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, June 7, 2017

Diamond Compressor

Gotten several requests for this one and for good reason. It's probably the best optical compressor design out there. This one's not for the feint of heart, and will take up most of a 1590BB enclosure. 3 jumpers, but the pots are board mounted. The on/off indicator LED in the original is a bi-color LED that pulsates with the signal. The switches in the original are internal, but can be mounted externally for more control. Be sure to jump lugs 3 and 5 on the EQ switch. Here's the schematic for reference.


at
Labels: , ,

52 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 7, 2017 at 9:47 AM

    maybe exist bass mod?

    ReplyDelete
  2. plushJune 7, 2017 at 10:37 AM

    OMFG

    It won't take me long *rushes for a pack of napkins*

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joe TafanoJune 7, 2017 at 12:29 PM

    wow. great job man!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Urshurak776June 7, 2017 at 5:40 PM

    How can I make the image bigger and clearer? When i save it and blow it up to read the values, it gets blurry. Am I missing something? How do you guys do it?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJune 7, 2017 at 6:01 PM

      Just click on the image and it should open at a higher resolution

      Delete
    2. ArcadeJune 7, 2017 at 6:04 PM

      what i do is, click on the image, then right click and select view image, expand the image to maximize and then save in to the disk, hope this help :)

      Delete
    3. UnknownJune 10, 2017 at 8:38 PM

      Hi, if you have photoshop its very easy to control the dark of pcb …
      I make my own PCB and when pcb's finished with photoshop, i print it with my hpdeskjet with clear shit of plastic projector ! The quality is very nice !!!

      Delete
  5. ArcadeJune 7, 2017 at 6:06 PM

    Hope someone verify this, i ordered some VTL5 but should be here in at least 2 months.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Urshurak776June 7, 2017 at 8:31 PM

    Thanks guys. Works fine on tablet or phone but not on laptop. Weird......

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownJune 8, 2017 at 5:49 PM

    HOooo Yes thanks very much man !!!! i love this comp going to make it next week

    The vlt5c3 can be find at banzai internet electronic store ! they have to the VLT5c10 for demeter compulateur
    and lf356 for compulator fomenter can be find at Taïda internet store !

    For the diamond comp is there any version or modification for bass guitare ?
    Thanks for all man !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJune 9, 2017 at 9:42 AM

      I don't know of any bass mods. I'd just build it as is first and see how it sounds with bass, then adjust caps as necessary (if necessary).

      Delete
    2. UnknownJune 10, 2017 at 9:19 PM

      OK thanks going to try it with my bassist friend !

      Thanks very much, your job is so nice !!!!!

      Delete
  8. UnknownJune 12, 2017 at 5:15 AM

    Hi !
    just see it now… it's not a true bypass ?
    If i'm right FSW1/2/3 mean foot switch ? but kind of foot FS ?
    Usualy i use 3PDT switch … could you clear me please about it ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJune 12, 2017 at 9:06 AM

      It is true bypass and uses a 3PDT. The pads for the footswitch are for the LED wiring (it uses a bi-color LED that pulses with the signal).

      Delete
    2. UnknownJune 12, 2017 at 1:58 PM

      ok !!! thanks a lot !

      Delete
  9. UnknownJune 28, 2017 at 6:08 PM

    Hi ! Juste à question :
    Dont have spst swich for hi cut swich ! Could i put à spdt on / on on lug 1&2 ? The same no ? Or à spdt on of on ?

    ReplyDelete
  10. CharonJuly 10, 2017 at 12:35 AM

    Some information on the probable differences between the regular diamond comp and the diamond bass comp:

    http://vulcanofx.blogspot.com/2013/07/diamond-bass-compressor.html

    Seems like it can be implemented with the above layout + off-board stuff but i haven't dug too deep into the information.

    an optocompressor is sort of on my list but i am not in a hurry as i feel like my pearl co-04 is pretty ok.

    ReplyDelete
  11. UnknownJuly 10, 2017 at 2:14 PM

    Verified on the compressor part! I did not plug the led compression by laziness on my part! The hi cut reacted very little! Otherwise the compressor works very well! Very good sound !
    Thanks for this layout !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. plushJuly 17, 2017 at 4:36 PM

      Hi, can you post your voltages?

      I can't make my clone work for some reason.

      Delete
    2. UnknownJanuary 2, 2018 at 8:28 AM

      do you need the voltage agin ?
      sorry just see your post !

      Delete
    3. plushFebruary 3, 2018 at 12:21 PM

      Nah, Franck, thanks, I've already figured it out myself.

      Delete
    4. John StarDecember 28, 2018 at 2:31 AM

      Hey wondering, what was the problem with your circuit that you resolved? Just build this thing and it's not working, haven't been able to track down the issue yet.

      Delete
  12. UnknownJuly 29, 2017 at 7:09 AM

    Hi
    Thanks for the great site !
    what is the pcb dimension ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJuly 29, 2017 at 4:43 PM

      Check the Transfer Image Library tab at the top of the page

      Delete
  13. UnknownJanuary 23, 2018 at 12:14 AM

    Hi effect layout !
    just want to put the LED like in the original (is a bi-color LED that pulsates with the signal)
    But please i dont understand where i have to wire the fsw1 / fsw2 / fsw3 ? near the bicolor led on the right of PCB…
    Please help me …

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJanuary 23, 2018 at 9:40 AM

      Fsw = footswitch. So connect those pads to the corresponding lugs on your footswitch. Then use lugs 4-9 for bypass wiring (4 to the effect input, 5 to input jack, 6 to lug 9, 7 to effect out, and 8 to output jack).

