BAJA Wizard Wah Wah - photo essay [documentation]
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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Hi guys and gals
Here is a short photo essay on how to build a Wah Wah - in this case the Wizard Wah Wah, but the board can be used to build any non buffered wah pedal from a GCB95 Cry Baby through to a Vox V847 etc etc.
Just change the component values to suit.
First up the layout artwork:
the PCB tracks:
the PCB tracks laser printed onto transparency film
the PCB material I use:
the white protective plastic layer - marked out and ready to cut:
Cut to size - and the baby saw I used:
the coated PCB with the protective film removed - under the transparency with a sheet of glass on top of it - ready to expose to Ultraviolet light:
the homemade ultraviolet light - Philips sun lamp:
after 30 seconds exposure the dark green coating turns blue:
the chemicals used to develop the exposure and to etch the unprotected copper:
the board after 30 seconds in the developing solution - no more dark blue colouring, only dark green protective coating on the unexposed tracks remains:
in the etching solution - after a couple of minutes - you can see the copper being eaten away and the liquid turning blue with the copper sulphate being produced:
the etched board - off to the drill press we go:
the board drilled and lightly sanded to remove the protective coating on the copper tracks:
the board with the layout paper glued to the component side and the holes punced through with a pencil compass poiter etc:
the board all populated and ready to wire in the chassis:
the solder side:
another shot of the completed board - note the BC550B transistors used - I did not have any BC239B types. Also note the 1k6 resistor made by joining a 1k5 and 100 ohm resistor in series, and the 360 ohm resistor made with a 330 ohm and 33 ohm in series - well allright - 363 ohms - close enough for rock n roll. the Fasel has 619 on top - that is the measured inductance, so I will have to fine tune one or more of the 15n and 220n capacitors probably:
More to follow in the next few days
cheers
bajaman
Here is a short photo essay on how to build a Wah Wah - in this case the Wizard Wah Wah, but the board can be used to build any non buffered wah pedal from a GCB95 Cry Baby through to a Vox V847 etc etc.
Just change the component values to suit.
First up the layout artwork:
the PCB tracks:
the PCB tracks laser printed onto transparency film
the PCB material I use:
the white protective plastic layer - marked out and ready to cut:
Cut to size - and the baby saw I used:
the coated PCB with the protective film removed - under the transparency with a sheet of glass on top of it - ready to expose to Ultraviolet light:
the homemade ultraviolet light - Philips sun lamp:
after 30 seconds exposure the dark green coating turns blue:
the chemicals used to develop the exposure and to etch the unprotected copper:
the board after 30 seconds in the developing solution - no more dark blue colouring, only dark green protective coating on the unexposed tracks remains:
in the etching solution - after a couple of minutes - you can see the copper being eaten away and the liquid turning blue with the copper sulphate being produced:
the etched board - off to the drill press we go:
the board drilled and lightly sanded to remove the protective coating on the copper tracks:
the board with the layout paper glued to the component side and the holes punced through with a pencil compass poiter etc:
the board all populated and ready to wire in the chassis:
the solder side:
another shot of the completed board - note the BC550B transistors used - I did not have any BC239B types. Also note the 1k6 resistor made by joining a 1k5 and 100 ohm resistor in series, and the 360 ohm resistor made with a 330 ohm and 33 ohm in series - well allright - 363 ohms - close enough for rock n roll. the Fasel has 619 on top - that is the measured inductance, so I will have to fine tune one or more of the 15n and 220n capacitors probably:
More to follow in the next few days
cheers
bajaman
- analogguru
- Old Solderhand
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Cool and helpful for beginners this photo-essay... thanks !
analogguru
analogguru
There´s a sucker born every minute - and too many of them end up in the bootweak pedal biz.
- briggs
- Tube Twister
Information
- gnognofasciani
- Solder Soldier
Bajaman you're great, not just for this but for every project you release...
Very professional
Thanks a lot
Very professional
Thanks a lot
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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Here is the final part of the photo essay - the assembly
this is the wah wah shell I purchased from steve Daniels at Small bear Electronics:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0024s.jpg
and the outside:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0025s.jpg
extra bits besides wire that you will need to complete the job - sSwitchcraft sockets and blue switch from Aron's store or Pedal Parts Plus, 2.1mm dc socket purchased locally and the Black bear pot purchased again from Small Bear:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0027s.jpg
everything fitted and ready for wiring - note that the board layout holes do not line up with the wah chassis - i will remedy this on th e board layout and artwork very soon - no worries I just bolted on a double spade terminal to get it fixed. Also notice the shakeproof internal tooth star washers on the input and output sockets - keeps things nice and tight to ground:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0021s.jpg
all wired up and ready to wail:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0022s.jpg
and another finished shot:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0023s.jpg
Okay then - how does it sound? i plugged in the strat and was pleasantly surprised - it worked first time - honest
You will have to build one yourself to judge what it sounds like, i am not going to go into ratures about haunting mids and shimmering highs (damn - I just did), because this is not a commercial offering and I am not trying to convince anyone to buy one
there are plenty of tweaks you can do to make this pedal more your cup of tea. the reason for this photo essay is to show you what can be done for a little effort and patience. The satisfaction fderived from building something for one's self is what I am hoping to encourage here.
