Ibanez - AW-5 Auto Wah  [schematic]

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Dirk_Hendrik
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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

Another soundtank of which the circuit diagram still seems to be absent of the surface of the planet. Not anymore. :D
When starting the reversal process I more or less expected to see some resemblance to the classic envelope filters like the AFL, AF9 or older. Not exactly the case up to the point where I could copy/paste the whole filter section of the 2nd generation WH10 wah into the circuit again. Funny since the designers of this box also used that same filter in the CD5 Cyberdrive.

Nuff talkin'. Here's the schematic, enjoy.
http://www.dirk-hendrik.com/temp/ibanez_aw5.pdf
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

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borislavgajic
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Post by borislavgajic »

[smilie=a_goodjob.gif]
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Post by modman »

[smilie=bowdown.gif]
Dirk_Hendrik wrote:Nuff talkin'. Here's the schematic, enjoy.
+10
I'm having fun already! :wink:
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Post by earthtonesaudio »

The part right after the envelope generator looks much different than anything I've seen in an autowah before. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

earthtonesaudio wrote:The part right after the envelope generator looks much different than anything I've seen in an autowah before. Thanks for sharing!
True,
But look at any Ibanez Delay, flange or chorus and you'll see the same ;)
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

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Post by george giblet »

Thank Dirk.

Yeah the filter is pretty much WH10. The 1k loop-gain reducing resistors on the WH10 use the classic R/C series circuit but the AW5 just hammers the gain from DC up.
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Post by fuzzca »

Play it ??! It's bad enough to build such a thing! And don't even consider selling it!
Hey, how does the AW5 sound?, say in comparison to an AF-9?
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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

.....
lousy. Big disappointment. ... really. No joke.
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

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Post by bajaman »

Thanks again Dirk :D
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Post by fuzzca »

lousy. Big disappointment. ... really. No joke.
Ha! Too bad, I like a couple of the Sountank boxes. The EM5 is quite decent, particularly if you need a delay with more than 300ms delay time that will run on a 9V battery for more than 15 minutes. The Soundtank trem is good too.

I guess the AW5 is a stinker like the Chorus and Flanger from this series....
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Post by Fuzzer »

To me, the soundtank screamer is much better than the TS-9.
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Post by Dirk_Hendrik »

fuzzca wrote:
lousy. Big disappointment. ... really. No joke.
Ha! Too bad, I like a couple of the Sountank boxes. The EM5 is quite decent, particularly if you need a delay with more than 300ms delay time that will run on a 9V battery for more than 15 minutes. The Soundtank trem is good too.

I guess the AW5 is a stinker like the Chorus and Flanger from this series....
Cannot say anything about the flanger. Don't have it, never played it, still want it.
The chorus is a direct heritage from the SC10. Therefore, IMHO, it cannot be that bad. I'll check tomorrow. Differences between the TS9 and 5 are close to 0. If there's a distinct sonic difference one of the 2 is defective.
Sorry. Plain out of planes.

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Post by Fuzzer »

mmm well, maybe the TS soundtank I tried was fucked up in a very sweet way... :D .

I will try to check it out;
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Post by flood »

i have an aw5 and must agree with dirk, it sounds quite crap. but is quite crazy once you circuit bend it...
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borislavgajic
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Post by borislavgajic »

flood wrote:i have an aw5 and must agree with dirk, it sounds quite crap. but is quite crazy once you circuit bend it...

what kind of bending are you talking about? :)

boris
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Post by lolbou »

Hi everyone,

Just a question : what could be the mods to do to this schematic when coming to bass playing. I'd like to plug an active Fender Jazz Bass in such a device.

Some values to tweak around the range section? Some capacitors to adapt to the bass frequency response? Actually I'm not very familiar with enveloppe filters, and lose my way when it comes to changing the frequency response in such devices...

Any help welcome!

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borislavgajic
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Post by borislavgajic »

I think that you do not need to change enything........becouse this wah is very similar to WH10 (which have bass/guitar switch)......here you have pot instead of switch,so you can adjust it for bass
...blend controll is also here.......so I do not know why is this wah bad ( never heard original one )......................

I made wh-10 from Dirk Hendriks schem, and it sounds great!
so perheps envelope part is not doing great job???

boris
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Post by flood »

borislavgajic wrote:
flood wrote:i have an aw5 and must agree with dirk, it sounds quite crap. but is quite crazy once you circuit bend it...

what kind of bending are you talking about? :)

boris
not the type that involves a hot torch and a vise :lol:

will post pics of my "octopus" soon....
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