This is a library of perfboard and single-sided PCB effect layouts for guitar and bass. I'm not an electrical engineer by any stretch of the imagination, just a DIY'er who likes drawing layouts. It is meant for the hobbyist (so commercial use of any of these layout is not allowed without permission) and as a way to give back to the online DIY community.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Klon Centaur - True Bypass

Here's the Klon again. I wanted one with board mounted pots and for a smaller enclosure. You might be able to fit this in a 1590B with low profile jacks, but it will easily fit in a 125B. It's designed for 9mm PCB mount pots, though it might be difficult to find the dual-gang Gain pot. Look for Alpha part number RD902F-40-00. I've removed a few components that were apart of the stock bypass switching for the sake of space, so you'll want to use your true bypass method of choice with this one.

69 comments:

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    1. Sorry about that. Just uploaded it to the Klon folder.

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    3. Thx man!! this is the best place for DIYs ;) ... one more: 1uf yellow cap... is tantalum cap?

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  2. Hello friend, sorry for the insistence. I have almost finished klon but i don't know what type of capacitor used for yellow capacitor (1uF). I have got one of Tantalum polarized but the scheme doesn´t show the polarity. Can i use a capacitor polyester film box? (non polarized) or i must use the tantalum cap. thanks again!

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    1. Sorry for the slow reply. Tantalum is what's used in the original there. The negative side goes towards the lower end of the board.

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  3. Good day!Not boxed yet,but verified it works and sounds great!

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  4. Woow man!it sounds really great, amazing. Thx!!

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  5. Guys, do you have a bill of material for this thing?

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  6. Any leads on where I might find the RD902F-40-00 potentiometer? My normal sources and a google search didn't really help me.

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    1. I haven't had much luck finding that part either. Small Bear carries a dual gang 9mm pot but it's not the right angle PCB mount. Though you could add some right angle legs with some heavy solid-core wire.

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    2. Yeah, I found a straight leg 9mm and had the same thought so that's prrobably what I will do. Thanks!

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  7. Hi, please I need help, I've done the pedal twice and it works but it has a very exaggerated distortion, it does not sound like an overdrive if not rather like a very brutal distortion, almost like a fuzz

    The plate and compents are fine and not of poor quality.

    Please, may I be doing wrong?

    Thanks in advance and greetings

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  8. Hello! Interestingly resistor assemblies on your 2M(old) and 2.2M, which is it? The standard scheme is not it. Thank you.

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    1. That's just a pull down resistor to prevent footswitch pop. Generally anything from 1-2.2M works.

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  9. Hello,
    was wondering where is the Klon true bypass drill template? Cannot seem to find it.

    Thank you

    John

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  10. I guess I can use a MAX1044 instead of the 7660, is that correct?

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  11. Hi.! What's the scheme you used for this one??...

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    1. The Klon schematic on FSB, just modified for true bypass.

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  12. Hi, I built it and it sounds great. But I have a problem with the low range of sounds. On the 6th E string it seems to "punch" (don't know the word in english, something that makes sound dirty) some notes if I play them loud, something like cutting wave. Any ideas? Thank you very much

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  13. I've built a couple of these and all my 1044 chips keep going. it works perfectly for a few weeks then just makes a high pitch with no guitar signal. after I replace the 1044 it works again for another week. does anyone have the correct pin voltages for the max 1044? should I try the 7660?

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  14. I've tried 1044 but sometimes it works and sometimes not or it makes high pitch as with you. With 7660 it works, but I got that problem as I wrote before. Don't know from where it comes from.

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  15. Hi.
    Can I use a 4743 instead of the 4742 zenner? Sorry for my english. Greetings from Argentina.

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    1. You need to use the 12v zenner to protect the charge pump as 12v is the max voltage it can take. The 4743 is a 13v, so no. You'd be better off just not populating that diode, which is ok, just don't power the pedal with anything more than 12v (and really just stick with 9v).

