AtariPunkC in a guitar... volume problem.

Pickups, wiring schemes, switch techniques and onboard active electronics for guitars and basses
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GuitarlCarl
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Post by GuitarlCarl »

I've seen this done before, so.... I built a vibrati punk console and put it in a guitar subbing photo resistors for two of the pots. No problems there unit works fine. BUT, there is a big difference in volume. The VPC is way WAY louder, than the guitars pickups straight out... It's not the pickups, they're fine. I'm thinking maybe I need a buffer of some kind. something simple, I have a little room on the perf board still, maybe one jfet and some bits... I have an on/on/on microswitch wired in and I can switch between the two now, but in the middle position it's nothing.... I believe it's wired correctly too, so...
Any ideas? :blackeye I'll see about whipping up a schemo of what I have so far.
I want it to sound like bees buzzing around in a 55 gallon drum...

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juanro
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Post by juanro »

Just add an internal trimmer (say: 100k) at the output of the VPC, possibly with a 100K series resistor so not to load the guitar pickups, and dial it down to level the signal with that of the guitar.

Juanro
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GuitarlCarl
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my favorite amplifier: anything tube
Completed builds: Ds-1 mods, SD-1 mods, Small Clone mods, Muff build, Axis build, various other transistor booster builds... I can build a badaxe harmonic perc, but I can't get a fuzzface to sound worth a crap!
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Post by GuitarlCarl »

Ah... should've said I did have a 500 k pot volume for it already... stupid audio taper. You have to cut it down till almost nothing before it starts to work. I think it needs something before that...
I want it to sound like bees buzzing around in a 55 gallon drum...

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juanro
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Post by juanro »

Ah, yes, then. Or add a fixed resistive divider before it, let's say, a series 100k and then a 10k to ground?
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GuitarlCarl
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my favorite amplifier: anything tube
Completed builds: Ds-1 mods, SD-1 mods, Small Clone mods, Muff build, Axis build, various other transistor booster builds... I can build a badaxe harmonic perc, but I can't get a fuzzface to sound worth a crap!
Location: Smellinoiz
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Post by GuitarlCarl »

Image
Pretty simple circuit works great but ... I WANT the outputs matched between the APC and the pickups themselves...
and I'm telling you a volume control, LIKE I HAVE, isn't doing it for me.
There's more to it to balance the output of passive pickups and a powered circuit.
Maybe I need to boost my pickups, I've put an Electra in a guitar before and that works well too....
Hmm. :hmmm:
I want it to sound like bees buzzing around in a 55 gallon drum...

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juanro
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Post by juanro »

Carl, with a conection like that, you're loading your pickups output with the volume & tone of the APC. Moreover: if you turn down the volume, resistance to ground would be even lower and your pickups output will be low & dull too.
Yes, you can trying an active mixing, so output of the APC & guitar would be independent one from each other, but a simpler solution will work... Put a 220K resistance in _series_ with the "output to the guitar's original..." and try if that way

Juanro
La única verdad es la realidad.

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