The Arcadiator

3/29/2015

Update 2015-03-29: I updated the vero layout. It's exactly the same, but I made the offboard wiring instructions clearer to avoid confusion. It's 100% verified.

The Arcadiator, a video-game'ish fuzz.

Usually I'm trying to keep the controls simple. but for this design I really wanted to max out the possible sounds from the chips so it ended up with many switches and knobs. It does glitchy square-wave fuzz, pulse width modulation (similar to Tim Escobedo's PWM), octave down and modulation that alternates beween two octaves. It basically does everything that the Silver Fox Octaver does, and alot more. I hope you like it :)

The toner transfer didn't turn out good for this build (but hey, it's DIY right :)) and I should have used a lower value resistor for the LED. It's blinking when the LFO is engaged, but you can hardly see it.

CONTROLS
PWM switch - this toggles between 'pwm' or 'octave up'
WIDTH pot - this controls either the width of the square wave (pwm) or the intensity of the octave up

BLEND pot - mixes between 'either PWM or Octave up' and the 'Octave Down'

OCTAVE switch - This toggles between one or two octaves down
MODE switch - this turns the Octave down on or off (except when the LFO is on)

MODULATION
LFO switch - turns on/off the modulation that is alternating between one or two octaves down, or:
MODE switch - Toggles between either one or two octaves down or just one octave down and unison or a choppy tremolo of the octave down (depending on how the mix is set)

RATE and LEVEL doesn't need explaining :)

arcadiator_vero.png
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63 Comments

Tom link

12/8/2014 07:58:45 am

This is amazing. I have to thanks you for all these designs and layouts. The designs you do cover a lot of the sort of ideas in my head I want to explore, it's really good to see some experimenting like this. I'm learning but not able to design such things yet. But the ground between synth and guitar is closing and making some awesome new sounds. I made your noise ensemble layout with tweaks and I absolutely love it. Going to make some of the fuzz/synthy/octavey ones next. But thank you so much for sharing the designs :-).

boratto

1/6/2015 05:53:00 pm

GREAT! I was ready to build DBA Robot, but when i saw the Arcadiator... i have no doubts anymore. Thank you for the great design. Just one question: is there a way to add a gain control for the Fuzz?

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/7/2015 04:56:09 am

I'm glad you like it! There is no way to add a gain control i'm afraid. That is because CMOS chips are working with digital logic (either +9 or ground, 1 or 0's), so a schmitt trigger squares up the guitar signal to work with CMOS logic. Anythink less then a square wave would not work, or make it super gated with really short sustain.

Marko link

1/7/2015 07:38:48 pm

This is just too impressive Fredrik! Fantastic sounding thing. You are a genius :D

brejna

1/7/2015 08:38:59 pm

Awesome work! Do you mind if I make PCB from schematic?

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/7/2015 09:01:02 pm

Thanks! Yes, of course, go ahead :)

brejna

1/7/2015 09:21:14 pm

Thanks, I'll send you files..
Cheers

Ian

1/10/2015 08:58:47 am

HI, is the vero actually verified? once again I build this and not getting any sound, so I am wondering like the Flawed Logic if the posted vero has issues?

Its not always the easiest to trace back the vero from the schematic but I will start doing that....

thanks!

Ian

Ian

1/10/2015 09:30:19 am

Ive traced the schematic to the vero
It doesnt show 9v connection to pin 1 of the CD 4070
Should I add a cut between pin 1 and 14, then adjust the jumper distributing 9v round the circuit board?

Ian

1/10/2015 11:07:28 pm

Hi

Built another vero. If I turn the threshold trim all the way I can get some quite gated fuzz, but the LFO doesnt seem to work, and the other swiutches, if they are doing anything, is extremely subtle. If you can let me know how critical the IC versions are that would be great, otherwise this continues to be an exercise in frustration (!)

cheers
IAn

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/10/2015 05:42:16 pm

Hi Ian. I'm sorry to hear that you have problems with your build. This vero layout is 100% verified for sure. There are at least two other that has built it successfully. The Flawed Logic layout is the only layout I have changed after I built a working version (for the worse lol). Could you probe your built to see where the signal gets lost?

Ian

1/10/2015 08:38:16 pm

Hi

Im using the UBE (unbuffered) CD4069 does that matter? Or does it have to be buffered version? the vero and schem dont tell that..

I will audio probe, yes

thanks

Ian

Ian

1/10/2015 11:11:01 pm

One other thing the blend control doesnt seem to work. Counterclockwise is the loudest FUZZ sound, and turning clockwise just reduces this, it doesnt blend in clean which is what I would expect.

