Wednesday, July 15, 2015
ColorSound Wah-Wah
Here's the ColorSound Wah-Wah. I hadn't laid out a wah before, probably because I haven't built one myself before, and I don't use one much when I play. Anyway, the ColorSound Wah-Wah is pretty simple and sounds very good. What makes it unique is that it doesn't use an inductor like most wah circuits. This might be a good candidate to throw a buffer in front, but it's not necessary. There is a volume pot which you could omit if you want (in which case the Volume 3 pad becomes the output). You could also throw this in a 1590a if you wanted a non-treadle/fixed wah pedal. Or if you're really brave, you could mod a 1590a into a treadle pedal like Thomas Hafemann did.
Effective and simple! thank you! I am about to end, the Overdriver colorsound, hot silicon, Galileo, morpheus distortion,
ReplyDeleteI finally the shin ei, nice sound! :D
VALEU AMIGO!
DeleteIt means "thanks bro!" I though that was the unique brazilian visiting your page, i'll try this pedal too.
DeleteJust found this site and have made my first 2 PCBs,many thanks for your efforts, however I have just built this wah as I once borrowed an original and really liked it and have a shell I bought in the 80s that is identical to the colorsound one including the operating lever and it isn't working. I am getting a self oscillation that changes in pitch as the pedal is rocked. I looked at a schematic on line and it doesn't seem to match your layout - can you tell me which schematic you used?
ReplyDeleteThanks
OK, I have spotted a couple of issues, firstly there should be a 33k resistor in series with the 15nF cap going to ground this is what causes the oscillation since the size of this resistor affects the resonance of the filter. I have put a 47k pot in there and as I turn it towards zero the oscillation starts.
ReplyDeleteThe other problem is a missing 100n cap which goes from the collector to the 6n8 cap and the 100n output cap - the existing caps need to be disconnected from the collector. Having made the changes the circuit works but I have also changed the input and output caps to 10n as shown elsewhere to brighten it up -may go lower still as it is a little dark. Have also removed the 47k to ground and not used the output pot as unity was not achievable without, may add a 150k as I seem to be getting some distortion now.
Thanks,
Dave
Thanks for catching those mistakes. I must have been asleep when I laid this out. I've updated the layout with the changes. Once you get the distortion issue sorted out, if you still have a volume drop issue (which is pretty common with some of these older effects) you might want to put a booster after this circuit. The LPB-1 would be a good candidate. You could either include the volume pot after it, or use a 100k trimmer to set it to unity.
DeleteI have built it but the wah effect is low, it does not vary so much, what can I do? (I replaced the 2n5088 by bc549, because here is so difficult to find it)
DeleteI have built it but the wah effect is low, it does not vary so much, what can I do? (I replaced the 2n5088 by bc549, because here is so difficult to find it)
ReplyDeleteMe too.. i also replace the 2n5088 by bc549 and got super low volume, and low wah effect, how can i fix this?
DeleteI had fixed it, now it works awesome. I change the bc549 with a 2n3904 transistor and now it work like a great wah pedal
DeleteThankyou for the layout...
Hi, in which orientation do I put a pot inside enclosure? Should the resistance increase or decrease as I "put my toes down?
ReplyDeleteResistance should increase as you put your toes down I believe.
DeleteHallo, Ich habe es gebaut und es funktioniert Super, DANKE
ReplyDeleteHello. Can anyone recommend some mods for bass use?
ReplyDeleteCheers.
i didnt know i will build it! So, because inductores very expensive in our sides, i built this. This wah realy working good when you will change resistor 33k from 3 wah pot to 470 ohm-2kom. I used 750 Ohm. Very good resaults!
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ReplyDeletewhat layout scheme is correct, the problem doesn't work
ReplyDeleteAny idea on how to build/wire this?
ReplyDelete1.wah when engaged
2.volume pedal when disengaged
Hello! You can use dual potentiometer for that.
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ReplyDeleteCan i replace the wah pot for an switch? thx..
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