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So I just started building a little while ago. I have a few half finished projects, but I have pretty much just been winging it. So two questions: How do you really learn why pedals go together the way they do (is there a certain book I should buy or what)? And, more specifically, to help with my current projects, how do you know what kind of pots you need to use?

J

Usually the type of pot is specified in the schematic or layout.
As long as the value is right everything should be fine. There might be advantages in different tapers in means of precision of dialing in specific sounds (eg. the gain pot travels smoother and so on).
Size wise 16mm pots with a 6.3mm shafts are pretty much standard.

dune2k wrote:Usually the type of pot is specified in the schematic or layout.

What if you just have a board and it doesn't say the pot type? Is there a way to figure out what would work?

Not if you don't have a clue what's going on.
If you circuit bend stuff just take any pot...you have to experiment anyway.

dune2k wrote:Not if you don't have a clue what's going on.
If you circuit bend stuff just take any pot...you have to experiment anyway.

Ok, that's what I'm doing now. I was just hoping there was a better way...

it's nice to have a bunch of every common value pot around to experiment.
like 1k, 5k, 10k. 25k, 50k, 100k, 500k, 1m
just linear (most common) for now. you needn't be worried about audio/log types. unless the schematic specifically asks for one.

cloudscapes wrote:it's nice to have a bunch of every common value pot around to experiment.
like 1k, 5k, 10k. 25k, 50k, 100k, 500k, 1m
just linear (most common) for now. you needn't be worried about audio/log types. unless the schematic specifically asks for one.

Do you know where the best place to order the parts from is? I know of small bear and pedal parts plus. Is there a cheaper source?

jfrey wrote:

cloudscapes wrote:it's nice to have a bunch of every common value pot around to experiment.
like 1k, 5k, 10k. 25k, 50k, 100k, 500k, 1m
just linear (most common) for now. you needn't be worried about audio/log types. unless the schematic specifically asks for one.

Do you know where the best place to order the parts from is? I know of small bear and pedal parts plus. Is there a cheaper source?

cheapest pots I know of are futurlec, but shipping can take more than a month.

cheapest with decent shipping I've seen is smallbear.

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=688

Like this? Also are the tone and volume or whatever pots the same type of pot with different values? Or are they different kinds of pots entirely?

dune2k wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potentiometer

Ok, I read that. It didn't really explain it though. In fact I might be a little more confused since the article said that log pots are used for volume control, but cloudscapes and other people I have talked to have said to use linear pots.

jfrey wrote:http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=688

Like this? Also are the tone and volume or whatever pots the same type of pot with different values? Or are they different kinds of pots entirely?

these are cheaper
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=555

um... pots are just pots. that they're a volume pot or tone pot is decided in the circuit, not the pot. of course there are pots with different sweep curves (as explained in the wiki link) but a logarithmic pot will work just fine in a circuit that asks for a linear pot, only that the sweep "values" will be in different places. I would just stick with linear types for now.

cloudscapes wrote:

jfrey wrote:http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=688

Like this? Also are the tone and volume or whatever pots the same type of pot with different values? Or are they different kinds of pots entirely?

these are cheaper
http://www.smallbearelec.com/Detail.bok?no=555

um... pots are just pots. that they're a volume pot or tone pot is decided in the circuit, not the pot. of course there are pots with different sweep curves (as explained in the wiki link) but a logarithmic pot will work just fine in a circuit that asks for a linear pot, only that the sweep "values" will be in different places. I would just stick with linear types for now.

Ok, that clarifies things. Thank you.

jfrey wrote:So I just started building a little while ago. I have a few half finished projects, but I have pretty much just been winging it. So two questions: How do you really learn why pedals go together the way they do (is there a certain book I should buy or what)? And, more specifically, to help with my current projects, how do you know what kind of pots you need to use?

J

There's a few sites that aren't specific to pedals and such that I learned from. It's kind of difficult to get it, though. Eventually things just click, and it makes sense, but a lot of things are still total mysteries to me.

Just google the specific component. Wiki might be a bit complex at first, but it's a good recourse.

www.allaboutcircuits.com is pretty cool for explaining how things -really- work, and not just what they're doing in that circuit. It's not -completely- mind numbing.

There's also the "technology of..." articles. Like the technology of the fuzz face, tube screamer and wah.

http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/f ... fffram.htm


Anyways, for pots, as others have said, value is all that matters with pedals. Almost everyone uses Alpha 16mm carbon pots. They're cheap, small, and work great. There's smaller, larger, different shafts, etc, but value is all that's critical in a pedal.

Audio/log taper is used for volume/gain controls because they mimic the sensitivity of the human ear. If the signal has half the power, it doesn't translate to the human ear as being half as loud. More like 3/4 as loud, so the audio taper corrects for that. It's technically half way up at about 1/4 of rotational travel.

Hope that made sense.

McSpunckle wrote:

jfrey wrote:So I just started building a little while ago. I have a few half finished projects, but I have pretty much just been winging it. So two questions: How do you really learn why pedals go together the way they do (is there a certain book I should buy or what)? And, more specifically, to help with my current projects, how do you know what kind of pots you need to use?

J

There's a few sites that aren't specific to pedals and such that I learned from. It's kind of difficult to get it, though. Eventually things just click, and it makes sense, but a lot of things are still total mysteries to me.

Just google the specific component. Wiki might be a bit complex at first, but it's a good recourse.

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com is pretty cool for explaining how things -really- work, and not just what they're doing in that circuit. It's not -completely- mind numbing.

There's also the "technology of..." articles. Like the technology of the fuzz face, tube screamer and wah.

http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/f ... fffram.htm


Anyways, for pots, as others have said, value is all that matters with pedals. Almost everyone uses Alpha 16mm carbon pots. They're cheap, small, and work great. There's smaller, larger, different shafts, etc, but value is all that's critical in a pedal.

Audio/log taper is used for volume/gain controls because they mimic the sensitivity of the human ear. If the signal has half the power, it doesn't translate to the human ear as being half as loud. More like 3/4 as loud, so the audio taper corrects for that. It's technically half way up at about 1/4 of rotational travel.

Hope that made sense.

<3