Yamaha DD-14: need some help

manufactured zero · August 28, 2009, 02:46:59 AM

Here's a pretty cool 12 (or 14 in disguise) i finished last week. Nice venetian snares vibe to it.

M-Z3R0 - circuit bent yamaha DD12

Sorry about the delay in sequencer/mods info to those who've asked. Been really really busy in the lab recently.

manufactured zero · August 31, 2009, 08:00:35 PM

Here's a layout for a sequenced DD6. I haven't included all of the wiring for every circuit as i'm assuming you'll be able to do this from the basic schematics included. If you can't build the sequencer and trigger to begin with then embarking on this project is likely going to be a complete headache for you and i'd suggest getting a bit of experience making vero projects before attempting it.

Basically you're hooking up a 555 trigger to the machine. This will then drive the 4017 and transistor gate. You can hook up your step/trigger selection however you like but i veered down the patch lead road awhile back. It has the disadvantage of not being very 'immediate' for live tweaking. But is cheap and easy to build. Using rotary selectors as on my dd35 mods is a much better way for hands on control but rotary selectors aren't cheap. I designed this setup to be more of a source of samples than anything else. With only 8 steps it was always going to be a bit limited but it's good enough to allow you to make more defined glitch loops with breathing space between the sounds than the preset patterns will allow.

Here's a link to the layout.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j41/verminromance/EVERYTHING.jpg?t=1251742771

manufactured zero · August 31, 2009, 08:23:38 PM

It's possible that line out to the 386 there is the wrong point. If it is try the neighbouring ones as it will be one of them. Hope this proves of some use to anyone wanting to do the sequencer mod on a smaller dd though. Fitting it to a midi enabled machine is obviously a waste of time but it's a good mod for the basic ones with little control beyond preset rhythms and being hit.

MAGTIG · September 02, 2009, 12:59:12 AM

Quote from: manufactured zero on August 31, 2009, 08:23:38 PM
It's possible that line out to the 386 there is the wrong point. If it is try the neighbouring ones as it will be one of them. Hope this proves of some use to anyone wanting to do the sequencer mod on a smaller dd though. Fitting it to a midi enabled machine is obviously a waste of time but it's a good mod for the basic ones with little control beyond preset rhythms and being hit.

Oh sweet! I think I mostly understand all that. I'm looking at the LM386 diagram on Futurlec and a lot of it makes sense.

Where I'm really murky is:

1) I'm assuming when you say 'all vero tracks under 386 are cut' it's the lines on the perf board you're referring to, not the actual PCB. In other words: None of the 8 pins on the 386 hook to each other or anything else. Correct?

2) On your diagram between what two points would you insert caps to experiment with the distortion sound? If I had to guess I'd say it would be bridging pins 3 + 4 on the input, or 5 + 6 on the output. Am I close?

3) This is the most important one: Since I don't have a suitable DD yet I wanted to wire this distortion into a toy keytar I'm working on (I found 22 extra notes & an extra drum beat with 4 extra fills!!!). Do you think I'd be able to do this the same way? For example, could I just wire the line out from the speaker terminal to the 386/DPDT, etc?

rbino · September 05, 2009, 03:28:55 AM

I also want to know where I have to experiment with caps, because I want to obtain an aggressive drone distortion.
Anyway, to patch-bay the DD14 you have to remove at least one speaker. You only desolder it and there are no problems or you have to do something else?
I opened it yesterday and as you said most of the bends are on one chip. I've also found some bends connecting some points of IC3 to some points of IC5 with the appropriate resistance, but you must be very precise: a little too much resistance and it doesn't do nothing, not enough and it will crash.

jpcheat · September 25, 2009, 12:10:27 PM

Hi, ive just found my old dd-12 sitting in the shed gathering dust. it still works. it will be my first bend, so a little apprehensive. The links to the pics seem to be down. would it be possible to get them? i'm so glad I never sold it. sounds like it could be mental.

rbino · November 26, 2009, 03:23:17 AM

I've finished bending it with a patchbay, but I miss the distortion LM386 circuit. Can someone explain me how to build it?

Gordonjcp · November 27, 2009, 12:00:58 AM

Google for fuzzbox circuits. Basically you make an amplifier with an opamp, give it lots of gain, and stick some sort of non-linear element in the feedback loop (usually two back-to-back diodes).

sk-1 · December 28, 2009, 01:48:08 PM

I've always thought the DD-35 looks like one of those portable stove-tops to cook your beans and breakfast on!

thermal · August 25, 2010, 05:55:32 PM

anyone have the board scans 'manufactured zero' was mentioning re:DD 14 and DD12 where to connect the power for the precision osc pitch dropper. and anything else for this machine scan wise would be great. apparently the images were moved.