Nevertheless, if you do not feel up to it, you can always purchase the genuine commercially available RMC Wizard Wah from one of Geoffrey Teese's outlets. his pedals are very well made and very reasonably priced too. You would be very hard pressed to build a wah wah like this from scratch for very much less than purchasing the ready built item, but the satisfaction of knowing that you built this for yourself is priceless in my humble opinion.
Rock on
bajaman
this is the wah wah shell I purchased from steve Daniels at Small bear Electronics:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0024s.jpg
and the outside:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0025s.jpg
extra bits besides wire that you will need to complete the job - sSwitchcraft sockets and blue switch from Aron's store or Pedal Parts Plus, 2.1mm dc socket purchased locally and the Black bear pot purchased again from Small Bear:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0027s.jpg
everything fitted and ready for wiring - note that the board layout holes do not line up with the wah chassis - i will remedy this on th e board layout and artwork very soon - no worries I just bolted on a double spade terminal to get it fixed. Also notice the shakeproof internal tooth star washers on the input and output sockets - keeps things nice and tight to ground:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0021s.jpg
all wired up and ready to wail:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0022s.jpg
and another finished shot:
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... F0023s.jpg
Okay then - how does it sound? i plugged in the strat and was pleasantly surprised - it worked first time - honest
You will have to build one yourself to judge what it sounds like, i am not going to go into ratures about haunting mids and shimmering highs (damn - I just did), because this is not a commercial offering and I am not trying to convince anyone to buy one
there are plenty of tweaks you can do to make this pedal more your cup of tea. the reason for this photo essay is to show you what can be done for a little effort and patience. The satisfaction fderived from building something for one's self is what I am hoping to encourage here.
Nevertheless, if you do not feel up to it, you can always purchase the genuine commercially available RMC Wizard Wah from one of Geoffrey Teese's outlets. his pedals are very well made and very reasonably priced too. You would be very hard pressed to build a wah wah like this from scratch for very much less than purchasing the ready built item, but the satisfaction of knowing that you built this for yourself is priceless in my humble opinion.
Rock on
bajaman
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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Just for your info:
The colour code I use for my wiring
white = input signal
blue = output signal
black = ground switch wiring
green = ground
brown = middle of pot return to circuit board
red = +9v feed
cheers
bajaman
The colour code I use for my wiring
white = input signal
blue = output signal
black = ground switch wiring
green = ground
brown = middle of pot return to circuit board
red = +9v feed
cheers
bajaman
- noelgrassy
- Resistor Ronker
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- my favorite amplifier: MOTS Magnatone & Trainwreck
- Completed builds: Tonebender Mk II w/ 3 OC75's, Burns BuzzAround w/NKT 275,Rangemaster w/ OC44, Fuzz Face w/ SKS363's, CJOD, Harmonic Percolator w/2N404A & 2N3635(vintage correct box,sliding pots, 1%glass resistors),Stack-O-Dimes & Whipple Wahs,
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Great tutorial Bajaman! I used a 500 ohm Bourns pot to achieve that 300+ ohms on my board.[see pic] Did you feel non-polarized caps were best next to the inductor? I've got a 2.2uf non-polarized 'lytic in that spot, I believe it was a 4.7uf originally. Is there an easy way to wire the Molex pins that go inside the header connector? Am I supposed to have a high dollar crimper for those or do you know of a slick work-around?
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- soulsonic
- Old Solderhand
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You could just desolder and remove the header.
"Analog electronics in music is dead. Analog effects pedal design is a dead art." - Fran
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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I prefer solder to push on connectors - sorry never use molex connectors so cannot comment on how to attach them
bajaman
bajaman
- noelgrassy
- Resistor Ronker
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- Posts: 388
- Joined: 28 Nov 2007, 02:43
- my favorite amplifier: MOTS Magnatone & Trainwreck
- Completed builds: Tonebender Mk II w/ 3 OC75's, Burns BuzzAround w/NKT 275,Rangemaster w/ OC44, Fuzz Face w/ SKS363's, CJOD, Harmonic Percolator w/2N404A & 2N3635(vintage correct box,sliding pots, 1%glass resistors),Stack-O-Dimes & Whipple Wahs,
- Location: Vacuum Tube Valley, Cali
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Is there any reason not to solder the leads directly to the header connector? That way I don't risk melting any of the thin PC traces with all that localized heat getting the Molex connector out.
