Let's talk about the Tremolessence rate control...
Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:29 pm
Guys, we gotta have a chat about the Trem rate control... let me tell you the tale of it..
To get a really wide range of rate on a single pot that is low enough value to work well with an expression pedal I use an opto-coupler setup, an LED shining on a special resistor that can be really wide range.
The first 100 or so Trems were made with a ready made vactrol, a VTL5C3, and if you have one of those in your pedal you have a pretty smooth rate control from slow to fast, the knob turns fairly evenly and nicely, no sweat. (This chat won't really apply to you guys, blue sparkle boxes)
Those vactrols are expensive and kinda rare/hard to get though, and for the audio path I have to hand-roll two opto-couplers anyway, so I started doing the rate opto-coupler with the same parts that I use for the audio signal, an API photocell and a crazy bright LED. It had the benefit of widening the rate range, it went even faster and slower than the vactrol and I was pretty happy about that since I love the extreme ranges.
It had a downside though, the rate control was a lot more touchy/sensitive/awkward... bunched up in a way that made it hard to dial in a medium rate. I experimented with every value and taper of pot there is, different LEDs, different LDRs, and I just couldn't get it perfect, so I decided it was just a foible of the pedal and something to be lived with. A necessary compromise to get such a wide range of rates. Seeing the pedal in use by another person made me see just how tough to use it is and it really didn't sit right with me.
So now I've got a solution that spreads the range out nicely without compromising any of the extreme settings. It takes some rewiring, a tapering resistor, and a trimpot, so it's not a DIY fix, but I'd like to fix up everybody's Trem that has an awkward rate control.
TL;DR:
If you have a Tremolessence with an awkward rate knob, as in it goes from too fast to too slow too quickly and it's hard to dial in a medium rate, I want you to send it to me so I can make it right for you. I'll cover the shipping both ways. ryan@drscientist.ca to make the arrangements.
Really sorry for the inconvenience of it all, I know that's a pain in the butt and I should have got it right in the first place. *apologies*
To get a really wide range of rate on a single pot that is low enough value to work well with an expression pedal I use an opto-coupler setup, an LED shining on a special resistor that can be really wide range.
The first 100 or so Trems were made with a ready made vactrol, a VTL5C3, and if you have one of those in your pedal you have a pretty smooth rate control from slow to fast, the knob turns fairly evenly and nicely, no sweat. (This chat won't really apply to you guys, blue sparkle boxes)
Those vactrols are expensive and kinda rare/hard to get though, and for the audio path I have to hand-roll two opto-couplers anyway, so I started doing the rate opto-coupler with the same parts that I use for the audio signal, an API photocell and a crazy bright LED. It had the benefit of widening the rate range, it went even faster and slower than the vactrol and I was pretty happy about that since I love the extreme ranges.
It had a downside though, the rate control was a lot more touchy/sensitive/awkward... bunched up in a way that made it hard to dial in a medium rate. I experimented with every value and taper of pot there is, different LEDs, different LDRs, and I just couldn't get it perfect, so I decided it was just a foible of the pedal and something to be lived with. A necessary compromise to get such a wide range of rates. Seeing the pedal in use by another person made me see just how tough to use it is and it really didn't sit right with me.
So now I've got a solution that spreads the range out nicely without compromising any of the extreme settings. It takes some rewiring, a tapering resistor, and a trimpot, so it's not a DIY fix, but I'd like to fix up everybody's Trem that has an awkward rate control.
TL;DR:
If you have a Tremolessence with an awkward rate knob, as in it goes from too fast to too slow too quickly and it's hard to dial in a medium rate, I want you to send it to me so I can make it right for you. I'll cover the shipping both ways. ryan@drscientist.ca to make the arrangements.
Really sorry for the inconvenience of it all, I know that's a pain in the butt and I should have got it right in the first place. *apologies*
about having to be away from my trem
to know there is such great customer service