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    2. Thanks for the help. I have troubles with an 7660CP - A whistle sounds with the signal - so I decided to ignore the power section. But thanks anyway :D

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    3. Diego, you need to use at least 7660S (more commonly 7660Scpaz), since it has higher oscillator frequency that human ear can't hear.

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  17. I have other problem: the signal is when I turn the Gain over 13 or 14 o'clock. I partialy solved this problem increasing the value of 1K Resistance after the second opamp - PIN7 of the left IC - to a 47K. Now, with 1N60's, the tremolo have desappeared but continues when the clipping are LEDs. Any idea?

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  18. hello Effects Layouts …
    I've made this great pedal and work very good but just a little question please …
    I have a problem of sighing like a frequense at 20khz that comes when I put the pedal on! The phenomenon is light but it gets along and it's annoying!
    it's not the first time it happens ... noticeably on distortion pedals or boosters ... Any idea? it may be my fault a mass problem or other?
    if you have heard of a problem maybe? please ………… :)

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    1. me too i have the same problem of this high frequency... did you resolve that? thanks!

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    2. Just solved connecting the 7th pin of 7660 (osc) to ground

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  19. The question about replacing 4.7uF by 1uF film, is this to reduce noise? only you have seen such a replacement from a bunch of other Klones. Thank you

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  20. this layout is missing a 10uf capacitor from IC 3's pin 8 to ground. otherwise it won't yield 16-18 volts on pin 8.

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  21. I only get 13 v with 7660scpaz while having all the op-amps in place, when I desocket them, I get 16v max( with all pots at min or max ) and pin3 of the left TL072 is just 1.21v no matter what I do, but i get 4.6v on the south side of the 1M resistor effect is working but I dont get overdrive till I almost max the gain pot. Here is what I did;
    - I checked all the part values, shorts, orientations including changing the gain pot
    - I reflowed every solder joint
    - Changed components in the left ic pin3 tracks ( input cap and 10 uf cap and 1 uf cap )
    - changed the IC's
    - changed the 5817 diodes
    - looked at the IC sockets for shorts and changed them anyway
    - Changed the sender diode
    - Checked for micro cracks and shorts
    - Went insane on the process
    - Changed the 1M resistor

    Any help from people who built this layout successfully? I will etch a new board and try it,maybe I missed something while etching, let the metal flow

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  22. Built and working correctly, sounds good...I also had the high pitched whine when pedal is bypassed, and as as gianzajeff recommends above grounding the 7th pin of 7660 removes this problem, everything functioning properly so far.

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    1. Hola me funciona de 10, pero tengo ruido a fuente, a pesar de que tengo una fuente filtrada, alguna idea?

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  23. massive killer tone. im bulid with MAX 1044 and works perfect.

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  24. I have a similar issue to Simurgh666 - circuit seems more like a clean boost than anything. There's maybe a little bit of clipping with the gain pot maxed, and its got tons of head room and colour, but barely any clipping.

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  25. I built that and another layout of the Klon here and they bith got the same problem, maybe someone can put some light on it.
    I checked everything a 1000 times and everything is correct.
    I don't have a sound when I turned the pedal on just an oscillation and the MAX1044 Is really hot, like really hot haha.
    Someone got into this problem?
    2 different layouts same problem.
    Am I doing something wrong?
    It's a 9VDC Center minus?