Any help would be great. I am not a new person to pedals so this is really annoying me now.. ..

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/11/2015 04:22:14 am

I'm using a CD4069UBE aswell. Seems like you have a problem with the CD4024. It's supposed to put out a signal that is one octave down (at pin 12) and two octaves down (at pin 11). This is mixed with the pulse width modulated square wave fuzz sound with the blend pot (no clean in this circuit..) and it's the octaves down that gets modulated with the LFO aswell (they alternate between one or two octaves down). I would check for solder bridges, cold joints or misplaced components around the 4024 or try a different 4024.

Ian

1/11/2015 05:26:46 am

HI, thanks for reading and replying. So far I have further understood the controls and can see how the blend works. I get decent volume now, albeit its quite sensitive to input, and the trim needs to be turned competeley.

It really seems now the only thing not immediately working is the LFO. I thought the LFO was derived from the CD4049 chip?

Also, it might be cos its quite a noisey effect in general but flipping the PWM switch doesnt seem to do massive difference to the sound, and the WIDTH control is working the same regardless if PWM is on or off...I assumed it would only affect the PWM signal when engaged.

Quite complex circuit!
I can try another 4024 but I think its working right. Is there a particular brand of 4024 or designation that is preferred, or should any do? I am using the ti CD4024BE. Might as well say the 4070 is st HCF4070BE

Ian

1/10/2015 09:39:55 am

hmm its late maybe ignore that. I can see the connection now...
OK pedal still doesnt work....

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/11/2015 06:13:10 am

Ok, cool. So you are getting a octave down effect now? Yes, the LFO is part of the CD4069. Have you connected the LED to see if it is blinking when the LFO is engaged? BTW, the LFO is triggered by the input, so you need to play to activate the LFO.. :)

Yes, it's quite complex :P The PWM switch toggles between octave up or PWM, and the width pot controls the width of the waveform or the intensity of the octave up.

I wrote a description of the controls in this thread: http://guitar-fx-layouts.42897.x6.nabble.com/The-Arcadiator-PWM-Fuzz-tp15643.html;cid=1421013474649-443
I will add it to the blog here later. :)

BTW, what kind of guitar do you use? This effect works best with hot humbucker pickups, so if you are using weak single coils you might want to try using a boost in front, or put a LPB1 with a trimmer at the frontend inside the box.

Ian

1/11/2015 07:34:58 pm

I have checked the vero vs the schematic and it seems accurate, but the LED doesnt flash and the octaves dont modulate with any "LFO"

I use guitars with humbuckers to test the pedal...

Any idea on why the trim has to be fully turned, too?

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/11/2015 07:48:12 pm

Hmm.. The trimpot sets the gate for the LFO and it should not effect the straight square-wave fuzz at the counterclockwise position of the blend pot. Seems like the problem could be with the envelope follower. Check the positions and orientations of the diodes. Also, is the 100uF cap spanning 3 rows? (from I to K). Is the LFO running if you disconnect D2? Sorry, running out of ideas here...

Ian

1/11/2015 08:24:43 pm

Hi

The trim pot absolutely has an effect in my build on the straight square wave fuzz with the blend counterclockwise.... unless the trim is turned all the way, the ouput is massive restricted. its almost like an on/off as you turn the trimmer.

100uF is oriented and positioned as per the layout, as are the diodes.

I will need to do more work to be able to disconnect diodes etc so will report back.

It just seems the vero isnt working properly. There are some friends working on other layouts and maybe the vero too so I hope one of them can verify something soon

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/11/2015 10:23:12 pm

Have you made the connection LFO switch lug 3 to Rate pot lug 1&2? There is nothing else I can think of right now except the usual stuff, solder bridges ect. I used this layout for the finished pedal in my demo-video, so I'm certain that it's ok, but I will put it up on the breadboard later today just to check it again. Maybe I'll build it again on vero too, just to be 100% sure. I verify all my layouts, and the only layout I have ever changed after verifying it was the Flawed Logic Fuzz.. :/

Ian

1/12/2015 12:09:27 am

Hi, yes all connections and potentiometers are connected up.
I checked the rate pot too, its definitely C200k, working properly.

I can guess that it is something my fault, but honestly building two of them to the best of my ability (I am not new to this) and still not working is very worrying.

I will triple-triple-quadruple check everything again!
thanks for your interest and help in my troubleshoot, its appreciated.

