When I was a kid learning about engineering and electronics, the magazines that we read in the pre-internet days were full of articles, projects, and kits promising hours of enjoyment and even the proposition of making money from my favorite pastime. Electronics kit building kind of fell out of favor during the computer age as the home based technology nuts… Read More »BYOP: Build Your Own Pedal
Ever wonder exactly what people mean by hard clipping and soft clipping? What exactly is modulation? How measurable are the differences between say, a Big Muff and a RAT? One of the neat things about multi-effect devices is they bundle many different effects into a single package, and with a few additional tools we can use them to visualize the… Read More »Playing With Effects
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) has been a prevalent standard for connecting accessories to computing devices since its initial release in 1996. The USB interface is increasingly being used in environments we would not traditionally consider directly related to computing, especially audio. The ability to carry power and data, including digital audio, along the same small, low cost and easily… Read More »The Power of USB
Boost pedals are a paradox; they are the simplest of devices, most with just a single knob, yet they can also be a challenge to integrate to achieve the desired effect. Much more than say a delay, chorus, or even many distortions; the heart of a good boost lies not in the boost pedal itself, but in the complex interactions… Read More »Understanding Boost Pedals
Guitar signal noisy, intermittent, or just plain dead? Unable to make it through a rehearsal without something fizzing, popping, or blowing up? Sooner or later something is going to fail, and every rig needs some regular maintenance to keep it running at its best. If you are not in a platinum selling band with your own guitar tech, then you… Read More »Troubleshooting Your Rig
If you are building an effects pedal, you are likely going to need a case or enclosure to keep it in. Let’s face it; the varying names and colors on the boxes are often the only differences between certain types of pedals anyway, so this is where you can stand out. The gold standard for containment in the pedal biz… Read More »Pedal Casing: What Are the Options?
Those of us interested in guitar effects pedals are spoiled for choice in the current age. There are hundreds, possibly even thousands of small and large effects pedal makers producing all manner of different effects with a wide range of features and price points. However, one thing is notable by its absence, or rarity anyway. How many boutique digital effects… Read More »The Magic of Digital Effects Pedals
9VDC from a battery or an external center pin negative power connector is the de-facto standard for effects pedal power. Back in the early days of effects pedals, this was a common voltage for portable devices using the PP3 style battery. Though modern microchip-based electronics use much smaller voltages, such as 5, 3.3, or 1.5, we keep the 9V format… Read More »Power Supply Hacks
Most guitar effects pedals run on a 9VDC power source, which allows for a wide choice of pedalboard power supplies, wall warts, or batteries to run them on. However, there always seems to be one or two pesky pedals in the collection that complicate the issue requiring some other voltage; say 12V, 15V or 18V. Although it may seem like… Read More »Working With Voltage
In previous blogs, we reviewed the pros and cons of various disposable battery technologies for effects pedals. This time around, we are going to study rechargeable batteries as an alternative. The Contenders Theoretically, rechargeable versions of the alkaline batteries would be a good choice for effects pedals. The chemistry is the same, but the battery is constructed so as not… Read More »Rechargeable Batteries and You