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- soulsonic
- Old Solderhand
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Yeah, you can solder straight to the header pins. It's easiest if they're spaced kinda far apart. I used to have to do that all the time at Weber when I assembled Bias Rites, cuz they didn't believe in bothering to terminate the wires with a connector even though the board the wires attached to had a header like that on it... *sigh*
Traces don't melt; they may lift away from the board if the board isn't made particularly well and you go nuts with the heat. Heat is what causes the traces to lift, but the traces are only prone to lifting if they were etched for an insufficient amount of time. With some practice, you can get to where you can desolder from crappy boards without messing up the traces. Just find some old electronics junk and practice desoldering and removing components - you may even get some decent salvage out of it.
Traces don't melt; they may lift away from the board if the board isn't made particularly well and you go nuts with the heat. Heat is what causes the traces to lift, but the traces are only prone to lifting if they were etched for an insufficient amount of time. With some practice, you can get to where you can desolder from crappy boards without messing up the traces. Just find some old electronics junk and practice desoldering and removing components - you may even get some decent salvage out of it.
"Analog electronics in music is dead. Analog effects pedal design is a dead art." - Fran
- noelgrassy
- Resistor Ronker
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- Posts: 388
- Joined: 28 Nov 2007, 02:43
- my favorite amplifier: MOTS Magnatone & Trainwreck
- Completed builds: Tonebender Mk II w/ 3 OC75's, Burns BuzzAround w/NKT 275,Rangemaster w/ OC44, Fuzz Face w/ SKS363's, CJOD, Harmonic Percolator w/2N404A & 2N3635(vintage correct box,sliding pots, 1%glass resistors),Stack-O-Dimes & Whipple Wahs,
- Location: Vacuum Tube Valley, Cali
- Has thanked: 11 times
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Cool. Thanks for the tip about the traces. I still haven't got my solder station out of storage so I'm limited with heat control when using this Weller Fry-Rite. It's not that mongo "blacksmith's" soldering iron, it's a pencil type but I'd guess it's hovering around 600+ Farenheit. So quick & purposeful is how I gotta roll.
Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. US Copyright Office
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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UPDATE
Here is the new board layout and PCB to fit the Small Bear Wah Wah shell and using a Dunlop Fasel inductor properly.
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... utrev2.png
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... CBrev2.png
enjoy
bajaman
Here is the new board layout and PCB to fit the Small Bear Wah Wah shell and using a Dunlop Fasel inductor properly.
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... utrev2.png
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... CBrev2.png
enjoy
bajaman
Nice construction Baja!
I'm thinking in start my wizard project next week in a Jim dunlop 535Q chassis.
As you might know it has a lateral bottom to boost the signal, which booster would you recommend me? (1 or 2 knobs)
I'm thinking in start my wizard project next week in a Jim dunlop 535Q chassis.
As you might know it has a lateral bottom to boost the signal, which booster would you recommend me? (1 or 2 knobs)
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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As you might know it has a lateral bottom to boost the signal
me not understand
bajaman
- Redhouse
- Breadboard Brother
If you don't mind me asking, was the error in your 1st drawing/layout or does the smallbear shell have different mounting-boss locations than a standard dunlop/vox shell?bajaman wrote:UPDATE
Here is the new board layout and PCB to fit the Small Bear Wah Wah shell and using a Dunlop Fasel inductor properly.
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... utrev2.png
https://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa2 ... CBrev2.png
enjoy
bajaman
- bajaman
- Old Solderhand
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the amended layout / PCB fits a Small bear casing, it also has amended tracks for fitting a Dunlop Fasel inductor. The original board was traced off a picture of the underside of a Geoffrey Teese wizard Wah - perhaps the wah shell that Geoffrey uses has different mounting bosses - whether these are the same as a Dunlop wah I really do not know , sorry, because I have not got a Dunlop or Vox wah in the shop for servicing so cannot measure them - will check when I see one next.or does the smallbear shell have different mounting-boss locations than a standard dunlop/vox shell?
bajaman
Bajaman, the layout on GGG for the wah-wah project looks to be copied from an the older Vox/Dunlop (it seems to be anyway, pretty damn close) pcb's they used to put in their standard wah shell.bajaman wrote:sorry, because I have not got a Dunlop or Vox wah in the shop for servicing so cannot measure them - will check when I see one next.
bajaman
Here's the link with the exact dimensions:
http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/pdf/ggg_wah_pcb.pdf