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DIY Tremolo effect

Started by phantompowers, April 01, 2010, 11:37:27 PM

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phantompowers

I was inspired by the 'Stutter effect' pedal on the Beavis Audio research site -

http://www.beavisaudio.com/projects/StutterPedal/index.htm  and I came up with this idea.

If, instead of cutting out the audio every time you pressed the pedal, you had it cut in and out automatically, at a fast speed, you would create a crude tremolo effect. So, I made a 555 timer circuit to flash a couple of LED's, made one into a 'vactrol' and attached the LDR's legs to the audio live and ground output. It worked great, a very lo-fi noisy tremolo effect! I can adjust the speed, I added a depth control and a ramp wave effect by adding a capacitor to the LED in parallel.
Only thing is and I can't figure this out is it works great on my guitar, works great on my 555 tone generators but it doesn't do a damn thing on my keyboards!! This really confused me and I thought my 'pedal' was somehow faulty so I dismantled every bloody solder connection 'til there was nothing left but a mass of crocodile clips only to discover that there was nothing wrong all along!!!
What the funk?!!!
BEND YOUR BRAIN

Circuitbenders

Probably some grounding issue somewhere, it usually is when you can't work out why something works with a guitar but nothing else.
i am not paid to listen to this drivel, you are a terminal fool

Gordonjcp

How have you got the LDR wired?  If it's just wired across the input and output, it will do bugger all to a high-impedance signal like a synth output.  Wire it as a potential divider insteadl, that'll work much better.
If at first you don't succeed, stick it through a fuzzbox.

phantompowers

Cheers for your replies,

I wired the LDR stright to the output jack. One leg to ground, one leg to earth.

So,(I've just researched this), a potential divider will cut the signal out by decreasing the input voltage?
BEND YOUR BRAIN