Wilsic Sound - Wah Wah.

Discussion regarding early stompbox technology: 1960-1975 Please keep discussion focused and contribute what info you have...
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kaycee
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Post by kaycee »

The build instructions for the Wilsic Sound Wah Wah kit.
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Note that in the schematic above this is a PNP positive ground device. The original transistors were silicon devices, I think that I have sourced some from somewhere and they are nothing particularly special. Below is my stripboard layout for the Wah which I have converted to NPN - negative ground. Usual suspects work in this: BC108, 2N3904 etc. The original layout is smaller, but the parts are all over the place, I've built working devices from my layout. Substitute the old values with nearest value you can find and it should be fine. Black squares equal track cuts.

inlinethumb27.webshots.com/37530/2282031920102672897S600x600Q85.jpg

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Post by jrod »

Right on, kaycee! Thanks! :thumbsup

Looks like the original transistors have an E-C-B pinout.

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Post by Chugs »

What does it sound like compared to a typical Vox or Crybaby?

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Post by mictester »

Chugs wrote:What does it sound like compared to a typical Vox or Crybaby?
It's nothing like them - it's a sound of its own. It has a low pass characteristic, with a peak just below cut-off. It actually sounds really good, and costs almost nothing to try out! Give it a try.

A quick vero layout I found in one of my old old notebooks here:
Wilsic.gif
The only changes I made were to add a 470 ohm resistor in the battery +ve leak, and a 100uF 16V electrolytic across the supply
rails. I used the usual "true bypass" DPDT with LED indicator circuit.
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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Post by kaycee »

I ended up with BC108's in mine I think? Still not boxed up yet, thinking about adding the Foxxrox's wah buffer to it. Soundwise its similar to the Colorsound inductorless wahs.

Mictester, you mention a 470 ohm in your text, but I don't see it on the layout?

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Post by mictester »

kaycee wrote:I ended up with BC108's in mine I think? Still not boxed up yet, thinking about adding the Foxxrox's wah buffer to it. Soundwise its similar to the Colorsound inductorless wahs.

Mictester, you mention a 470 ohm in your text, but I don't see it on the layout?
I missed it off that diagram! Sorry :( Just add a 470 ohm between the PCB and the Battery +. With the extra 100µF across the rails, it helps a lot. I also added the usual 1N4001 "idiot diode", reverse biased across the supply rails to prevent damage in the event of the wrong polarity adaptor being plugged in. I used a 1/8th Watt 470 ohm resistor, which would vapourise if the "idiot diode" conducted!

Corrected diagram (I missed one link and the 470 ohm resistor):
Wilsic.png

This circuit is worth experimenting with - you can "tune" the range of frequencies covered, and alter the shape of the resonant peak. I'll leave these modifications for the class to work out for themselves.....! :)
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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Post by jrod »

Are the caps connected to the 10K pot wiper 0.01uF?

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Post by mictester »

jrod wrote:Are the caps connected to the 10K pot wiper 0.01uF?
Yes. 1000 nF = 1µF and 1000pF = 1 nF It's what we use over here in Europe. So (for example) 470 nF = 0.47 µF and 10 nF = 0.01 µF

We also tend to put the multiplier letter in place of the decimal point (little dots are easy to miss) - like this:

4700 ohms = 4.7 kohms - we'd write 4k7 and 0.0047 µF would be written 4n7.
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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Post by jrod »

Thanks, mictester.

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Post by Zombie_Crush »

mictester wrote:
kaycee wrote:I ended up with BC108's in mine I think? Still not boxed up yet, thinking about adding the Foxxrox's wah buffer to it. Soundwise its similar to the Colorsound inductorless wahs.

Mictester, you mention a 470 ohm in your text, but I don't see it on the layout?
I missed it off that diagram! Sorry :( Just add a 470 ohm between the PCB and the Battery +. With the extra 100µF across the rails, it helps a lot. I also added the usual 1N4001 "idiot diode", reverse biased across the supply rails to prevent damage in the event of the wrong polarity adaptor being plugged in. I used a 1/8th Watt 470 ohm resistor, which would vapourise if the "idiot diode" conducted!

Corrected diagram (I missed one link and the 470 ohm resistor):
Wilsic.png

This circuit is worth experimenting with - you can "tune" the range of frequencies covered, and alter the shape of the resonant peak. I'll leave these modifications for the class to work out for themselves.....! :)

Hi Mictester

Doe the additional 100uf go from D14 to E14? Or is that simply another jumper.
Also will the 470k resistor be needed if i am running from a 9V power supply.


Cheers :)

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Post by mictester »

The 100uF capacitor is C8 on the layout, and D14 - E14 is just a jumper.

The extra resistor is 470 ohms (NOT 470k!!). It reduces the current consumprtion of the circuit a little, but more importantly, it cleans up the +9V supply rail. It makes the circuit less susceptible to hum and lowers the noise a little.
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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Post by Zombie_Crush »

right i see now, and apologies I meant a 470R

oh! btw - what wiring did you use for your true bypass DPDT and LED circuit.


Shall try this circuit out

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Post by Bernardduur »

Nice such an inductorless wah pedal.......

I am quite happy with my Parapedal clone...... but I always like these ideas.....
'No more....... loud music.......'
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Post by mictester »

Zombie_Crush wrote:right i see now, and apologies I meant a 470R

oh! btw - what wiring did you use for your true bypass DPDT and LED circuit.

Shall try this circuit out
I didn't ever bother with an LED (you can work that out for yourself - just use a TPDT switch!

Here's a rough wiring diagram for what I did:
WilsicWiring.png
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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Post by sinner »

Schemo redraw, the one provided causes to blindness

I hope I didn't fuck up anything

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Post by sinner »

And matched to the real one [PNP] - vero layout

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Post by sinner »

And NPN version. BC183L have the same pin-out and orientation just like the original PNP transistors

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Post by kaycee »

sinner wrote:Schemo redraw, the one provided causes to blindness

I hope I didn't fuck up anything
Looks right to me - nice layouts, thanks!

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Post by sinner »

kaycee wrote:
sinner wrote:Schemo redraw, the one provided causes to blindness

I hope I didn't fuck up anything
Looks right to me - nice layouts, thanks!

It's not mine ;) It's Wilsic's layout. Want to see mine? I bet I can better than this...

Thanks for the confirmation, and thanks for project data. I'm kinda dig this project... I'm hot to check how it sound :!:

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Post by mictester »

I just built one of these earlier today. The Vero layout is a bit different because it's got a Fuzz on the same board (it's a Fuzz-Wah for a friend), and it sounds great. Unfortunately, I've just broken the pedal mechanism, and I've got to go to work in 15 minutes, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow to get the mechanism mended and the thing fully tested.

I'll draw up a neatened version of the Vero tomorrow, and post it here.
"Why is it humming?" "Because it doesn't know the words!"

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