Nick

5/16/2015 08:36:54 am

Is there a way to buy the pedal itself

Fredrik Lyxzén link

5/16/2015 09:02:49 am

Not at the moment. However, a limited edition of 30 Arcadiator pedals will be avaliable in a couple of months and will be sold here through this site. I will launch the webshop in a couple of week, so keep checking in. :) cheers / Fredrik

Julungas

6/2/2015 03:23:55 pm

Muchas gracias por compartir, un diseño muy bueno y comprobado que funciona, un saludo desde mexico, un pequeño video de muestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZwNieNHk2A

Fredrik Lyxzén link

6/2/2015 06:53:58 pm

Thank you for sharing your video! Sounds great with a synth :)

Thorsten

6/22/2015 09:21:57 pm

As opposed to Ian I get too much sound/noiseout of this thing :D

I built my second vero now for this but I still get a pulsing noise even when the guitar is not played at all. The LED blinks in the same rate as the noise and the noise can be influenced with the trim pot and the other pots/switches, but it cannot be eliminated by it. When the guitar is played the background noise goes away, but returns as soon as I mute the guitar. All the switches appear to work as they should. Strange stuff.

Fredrik Lyxzén link

6/24/2015 02:50:37 am

Hi Torsten. Sorry to hear that you are having problems. Try increasing the 10K resistor at the top left, to somewhere around 22K-47K. It will raise the threshold for the schmitt trigger and keep it from mistriggering from any noise at the input. I'm using a 22K resistor in the my official pedal PCB. Good luck

Thorsten

6/24/2015 05:33:22 am

No need to be sorry :) This is what makes building pedals on your a fun thing.
Funny enough I was already thinking about adding a trim in there when I saw your post. So far I tried a 22k, 27k and a 33k and I am not sure whether I should keep the 27k or the 33k. The breakup at the end is better with 33k but the tone does not hold as long. I'll have to test it with my Les Paul instead of my Strat to see which way I have to go. But anyway with the higher resistor in there the whole thing starts to make real sense. Thanks for holding my hands here :)

Fredrik Lyxzén link

6/24/2015 05:46:43 pm

Awesome. Glad it helped. :)

Daniel

7/1/2015 09:38:42 pm

Would a 250k pot be okay for the rate?
Going to order your PCB and getting a 200k PCB mounted pot seems to be difficult. Else I would need to do some wiring.

Thanks!

Fredrik Lyxzén link

7/1/2015 09:55:19 pm

Hi Daniel,
Yes, a B250K works great for rate. In fact, it's the value I'm using in my assembled Arcadiator builds, because as you say, the 200K seems to be difficult to get. Cheers / Fredrik

Daniel

7/1/2015 11:42:29 pm

Hi Fredrik,

thank you very much!
Looking for a shop that stocks all needed parts. Banzai seems to have everything I need. Not sure about these:

http://www.banzaimusic.com/CD4069.html
http://www.banzaimusic.com/CD4024.html
http://www.banzaimusic.com/CD4070.html

Description and the name in the URL look okay, but the numbers on the page look odd, like "C4069", etc

What do you think? Should I contact Banzai? Thanks!

Fredrik Lyxzén link

7/2/2015 01:08:41 am

Those IC's should be the correct ones! :)

john

12/3/2015 06:37:00 pm

hello freppo, I am getting the same no sustain and instant gate as well as the really bad noise that wont stop when i stop like the previous poster mentioned..I went over the boards now for 3-4 days ..you said working voltages should be either 9v or 0? Ic one has approx 3 volts on it

Fredrik Lyxzén link

12/4/2015 01:36:42 am

Hi John,
I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your build. Are you building the PCB or the vero layout? If possible, could you head over to the madbean forum here: http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?board=84.0 and describle your issues again and post high resolution pictures of your board as well as voltages for all pins on the IC's? That would help me help you :) Cheers / Fredrik

john

12/4/2015 02:49:05 am

its okay, your CMOS tutorial is unreal! I am half way through workshop two :) I got the preamp breadboaded ..its a little bassy but great volume boost.

I am learning so much and want to thank you !!

I attempted the vero layout. hope I havnt damaged the chip somehow ..who knows. I am going to give it another shot - and if it doesnt turn out, I will take detailed pics, upload a youtube video and post on the MB forum. I am an octave freak and come from the day of 8 bit gaming haha !

give your dogs a good belly rub from me

thanks, john

Luca

1/26/2016 06:37:32 am

Hi guys, i've bought the Arcadiator kit from musikding and i 've assembled the pedal but i'm having some problems that i've noticed while playing. The LED doesn't work when the pedal is on, but just when the LFO is activated, and moreover it seems that the LFO doesn't work properly, can you explain where is my mistakes? Thank you
ps: it's not so much time that i've started the DIY guitar pedals!