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  26. Howdy Folks!
    I'm on my third build of this classic. The first worked decently except the output was very trebly (or not bassy enough). After trying a few different cap values in the treble section, I eventually gorked a lead, so I etched a second one. That's when I discovered that in shrinking the etched image to size, the author ended up with leads that have tiny gaps and I ended up with more than a few solder bridges, my fault but frustrating. My third build I was rather careful but the 10u caps at the 7660, are impossibly close. The same with the 1n4001 at the power lead and probably elsewhere, as I grew tired of finding bridges. It did work at first, but sadly this etching image has caused me too many issues. I appreciate the effort on the author's part as I have consistent success with many of these layouts, but this one has beaten me. I'll be making my own layout and giving that a whirl.
    Unless, of course, someone has a great idea for me! :)
    cheers,
    pg

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  27. I made the build as well, it sounds amazing - thank you for all your work on the circuit boards! I only have one minor issue with my build, it has a very low fuzz-like tone below the distortion. I was wondering if any of you have encountered something similar. It is mainly on the low strings or when you dig into the guitar. I used two D9B diodes for the clipping. I guess it could be them or maybe it is a capacitor somewhere. I have checked all the resistors again and they all seem to correct. I appreciate any suggestions that you may have.

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    1. The same thing happens to me in my build, I even used the full version from this site .. I notice a fuzz noise in the sustain. did you manage to solve it?

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    2. Me hacía un fuzz feo con los tl072 pero con tl082 perfecto!!! Espero sirva

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    3. Jorge and Mohiv, i had the same problem and i have solved by swapping tl072 for a 4558!

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  29. hi guys, i just finished this amazing pedal ... i want to tell you i was struggling a lot with the annoying noise of the 7660s oscillation frequency. I bought this component especially to avoid this problem and still couldn't remove the noise. With the help of the data sheet, knowing that the external oscillator enters through pin 7 of the chip, I started to play with different capacitors to eliminate noise. I couldn't, as there was always the charging clip noise periodically. Finally I bridged pin 7 and pin 8 (VCC) and magically the noise disappeared and the pedal worked perfectly. I don't really know how the oscillation of chip is set, but I solved the problem. I hope this information is helpful because I did not find this anywhere. Regards.

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  30. Hi, I know it is a bit late to comment as this project has been here 4 years or so. I saw some comments about high frequency noise.
    I know where it is coming from. the 18v that is fed to the second 072 is not filtered. after the diode there is no cap. Now, with the 1044 or 7660's that switch at 45 kHz odd will not have a much audable problem as it is higher than audio freq, but some of them (the non-"S") 1044's switch at 10kHz only.

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    1. It also explains the 13v some were getting, as that would be the RMS value of the ripple, as that rail is not filtered.

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    2. what is the solution ??, I have tried everything and can not eliminate the high frequency noise :(

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  32. I´ve tried severeal Intersil 7660S , a bunch from malasya, and other, also branded intersil but with lighter text printed, anyway none of them give me enough freq. boost to the high pitch oscilator noise so as to be out of the hearing spectrum
    I´ll recomend just buying the lt1054cp and save yourself some good testing time and money.
    Toughly learned lesson for me, I've re built the pedal 3 times...

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    1. I know it's been years, but I've built a lot of clon's and this layout works really well for small cases. The 1054CP absolutely solves all the high pitch issues and it works great.

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  33. As many have mentioned, I built this pedal and got a high pitched noise when I turned the treble up from the charge pump. I grounded Pin 7 of the 7660 and the noise went away. I am still measuring ~18v on Pin 5, so I think that the issue is solved.

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  34. Don’t ground pin 7 of IC3 btw.

    I melted my IC socket doing this.

    I eventually went through a couple 7660 and ended on a MAX1044. That got rid of the high pitched noise. Not sure why the 7660 causes this.

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  35. Is there a version with 1mm mounted pots

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  36. Can I ask what d1 and d2 are? I'm pretty sure their diodes but what kind

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  37. Hello good afternoon, I built this pedal, but I did not get the diodes 1n34a, and replaced them with about 1n60, but I notice that it lacks gain, will be two diodes or some resistance? Greetings from Argentina

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  38. Hello, I just finished this pedal and it sounds great. The only problem is that the ic 7660 is overheating a lot. I was also having the sharp oscillation problem, and I solved it by sending pin 7 to ground, but I'm worried that the chip will be damaged again, has anyone else had this problem? Any idea how to fix it?

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