      Delete
    2. UnknownJanuary 23, 2018 at 3:50 PM

      ok i just understand ! Thanks very much !

      I have a thrue bypass shematic that does not use the same sense of connection and therefore I do not understand why the LED + was falling on a mass ... :)

      Delete
    3. UnknownDecember 21, 2018 at 2:51 AM

      Buongiorno, non so se sto facendo la richiesta nel posto giusto, vorrei realizzare il progetto solo che non ho capito come devono essere collegati FSW1-2-3, HI Cut1-2, e EQsw1-2-3-4-5, per fafore mi sapreste dare uno schema.

      Grazie

      Delete
  14. UnknownMay 15, 2018 at 6:41 PM

    Thanks a lot for that perfect layout! Work’s realy great and It sounds...wow!!! I swiped the eq switch, made parallels connections for some resistors&caps not in stock. Just made a mistake with the led (c- instead of c+) it will be fixed with the next order. Thank again for that perfect layout !

    ReplyDelete
  15. UnknownDecember 21, 2018 at 3:13 AM

    Buongiorno, non così sto facendo la richiesta nel posto giusto, vorrei realizzare il progetto solo che non ho capito venire essere collegato FSW1-2-3, HI Cut1-2, e EQsw1-2-3-4-5, per fafore mi sapreste dare uno schema.
    Grazie.

    Nicolino Pagano - Aquara Salerno

    ReplyDelete
  16. John StarDecember 24, 2018 at 2:17 AM

    Question: how did you mount your bi-color LED on the enclosure? I have a 3mm bi-color LED from Small Bear, but it will not fit in a 3mm chrome bezel, and suggestions?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  17. John StarDecember 25, 2018 at 2:33 PM

    Hey ran into a snag: I realized that we need a bi-color LED with a common anode, I mistakenly used one with a common cathode so of course the LED did;t work, but neither does the effect. Would having the wrong LED prevent the rest of the circuit from functioning properly?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. taytaybanaynayJanuary 26, 2021 at 8:58 PM

      I also made this mistake, but the effect still worked fine even with the wrong LED.

      Delete
  18. John StarJanuary 12, 2019 at 1:20 AM

    Will anyone answer questions anymore? Someone must know the answer to my above question about if having the wrong LED will kill the compressor circuit also???!

    ReplyDelete
  19. angelmahon88January 18, 2019 at 11:53 PM

    please someone can put a graphic diagram for the 3pdt connection standing, I do not quite understand how to connect.

    excuse my ignorance and thanks in advance

    regards

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJanuary 23, 2019 at 9:35 AM

      https://i.postimg.cc/5tR8qS8T/Diamond-Compressor-wiring.png

      Delete
  20. angelmahon88January 20, 2019 at 7:51 PM


    hello, please a little help.
    regards

    ReplyDelete
  21. JohnJanuary 23, 2019 at 2:22 AM

    One final question, maybe someone would know the answer to this: I accidentally put the 100nF cap where the 10K resistor should go up next to the Compression pot, so the two are reversed. They both go to ground, and are attached in parallel with the rest of the circuit so i figured I didn't it matter. My circuit is not working, so would reversing these 2 components cause the circuit to fail? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsJanuary 23, 2019 at 9:36 AM

      They're in parallel, so swapping the placement shouldn't make any difference.

      Delete
    2. JohnJanuary 23, 2019 at 7:08 PM

      Hmm that's what I figured, but darn thing won't work lol. Oh well guess i have a date with my multimeter...

      Delete
    3. JohnJanuary 25, 2019 at 12:55 AM

      Well figured out what the trouble was, i was missing the 10k resistor that connects all the +VB parts of the circuit. Ran out of them and then forgot to add it when i finished populating the board haha. Compressor works! However, the LED does not blink red at all, not sure why. I got the correct (center anode) LED this time, anyone else have trouble with the red part of the LED not working? Thanks again.

      Delete
    4. taytaybanaynayJanuary 27, 2021 at 1:55 AM

      Yes! I have this issue. My blinks incredibly faintly, and Im measuring really low current getting to the red LED. Did anyone solve this?

      Delete
    5. qweMarch 17, 2023 at 11:06 AM

      My red led also does not blink, but the red and green reverse connection, the green led will blink

      Delete
  22. FranckMarch 15, 2019 at 6:53 AM

    Hi david,
    could you tell me what the value of LDR ? I'm not sure …

    Franck

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Effects LayoutsMarch 15, 2019 at 9:08 AM

      Look up the datasheet for the VTL5C3. It should tell you the specs for the LDR

      Delete
  23. skizoideApril 23, 2019 at 3:10 PM

    There is a mistake in the upper left layout. The pin 6 of the OP275 cannot connect to +9v.

    ReplyDelete
  24. taytaybanaynayJanuary 26, 2021 at 9:01 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  25. taytaybanaynayJanuary 27, 2021 at 1:56 AM

    Made a working version of this with a TL072 instead of the OP275 and a homemade optocoupler using a 3mm yellow LED and GL5539 LDR.

    Red part of my LED doesn't really light up though either unfortunately. Seems like it's not getting much current

    ReplyDelete
  26. Jun dOctober 7, 2021 at 11:26 PM

    Its verified!! Works well and awesome! Jun fr Philippines. Regards!

    ReplyDelete
  27. GarfoMay 28, 2023 at 3:40 AM

    Is it possible to leave the schematic here? I cannot understand how the bi-colour LED is being connected to the 3PDT switch

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)