Fredrik Lyxzén link

1/26/2016 10:37:20 am

Hi Luca,
Sorry to hear about your problems. It¨s difficult to say what is causing those issues. It could be a jold solder joint. Try to reflow the solder. If could also be a mistake with the offboard wiring. Did you follow this guide? http://www.parasitstudio.se/uploads/2/4/4/9/2449159/wiringrev1.pdf
It could also be a faulty IC chip. Most likely the CD4069. You could try to replace it. I hope that helps / Fredrik

Phil link

2/1/2016 04:55:48 pm

Is there a circuit diagram for this effect? Was hoping to put it together on something other than vero. Great sound. Cheers.

Fredrik Lyxzén link

2/7/2016 05:47:04 am

Hi Phil,
There's a schematic in the end of the build document here:
http://www.parasitstudio.se/build-docs.html

cheers / Fredrik

joeychickenskin

2/9/2016 05:05:20 am

What a pedal!

It took some taming and doubting my build skills, mainly with the amount of noise when the trimmer was in the LFO zone but I think that was partly from using a strat, and rolling off the tone/neck pickup made a huge difference so now it's completely under control.

It reminds me of the Fuzz Factory in that it takes some learning to understand the settings and playing technique needed to get the best sounds out of it. maybe an hour getting used to first the fuzzes then octaves, then LFO before exploring how different the LFO affects the Octave vs the PWM settings.

I've had fun boosting different frequencies (I have a DIY Red Ranger) afterwards as well as adding delay which makes it sound slicker but loses some of the lo-fi charm.

I love it!

Fredrik Lyxzén link

2/10/2016 04:18:17 am

Hi Joey!
Thanks for commenting. I'm glad you like it! :)

Robert

5/11/2016 03:07:27 pm

I want to make a "bass guitar" version of this. You know how there are bass pedals out there designed for bass?

I hear that it's just a simple change in the value of the capacitor to optimize a pedal for use with bass guitar. Is that true? and if so any idea of the value or how to go about this?

Thank you so much!

Fredrik Lyxzén link

5/16/2016 03:45:21 am

Hi Robert,

In this case you could just build the Arcadiator as it is. It doesn't cut out much bass, so changing capacitors will not make a difference. However, it does add alot of high frequency harmonics to the signal. I recommend building the Arcadiator 2.0 with the clean blend mod so you can blend in alittle bit of the clean signal. Cheers / Fredrik

Robert

5/11/2016 03:14:29 pm

Also I forgot to ask. Do you sell that same enclosure like in the video? If I make mine, I want it to look exactly like it, it looks so cool!

Fredrik Lyxzén link

5/16/2016 03:41:09 am

Hi Robert,
I don't sell enclosures or take custom jobs. Sorry

Zanius

5/12/2016 09:59:49 am

Hey Fred!
I have the v.2 pcb and it worked great while tested before boxing. I admit I went ahead of myself and soldered switches and pots before having the box ready. So I may have applied some extra heat to budge some of the components while boxing. :)
Also sanded a bit around the octave switch to the point the white finish came off at some points and can see the connection of switch's lugs 1 and 8 on the board. Connection still happens though.
Now I'm getting very low output (amp and volumes all the way up) and I think only when the Lfo is on.

-Connections seem to be ok when testing with the multimeter.
-I get a normal volume buzz when touching the volume pot's legs. ---Switched all the Ic's.
-From the little I hear all controls respond as they should.

Mostly used vero for builds till now, this is my second pcb build. Is it possible I damaged the board while heating or something?
Hope I didn't confuse you, tried to leave as much information as possible.
Thanx in advance!

Aisha link

6/15/2016 06:06:17 pm

I built this on vero and WOW! I'm going to have endless hours of fun with this thing. Thanks for the wonderful circuit.

Cedrik

8/9/2016 12:43:24 am

Hi!
Why on the vero layout the ic 3 (CD4070) pins 1&14 and 2&13 are together?
Pin 1 is 1A input and 14 is vcc, pin 2 is 1B input and 13 is 4B input.

Fredrik Lyxzén link

8/9/2016 01:34:19 am

Hi Cedrik
Have a look at the schematic in the pcb build doc and you will see why. In short: 1&14 on the CD4070 are linked to make an inverter out of the first CD4070 gate (pins 1+2 inputs, pin 3 output). It's a neat trick you can do with the CD4070 = if one of the inputs goes to VCC it makes an inverter, and with one of the inputs to GND it makes non inverting. By connecting an squarewave LFO to one input it becomes alternating between inverting and non-inverting. This is how the alternating octaves works in the Arcadiator. Both octaves out of the CD4024 goes gets mixed through two 100K resistors, one directly and one after a LFO controlled gate that is either inverting or non inverting. This means that every time the gate is inverted the mixed signal gets cancelled out (out of phase). Pin 2 and 13 are linked because the LFO enters both gates, one gate is inverting before going through a LFO controlled gate so that both octaves doesn't get cancelled out at the same time but are alternating insted. I hope that makes sense :)
/ Fredrik

Cedrik

8/9/2016 02:18:38 am

Ok! Thanks a lot for the explanation!
Is the schematic for the version 1 (vero) or for the v.2?

