section but with a fantastic moderator like Alan, it won't stay that way for too long.

Here's a question for fellow Muso's - those who understand the scarifices it takes to follow one's heart.
How the hell does one balance one's commitments with one's passions?

To give background to this question, I have a full time job trying to finish my Accounting Articles to become a CA (SA). Combined with gyming each evening and making healthy food for the next day, how does anyone have time for passions?

I'm just not seeing a way to fit everything in.
Clearly I'm just looking at it the wrong way so any help would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Matt.

As always, can't get unique pedals than these!
Nice!

Nice stuff Mr P. Sean!

Did you treat the wood at all?

Hey man,

Will reply in detail when I get a chance.

Mod 1 to reduce isn't likely hey - noise is more than a couple of component value changes but rather the circuit design as a whole.

Mod 2 is possible to increase the bass. Even without a schematic you can increase the input capacitor to allow more bass in. But without q schematic after the input cap, you really are flying blind.

Also, and I really don't mean to sound unenthusiastic, but is modding and Akai pedal not like putting mags on a Toyota Corolla? Ie is this the pedal you love and really want to invest some time into? Or regardless of the mods would a TS808 still be King in your mind?

Keep up the good work,
Matt.

Haha thanks man!

Almost direct Marshall Bluesbreaker clone.
Spend R400 on the Marshall and you'll have a Kingly tone ?
Too much hype on the pedal created by its waiting list.

Yep it is relay bypass.
Nice soft clicking footswitches.

Also, to be honest I haven't properly experimented with the "shimmer" mode on the reverb.
It looked very complicated in the instruction manual so brushed past it ?

Thanks Kalcium for bringing it up though - it does get a couple of nifty sounds.
There's even a delay somewhere in there as well!

Oh, just to be clear each time it loses power all effects are bypassed when you plug in the power again.
Ie if I leave the reverb on and turn off power, when turn the power on the reverb will be off.

Just a bit of a peeve every time I turn my board on I have to switch on the reverb as well.
No settings reset or anything - otherwise that would be a deal breaker!

Howzit guys,

Thought I'd share some initial impressions of the Epitome as I've had it for a month or so.

Overall: I really like it! Certainly consider it a very worthwhile purchase.
It doesn't ooze mojo and won't define your sound but I doubt it'll ever leave my board because of its wide ranging functionality and small footprint.

Pro's: Small pedal footprint, 3 effects every board should include, quality sounds, good workmanship.

Con's: Requires high current output (over 200mA) so I put mine on a separate adapter, chorus and flange controls limited, resets each time it loses power. And I really dislike the graphic - very boring!

Reverb: this was a driving factor in buying the pedal - I needed a decent reverb. Has 4 different modes and the Holy Grail has a good reputation based on good sounds. Haven't compared it to say a Strymon Blue Sky for example, only to the onboard verb on my Mesa amp.

Chorus/Flanger: a pedal board might as well include these effects. Nice sounds but controls are limited to a depth and rate control. It's also in stereo but haven't tested that out yet. I don't tend to use chorus/flanger often so it's a nice compromise.

Octave - MicroPog: flawless tracking and great octave up and down. I was quite excited about the pog initially but I struggle to find a use for the pog for everyday playing. It performs great in what it does but just haven't managed to integrate what it does into my playing.

So who should buy one? I rate if you've got your drive and delay pedals sorted, tossing in an Epitome would be a worthwhile investment. The reverb stays on everytime I play but the other 2 effects are much less used. So also consider buying a Holy Grail plus (or Blue Sky etc ) if octave and chorus aren't your thing.

Hope that helps! ?
Matt.

Hey man,

What u are asking here is like saying which is better - a Mercedes or a BMW?
The end goal here is a pedal board that you are happy with.
A fuzz isn't more important than a delay and vice versa.
Each serve their purpose depending on the sound you are trying to create.

That being said, certain pedals do form the foundation of any sound.
For example - delay, fuzz, overdrive are the staple of any guitarist.
From there you can consider throwing in - chorus, compressor, etc.
So perhaps consider which are your "core" pedals and which are your "discretionary" pedals.

Matt.

Awesome demo!
Thanks for taking the time to post it!

Matt.

Check out:www.sonictitanfx.com/2012/07/02/lofi-looper/
Did this with the ISD1020 chip.

Haha I really like your spirit!
But this is far out the realm of a say am overdrive circuit.
Will check out the datasheet sometime.

If you can get it working on breadboard I'd be more than happy to assist with a PCB.

As for pros, these ISD chips have loads of character and become a nifty little pedal with the vibrato addition.

As to cons, the quality is VERY lofi and even the cheapest digital looper would far surpass it.

Also perhaps consider the importance of the vibrato feature.
When I built mine, I personally found this to be a wonderfully redeeming feature.

For the vibrato I used that nice little LFO circuit from the ToneGod (check the blog link).
It wobbles the voltage to the chip providing the detune effect.

Another big learning curve for me with this project was using logic gates that starts/stops recording etc.

So ya, definitely an ambitious project!
I don't mean to discourage you at all but I've encountered many instances where the application notes in a datasheet initially seem simple but end up being just a snippet of a far more complex circuit.

What I mean is take for example the TL072/TL074 datasheet. Sure it'll show you how to set up a basic non-inverting op amp - but how do you turn that into a Tube Screamer?

Still need to add input output buffers, RC networks for frequency management blah blah etc.

Anyway, just so you have all the facts before investing your time into something. ? even just trying things, what you end up learning usually far outweighs having an actual working pedal in the end.

Using the my own microchip but I programmed it with the TapLFO code. That way I can modify the code for what I need. WAY out of my paygrade to write something like that from scratch! The Taptaion chip only works for delays ie specifically for setting the Pin 6 resistance on the PT2399 chip.

I design all my stuff with Eagle. It's what I learnt on and is nice in that there are a ton of part Libraries available. It's also free which is huge bonus. Doesn't compare to programs with a simulator and a good auto router - in Eagle you do all the track routing by hand.

It's a Silicon high gain fuzz face with an added Lpb 1 boost in front. No special Germanium here but it does have an ocean of gain on tap.

I'll write up a full explanation when I have some time to spare ?

As to the useful range of each pot it's entirely dependant on the circuit design. For example, the useable Bias on the second transistor is 3-3.5V so by choosing a combination of components that results in 3V and 3.5V on either rotation of the pot you end up with knob that doesn't have a minute sweet spot.

Unfortunately I must have been smoking my socks when calculating the Starve/Voltage pot as the useful range is only in the last quarter rotation. Ie useful range is 4V - 9V and turning below 3/4 goes below 4V and kills the circuit. Honestly not in the mood to correct it anytime soon though but no trainsmash either ?

2 years in the making. Many revisions. ?
Still gotta tidy up the voltmeter window.









Matt.

In regard to the Gain, it only affects the "trem" signal. Very useful as trem tends to result in a perceived volume drop.

As to the boards, I do all the circuit and PCB design myself. I really enjoy the board design part - like putting a puzzle together. Also, lining up the components appeals to my OCD! ? I then send it off to a prototyping service and they send me back 3 boards in a couple of weeks.

By physical separation, if you look closely there are actually 2 separate PCBs. One for the microchip digital circuit and one for the analog audio circuit. In that way it prevents LFO ticking to be heard in the sound. It's usually prevented with smart component placement. 2 PCBs are definitely an overkill but I did it like that so both the Pitch and Trem pedals I built use the same microchip PCB. Quite proud of that design choice!

Will try record a decent demo - sounds like any trem though ?

Awesome stuff man!
Really dig the clean style.
Send me a PM if you ever want to chat ?