Fredrik Lyxzén link

8/10/2016 04:32:46 am

The 1.1 build doc (also found in the build doc page under old versions/discontinued projects) contains the old schematic which is the same as the vero

Cedrik

8/10/2016 09:16:02 pm

Thanks a lot!
-Cedrik

Tim Terwan

11/26/2016 04:50:55 am

So I Just got the 2.0 pcb and wanted to do the clean blend mod but noticed this was changed in V. 2.5. What was wrong in the 2.0 version and can I fix it without having to buy a New pcb?

Fredrik Lyxzén link

11/27/2016 02:47:19 pm

Hi Tim
The 2.0 PCB blend always kept some clean signal or some effect signal in the mix so it wasn't good. You can fix it by following this picture: http://www.parasitstudio.se/uploads/2/4/4/9/2449159/arcadiatorblendfix.png

I hope it makes sense. You can also omit R19, and the ABC pads doesn't need a link. Just connect the blend (from the left pad via a 10K resistor) except the middle lug. Connect it to ground insted. And from both lug 1 and 2 use two 47K resistors going to pad B.

Cheers / Fredrik

Tim Terwan

11/28/2016 01:15:26 am

Thanks Fredrik,

The picture made a lot of sense!
Do I include the C11 capasitor when applying this?

Fredrik Lyxzén link

11/29/2016 03:52:51 am

Yes, you need to include C11 when doing the blend mod, even with this modifications. Cheers

Fredrik Lyxzén link

11/27/2016 02:46:08 pm

Jacob

6/27/2017 03:18:55 am

I'm a bit confused as to what versions of the PCB that exist and which is recommended etc. The vero layout above is 1.0? The PCB from the shop is 2.5? Unless I specifically want the pcb with blend because I want to use it for my bass guitar, then I request a 2.0 PCB?

I'm sure this is somehow wrong, but can you perhaps correct me? What are differences between PCB versions, and which are available where? :)

Fredrik Lyxzén link

6/27/2017 05:17:31 am

Hi Jacob,
Yes, the vero layout is version 1.0. The PCB in the webshop here is version 2.5 (the most recent version). It's also avaliable as a kit from musikding.de (with the 2.5 board).

The best version is the version 2.5 PCB. It has the best sustain (one extra gainstage), tracking, input control (schmitt trigger threshold trimmer) and is overall is most refined version. It can also be easily modded with a clean blend pot (something that the 2.0 also had, but didn't work properly on that version).

I'm working on a 3.0 version, but it's about 4-5 months before it will be released. It will be very similar to the 2.5 version, but with one extra feature added that lets you combine both octaves aswell (the octave switch will be a 3-position type insted of a 2-position) and without the clean blend mod option. An active clean blend addon board will be released insted (that will work with other effects aswell).

Cheers
/ Fredrik, Parasit Studio

Brett Nephew

4/11/2018 09:20:44 pm

Hey there Fredrik, I got my board and built it and it sounds great, but I was wondering what options I had for the M1/M2 inputs. If I'm reading the schematic for your mod board correctly, m1 and m2 are just ends of the LDR being varied by a LFO running a LED .. so is there anything else you can run into this spot? Can it do CV in? I was thinking to put an LDR on an 1/8" male jack and hook m1/m2 up to the female socket on the pedal body so you could plug in a hand/foot operated crazy button .. am I was off base here?

Also I got the Into the Unknown going finally after getting some time to build it.. woweee! So much fun thanks again.
-Brett

Fredrik Lyxzén link

4/21/2018 03:49:53 am

Hi Brett,
Sorry for the slow reply. I missed your comment (didn't get any email notification for some strange reason).

The M1 and M2 can only be replaced with any type of variable resistor, like a vactrol (or LDR), JFET ect. so you can't hook up a CV input directly. One idea would be to simply put an LDR outside the enclosure (preferably with one leg in series with a switch so you can turn it off) and control the width by waving your hands. Or maybe some kind of controlled LED (by a expression pedal or something) together with a LDR would work fine, but it would probably require some extra circuitry to make it work.

The Arcadiator

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